Sampler Christmas Tree

Several years ago, at a Cheekwood EGA gathering, Martha was working on a sampler which was shaped like a Christmas tree.  Martha's sampler Christmas tree was awesome.  When I talked to Martha about the piece, she graciously shared the designer name, fibers, etc.  Since I love Christmas and samplers will always be my first love, I could hardly wait to start stitching.  The rest is the stitch history of my life.  I zipped through stitching the alphabet and then came the metallic fibers.  Gloom, despair and agony for me!  Since I do not like stitching with metallic fibers, the sampler Christmas tree went to the bottom of the heap and stayed there for years.  In a weak moment of guilt, while I was facing my stitch addiction, I made the decision to focus on unfinished projects.  I am still in the twelve steps of stitching recovery and will be for life.  Step four:  I will make an inventory of unfinished projects.  Yikes!  The twelve step program can be brutal, I don't think I like this program so much.  The piece came out of the bottom of the heap, I found new resolve, faced those metallic fibers and the piece was finally finished.  I gave the framer carte blanche in framing.