Finally a finish - November 2020

 I enjoyed every stitch in this series.  I made some changes but kept everything Prairie Schooler! Hopefully will get it framed and up on a wall sometime this year!

U is for unlock - and path for my next step

 I only had a couple of hours needed to finish this one when I took out my ABC this week.

I changed just slightly the woman’s hairdo. The contrast of the reds in the lock is bad, but I won’t take it out (it is not a very eye catching detail.)

My favourite part is the cloud. So beautifully stylised. It is amazing. The keys are lovely too.

I have now finished

ABC

JKL and

STU.

The next letter will be M, as I am still undecided about D. I won’t stitch anything reminding me of war or patriotism (even for my own country.) I would love to find a suitable motive for Dancing or Drawing or something like that. Any suggestion is welcome.

I hope someone is still reading this! ;-) 

T is for time

 I absolutely adore this one. 

I seem to remember having changed one colour or two for a better contrast (maybe the light blue and/or some of the sun/moon yellow?) but I stitched it long ago.

S is for sewing

 Coming back to my ABC. Here is my finished S. I had to fudge a bit on this one as it was wider than P. But I am very happy with the outcome.

I have completely finished the cartouche because the words are about textile arts and those will be true to the original.

WIP Sewing

i only just realised why the stitches in my pedal do not match the pattern: S is for Sewing is larger by one stitch than P. And I did make a mistake in my yard stick: near the second needle, close to the number 4, a quarter of an inch has three stitches instead of four.

I almost freaked out. But there is no way I will frog all this. So I decided I will fudge a bit through the sewing machine and the rest of the pattern and no one will be able to tell. Because if I did not see it before, it must be pretty invisible.

Conclusion: S is 70 wide. And now I see that U is 101 high so I will be careful.
I really should have checked before. I am pretty sure I noted this two years ago but I had forgotten. Ah well...

J is for Jack - O - Lantern

Perfect timing to stitch the letter J in the month of October.  This is one of my favorites because of its simplicity. Once the pumpkin was outlined - it was an easy stitch.  I have 11 more letters to go, so I have plans to finish this up by the end of next year if I stitch one per month.  xoxoxo

K is for Kitty

Still stitching away on the alphabet - really enjoyed this little cat - I just love his expression! I changed up the whiskers but other than that it is as charted.  I enjoy each letter and so I don't care how long it takes me.  Happy stitching ! meow!!

Still Stitching away!!

Hello fellow stitchers!! Matilda here! Anyone else still working away on the ABCs? I dropped down from the top row to Rabbit and just got that Wabbit done! Moving down another row to the Z! Yes, because for some reason that makes more sense in my head so I can roll the fabric from right to left as I proceed! Not many changes on this block! Really like the Giant Rabbit sitting in the Veggies.
Happy Stitching!
Matilda

C is for Cow

I replaced the cow jumping over the moon with the cow from Booklet No. 94 Barnyard Christmas.  I will keep it simple here - if you can live without harming others - why wouldn't you.  This is how I try to live.  Cows (and all animals) want to live.  Animals are here with us, not for us.  We are all one.

D is for drum.  I changed out the eagle's head to dmc ecru and back-stitched it.  Also changed the letter D to a gold color that I thought would show up better in the dark block.  I am happily stitching along on this lovely project. 

E is for Embroidery

My first finish for January 2018 - I took Matilda's idea and replaced the little kitty with a spool of thread. Otherwise i used all the called for threads.  Happy New Year everyone!

Happy December!
Don't know if I'm the only stitcher still working on the ABC's but I am so enjoying it! Finished up the first row, Letter 9 "I", so that is one a month for nine months. 😏 Yes, it will take 2 years at this rate, but in between all of the other projects I do....I just keep stitching away on it! My Indian has a peace pipe instead of a bow and arrow, a suggestion from another stitcher! Even stuck a feather on the end of the pipe. I'm really happy with this letter!
Happy Holidays to all the stitchers out there and
Happy Stitching!
Matilda

Here I am...
Finished up with H! Lots of life-interuptus...on this one! I hate when life interrupts my stitching life, don't you all too? But Honey is done, and it's a pretty one, although the Hives were a little repetitive!😄 Now onto I, the last letter in the top row!
Happy Stitching you all!
Matilda

Hi all! Finished up
G is for Garden. Really loved this one with the flowers and the small cottage and lots of green! Played a bit with the flowers on the bottom, mixed some colors together.
On to H!
Happy Stitching!
Matilda

L is for Leaves . . .

