- A closer look: Cross stitch family sampler

When I realized how many folks were coming to the blog to take a look at the rain chain, I figured I'd better spruce things up a bit.  That included putting an addendum on the original rain chain post, updating my profile, doing some editorial clean up, and making a commitment to resume posting on a more regular basis. I also changed my profile picture to a recent piece of needlework, only to find that the resolution left a lot to be desired ... then changed it again to a recent family picture (which also leaves something to be desired).

In any case, here's a better view of my newest family sampler (the top half only since the piece is too long to photograph effectively as a whole ... for more detail click this link), worked in silk on linen. Note that the second alphabet is in reverse as I'm fond of singing backward ABCs to my grandsons. The random letters at the end of the 4th line are variants on letters that I wasn't entirely happy with the first time around, since this sampler was worked without planning every stitch in advance (much as they did in the 18th century ... but more on my 18th-century needlework adventures in a future post or two).

For those who are interested, the buildings are iconic references to where each of us got married and/or honeymooned: Montauk Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the University of Texas Tower. And no, I'm afraid the buildings aren't to scale ... sorry UT.