My First Real Sampler
16 September 2005 12 Comments
So yesterday I skipped school. Normally I don’t do such things, but yesterday the public transportation system in Munich was on strike and we live so far outside of Munich-proper that I decided I didn’t have much of a chance to make it to class anyway… So I stayed home and stitched! 
Because I am having backstitching issues with my Halloween exchange I didn’t really feel like working on it yesterday. (How do you deal with backstitching on black fabric? The pattern suggested to backstitch with DMC 414 if the design was stitched on black fabric, but it looked terrible! 
) I wasn’t in the mood to start the backstitching on “Passing Admirers” and I was sort of in the mood for a relatively quick happy dance, so I started a new project!
I chose the freebie “Mini Cat Sampler” that I downloaded a while back from the Aion Needlecrafts site. I stitched most of it up over the afternoon and finished it up before bed last night.
It was a real fun stitch and as I was stitching it, I realized something: This is the first “real” sampler that I have ever done. I have stitched other things that I have called “samplers,” but this is the first one that I have ever stitched that is done in what I would call a “traditional” style with an alphabet and numbers, separate bands, geometric flowery shapes, and barely any backstitching.
I have often looked at “traditional” sampler patterns, but never bought any. I am not really sure why: Perhaps none have ever called to me that strongly. However, as I said, I really enjoyed this “mini” sampler and I think that now I just might have to revisit the issue of adding samplers to my stash. 
Anyway, I am strongly considering turning the “Mini Cat Sampler” into a needleroll, but have not completely decided yet. I have also wanted to try “flat fold” finishing, so I might do that instead. Then again, it may just sit in my WTF-pile for an indeterminate amount of time.
