Pandemic Sampler

You probably thought you'd never see this day, but my Pandemic Sampler is fully finished and ready for framing!!

I had most of it finished in April 2022 (almost two years ago), but I still had all the back stitching to do, plus my initials - which were the real sticking point.  The back stitch took about a week of stitching just in the evenings.  The pattern is 20 pages of A4 paper so there was a fair bit to work through. 

My initials were an issue because "W"s are wide and I had to figure out how to fit them in.  In the end I came up with a dainty, subtle solution that I think works well. They're there, but they don't jump out at you.

I started this piece back in July 2020 when Long Dog Samplers released this pattern to commemorate the COVID-19 Pandemic.  The pattern is available for purchase here if you're interested.  

I used 28 count linen in Flax colourway because I didn't want to go blind stitching this.  Or give up because it was too hard to see what I was doing.  

I used 2 strands of Madeira silk and it was beautiful to work with, but definitely not cheap.  I possibly could have found cheaper silk alternatives, but my local embroidery shop had this in stock and ordering anything from overseas in the early stages of COVID was very unpredictable.  Things that previously took weeks to arrive were taking months or were just plain unavailable.  So I worked with what I could get and I'm very happy with the result.  

There's a lot of flurry going on in the Long Dog Sampler Facebook groups about Leap Day starts for 29 Feb 2024.  I've resisted all temptations and will continue to work on my WIPs in 2024.  

I have made one small new start since I finished Pandemic and I'll show you that in my next blog post. 

Pandemic Sampler is 99.5% finished

Yes, I met my goal and finished all of the stitching on my Pandemic sampler by Long Dog Samplers at Easter.  I still have to do the back stitch, and possibly squeeze my initials in somehow, but I've finished every page in the pattern.  

I loved doing this sampler, but I'm also naturally pleased that it's finished.  

I don't think I'll do another large sampler for a very long time. It was interesting, and challenging, but there's a lot of other things I want to try too.  

I'm glad I opted for a single colour through out.  I 've seen quite a few multicolour versions, and I think I would have spent too long dithering about which colour to use next.  I'm also glad I didn't choose to use hand dyed silk with colour variations.  I would have had to cross every stitch as I stitched it (to keep the colour consistent), and that would have made following the pattern even harder.  It was simpler to just stitch it all in black, and that's the effect I was going for anyway.  

I'm off to Dunedin this weekend to teach wool felt applique at Stitch Witches.  I'll report back next week.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

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Pandemic Sampler at 90%

Yes! I'm 90% finished my Pandemic Sampler.  

There's only 2 more pages to go, and one of them is the page with the least number of stitches in the whole design, so it should be quite quick.  But then there's all the backstitching to do.  

I have to admit that finishing this one is hard work.  I'm itching to start other things, but if I don't finish this now, it could languish for years to come.  

It feels quite appropriate to be working on it now as the COVID pandemic has finally reached New Zealand in 2022.  Our closed borders and elimination strategy protected us from COVID in 2020 and 2021, but now Omicron is out in the community and there have been over 20,000 cases a day reported in March.  

Fortunately Omicron is milder than previous variants, and we only got our boosters in January due to our delayed vaccination rollout, so I'm not too worried.  But just as we see the rest of the world opening up, we're having to wear masks everywhere, use vaccine passes for hospitality and transport, and obey gathering limits of 100 vaccinated people.

So I'll finish my Pandemic sampler while NZ is still stuck in the red traffic light setting.  At least I'll have something nice to show for 2+ years of COVID restrictions.  

Thank you for all the kind comments on my video interview last week.  I'm glad you enjoyed it. 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to share a recent blog post below. 

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Pandemic Sampler

My Pandemic Sampler is not going to be finished in 2021 after all. I've only got 4 more pages to go, but each page takes me about two weeks when I'm working on it every night.

