Finished border....

I've been working on this sampler in between other projects and I just finished the border last night.

This sampler has been on my mind for a long long time....my first thought for it was to be a wedding sampler.....but I'm going to let it take me in the direction it wants to go.

I chose Weeks Dye Works 'Coca' 30 count linen and Gentle Arts cotton floss.

These colors of linen and floss remind me so much of my Great Grandma.....she had an apron with similar flowers.  And I can't count the hours I spent hanging from it while she worked away in the kitchen.

 

On days like today I can close my eyes and hear her snapping beans and chopping veggies and the sizzle of the pan on the stove.....the smell of fresh air as the breeze blows thru the open windows of the kitchen.

And I remember a yellow canary by the kitchen window that would sing when she talked to it.

 

We've had so much rain lately....you can really smell the grass and the trees and the flowers.

Even the birds singing remind me so much of being back in that wonderful old kitchen.

My Grandma taught me that hard work won't kill you.  She was a stickler for a clean house, fresh linens and neat gardens.

And my Great Grandma taught me cooking with fresh produce right from your own garden always tastes the best and she is my inspiration for my love of samplers, stitching and handwork.

So, I think I'm going to let them guide me......I'm going to take my memories of them and wrap them up in this sampler.

Will it be a wedding sampler??  I'm not sure what it wants to be yet.

If not it will come out in a sampler one of these days.

  I've had this great big ol' frame that's been staring me down....maybe it's meant to show off the wedding sampler.

It feels so good to be stitching again.  

I can feel my soul getting stronger and my creativity gaining momentum.

Until next time my friends....