PLUM STREET SAMPLERS

Market Releases - Part 1

In the past, I have shared with you my love for coffee and crowns, but until recently, I don't believe I've mentioned my love for cows. 

(I guess I also love the letter c.)

Perhaps you've seen my new market releases online somewhere, but just in case you haven't, I'll be posting them here, in addition to all the supplies you'll need if you're interested in stitching any of them. And don't forget to let your shop owner know, so she/he can preorder a chart for you! :)

This is Bovinia...

Stitch count: 86w x 61h

Fabric: 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions

Threads:

Classic Colorworks in Black Coffee (the first run of charts has Black Crow listed, but this is incorrect!), Toasted Marshmallow, Pine Needles (new for market!), Joshua Tree, Cinnamon Toast, Red Currant, Used Brick, and Jakey Brown. It also uses DMC in 754.

There is mostly cross stitch over two on this chart, but the crows' faces are stitched over one thread, as well as a tiny bit of grass and Bovinia's eyes. 

The frame is by Sherri Berkman of Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia, and the model was stitched by Katrina Devine!

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Next up, we have The Milk & Cream Co...

Stitch count: 123w x 127h

Fabric: 36 ct. Vintage Pecan Butter by Lakeside Linens

Threads used:

Classic Colorworks in Black Coffee, Frosted Sage, Prairie Grass, Eggshell (2 skeins may be necessary), Pine Needles, and Joshua Tree.
Weeks Dye WorksBark and Baked Apple.
The Gentle Art in Tin Bucket.
DMC in 632, 640, 950, 3371, 3779, 3857, and 3865

Stitches used in this design are cross stitch over two threads, with cross or ten-stitch over one thread on the mini cows' eyes and noses. You'll also have a little long-stitching on the bucket's handle, and a tiny back-stitch on the milk maid's mouth.

The frame is again by Sherri Berkman of Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia, and Katrina Devine was the model stitcher! Thank you, Katrina!

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Jack's Sweet Shoppe: Woolemina is up next...

Stitch count: 74w x 70h

Fabric: 36 ct. Weathered Shingle by R&R Reproductions

Threads used:

Classic Colorworks in Persimmon, Bunny Honey, Pine Needles, Weeping Willow, Cinnamon Toast, Blushing Beauty, Hickory Sticks, and Tennessee Red Clay.
DMC in 640, 822, 950, 310, 3829, and 3813.

Stitches in this design are cross stitch over two threads, as well as a few tiny areas of over-one stitching (Woolemina's eyes, the bee, and the tiny heart). There is also a little long-stitching on the bee's wings, legs, and stinger.

This chart was originally intended for a Wilton's 4.5" tart pan (like all the other Jack's Sweet Shoppe patterns), but at the last minute, I decided I wanted to frame it instead! So Nataly Koplovsky, the model stitcher for this design, suggested the Etsy shop called Signed and Numbered, and I was immediately smitten with their frames! I chose the 4x4 Circle Opening Frame in the color White, with the finish Vintage.

By the way, Nataly also named this chart. :) Thank you, Nataly!

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Those are the first three designs! I'll be back shortly with the remaining four. :) Thank you for stopping by, and have a great Monday! 

 

Correction!

When I wrote up the instructions on the Noah's Welcome Mat (found a couple of posts down, or in the "Freebie" category in the right sidebar), I didn't realize that I had said to stitch the design with one strand over one linen thread. The design was definitely stitched over TWO linen threads!

My sincerest apologies!

Releases for July

Good morning!

I used to be an early riser.

For years it was 5 am, and then I went through a phase of 3:45 that I didn't love much, but grew to. This year I suddenly joined the 6:30 club, which I also don't care for, because I generally feel that by 7 am, my day is half over. I am happiest in the zero-five-hundred-hours range.

This morning I woke up at my beloved 5:15, which has given me lots of ambition for the day. And that translates to another blog post, right on the heels of yesterday's post. That never happens! 

(After reading over what I've written, I do realize that it's a sorry state when "ambition" is defined as one blog post per day for two consecutive days.)

So here I am, coming to you with information about my latest releases, as well as a chart error or two that I've been made aware of.

The new patterns I've just shipped to shops this week are these:

A Thousand Hills... I posted about this one on Instagram, bc I've recently fallen in love with bovines. Katrina Devine stitched this (as well as converted the DMC palette to beautiful overdyed flosses), and her little granddaughter Ellie seemed to enjoy watching her stitch it, which made me smile. It made me happy that Sophie immediately claimed the sampler for herself - which also never happens.

