That Was Fast!

The "Color Wheel" sampler from Dropcloth Samplers, done!  I have just a couple of quibbles: I wish that the fabric was a bit bigger -- the "margins" are a bit skimpy, and especially for novices like me I would have felt safer with a bit more room for error and/or a bit more scope for mounting -- and although I completely understand about artists wanting to identify a design as their own, having "DROPCLOTH SAMPLERS" smack in the middle like this keeps the stitcher from putting initials and date there, and there's really nothing you can do about it as it's printed on the fabric, much more centrally than on other designs from Dropcloth.  On the bright side, I love the piece's cheerful exuberance and vivid colors!

I can see now that the original uses four strands of floss (in some sections at least), not three as I chose because it's the equivalent of the perle no.8 recommended for beginners.  Mine therefore looks to my eye at least a bit more spare than the original, though this isn't a problem per se.  Four strands does also give you more scope for blending colors, which I definitely wanted to do.

I shamelessly pinched the idea of a running stitch edging around the binding that uses the "main" colors of each section!  I even learned how to tie off the quilter's-knot.

Here again are the colors I used --

though as it turned out, in the case of the French knots and the coral knots, I decided on the fly which of the possibles to go with.

With just the caveat that the supplied fabric shows noticeable needle holes if you have to pick anything out (yes, I learned this from experience ...), these samplers would be excellent projects for Scouts or 4-H groups, this "Color Wheel" or maybe the "Stripe" for beginners, and the "Original" and others for either kids with some embroidery already under their belt, or for those with more focus, though simply because the latter samplers are bigger.  It would be great fun to see the variety in a group's choices and work!

Comments

[dawninnl]

Very nice, I love the colours, but I would not be happy with that centre piece. That would have been a deal breaker for me, I don't wear branded clothes either. How about an applique circle that you can then put date and initials on.