Tuesday 15 September 2015

The Four Elements....well three actually.....

I kicked off my Autumn/Winter stitching by starting three charts that have been in my stash for a few years.  For quite some time they terrified me, that is until last year when I started and finished one in a few days and realized my stitching had actually moved on in the years they'd been sat in a drawer!

I'm talking about The Four Elements series by The Victoria Sampler.  I absolutely adore their (Thea's) designs as the majority of them combine all the things I love (silks, speciality stitches, drawn thread and pulled thread) into one beautiful package.

Here is the one I stitched up last year, Crimson Fire - it terrified me for so long due to the doves' eyes, formerly my hardanger nemesis (especially if they were surrounded by anything other than kloster blocks!), but in the four years or so that this one was sat in a drawer, I'd had quite a bit of practice with them:

Crimson Fire Sampler by The Victoria Sampler
 
The remaining three in the series were always pegged to be in my Autumn/Winter stitching as although they are challenging designs they aren't difficult and now my Summer butterfly brain has gone and the nights are drawing in (boo hiss!) I can concentrate on my stitching more.
 
So here are the other designs in the series:
 
 
The Green Earth by The Victoria Sampler
The Green Earth Sampler

Crystal Waters by The Victoria Sampler
Crystal Waters Sampler

Fresh Air by The Victoria Sampler
Fresh Air Sampler
 
As far as materials for each of these, I'm using antique white cashel linen for all of them.  I'd used white quaker for Crimson Fire and I usually like to use the same fabric for matching sets, but when it came to it I figured what are the chances that not only will these get framed but actually find themselves side by side on a wall somewhere when they are finished lol!  Cashel was what I had so it's what I went with, though hindsight tells me I could have been easier on myself and gone with Brittney instead but I didn't want to cut into my metre pieces.  For threads, I've mainly gone with what is listed in the chart where I have it in my stash, with a few substitutions here and there as I much prefer using Petite Treasure Braid over Kreinik any day of the week!
 
I started all three and worked down until the first drawn thread band on each, just so I could have fresh eyes for that bit and not be squissor happy!
 
 
Green Earth WIP 1
 
 
Crystal Waters WIP 1
 
 
Fresh Air WIP 1
 
Ignore the unsightly threads on Crystal Waters, they'll be gone when the design is finished.  I've kept them on for added security as this is a very delicate piece of cutwork due to groups of four threads being cut on the side panels but unusually groups of six threads being cut in the centre panel (leaving some bars literally holding on by a thread, or two!).  Ordinarily my general rule of thumb is to leave all cutwork until the stitching is done, but I couldn't face stitching the whole piece and then have the cutwork not go right.  How do I know that could happen?  Because I've stitched that hardanger window twice - the first time following the instructions but the second time I went with my instincts which I should have gone with in the first place :).
 
Incidentally if you like the look of these, you can find free patterns on The Victoria Sampler website which takes small sections of these particular designs and charts them to be turned into needle cases, pin cushions and pillows (you might be able to see the end results on the charts in the pic above).
 
I'll be back in the next few days with another new start which is proving mighty hard to put down!
 
Happy Stitching!

15 comments:

  1. Looks great! I love working with cashel.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Magnificent
    They are beautiful
    Very very beautiful

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beautiful charts and stitching, I am intrigued about your new start

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh these are so pretty! Crystal waters is my favorite so far...I love the blues!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's looking great! I do agree The Victoria Sampler have gorgeous designs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous start on all 3! And very cool that you feel like these aren't even worth worrying about now since your stitching experience has broadened so much.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These are looking gorgeous already�� and thanks for the info on the feebies��
    Take care,
    Alison.

    ReplyDelete
  8. you're right, Thea's designs are always eye-catching and so much fun to work on.
    can't wait to see how 🔥✖️ is looking now! 😉

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your stitching is sheer perfection! Utterly perfect ;)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great work on your new starts! They look very lovely and so delicate. Looking forward to seeing what other start has ensnared your attention :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Absolutely gorgeous! I think you've done a lovely job :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, what a gorgeous series this is. I love your starts and your stitching is just pefect.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a beautiful series of designs. Great idea to work all three at once too, I wouldn't be able to decide which to stitch first!

    ReplyDelete
  14. They are so beautiful! I am getting ready to start a Victoria Sampler design next month. I have stitched one of hers before and it was so much fun so I am really looking forward to stitching another one. :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for stopping by, I love hearing from my fellow stitchers so please feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you (provided you are not a no-reply blogger!).