The linen used for this sampler is 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions, and the threads used are Classic Colorworks in Tennessee Red Clay, Deep Fennel, Egg Shell, Sunkissed, Pea Pod (2 skeins suggested), Avocado, Hickory Sticks, Ye Olde Gold, Cinnamon Toast, Black Coffee, and Red Currant; Weeks Dye Works floss in Schneckley and Havana.

The stitch count is 156w x 194h, and it is mostly cross stitch over two linen threads, with the tiny black birds stitched over one thread.

THE FOLLOWING IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Berry Cottage... This one is sort of a follow-up to A Red Cottage, released a few years back. At first I had this dubbed "A Plum Cottage," but something about it wasn't working for me - and that's when I realized it was the color. So I changed it to a rosewood color, added some berries, and found I liked it much better!

This model was stitched by the delightful Penny Houser, and the linen she used was R&R Reproductions' 36 ct. Patriot's Brew. The colors used were Classic Colorworks in Tennessee Red Clay, Used Brick, Bunny Honey, Weeping Willow, Muddy Puddle, Cinnamon Toast, Blackbird, and Red Currant; Weeks Dye Works in Sandcastle and Schneckley.

The stitch count for Berry Cottage is 112w x 83h, and it is stitched mostly in cross stitch over two linen threads, with the miniature cottage stitched over one thread.

Judge Not... I almost didn't release this one! I just wasn't sure if it was going to be a keeper when I sent it to Penny to stitch, but when I got the model back from Sherri (the Fabulous Framer at Total Framing in Fairfax, Virginia), I kind of liked it! 

This was stitched on 36 ct. Stars Hollow Blend by R&R Reproductions, and uses colors by Classic Colorworks in Shabby Sheep, Muddy Puddle, Tea and Biscuits (don't you love that name?), Whatley Woodlands, River Rocks, Blackbird, Bunny Honey, Hickory Sticks, Cherry Cobbler, and Toasted Marshmallow.

The stitch count is 223w x 91h, and it is worked entirely in cross stitch over two threads.

Sampler House III... I've been asked how many will be in this series, and I'm not quite sure of the answer to that. I had originally decided on five, but when I decided to release them in pairs, that turned to six, and if I come up with any more ideas, then that will turn to eight, and if I find that I've awakened at 3:45 again one of these mornings, that will turn into ten, and so on. You get the picture.

Pat Ryan stitched this model on 36 ct. Stars Hollow Blend by R&R Reproductions. The threads used are as follows: Classic Colorworks in Antique Lace, Blue Corn, Hickory Sticks, Blackbird, and Ye Olde Gold (on the key on the chart, I accidentally forgot to indicate that those last three colors are by Classic Colorworks also); Weeks Dye Works in Lancaster Red and Garrison Green (my new favorite green); The Gentle Art in Schoolhouse Red.

The stitch count is 98w x 99h (all of the Sampler Houses will be approximately the same size, by the way), and it was worked entirely in cross stitch over two threads.

The finishing was done by the talented Joy Hayward of Finely Finished.

Sampler House IV... Katrina Devine stitched this fall-themed house, and I love the colors she chose to convert to for this one as well! 

The model was stitched on 36 ct. Winter Brew by R&R Reproductions, and these are the threads used: Classic Colorworks in Olive Branch; Weeks Dye Works in Tiger's Eye, Havana, Terra Cotta, Caper, Grapevine, Charcoal, and Schneckley; The Gentle Art in Mulberry.

The stitch count for this is 98w x 99h, and the chart is worked entirely in cross stitch over two linen threads.

This one was also beautifully finished by Joy Hayward of Finely Finished.

And there you have it! Those are my releases for this month! I will be pre-releasing some new things at the Dyeing to Stitch retreat in September, as well as the Shepherd's Bush retreat class piece, Heritage Sampler. (Pat is busy working that onto a piece of 36 ct. Olde Towne Blend.) Then in early October, that set will begin making their way to your local shop.

Before I leave, I have one more chart clarification to make:

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I'll return soon with more of the long weekend in Tulsa!

Corrections!

My goodness!

I do my very best to proof my charts for spelling errors, color key consistences, and anything else that is important for stitching a pattern, but it seems that my accuracy record leaves much to be desired lately.

For that, I'm terribly sorry. I know it causes great inconvenience to stitchers who think they've got all the threads they need, but one is missing (because it wasn't on the key), or they're confused as to where in a chart a symbol is, when it's marked on the key, but is mysteriously missing from the chart itself. Unfortunately, these are some of the errors I've made lately, and I hope I haven't caused too much irritation.

