A fun little break! Serendipity..

I have been having a lot of fun with all my projects but last weekend I realized that all of them are 'intricate and serious' ones...and all of them take lots of time and concentration.

I was getting a bit envious of the 'fun little pieces' (some of which are in my stash) and 'all done' posts in various groups on Facebook.

 I even looked through all my 'easier' projects but did not dare start any since all of them were fairly big and I did not want to add to the WIPs - just was itching to stitch a fun piece this summer.

Now,  as luck would have it, just by chance, the administrator of one of the Facebook groups announced earlier this month that she would be offering a 'Mystery sampler stitch along' and that if one is interested one needs to sign up by the deadline.  So, throwing all reason to the side, I signed up right away!  I wondered about this since I have never done a 'mystery' sampler or a stitch along yet ... Some of the details were released once the deadline had passed. I read all the posts and the color choices everyone was posting with interest. It was going to be a Quaker style sampler and I have some larger ones in my stash and I always wonder about getting 'Ann Grimshaw' from The Scarlet Letter... 

And finally today the first page was posted.  You have to finish stitching the page, email a picture to the administrator and then she will email the next page to you - kind of a neat concept!  But it pushes me out of my comfort zone big time!!!  

I had been thinking of color schemes all these days and had some ideas in mind BUT today I decided to just open up only two drawers for linen (32ct and 36/40ct.) and for silk/floss each and make a decision on the spot  and just 'go with it' since I did not need another project to spend energy 'thinking about things'.  All I knew was that this mystery sampler was going to be in the Quaker style... 

Within 5 minutes all decisions were made! 

 I found a perfect left over piece of linen in the 32 ct. drawer - antique white ; pulled a few silks out and then my eyes fell on two cards of 100% bamboo floss (in a dark taupe green - sort of 'Quakerish' don't you think?) ... I had bought these for one of my Mastercraftman designs and then decided to stick with traditional silks for the submission ... 

So, just within 5 minutes I came down with my linen, thread and hoops (!) and even pulled my book on Quaker samplers off the bookshelf.  I had not read or looked at it for ages!   

I tried convincing myself that I could just get started without too much preparation and that I should just try to make this a project that is very portable - either stitch in hand or with a hand held hoop.

Well, that started me thinking ... Mystery sampler, no preparation on the linen, stitching in hand or  holding the hoop in one hand...perfect way to 'mess up' what was supposed to be a simple and fun summer interlude!  So, you guessed it, I resolved to at least grid the linen in hand so that I could see if I could get used to it some more.... Took 'forever' or so it seemed, I tried ignoring the wrinkling  and the edges .... And right after I gridded things I marched back upstairs, put the  hoops back in their drawer, serged the edges of the linen, picked out the right size scroll rods, ironed my linen and framed up ... I wasted more time trying to 'work in hand' than just doing things the way I always do!  I will still try the hoops with this project but just wanted to get the page stitched today!

I already have a name for this sampler - I will call it 'Serendipity'; I also know how I would like to finish this ... And possibly even what may be my additions to this project... So this will remain a mystery to you for a while ....

 I love the fact that I am using items I already had... I could have used a thicker linen also - but this fit the bill as it made me use something I had opened and cut a piece from  in 2006... 

Since this is a mystery sampler I cannot post pictures here ...  Here are pictures of my materials gathered up ... And the backside of my project about 15 minutes in....I think that may be okay ... 

So now I await the second page ... 

And am going back to Frances Cheyney while I wait for the email....

A Quaker Mystery Stitch a long