A Family Sampler Finish!

Isn't this the most adorable finish?  Look at all of the girls in pink.  It is too cute for words.  I have already added it to what I hope someday will be a gallery on my web site.  I've posted it to the bottom of the Family Sampler page.  Thank you Bénédicte for allowing me to post it.  :)  This is a shop in France!  What a clever way to use the elements!!

Just as a reminder, if you finish the sampler, press it off and photograph it or frame it first. . . . .it doesn't matter to me. . . . . .and send me a clear photo with permission to place it on my web site.  I hope to see your family there very soon!

Happy Stitching,
Diane

Layout of the sampler

Vonna emailed me this morning and she said there were some stitchers on her blog concerned about odd numbers of people in the sampler and that maybe I should provide a peek into an arrangement.  So here you go!  I have provided you with a few fill-in elements if you don't have pets.  And by the way. . . . . there are six dogs and three cats on the elements page to choose from.

If there are any more questions, just post them here, subscribe to the thread and I'll answer as soon as I can!

The Family Sampler Update

SO! The Family Sampler should be at our distributors tomorrow which means shops will start ordering and we will finally get those charts into your hands! Hooray! Vonna at The Twisted Stitcher (http://thetwistedstitcher.blogspot.com/) has given it a glowing report from a stitcher's perspective which I am EVER so grateful for. She has stitched much of the lower portion which is where you create your family. She has done an awesome job and said it was so easy. I guess I worried for nothing. :)

In reading the blog posts there I saw that one stitcher was wondering about stitching it for herself and one child. We solved that one! In the pack you have a sample page of layouts. We added a fence for a single parent family! See. . . . .I told you I tried to think of as many possibilities as I could! AND, I fully expect to see many of you change the color of the house to reflect your family home!

Just a reminder. . . . .when you stitch and finish your sampler, send me a photo of your design pressed. . . . no need to frame. I will feature as many of them as I can on my web site.

Happy Stitching. . . . .
Diane

The Family Sampler!

The Family Sampler

Well here it is. . . . finally!  The Family Sampler is what we are calling a "stitcher participation chart".  I made that up but it completely tells the story.  When you get your packet, the area where the large initial is placed, the established date, the people and the full name area will be blank.  Everything else will be where you see it.  I plan to offer some tips and help along the way but after reading your instructions I don't know if you'll need me at all.  That's a good thing.  But for those of you that want help, Vonna at "The Twisted Stitcher" blog will be providing a little help with the calculations along with visuals.  She has been hard at work testing our directions and stitching the design for her family.

Now here are the issues I want you to think about before making your purchase.  1.)  If you have a hyphenated name it simply won't fit unless you find a creative way to insert it in the initial box in the upper left corner.  2.)  Not all names will fit the surname line with the selected alphabet.  However you can choose to use the smaller alphabet that appears at the bottom of the chart itself.  3.  If you have more than four children and two adults, you will need to remove the two blossoms on the bottom of the tree OR leave the adults off and showcase the kids.  More children than that and they just won't fit.  You'll have to use names only and fill in the space that way.

With all of that said, there is yet another choice for this design.  You can if you choose, stitch it for the generation that puts you in the position of the child and your parents take the role of the adults.  Just think ahead to what you want to do with it.

This design was worked on for over two years.  During that time I came up with better ways to make this a chart that you could love and cherish for years and years.  It's not perfect for every family and I know that but I did the best I could.  Finally I had to admit that I would not be able to please everyone so don't be mad if yours is the family that won't work.  I TRIED!  I will be putting the actual back cover on my web site soon so you can read the details and instructions.

So with that said, these charts will start appearing in your stores right around the first of September but I knew you were waiting for the reveal so I posted it without further delay!

Have a nice weekend!
Diane

More snippets!

The Family Sampler Snippets

This is the last snippet view of The Family Sampler until the reveal of the actual piece in mid-August. It shows you some of the details in the design, the coloring, and elements.  The pretty berry colors are beautiful in this design.  :)  See the box with our family surname initial?  That's where you'll put yours!

OK. . . . so the last person has not claimed their chart!  Do we have another drawing for the fifth winner?  What?  I can't hear you. . . . . lol. . . . . of course we will draw again.  So tomorrow at 6:00 am we will draw again if the last person doesn't respond by then.  It's the contest that never ends!

News to report. . . . . .the supply list for "Under the Tree", the 10th ornament is on our web site.  Sorry. . . . no picture just yet.  :(  I have also uploaded pics of the upcoming thread packs in the months of the year series.  Those can be found on the cotton packs page.

Was there confusion yesterday when I posted Curly Q Ewe (a pattern of ours) and the Jenny Bean announcement?  Yes, I think there was!  Theresa and I both looked at it and didn't see a problem but then we are in on the information behind it and I think that's why.  So here's the scoop. . . . . Theresa came up with this awesome idea to include other designers in her Jenny Bean series.  We've created samplers for "The Friends of Jenny Bean".  They are all little garden girls like Jenny Bean and my sampler is called "Be Merry" which features "Belle Pepper".  This patterns ships in September around market time.

Happy Stitching!
Diane