Emma's Second Basket

Here is Emma Lerch's second basket.  Emma loved her some color.  

Emma, my kind of stitching girl--just like the border the baskets may look the same--they are not.  The colors in the two baskets are just a tad different and just like the border, Emma has added and dropped a stitch here and there.  Was she bored, not paying attention, waiting for floss?  

The poor house desperately needs a roof and window treatment.  Desperately trying to finish Emma--full schedule, pollen not playing nice with eye allergies and an out of town meeting with family.  Yikes! The third and final basket may have to wait a few days longer.

Emma's basket

My stitching ambitions for the week were greater than my time.  This is one of the three baskets on Emma Lerch's sampler.  Colorful isn't it?  I wasn't sure I liked the basket but now that it is stitched I am liking it better.

A tiny start on the second basket--the colors in this basket are also very bold and I'm struggling with stitching them as charted or choosing toned down colors.

LNS (Nashville Needleworks) to the rescue!  Yes, it's a match and no excuses for not completing the stitching of the meadow.

Shopping at second hand stores is one of my favorite things to do--one never knows what treasures are waiting to be found and rescued.

This is a new to me designer--I think this will be a perfect fit for my second hand find!

The outside temperature is 34 degrees and a wintry mix of rain and snow (slush) is in the afternoon forecast.  Music City like many cities is having a very late spring.  While I am waiting for the temperatures to warm, my basil is patiently waiting inside.  No outside gardening today--more stitching on flower baskets inside where the temps are warm and toasty.

2214 Medium dark olive green

Emma Lerch 1843

Scarlet Letter

Mystery linen over dyed with walnut crystals

AVAS Fibers

Emma and I have been busy--two weeks ago at the Homespun Gathering, Emma's border was not finished, her house had no upstairs and there was no tree.

There was much more of the border which needed to be completed than I had originally thought.  As I was making photos, I noticed a missed stitch in one of the border flowers.

After completing the border and adding the upstairs to the house, I directed my stitching efforts to the tree.  Oh Emma is such a girl after my own heart.  Like the border, the leaves of the tree may appear to be symmetrical, they are not.  Once again, an extra stitch here a dropped stitch there.  Notice the way Emma has the major branches of the tree stitched but does not connect all the leaves to the tree.

Emma must have liked baskets--there are three in her samplers.  I haven't stitched any of them.  This week my stitching focus will be on Emma's baskets.

While stitching the leaves on Emma's tree, I realized I have a huge color challenge/problem.  I have run out of 2214.  The huge meadow is stitched with 2214.  When I looked through my AVAS fiber box, I thought everything was okay when I found the above skein.  Nope--there is a huge difference between 2214 and 2214 T.  Am off to Nashville Needleworks, hoping they have the matching color of the meadow grass.  I'm going to do like Emma would have done, stitchers before me would have done and Grandmother Bessie definitely would have done:  I'm going to find a way to make it work!  I may have to do some backstitching or I may have to shop at more than one store, I'm going to find a way to make it work.

It is a rainy, cool Easter Sunday here in Nashville--a great time to turn on the Netflix and start work on Emma's flower baskets.  

(Psssss. I always wanted a sampler with a big border--I think Emma has exceeded my expectations.)

Emma Lerch

Scarlet Letter--Emma Lerch 1843

Mystery Stash Linen--overdyed with walnut crystals

AVAS silk fibers

Apologies for the wrinkles--Emma looks like she has been living a rough life.  One of my 2018 goals is to complete Emma Lerch.  As I look at her, I am close.  One of my observations about stitchers is there are sampler lovers and those who do not love samplers so much.  For those who love samplers, and I consider myself one of those people, we can't get enough.  We are always looking for the next sampler either an original or reproduction.

What is it about samplers?  the border? alphabet? verse? motifs? house? medallions?  It is all of these things and throw in colors and scale and proportion.  Yes, I love a sampler with a flower growing out of a pot taller than the house.

I was drawn to Emma's border--it is big and bold

While Emma's border looks balanced and symmetrical--it is not.

Sweet Emma and I suffer from the same stitching affliction:  borders.  We both struggle with meeting borders.  Emma made it work, she added a stitch here and there, she dropped stitches.  There are three different colors of leaves.  Did she run out of one color or she started stitching with the incorrect color and like me was to lazy to rip out and stitch with the correct color.

This was my progress on Emma at the March 17 Homespun Gathering.  Judy is my stitching accountability partner.  She is stitching Heartstring Samplery His Eye is on the Sparrow--if you haven't seen Judy's beautiful sampler,  hop over to her blog (hollandhousegifts.blogspot) and check it out.  Our next gathering is in May and I think Emma will be finished.  Am adopting Judy's suggestion:  stitch every day.  Some days it is only a few stitches.