Serial Stitching

It has been more than a few days since I showed photos of stitching progress. I seem to have fallen into a pattern.  Most of my current projects belong to a series of similar designs.

Town Square series: The Abecedarium by R & R Reproductions.  The stitching on this one is finished but it has yet to be made into an ornament along with two others stitched earlier this year.  I plan to get a bit of sewing and assembly finishing done later this week.  I have now stitched quite a number of a possible 42 charts in this series.  I will probably stitch two or three more.  A few of the buildings in the series simply didn't appeal to me.  Check out the gallery post here if you want to see the buildings already stitched.  I need to go on line and look for a tall but very skinny Christmas tree for this ornament series.  I'll decorate it with a Small Town USA theme using these ornaments, several strands of wooden cranberry beads and some small white twinkling lights.  I like to have a few themed trees in different rooms during the Christmas season.

Workbasket Quaker Animal series : The Squirrel.  I am not quite done with this entry in the series.  I am using two different dye lots of GAST Cinnamon: the more muted one for the floral motif in the center and tail as well as the acorn caps and the brighter one for the body of the squirrel.  To add a little more depth to the color way while still remaining in the same tone family, I am using GAST Sarsparilla for the body of the acorns.  I still have the bear, the peacock, the turkey, the robin, the cardinal and the eagle to stitch.  Check out the gallery post here if you want to see the animals already stitched.

Prairie Schooler's Year Round series: July.  I am using Belle Soie Poison Apple, Puritan Blue and Oatmeal Scone for this patriotic eight pointed star motif.  When I am done with this piece, I will add these very same silks to the kit for the next PS project listed below.

Prairie Schooler's Primitive Americana series.  Though I've had this leaflet a very long time, I haven't yet started on this series.  But I will soon since I have just purchased some antique ivory 28 ct linen for this very purpose.  Although I have plenty of lovely overdyed linens on hand from the days of my Silkweaver fabric of the month subscription, none of them worked for this.  Not even the pale blue color ways.  Much as I love overdyed fabrics, sometimes a solid neutral is the only answer.  I really think there is nothing uglier than an inappropriately chosen overdye.  It can turn a piece from charming to ever so stomach churningly off.  These charts were charted for 10 ct Congress cloth but I will be using the higher ct linen since I am going for ornament size.

M Design's Name Trees: I have the names for my adult children, including my daughter-in-law, for my husband and for myself.  I hope to get the kids' done in time to use as name tags this Christmas.  This one is for my oldest son, Sean.  That's one started and three more to go.