Another fun stitch in the alphabet! (since I took this photograph, I did fill in the missing stitch by the deer's back leg.)

Another Letter Down! Really Like My "F is for Friend."
Little mistake about number of rows between letters, will just have to adjust on down the rows on the bottom letters😟
Changed the thread for the bottom left key/heart to pink, matched the pink in the hand. (Pink as in, from the dmc colors for this project!)
Changed the left hair to match my sister, my hair for the right friend.
I am so much enjoying this project, biggest one I have ever attempted. I encourage all you stitchers out there to not be afraid to try this or any other big project that you can do bit by bit. I usually stitch a 'small' project between each letter to give me a

feeling of getting things done!
Happy Stitching!

Matilda

F is for Friend

I stitched this one in memory of my dear friend Leticia.  We were born 4 days apart and met when we were 5 years old.  We remained the best of friends for the next 50 years until she passed away from brain cancer.  I think of her everyday and so thought it was fitting to stitch her initials on the door.  Other than that, I used all the called for dmc as charted.

G is for Garden

another finish on this fun alphabet - the only change I made to this is that I left out the vines around the gazebo.  They didn't appeal to me.  also, there are a few mistakes that I can live with.

Moving on into the hot days of summer here! And very happy with E is for Embroidery! Took care of the strange 3 legged cat by adding another spool of thread instead. Also borrowed someone's idea and long stitched the thread on the spools. Red headed woman for me, and red shoes in honor of Dorothy from OZ! What fun.
Happy stitching.
Matilda

Those pesky odd numbers

Hi, ladies and gents if any! Vonna just let me in on the fun! I got the final charts for the alphabet this week, and I'm planning how to arrange it. I've looked at a lot of configurations online, and I'm going to do the most common - 9 across, three down, on the Wichelt 32 ct lambswool linen that is usually called for by PS on most of its charts.


Now the big question: Most of the charts are 100 x 70 stitches. However, some are 101 x 72, some of 101 x 70, and some are 100 x 72. How do you make all of those work? I had thought of making an outline grid then float each design inside, so the size of each isn't evident. Have any of you done it that way?


Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!


Susanna
A stitcher for 35 years and I still love it.

Whew.....another letter done!

Now I know why other folks were talking
about D is for Drum being a challenge. I must admit this one was the most stressful for me....I changed the Eagle to a Golden Hawk, The Eagle seemed too dark and angry for me! :)
I chose a different color for the Drum itself, as I was happy with the one Flag up in the right corner.
Center blue is the same blue called for the top and bottom. I changed the green inside the drum to Olive since I thought the other green was lost in the red drum.  I'm very happy with it and even like my silly Golden Bird!
On to E! Woo Hoo!
Matilda

Honey is for bees and H is for hive

Just finished my version of the letter H.  I substituted the bee and the honeycomb from Prairie Schooler book no. 193

K done L in progress +TIP

As I stitch L I realise I haven't share my K with you.
A tip for the letter L: it is very easy to adjust the height of the pattern (it is one row higher than most of the patterns) by sustracting one of the two darker green rows on the ground. (Rows 25 and 26 counting from the bottom of the pattern) this is what I did and you can see that K and L align perfectly then.

Special thanks for my artsy photo helper!

Hello!  Today marks 6 weeks since I started my version of the Prairie Schooler ABC sampler.  Time is flying...and my needle seemed to be flying until I got to the letter D.  It took me almost 2 weeks to finish!  And I faced my first "big" mistake.  I stitched the base of the drum with only 4 rows of blue instead of 5.  Unfortunately, I did not realize this until a good 60% of the red body of the drum had been stitched.  I went back and forth about whether to frog it because these kind of things bother me, but finally decided to let it be and adjust the placement of the drumsticks above to make it fill the space evenly.  I am happy with the result, for which I am grateful!

