It's finished in time

While I was gathering things together for the RSN course, I did a bit of a tidy in my studio; going through all the thread and putting things away, re-shelving books, stuff like that. I knew I had all the Paternayan wool colors needed to do the Flowers for Elizabeth blanket in the future, but I hadn't really looked at the colors since I got the thread last October when I was in England.  And when I looked, I got lucky! There, in one of the bags of thread, was a skein of white wool that exactly matched the Appleton wool I'd run out of on the RSN Prep Sampler.I asked my trusty color expert if the colors matched and, after a long and considered look in both sunlight and artificial light, he announced that they were the same. Hooray! Therefore, I've finished the sampler!After all the white chain stitch was finished, I filled in the square and rectangle shapes that divide the sample stitches using only two stitches: detached chain and French knot. In the small squares there are 4 detached chain stitches in a star pattern with a French knot in the middle. In the rectangles you can see 2 detached chain stitches with a French knot in the middle. I used three of the blue colors so the decoration didn't detract from the sample stitches too much. I'm especially pleased with the elongated chain stitches in the rectangles. They're more interesting than a straight line of some kind but not so complex that your eye is drawn to them.One thing I like a lot about this piece is the limited color palette.  I love blue - it's my favorite color - but I've rarely used it alone in an embroidery. These four shades of China Blue look classic and crisp on the ivory linen twill with white lines surrounding all the sample stitches. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. My home is full of beautiful porcelain we got while living in Taiwan, Delft from Holland, Wedgwood from England and pottery from Poland, all of which are blue and white. Do you think I like blue and white?The one thing I'm NOT happy with are the straight line stitches - or, in this case the "not-very-straight line" stitches. Two things happened between the design on paper and the finished product: I worked this piece mainly in a small hoop and I think I pulled the fabric slightly off center by accident and the drawn lines weren't as straight as I thought they were. Rarely do I stitch straight lines in any piece I've done. My guess is that straight lines are considered quite difficult and require a high degree of skill to do, especially when part of a grid type pattern. Here everything is based on a grid and any deviation shows. It was a great idea but maybe a little above my skill level right now. Or maybe I'm just too picky.The filling stitches and surface stitches (satin, padded satin, long and short shading, whipped wheel etc) all look quite good and the circle shapes worked nicely to highlight those stitches. Overall I'm really pleased and - most importantly - I've learned or reviewed every single stitch for the course. I'm ready!When I finished stitching the piece I blocked it so it would be ready for mounting. To do this, I pin the embroidery with straight pins to the top of my ironing board, which has a padded cover. Carefully pulling the fabric so it's gently stretched I put pins in opposite one another all around the edge of the piece. Then I spray it with water and let it dry overnight. In the morning it's flat and looks just great without an iron having touched it! Make sure your spray bottle is used only for water, never anything else, as any residue of a cleaning fluid may ruin your work. I use filtered or distilled water. Berlin has very hard water and I always worry that somehow the hardness will show up later as a stain. Probably silly, but I don't want to take any chances.And, when I use my spray bottle to wet the piece, I get to take cool photos like this one! I just love how the water beads up on the wool because of the lanolin.As for the RSN course, start thinking about what you've always wanted to ask if you were right there with me because next time I'll be announcing a give-a-way asking what you would like me to find out while I'm there.