Martha Knapp 1844

Good afternoon friends!  Finally, I have pictures of Martha.  I've had her home for about a week now, finally have her on my wall and enjoying every minute of her presence.  I sent her to Pennsylvania, to Van Tassel Baumann American Antiques where she was cleaned and stitched to a new acid free fabric-covered conservation mount.  She was installed into a solid mohagany reproduction frame and topped off with her old original wavy glass (which is fabulous, I might add).  Ruth Van Tassel was the woman who did the conservation work.  She was able to tell me that Martha originated in the British Isles.  The ground fabric is wool and she was stitched with wool threads which is why the colors are still so vibrant on this piece.  The original frame Martha came in was not able to be repaired, but the glass was still in fine shape and since the piece was stitched wool on wool, she suggested I use the original glass.  So fun!  I will let the pictures of her tell her story.  So sorry I'm not a great photographer.  I'm so happy she came to my house to live! 

Here is the information for those of you interested in having your antique sampler conserved:
Ruth Van Tassel at www.vantasselbaumann.com .  I sent her pictures of Martha and she told me what she could from the pictures.  She sent me information on approximately how much it would cost to conserve.  I was in contact with her for several months during the time she was conserving her.  Her work was very quick.  Her framer took a very long time to make the frame.  He actually crafted the frame itself.  All in all, I thought she did an excellent and very professional job and would highly recommend her work. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend! 

Long time...no see...

Has it really been six weeks since I last updated?  In that time I have managed to do just a minimal amount of stitching.  I've been working on my Merry Cox piece.  I just have the personalization to do...and was a bit dismayed that she didn't include an alphabet on the chart!  Really?  Seriously weird...  

I'm actually not really in the mood for doing the prestitching on this piece and almost wish I hadn't signed up for the classes.  I'm sure that by November I'll be glad I did!  

On a personal note, I changed my life drastically by quitting my transcription job at home and taking a new job with the medical records department of a local hospital corporation.  I'm just going to sum up the experience in a few short words:  "LIKE and TIRED!" 

Hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics.  We're enjoying everything we've been able to see. 

I promise I'll update again soon.  My antique sampler, Martha Knapp, is on her way back to me after I sent her off to be conserved and re-framed.  Can't wait to see her...she was shipped out today so I'm VERY excited! 

Life is good here at the Lloyd home...hope your summer is turning out to be everything you've wanted it to be! 

A summer solstice update...

Progress on "So Dear to Thy Heart" for the Merry Cox classes in Phoenix this November. Isn't she just so cute?  I have half the cat done on the left..my waste knot looks like a little ball the kitty is getting ready to jump for! Most everything on this project is stitched with tent stitch over one thread, so the stitching is going quicker than expected.  Just wish I had more time to stitch (don't we all), but the picture below is representative of what I'm doing instead of a lot of stitching...

This is the first module of 4 modules of my online medical coding course.  I'm 2 months into a 12-month course...I think it's the easy module...crap!

 These remaining books represent the other 3 modules...When I look at them, I get sick...literally...and wonder what in the world was I thinking...then I sit down to work and I know exactly what I was thinking...I need a new job...and something that pays better!

It's been interesting so far...and my brain is getting a good workout!

So...

I'm getting close to 100 followers on my blog...when I reach 100, I think I'll have a giveaway!  Til then, my friends, I hope you find yourselves sitting in your favorite chair with your favorite needle and thread, creating another colorful masterpiece!

Happy Summer Solstice Everyone!

Let the prestitching begin!

Beautiful fibers!  

I can't decide which one to start first!

Progress update...

She's coming along slowly but surely....and I am loving every minute of stitching her! 

I do have a little bit more stitched since I took this picture, but not much. I am really enjoying the colors which are just slightly different than the picture that came with the chart, but the instructions say to follow the colors as charted and not to worry about the picture, which is exactly what I am doing,  I have no designing capacity and I always do what I'm told (well sometimes)! I am in for the looong haul on this one!  

However, I do have a tad of prestitching to do that I had not anticipated this summer.  I received an email from Jean Lea at the Attic in Mesa.  Being on the waiting list for the Merry Cox Weekend, I thought there would be no chance to actually get into the workshops at all...not so...I'm in...So the hubs and I will take a little road trip to Phoenix in November.  Can't wait!  Anyone else going? 

 

Framing, it's a wrap!

I stitched these projects last summer, the patriotic person that I am!  So, a few weeks ago I took them to my local frame/stitch shop, Craft Center of Fine Stitchery, and had Jamie frame these up for me.  I'm so happy to have them back and ready for display during the summer months. 

First up,  Flag by Bent Creek.

 Next up, Betsy by Sheepish Designs. 

 And where they are for now, until I get all my Americana decorations out.  This is at the top of my stairs on my way to my office, where I have my mother's cute sofa table with all my favorite things all in one place.

A couple of weeks ago I spent the better part of a week planting flowers in my yard and planting pots in various places on my patio and front porch, so here they are...and yes, my back was killing me by the time I got them all planted and positioned.  Now I can just enjoy...if I remember to keep them all watered!  

I had the time this morning to just sit on my patio and stitch for about 2 hours.  It was so fabulous!  Just me, my stitching, the audio book "The Lucky One," a few magpies cackling, oh...and a little black jumping spider who ended up on my scroll rods!  Holy crap!  Now I don't enjoy little furry black spiders wanting a close up look of my stitching...nope...not even a little bit! 

It's baack!

A quick trip to Jill's on Friday yielded an unexpected pleasure!  "A Sweeter Love" was finished!  I had gone to Jill's because a friend wanted to get something framed and, well, a trip to Jill's is just the place for that!  My daughter-in-law, Kim, decided she just wanted a frame and no mats and so that is what we went with.  I also chose to put the museum quality glass on it and I'm so very happy with that decision. The place where Kim is planning on hanging this piece is in her living room by her baby grand piano which is a beautiful shiny black one.  I think this frame is absolutely perfect for their piece! 