Everything was going fine when I last posted about it back in July, but then in August I started having real problems with my right hand.  My middle finger became really swollen, and then the tendon in my palm tightened up.  I couldn't do any hand work for about 10 weeks.  

Fortunately my hand is better now (thanks to 2 steroid injections and a round of prednisone), but I'm taking care of my hands and operating on a strict rotation schedule so I don't do too much of any on thing. 

That means that I've had to let go of my goal of finishing this sampler in 2021.  Given that the Pandemic is still lingering on in our little corner of the world, maybe it's appropriate that my sampler completion date will drag into 2022.  

Here's a pretty rose from my garden to end on a high note.  It's Heart of Gold, and new in my garden this year. 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

 

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Pandemic Sampler

It's a year since the Pandemic Sampler pattern was released by Long Dog Samplers, and I'm seeing more and more people post their finishes in the Facebook group.  

as at 9 July 2021

I'm still aiming for a 31 December 2021 finish (fingers crossed).  I've got 6 more pages to go, so I'm trying to keep doing a bit every week. 

I love watching the pattern emerge.  What you see on the pattern is often quite different to how it looks once it is stitched.  

Here's what I'm aiming for:

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below.  

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Pandemic Sampler

My Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers is coming along nicely. 

This is a BIG sampler.  The pattern is 20 pages! Back when I started in August I was stitching one page a fortnight (two weeks), but I'm now happy with just one page a month.  That allows me to stitch or knit other things too, and gives my hands a break from cross stitching.  

I'm really happy with my fabric and thread choices. So many people in the Facebook group question their choices, and opt to start again with different threads or fabric.  I love the simplicity of plain black on a neutral linen. 

In two weeks time I'm going to a Cross Stitch Retreat in Christchurch.  I'm sure I'll see lots of tempting new designs there.  I don't plan to do anymore large samplers, but I am strangely fascinated by the Hawk Run Hollow designs by Carriage House Samplings (especially Halloween at Hawk Run Hollow), and Harbor Haven by By The Bay Needleart.   I can't really explain my fascination with these designs, but I like the art work and the colours, even though they have no connection to my life in New Zealand. 

But, before Christchurch, I'm going to Rotorua for the Great New Zealand Quilt Show next weekend 14-16 May.  I'll finally be able to show you a full photo of my finished Fireworks quilt - made from Willyne Hammerstein's pattern Ballet with Kaffe Fassett, in Millefiori Quilts Book 2.  

Plus another surprise quilt that I haven't told anyone about. 

Plus my Glitter in Green, and two entries in the Aotearoa Quilters Lime challenge.  

Yes, I will have 5 quilts on display in Rotorua.  So my husband is flying up with me for a long weekend doing touristy things in Rotorua.  I'm looking forward to the gondolas, the boiling mud pools, a bush walk in the Redwoods Forest, etc, etc.  Plus lots of time at the quilt show.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below:

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Embroidery update

It's January, so that means long summer nights in New Zealand, and plenty of stitching.   

I'd normally be watching the Australian Open on TV right now, but the start date has been deferred to 8 February this year.   Instead I'm watching the fallout from some players having to endure 14 days in their hotel rooms (because someone on their flight tested positive for COVID once they reached Australia).  It's really going to impact on the tournament because some players can train for 5 hours a day, while others can't.  

Anyway, I've been working on three embroidery projects since Christmas.  

1. Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers.

I've finally finished page 11, so now I've done 7 out of 20 pages.  Consensus seems to be that pages 6 and 11 are the worst, and I've done both of them now, so it should be plain sailing from here.  ("Worst" as in densest stitching and most risk of error.)

2. Smoyg by Yvette Stanton

I promised to work on my Smoyg this year, and I have been. I completed the navy band in the photo below in just two nights.  Why didn't I do it earlier?

And then last night I started the large green block and I'm enjoying it. There are more colours to add to this block yet.  

So, it's looking good, but I do need to go back and complete some blocks yet. 

