Recently, I began a round robin with friends I met at a Shepherd's Bush retreat. We all had to select themes, and put together round robins with Shepherd's Bush as the designer. I selected Halloween (who can resist purples, greens, oranges, black, browns, and rusts?) I know that there aren't many Shepherd's Bush Halloween charts, but I suggested that participants could select bands from non-Halloween charts, but do them in Halloween colors. I started my band sampler with the new Witch's Moon chart on 32 ct. Lambswool linen (instead of the 18 ct. Sweet Lavender it called for). And I thought, wouldn't this look cute in Sampler Threads? So I pulled colors that matched the color names in the chart (Black Crow for Black DMC, Bittersweet for DMC 920, etc...) I started stitching the design in Sampler Threads, and when I got to the moon, I thought, "Shouldn't a moon have a little sparkle?" I remembered that I had some yellow blending filament somewhere in my stash, and added it to the Sampler Threads -- how cute!
The entire design worked up in a day of off and on stitching. And when I finished up, I thought maybe the sampler should be a bit wider, to give my stitchers more options. So I pulled out another chart from my stash, a Shepherd's Bush with spiders on it, and stitched one on the left, a third of the way down, and another on the right, two thirds of the way down, both hanging from a backstitched line -- their webbing! It turned out really cute! Instead of the Shepherd's Bush witch button (which wouldn't fit on this smaller count), I found a Just Another Button Company orange pumpkin, and attached it with black Sampler Thread, tying a knot on the front of the pumpkin, which made it look really folksy.
Then my mind was really working -- I dug around in my stash and found more Sampler Threads in other fall colors, some Mill Hill and Just Another Button Company buttons and charms (all of the Halloween theme -- blackbirds, witch's hats, pumpkins, candy corn, moons, etc...) and threw those in the bag. Then I found some other funky metallic fibers, chunky wooly fibers, other overdyes from Thread Gatherer, and threw those in. Now I have a sizable bag travelling with my sampler -- a fun assortment of things to play with while creating my round robin focusing on Halloween and Shepherd's Bush!
When I shipped it out, I thought, "Oh. *I* want to work on that now." Doesn't it sound like fun? Now I'm thinking I want to do my OWN round robin, and challenge msyelf to use some of the fibers, fabrics and charts I have in my stash, and maybe try some new things I haven't before! Here are some ideas to get you going for your own challenge:
Old samplers are valued not only for their craftsmanship, but for the insight they give us into daily life during the time of the stitcher -- what was important to her? Her home, her school, her family, her pet? Why not challenge yourself to create a sampler with the things that are important to you and your family (or to another special someone -- you could give it as a very meaningful gift!) While you can do some designing with graph paper, you may also choose to piece together charts from other designers. Sit down with pencil and paper, and sketch out ideas -- placement, size, themes. Of course you don't have to stitch an alphabet -- how about a favorite saying or motto? You can pull these from quote books (look for searchable quote databases on the Internet -- Bartlett's has one!) or from favorite books, movies, or songs. If your home is important, find a chart of a home, but stitch it in colors that make it more like your home. Stitch flowers and trees like yours. Like to cook? How about a border of cooking utensils instead of the traditional border of strawberries or flowers? Enjoy reading? How about a few bands with titles of a few of your favorite books or authors? Is travelling what you enjoy? Stitch flags of countries you've visited. It's all up to you!
You could also challenge yourself to a monthly round robin for the upcoming year. Divide a piece of fabric into 12 sections -- could be a long skinny band sampler, twelve squares, rectangles, or a central piece (a favorite verse, song or piece) with twelve segments around the outside. Each month, you could add something new to your yearly sampler -- maybe something reflecting your mood that month. Something festive for the new year, a heart for February, Shamrocks or a lamb for March... you get the idea? Or you could select a theme -- states you've visited, snowmen, teacups, a moose for each month (Ruth, are you reading?)... Your extra challenge could be to use a new kind of fiber for each month, or try a new stitch.
Challenge yourself to play with some of the fibers and embellishments you've accumulated (come on, we know you have more than you use!) I sorted through what I have last night (it's not that much, really!) But I had three or four big ziploc baggies with assortments of this and thats...leftovers from kits, half packets of beads, partial skeins of something I used for another project. These fibers are just waiting for me -- what can I do with them?
Well, my guild does "challenges" where one stitcher puts together packets of extra fibers, scraps of fabric and embellishments. Each stitcher must come up with something to do with everything in the packet. Why not do that for yourself? Put together baggies of your extra fibers, pieces of fabric, beads, and what-nots. You could do twelve of these, put them in a box, and the first of each month, draw out one challenge. Of course you make your own rules -- maybe you'll allow yourself to use existing designs or to add other supplies as you may need them. This is a great way to use stash and learn something at the same time!
Or you could sort through your fibers and create one larger project out of them -- pull colors that please you, metallics, silks, overdyes. Find a piece of fabric you've been meaning to use, and challenge yourself to create something out of what you have (waste not, want not!) You can cruise through your patterns, or shop for new ones for ideas. Maybe you have a chart you like, but you don't care for the colors used by the designer -- convert the chart into your own fibers in colors you like (who says you have to follow the instructions?)
Why not make a millenium tree? Purchase a small table-top holiday tree this season. Challenge yourself to complete one ornament every month -- not necessarily in a Christmas/holiday theme. You could make a set of ornaments celebrating the new millenium (or the one past?) Or maybe you want the theme of your trees to be Sampler Ornaments, or Fruits and Vegetables, or Birdhouses, or Butterflies. You could display these ornaments year-round! If you did one a month, you'd have a tree-full by the end of 2000. Look for other embellishments for your tree all year at the craft store -- strings of lights, extra embellishments in your theme, cute fabric in your theme for a tree skirt. Another idea: you could do the same thing with a fun shelf you may find at a craft show or store -- pegs can hold ornaments, or small stuffed pieces could sit on a shelf. A friend of mine said she wants to do bellpulls for each month -- just slip one off of the bellpull each month, and put up the new one in her entryway.
How about this idea: if you've been doing some work digging into your family's history, stitch a family tree -- Hester's Needle and Butternut Road have charts for building family trees, but you could design your own as well. Use motifs and designs meaningful to your family's history. What a nice, permanent reminder this would be hanging on your wall.
Of course there's always the challenge of finishing old projects. Maybe your goal this next year will be to finish six UFO's (UnFinished Objects). However many you choose, you can give yourself homework assignments for each week -- this week, I'm going to finish the lower square of this project...or this week, I want to do all of the backstitching...you know how much you can accomplish. Won't it feel good to get those little monkeys off of your back? Perhaps you'd feel more incentive if you allowed yourself a few creative choices with your UFO's. Change the direction your piece is going in -- add embellishments, new fibers, an extra border. Or, finish the piece early -- leave parts of it off. Change the way you look at what you're working on.
I'm really inspired about starting something of my own creation -- looking at these baggies of fibers sitting out, waiting for my fingers.... Whatever you choose to do, make it your own; give yourself a little creative push.
The next newsletter will come out on Halloween night! So if it has some chocolate smudges on it, don't blame me! Boo!
© 2007 Theresa Venette. Articles on this site may be reproduced in needlework group newsletters or other handouts with permission of author and proper attribution. Send questions, comments and suggestions to: xspeddler@yahoo.com