I still have it at my house.  I'm going to write something on the back and include one of their wedding pictures as well as a current picture of their family.  I think it will be fun for their family history!  It was such a pleasure to stitch this for their cute family! 

And a close-up of the frame: 

The two pictures above are with the flash on the camera.  These are the true colors of the piece so I included them.  Notice that I did get a little flash spot on the piece, but not near as much as I would have had I not used the museum glass.  Since this piece will (hopefully) be an heirloom, I did not even hesitate to use a great quality glass. 

And below, I've included a few smaller shots of the various parts: 

 Oh...and by the way, Paulette, if you are reading this...that double-running row at the top was a BEAST to stitch!  LOL! 

A new beginning.

The first flower on Jane Atkinson.  I'm using the recommended AVAS silk threads.  I originally kitted this with DMC but had it so long before starting it that I splurged in January and bought the silks.  I made some mistakes but didn't reverse stitch anything, I just adapted.  So the right side of this flower is "my version."  I'm stitching this piece in remembrance of my Great Great Great Grandmother, Hannah Last Cornaby, but more on that later. 

Below is the Blackbird chart "Wild Garden" which I stitched for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  Just an FYI that there's not quite enough linen left over for framing. I think they should have added at least another inch or so around the whole thing, especially for the price of the limited edition kit. Nevertheless, it was fun to stitch. 

And the next picture below is a picture frame book/box I found at a local deco store.  I stitched and inserted a little Blackbird motif and gave one to each of my sisters for Mother's Day.  Too fun!  

Have a great weekend!  I've spent all week planting flowers in my yard and I'm about ready to drop and sleep for days!  Love this time of year!  

Thinking about you, mom!

I suppose it is because Mother's Day is just a few short days away, that today I found myself feeling a little bit nostalgic for my mother.  I was thinking back to the days of summer in my early teen years.  I can't say "lazy summer days" because they were anything BUT lazy!  Being raised on a farm with 5 other siblings, lazy was something as teens we probably wanted to be, but we weren't allowed... For instance: I remember getting my mother hooked on "All My Children" back in the day.  She'd let me watch it, but ONLY if I had something in my hands to do...that something was usually stamped cross-stitch blocks that when finished, were turned into a beautiful quilt that I still have today, or I specifically remember snipping beans or shelling peas.  My mom and I would spend the summer mornings cleaning, snipping green beans from the garden and canning them, or sewing.  It was unspoken between us that we were always on the lookout for our dad to drop in on us at any given moment, for a quick bathroom break or a cool drink of water, or perhaps to make a phone call (way before cell phones).  We'd quickly run to turn off the TV and act like we'd been so busy all morning without the companionship of the television.  Oh he HATED us watching TV during the day!  According to him, that was a huge waste of time! 

Anyway, after dinner (our noon meal which was always beef, potatoes, vegetables and fruit, and always a dessert) and our dad was back out working and the dishes were done, we'd settle in for an afternoon of some kind of sewing.  Most of the time she was making clothes for either me or my sisters, or a wedding dress or two for daughters of friends or relatives.  I loved that afternoon time when I usually had my mother all to myself.  We'd share a Pepsi or Tab and cut a Granny Smith apple in slices and enjoy together for our little snack.  I could hear the hum of the Westinghouse fan in the kitchen, this was before AC.  Oh how I long for one of those days again!  I'm really missing my mom today!  Wasn't she a pretty woman?  Love you mom! 

My parent's wedding photo, June 1948

Joan, Cathy, Carolyn, and Mom (front)

 

I can't remember the year this picture was taken, probably during the phen/fen era because I was so thin, so probably 1996 or so.  Mom passed away 7 years later.  I'm so glad we had this picture taken!  I sure do love the women in this picture!  

I'm so thankful that my mother instilled in me the love of a good needle and some thread...along with a great cut of fabric, and several pairs of scissors (one can NEVER have enough of those)!  I'm so thankful I have 2 wonderful sisters that share the same passion with me, just makes it all the more fun... Move over Martha Stewart...the Crandall sisters are here to stay! 

I hope all of you have a fabulous Mother's Day weekend!  We'll be celebrating all weekend long and even into Monday night!  Can't celebrate our mothers, sisters, daughters, and female friends enough, right?  Enjoy your day(s)!

A Sweeter Love

Please do a happy dance with me!  

It is complete and will be taken to the framer, Jill Rensel, on Monday!

It was so fun to stitch! I enjoyed every minute of it,

 well...except maybe the swan...

A Sweeter Love

Plum Street Samplers, Paulette Stewart

Stitched on Weeks Dye Works Linen 40ct Parchment

NPI silks

simply.could.not.resist.

Saw this little chest of drawers at a local deco store...

 It was still there a few weeks later...

 It was an omen....and came home with me.

{think floss storage}

I enjoy it every time I climb the stairs to my office.

Meet Martha Knapp

I think she is from Pennsylvania...

I have opened a HUGE can of worms for myself.

Now I need to conserve her.

Where to begin?

Well, first I took her out of her nasty, nasty old frame.

Next up, removing her off an old cruddy brown board,

placing her on a clean, acid-free mat board with

warm and natural covered with freshly washed muslin.

Then pictures for a conservator...and an estimate...

  She deserves it, don't you think?

Next time I get on eBay, kindly slap my hands...

Easter Pictures

 Please let me indulge myself with Easter pictures of my grands...

This is Lexie, age 3.

 This is Brayden, age 5.

 This is McKenzie, age 7.

 Loved the close-up.

 And a close up with Daddy, who was my little tike, all grown up now.

I love Easter pics!