I have finally settled on using DMC 221 for the red.  This means that at some point I will frog the red house in the B block and replace the DMC 498 that is there now with the 221.  I will leave the berries as DMC 498, though.  I have also chosen to make the design on the blue bowl white instead of black as it reminds me of a vintage Pyrex bowl I cherish.

I did replace the cow's spots in block C with white instead of the called-for color.  I thought it would stand out against the cream linen well enough, but it did not, so I backstitched where I could with a gold thread.  This only offered a slight improvement, but I am leaving it be for now.  I also replaced the bird in the upper right hand corner of block C with a shining sun.  I had enough of the black birds in the B block.

I have only gotten a couple hours start into block E.  I am very excited about this block as well as block F!  They are so pretty and look like fun.  There are other blocks I anticipate dreading, but we shall take it one block at a time.  :)

I am enjoying seeing everyone's progress and appreciate the recent increase in activity on this blog!  It is so fun to know there are other stitchers out there with a similar goal.  Please do forgive me for my poor photography skills.  I do have other close-up pictures, but they came out sideways and I don't have time to fiddle with them as my daughter needs help with her math problems right now.  Till next time, enjoy your stitching time, and may the Lord bless you!

Kristina

I is for a Indian Corn

I replaced the bow and arrow with a peaceful crow for my version of the letter I

Just found this  A B C blog!
I love looking at all of the different ideas that other's use on the same Prairie Schooler patterns!
I will try to upload my progress....just starting "D"!
Matilda

My progress...

My progress on the alphabet - I started this in the fall of 2016 - starting with the letter N.  I am stitching this on 32ct Lambswool by Wichelt using the called for DMC colors.  I will be making a few changes along the way.  The parrot is not caged in, he is free to fly away (a caged bird is the saddest thing).  I'm sure he won't go to far, as this piece is so much fun.  I hope to get better at taking photographs to show my progress.

I am really not "all talk" after all!  ;)  I finally started my Prairie Schooler ABC sampler two weeks ago on Wednesday, April 19th.  I am stitching it on 36 count cream linen (sorry photo does not reflect colors properly), 1 over 2. 

I am using DMC thread and have found that I need to substitute a few colors.  The called-for red is really very brown.  I want a dark red, a colonial red, if you know what I mean.  I have tried DMC 221 and DMC 498.  I would prefer a shade between the two ("of course", because I am never able to be pleased?!).  I have used both reds so far with the idea that I will frog one and replace it with the one I am settled upon, once I decide.  (The  crab is in DMC 22, and I do like how it looks.  I prefer the DMC 498 used for the berries in the B block).  I have also had to substitute the gold DMC 420 with DMC 680, the light gold DMC 3828 with DMC 676, and will be substituting something for the called-for pink.  If I were more particular, I would have also replaced some of the greens - there is not enough contrast between the called-for threads on the fish in the A block, but after all the frogging and changing I have already done, it looks good enough for me, so I am pressing on.

I am very excited about this project.  I look forward to sharing this journey with you!  :)

WIP - K is for Kitty

Little Miss Kitty is doing well. She took a bath today : I spilled some herbal tea on my stitching and thought it safer to wash the whole cloth. The floss lost some shine, but everything is clean and good.

Kitty cat is surprised

Someone is very astonished to have been started after a month's hiatus.
I believe I choose the wrong green for the eye and will from to stitch them in 3012.

ABC : 1/9 done

About a month ago, I forgot to publish the photo of my first three letters completed.
I was very happy to have done them in less than two months.

Over the moon...

Like my cow!
C is my first finished letter and I am very, very happy with it.
(DMCs on 32 ct raw linen, colour changes as I see fit)

ABC growing in the sun

I hope to finish the three first letters before the end of February. I would say it is doable. Would you?
Oops! Forgot to publish it last week! I am here to show the finished cow but I like this photo, so you will have two posts for the price of one today. ;-)

One bird less

On the pie, there are now only three little birds. Some colours changed.
I am stitching the small cow, and looking forward to the big one. Floss is on the way...

Slowly going

Here is my progress on the Prairie Schooler alphabet series.

I am playing around the fact that I am missing lots of threads. 
I finally order a big bunch of them yesterday. I may have enough, or not. Which does not matter as there are so many colours in this the dye lots won’t be visible.