Below you'll find some of the corrections that have come to my attention recently. I thank you very much for your patience, and hope that, in the future, I'll be able to spot these things before they get sent off to the printer and mailed to the shop owners!

Promised Lamb...
There is a heart symbol for Wood Smoke (Gentle Art) on the color key, but on the chart, Wood Smoke uses a small checkerboard square symbol. Therefore, everywhere you see a checkerboard symbol, please pretend it's a heart!

Cinnamon Stars...The check-mark symbol on the house is Oatmeal (Gentle Art), which was left off of the key entirely.

(The angle of this photo reminds me of Dorothy's house blowing away in the Wizard of Oz!)

A Red Cottage...
The color Wood Smoke (Gentle Art) was omitted from the model at the last minute, yet I forgot to remove it from the key. I'm very sorry if you purchased a skein of floss you didn't need.

His & Hers Thanksgiving Stockings...
Mrs. Pilgrim's hair is stitched in Onyx, as you may be able to tell from the chart, but her symbol is wrong. In this case, the symbol for her hair should be an X, like what you find in Mr. Pilgrim's outfit.

Winter Wienerland...
This isn't so much as an error as it is a bit of a discrepancy; the color key offers the option of stitching with DMC instead of Gentle Art threads, and I used the color 3859 for Old Red Paint. It's come to my attention that in some shop owner's inventories, there is no color labeled 3859 (although it is in my DMC catalog). In this case, you could use the color 407 or 3772 instead. Keep in mind that I design in DMC first, and then convert the DMC colors to the overdyed floss I have in my inventory, which may or may not be of the same dye lot as what you'll find in your shop. If this is the case, please don't hesitate to use something you like as a substitution! Many stitchers are afraid of doing this because they feel that the designer chose the color listed because it's the perfect color for the piece, but this isn't the case; it's a matter of opinion, so allow yourself the gift of your own opinion if you'd like to substitute something. :)

I sure hope this is everything! If I've missed something, feel free to let me know about it.

I'm going to try very hard not to make any more goofs, but I know they will happen. I just ask for your continued patience when I do!

I hope you all are enjoying this brand new week we've been blessed with so far.. I've been trying to teach myself to knit in between Christmas shopping and a myriad of errands, as well as working here and there on an old work-in-progress of mine called Ruth Bacheler (by The Scarlet Letter; I'm so in love with all the pinks and greens! Why do I ever put it down? Oh yeah... because there are about 8.2 million satin stitches in it, and as many color changes. But it will be so worth it when it's finished!)

Darn that Scarlet Letter... not a single error yet, and I'm 2/3 of the way finished with it. ;)

Happy 2 Years!

I began my blogging adventure back in 2004, and this many years later I'm still having an awful lot of fun with it. It's amazing to me that so many of you will take time out of your day to visit and see what's up in this crazy family of mine, or perhaps check to see if - by some remote chance - I've posted something stitching-related. (I actually do that sometimes!)

Two years ago I made the move from my Xanga blog to this one, and to celebrate the anniversary of my "new" blog, I will once again be giving away 5 Plum Street Samplers charts to a random commenter to this post. (Deep breaths, Mom. I realize commenter isn't a real word.)

Here's the don'tcha-know:

1. Simply leave a comment under this post.
2. One entry per person, please!
3. The winner may choose 5 currently-released Plum Street Samplers charts.

Here are some examples...

The winner will be announced on Wednesday!

And speaking of charts, I have to interject a quick correction to the information for Olga: The model info states that I stitched her over 1 linen thread. Not so! (I run for the hills when I see "over one thread," bc these eyes of mine can't manage it on their own any more.)  I stitched it over 2 threads, and I'd like to thank Bonnie for asking the question, "Did you really stitch that over one thread? I'm impressed!"  Sorry to disappoint you, Bonnie. I promise I'll design something for over one thread soon, but it will have to be on 8 count fabric.

Thank you again, with all my heart, for being such kindhearted readers. Your warm comments and sweet emails mean so much, and I'm very happy to have made so many new friendships through this blog of mine.

If you decide to enter, good luck!

Hares' Christmas

We're back from Colorado! My house is a mess! And I don't care!

I am sooooo happy to be home, despite the fact that we had a fantastic time skiing..  the only disappointment of the whole trip was that Bre couldn't be with us bc she had classes to attend. (Btw, I'm very proud of you, Breanna, for updating your blog more frequently. It keeps me from being tempted to wander over to your Facebook page to see your other college experiences, which in turn could possibly give me a heart attack.)(Just kidding.)

As promised, I'm going to show you the new Hares' Christmas, to be released during the Online Needlework Show on April 15th. It will be on the Kelmscott Designs page, so if you'd like to order one, let your local or online needlework shop know, and if they're registered with the show, they can order it for you.

