Mary's Sampler, Part 1

I cannot express how overwhelmed I was by the incredible response to this mystery sampler! You all have been so kind and generous with your encouragement, and I am very thankful. And I'm very  excited for all of us to begin!

I worked ahead a week or two, and will continue to do so (hopefully), in order to work out any kinks and give you a heads up to anything I may do differently than what the chart calls for. But again, you're all free to make your own design and color decisions, because this will be your sampler anyway!

If any of you decide to stitch on black fabric, here are a few things to keep in mind (this will apply to those who have never stitched on black before, or have heard how challenging it can be).. stitch in natural light, or use a daylight light bulb (you can find these in Walmart or Target or home improvement stores.. they specifically say "daylight" on them, and emit a whiter light than regular bulbs, which are yellow). A hoop is also helpful for opening up those holes, and I find that placing something white on my lap - like the chart page - is helpful to see through the fabric holes.

As I said, I will be trying to stitch ahead of you; and that being the case, I've already found a change you may want to make if you're stitching on black... I'll list any changes at the bottom of the post each week. If you happen to find any errors or problems with the chart as you're stitching, I'd like to apologize ahead of time. There are definite advantages to having model stitchers who will tell you what does and doesn't work, but in this case, I'm jumping in with everyone else!

Let's begin! And thank you again for all of your kind words this week!

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IMPORTANT: The images below will not print properly if you click and print from them. Please use the links provided at the very bottom of each post to download the PDF for printing. You may also choose to use your monitor as your chart and forego any printing at all. (This will allow you to make the chart as large as you need it to be!)

ALSO NOTE: While some motifs may be identical in both samplers, please keep in mind that their placement is different. Remember to check to see that you're printing and following the correct chart each week.

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Here is my progress from this week.. I've had to blur out the bits from next week! The changes I made were these:

1. My particular skein of Portabella was a little too light to be used next to Sea Gull in Joseph and Mary's robes (this doesn't apply to those of you using the original color key!), so I switched to the color Old Hickory for this motif and like it much better.

2. Mary's hair flows right into her robe on the original key, but on black fabric, the Sea Gull makes her look like she's got gray hair. I changed her hair color back to Espresso Bean/3371 and am satisfied. :)

3. This isn't so much a change as it is an error: I miscounted and stitched Joseph one square too far over to the left. Instead of removing my stitching, I decided to compensate and stitch each of their hands with two Adobe/3773 stitches instead of just one.

HERE ARE THE LINKS IF YOU ARE STITCHING MARY'S SAMPLER I:

Download Week 1 Scripture

Download Mary's Sampler INSTRUCTIONS AND KEY

Download SMS Week 1 PRINTOUT

HERE ARE THE LINKS FOR STITCHING MARY'S SAMPLER II:

Download Week 1 Scripture

Download Mary's Sampler II INSTRUCTIONS AND KEY

Download SMS II Wk 1 PRINTOUT

 

Comments

[josette76]

Merci pour ce cadeau. Je n'ai pas encore choisi la version que je vais broder.
Bon dimanche et encore "thank's".
Josette.

[Sue Robinson]

Thanks so much for this, Paulette. I'm dashing upstairs now to see if I can find any black linen in my stash. This is going to be fun!
Sue (in Normandy)

[Vickie]

Good Morning Paulette! This is my first SAL and my first preparation for Christmas this year! Thank you so much.

[denise buchanon]

excited!!!

[Patti]

Thank you Paulette! It's great to see your start but I'm not brave enough for black fabric.

[Jackie]

Thank you Paulette. I already know this is going to be a wonderful design.
Thank you for offering it.
Blessings,
Jackie:)

[Michelle M]

Thank you! What a wonderful gift!

[Giovanna]

Thanks, Paulette!

[Christina]

Thank you.

[magda]

buon giorno Paulette!!!!
grazie per il sampler!
ciao magda

[Dede]

My Sunday afternoon watching football project! Thanks so much!

[Parsley]

Thank you! This will be fun!

[Carolyn]

Thanks Paulette! I just have to pull the threads and will be ready to start.

[Laurie in Iowa]

Thanks Paulette... Enjoy your Sunday.

[Nancy Kuelbs]

Good Sunday morning, Paulette:
I have been so excited for this to start. Thank you for this morning's start, and I love that I will be able to keep up easily through the weeks.

[Brenda]

Paulete -- Thanks so much for doing this! I'm so excited to see the design unfold:)) You are so creative and talented!

[Katherine M. in Austin]

Thanks for this gift, Paulette! I have my threads, now I just have to find my 40 ct fabric. Looking forward to the development of this design.

[Kathy Krause]

Thank you, Paulette - I'm stitching both and am glad I finished your model so I can work on this one!! It was very generous of you to offer this mystery sampler and I truly love the story behind it. Have a great Sunday!!!

[mary]

Thanks Paulette! I know this will be just as fabulous as all of your other designs! This will be a great little project for Sunday nights with DH in front of the TV!! Can't wait to get stitching!

[Jacki]

CANNOT wait to start stitching this! Thank you so much for offering this for us, and I'm so excited to participate in this Christmas stitch-a-long!!!! Happy Sunday!

[Cynthia]

Thank you so much! This is going to be so pretty! I love the scriptures to print out. I'm posting them all over the house.

[Olivia]

Thank you for sharing your talent! I love the sampler already and appreciate the fact that it's about the true meaning of Christmas. What a wonderful reminder!

[Shelly]

Good Morning, Paulette, and Thank You for this sampler! Love your designs and I know I will this one.

[Rita]

Thank you, Paulette!

[Michelle]

I have my chart printed out, my fabric on my q-snap, my threads pulled and I am ready to go!! Thank you so much for this gift you're giving each of us...not only the gift of a Sunday spent focused on Scripture, but also the gift of your talent and time. I am so excited to begin!