One of my favorite parts about starting a new project is choosing the linen and fibers. Nothing is more satisfying than when design, linen, fiber, framing and finishing all work together, compliment each other and come together to give the needleworker than ahhh moment.
When needleworkers choose linen and fibers it is an interesting process. There are stitchers who strictly follow the designers guidelines choosing the linen and fibers used by the designer on the model. There are stitchers who will change the count of the linen making the completed design either larger or smaller than the model. Some stitchers will change cotton fibers to silk or over dyed.
Then. . . there are those stitchers who change many things: the linen, the fibers, sometimes even parts of the design. I know a stitcher who refuses to stitch on any linen which has been over dyed, she says it is not color fast. Absolutely nothing wrong with this choice. A shop owner once told me "I do not carry over dyed linen because the molting looks like someone has mopped their kitchen floor with a perfectly good piece of linen." Nothing wrong with this either. For myself, I love over dyed linens, I love the linens which look I have mopped the kitchen floor. I am a primitive girl and the linens don't get molted enough for me. There is a black walnut tree near our property line and I fight the squirrels each fall for the black walnuts. I dry the walnuts and use them to "age" my linens. My neighbors find it amusing when they see me laying linens in the yard to sun dry. My fibers are like the Crayola box of crayons. Why settle for a 8 pack box of crayons where the 64 pack box offers such a vast array of color?
I have linens drying in the hot sun which have been "aged" with black walnuts. I'm off to collect them before the squirrels take revenge and hold the linens hostage!
Yes, I am in the process of selecting a new project!
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