***Before posting the photo though, I have an IMPORTANT CHART CORRECTION to let you know about! It has been brought to my attention that there is a centering error on the Garden of Eerie chart. The chart marks the center point (for those of you who start in the middle) at 98 wide and 126 high. The actual center marks are 98 wide and 77 high. (When designing this chart, I added the supplemental alphabet at the last minute, and overlooked the incorrect centering marks; the incorrect marks include the alphabet to be stitched in the design, and it's not supposed to be.) You have my sincerest apologies for the oversight.***

Okay, here is Hares' Christmas! It's a little larger than the other Hares designs (134w x 77h) and retails for $9.00. (The price increase is due to necessary packaging and printing changes.) It uses Gentle Arts Sampler Threads in the following colors:

Raven
Roasted Marshmallow
Cameo Pink
Brandy
Old Hickory
Weathered Barn
Endive
Baby Spinach
Portabella
Wood Trail
Cornhusk
Apple Cider

The fabric I chose is 36 ct. Vintage Buttercream by Lakeside Linens. If you like the mini pompom trim, I bought it at Wal-Mart, and it was originally pure white. I liked it better after a Lipton tea bath!

 

I hope you like it! For once, I've gotten something seasonal released in plenty of time to stitch it! ;)

Some of My Today

My little Sophie stayed home from school today (just like yesterday) with some sort of stomach bug and headache that doesn't seem to want to go away. So she stayed in her comfy jams and watched a movie (Spy Kids) and kept me company while I packed charts.

 

She couldn't get warm, so after giving me several cozy hugs, she decided to take matters into her own hands and fetch the toe-socks she got for Christmas from her Pops. Seeing her little feet in them made me giggle, so I had to take a picture.

 

I thought they matched her snowman pj's quite well.

After my charts were packed and ready to be mailed, I decided to make bread in the bread machine. Mmmmm... there's nothing like the aroma of yeast filling the house... it's not as good as the way Sophie's hair smells when she's giving me those cozy hugs, but it's close.

 

Sophie wasn't the only one keeping me company.

 

Okay, I gave in a shared some. I admit it. It would be cruel not to, since he was oh-so-close.

And that's mostly how I spent my today. :)

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Btw, it was brought to my attention today that on the model info for the Thirteen Owls chart, it says the design was stitched on 40 ct. over 1 linen thread. This is incorrect, as there's no way I would stitch anything on 40 ct. over 1 linen thread. I leave that kind of stuff to my Model Stitcher Extraordinaire. (It's a good thing I live far away from her, or she'd be pounding on my door, holding a torch, and shouting something about 'killing the beast' with all the townspeople chanting along with her.)

My apologies for the oversight! It won't affect how your chart turns out, but I'd sure hate for you to torture yourself. Thank you, Bonnie, for letting me know. (Bonnie is one, in fact, who would gladly stitch it over 1 thread. Please don't cry, Bonnie - you can still "stitch it tiny," as you like to say!)

Toil and Trouble Double Troubles!

No, this isn't the name of a new chart, don't worry. Instead, it's a blog entry dedicated to clearing up the confusion caused by erroneous symbols on the "Toil and Trouble" chart. AAAARGH! 

I'd like to offer my sincerest apology to those of you who ended up with an incorrect chart when you purchased them from your needlework shop. After many emails regarding the puzzling mystery symbols, I finally figured out what happened:

After I stitched the model, I opened up the program containing the chart and made certain changes that would make the chart symbols easier to read, as well as switching around a tree color or two and filling in an empty smoke swirl that was rising from the chimney on the left side of the house.

With the changes in place, I got up from the computer to do something else, like going to buy milk for the children or something. Yes, I'm sure that's what I did... However, while I was absent from the computer, one of those lovely children decided to close the program WITHOUT saving my changes, and a few hours later I was happily copying out bazillions of charts that I assumed were correct. The rest is history.

Here are the changes I made, which will coincide with the floss key the way they were meant to:

On the left side of the house:

Tree #1 - should be a filled-in circle symbol (Gingersnap/DMC 918).

Tree #4, behind house - should be a number "1" symbol (Weathered Barn/DMC 902). Optional fill in smoke swirl with same tree color.

On the right side of the house:

Third tree in from the far right - should be a slant symbol (Dried Thyme/DMC 3011).

All stars should be filled in (in the blank spaces) with Summer Meadow.

That about covers it. Again, I'm very sorry for the confusion... I certainly hope this doesn't discourage you in your stitching of the design. If you have any other questions, I'm just an email away.