Eliza Bell Cox 1832

Hi gang! I'm back with an update on Eliza Bell Cox 1832 from Hands Across the Sea Samplers. I started this last Tuesday, so I've only worked on it for 4 days, but I really love this chart! Stitching is slow going because it's 46ct linen, and also because there are lots of color changes. But I love seeing how all the colors interact with each other. So here is my progress after about 5 hours of stitching (started in the top left corner):

I really can't say enough about how lovely this chart is. If you've been thinking about trying a HATS chart, I would encourage you to do so. They are very well printed, in color, and made so large that even all the over one charting is very easy to read. I'll put in a very small snippet of this chart to show you:

This is about a life sized photo (use the quarter for reference). It really is big! There are also little helpful arrows that point out colors for the straight stitches used in the pansies. Really, it's just a gorgeous chart. I think looking at the chart was what made me want to stitch it right away. :)

Also, I should mention I'm stitching with the called for DMC, not the silks, and I think the conversion is pretty much perfect. I'm usually fairly critical of given conversions, especially with NPI silks, but I think these colors are spot on to what's shown in the model picture. Of course, my phone can't quite capture how it looks in person, but that is another story.

And what's it like stitching on 46ct linen? Honestly, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I stitched this using a stand I prop up on my desk, so it's fairly close to my face as I stitch, but I didn't have any extra magnification, or even any special lighting while I stitched this, and I could see fairly well. I did use a magnifier to place the starting stitch, but that was all. It's not much different than 40ct, which my eyes can still see pretty easily. And of course the coverage is fantastic, without being bulky. I'd like to stitch more in these higher counts, but I know my eyesight won't last forever. :)

Well, I suppose I'll stop gushing about Eliza and show you my Temperature charts. I've got a new color for this week:

We went over 95°F this week, so I got to use my darker red, to show that I feel like a boiled lobster. :) I do like how the ornament is looking, like there's a definite cutoff between the spring and summer temps. We'll see how the rest of the summer goes. Until next time!