3. Shades of Indigo - by Northern Expressions Needlework

This wasn't on my to do list for 2021, but I've had the pattern since 2016, so surely it's OK to start one new thing.  In fact I started this piece on New Year's Day because it's a tradition among cross stitchers to start something new on 1 January.  It's a pity there's no tradition about finishing things!

This photo doesn't do it justice, but I'm using hand dyed fabric and Caron Waterlilies. 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What have you been up to this week?  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

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Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers (3rd post)

It's been quite a while since I showed you my Pandemic Sampler.  

I'm very happy with my progress to date. 

I've managed to stitch my way down to the bottom left hand corner and complete the 2020 date.  I really wanted to stitch that bit before the end of 2020.  I know this sampler won't be finished before the end of the year, but it was important to me to stitch "2020" while we were still in 2020, and in the pandemic.  

I've taken care to cross reference my stitching double check that the placement is correct.  I vowed last time not to stitch out in open areas without cross checks in place, so I stitched down the left hand margin to be sure my counting was correct.  Thankfully I've had minimal mistakes to date.  

Here's the full view again - I've done more than a quarter, but less than half. 

Some people have finished this sampler already!!! But there's no point in me stitching too fast or I'll run out of thread! The wholesaler in NZ doesn't have any more in stock and they're waiting for a new shipment (and I mean it's coming on a ship - not a plane).  Also, I want to enjoy the process and not feel that I'm rushing through it.

I'm using 2 strands of black silk on 28 count linen.

Pandemic pattern is by Long Dog Samplers.  

Now it's time for the Peacock Party. What have you been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post below. 

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Pandemic Sampler update (2nd post)

 It's been a few weeks since I showed you my Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers.  I've been working on it almost every night because it's very addictive.  My first post is here. 

I've finished 3 of the 20 pages now, so there's still a very long way to go, but I can see the beautiful designs emerging.  

I stitched pages 8, 7 and 6 with no problems, but then I travelled up to stitch page 1.  I felt it was quite risky stitching out in the open with not much to check against, so I put in a tacking thread to check.  Low and behold I was one stitch out and I had to unpick two nights work!! 

I wasn't happy, but I learnt a lesson and it won't happen again (I hope).  In a huge design like this it seems inevitable that everyone will make a mistake or two and have to unpick occasionally.  Next time I will keep closer to the existing stitches and not travel into unexplored territory.  

Dudley the Dachshund thread holder

The full view.  I started in the centre and worked to the left.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a recent blog post below:

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Pandemic Sampler by Long Dog Samplers (1st post)

I've always admired very complex cross stitch samplers.  A couple of week ago Long Dog Samplers launched a Pandemic Sampler to mark the chaos that 2020 has been.  

The full view!!!

I loved the look of the sampler, so I jumped on board and I've started it already.  

I asked my local needlework shop, Nancy's Stitch Studio, to get me in a ginormous piece of 28 count linen in Flax colourway.  I've decided to stitch my sampler with 2 stands of Madeira silk thread. I know it's going to take a tonne of thread, but silk threads are a dream to stitch with and it's hard to go back to cotton thread once you've experienced silk thread. 

 

Day 1

 

I love how it's looking so far! There's backstitching to come, but I'll do all that at the end.  That bird will have feathers in his hat to make him look even more snazzy.  

I know a lot of stitchers start their cross stitch in the top left hand corner, but I prefer to start in the centre and then I know that my design is centered.  

So what have you been up to this week? Have you started anything new?

I feel bad that I haven't had time to reply to comments or linkups lately.  My work has been busy and family life is busy too.  Everyone is making up for lost time now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted in New Zealand.  I'm on the committee for our guild's quilt show in August which is going to be fantastic.  I'm also on the local cricket club committee and we're preparing for the season. 

Don't worry - we do appreciate how fortunate we are to be free to meet again, but the price we are paying is that the borders are closed for the foreseeable future. 

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