I love love it. I keep inventing stories, having remembrance, plotting secret messages, family references...
And I am changing colours without taking note, because I am sooooo daring! 
;-)

The Journey has begun

As publishing via Flickr was not as easy with my tablet, I am trying to share via email.
My second paragraph of text was lost in the process, but it is really easier to post like this. I set it to "save as a draft" and add the text before publishing.

The red is 221.
I ran out of 3371 and miss many colours for A, so my progress will slow down. I am really happy with my choice of fabric, count and setting. I am doing 9x3 on one piece of 32 ct raw linen.

Starting today - floss usage?

Or yesterday, to be precise, my journey with the PC ABC finally started.
I have been admiring many wonderful realisations on this blog, and decided to share here my progress.

I am cross stitching two over two on 32 count natural linen, which is my preferred technique. I hesitated to choose a larger count to obtain a smaller FO, but I prefer to be comfortable while stitching so many hours.

I already modified the red on the compass and flag, because I don't have 3857 and 221 looks very close. I just wanted to start!
Now I am running out of the little bit of 3371 I had left in my stash. So it is time to ask anyone who still reads here about floss usage. Did anyone noted theirs? DMC floss is ridiculously expensive in Switzerland and it would be useful to plan my orders wisely.

Here is an image of my very first stitches. Since then I have almost finished the black parts of the ship.

Question about how to get started

I have a question. I am just starting to stitch the whole alphabet in 3 rows of 9 and was wondering how far apart do I stitch each letter to make it all line up even?

A Wonderful Conclusion

I thought this day would never come, but here it finally is with the most wonderful sense of conclusion. I am so thankful to have stumbled across the beautiful work of so many women who came together to stitch the Prairie Schooler Alphabet.

I wanted my sampler to reflect my love of mystery and the thrill of discovery; and came up with the idea of an I Spy an Alphabet theme.

Hidden within my 15" x 15" margins, (28ct Natural Linen), are 26 Alphabet Letters, 26 Alphabet Words, 26 Spelling Bees, and 26 Alphabet Motifs all taken from the original patterns. So can you find them all?

 
I tell you I make my own self giggle as I come up short each time I try and count the bees! I will tell you I have been tricky with my purposeful misleading placement of words and motifs. There is one glaring mistake in the sampler that is original to the patterns. Did everyone catch it as they stitched? It took me awhile to notice.

Spoiler Alert: Here are the answers:

WORDS:  Arrow, Bark, Compass, Dog, Eagle, Flag, Grape, Hour, Indian Corn, Joy, Key, Leaf, Moo, Nest, Oriole, Pineapple, Quip, Rain, Soar, Tweet, Umbrella (2, Because you always need a backup!), Vine, Welcome, X-Stitch, Yarn, Zinnia.
MOTIFS: A-anchor, B-bee hive, C-compass, D-dog, E-eagle, F-flag (Backwards per original pattern), G-grapes, H-Heart-in-Hand, I-Indian, J-Jack-o-Lantern, K-kitty, L-leaf, M-moon, N-next, O-owl
(In tree.), P-pineapple, Q-quilt block, R-radish, S-sewing basket, T-thistle, U-umbrella, V-vine (Parrot's cage), W-watering can, X-X-Stitch (The Entire Piece!), Y-yarn, Z-zinnia.

Thank you so much ladies for letting me join in on the fun that is the Prairie Schooler ABC Bee. It was a joyful experience. Elizabeth

The Big Question!

I truly feel as though I am in a race to the FINISH and all the other horses are trying to crowd me out. My goal with my sampler is to contain within it's 15" border: 26 Alphabet Letters, 26 Large Motifs, 26 Over-one Thread Motifs, and 26 Alphabet Words. Whew! See what I mean?

To create a bit of order, I am stitching all of the Alphabet Words in DMC 221. I have also positioned them purposefully only threads apart from one of the motifs. You just can't have words floating about!

I'm giggling to myself at how I have had to remind myself to move my Q-Snap often so as not to over stitch one particular area. The big question now is where on earth will I squeeze in J for Jonquil and it's corresponding motif! Happy Stitching to you All!