Hornbook Bestiary...DONE!!!

Folks, did you hear me last night?  At about 8:55pm I put the very last stitch into the Hornbook Bestiary!!!  Can I get a woo hoo from the blog-o-sphere?!!  Oh yeah!!!  First, let's check out the last few blocks before the big reveal.  I want to document the whole thing...every block!

Progress as of 6-9-14

 

6-10-14

"Z is for Zebra"

 

6-14-14

"Verse Block"

I had thought at one point I'd do away with the verse block and use it as my signature square but the more I thought about it I decided I really wanted to keep the verse.  It fits with the rest of the design so well.  Besides, a sampler needs a verse.  Here's what it says:

"When land is gone and money spent then learning is most excellent"

 

6-15-14

 

So here's what I decided to do for my signature instead.  I took my inspiration from Marsha's gift to Nicola (seen here).  I wanted to do something that complemented the design so I charted my name, city, state and the years I worked on this sampler.  For privacy's sake, I won't show you my last name or city/state.

 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...........

 

Design: The Hornbook Bestiary

Designer: The Scarlet Letter

Fabric: 35 ct. as kitted

Floss: AVAS as kitted

Started: 12/25/12

Finished: 6/18/14

I present to you, my finished Hornbook Bestiary!!!!  Last night was my guild's stitch night and I was surrounded by my stitching peeps as I counted down the last stitches.  My hands were shaking when I put in that last stitch.  I couldn't have been in a better place.  Everyone celebrated my finish!!  I even made a victory lap around the room with it while they cheered me on!!  Oh yes I did!!!  I feel like I've climbed a mountain and am standing on cloud nine today!!

I can't believe I put in all those over one tent stitches on 35 count!  I'm confident I can now say I'm a tent stitch master.  So how many stitched are in there you ask?  Well, let me tell you!  In the angel there are 7,633 stitches, in the charted squares, not counting my signature, there are 75,825 and my signature added an additional 4,725 for a grand whopping total of 88,183 stitches!  Holy crap!!!

I'm glad I took the time to add the signature line.  After spending a year and a half of my life stitching this, I wanted future generations to know who did it.  I'm also a big proponent of making sure the place was noted too.  The years represent the time it took me to stitch it.

I can say with confidence that this is probably my masterpiece.  I'm completely aware that I won't always be able to stitch things like this without magnification or glasses.  It was a test of patience, perseverance and diligence for me.  I'm super pleased with the result.

I also wanted to note that I had plenty of floss to see me to the end.  Marsha was quite generous with the contents of this kit.  Thank you so much, Marsha!

Now to find an extra special frame for it.  I don't mind spending some time searching for just the right one too.  I know I want one that has the handle on it so it looks like a real hornbook.  A rectangular frame just won't do for something this special.  So stay tuned for that!

So what's next you might ask, well never fear, I have plenty in the wings to keep me going.  Those poor neglected parrots are squaking at me right now and I do have some smalls I need to do soon.  Oh yes, I'm always thinking about the next ones.

Thank you to everyone who has cheered me to this finish. You all kept me motivated. I truly appreciate each and every email, comment and encouragement I received.  I'm so pleased to be able to share this milestone finish with you today!

Until next time,

The Inspired Stitcher