Started!

Thanks everyone for all the recommendations for shops with supplies in DFW! I so appreciate the spirit of camaraderie here.  I ordered some linen online and was really pleased with it, but it failed to impress my mother who will be the recipient of my Mary.

My daughter and I went to visit Mom last week and stopped in at The Needlework Boutique just minutes from her house. Mom corralled Marlowe (my two-year-old) and I tried to take it all in. Mom selected some really lovely hand-dyed forest green linen and Suzette at Needlework Boutique helped me make sure there was enough for the finished sampler (of course Mom couldn't select something with the same count.)

Turns out Suzette is also working on a Mary. I hope we'll hear from her here.

My husband took my daughter out Saturday and I got started.

I hope to get at least an hour in each day before Marlowe gets up and while she naps. I'm in a bad mood today because I have to spend nap time getting ready for a neighborhood meeting tonight.

The Needlework Boutique is quite a drive from my house but I'm looking forward to future visits and with a built in babysitter minutes away it could be my new happy place.

Mary From January & Blog Update

I realized that I didn't post my latest work in progress photo of my Mary. This was taken at the beginning of January and I haven't picked her up since. She is screaming at me every night demanding to be stitched on but I am currently gift stitching. I'm stitching every waking moment I have on my sister's 50th birthday present! I am hoping to finish that by the end of the month so I can pick up my Mary again.

Thanks for looking.

I've spent some time revamping the look of the blog a little as well as developing a list of all participants with hyperlinks. This should make it easier for everyone to "visit" each other. =)

Thanks!
Valerie

Mary so far.....

Mary and I have been apart for a couple of weeks but we are reunited now! It's a peaceful stitch with not too much reverse stitching, lol! At first I was sorry I hadn't gone with the colours given but tucking a few different shades into the monochrome has definitelly given the piece a lift. For enquiring minds threads (so far) that I am using are Waterlilies Winter Wheat (monochrome part) together with Gloriana Sable and Silk n' Colours Fallen Leaves.

I'm rechallenging myself to a couple of needlefuls a day again. Let's see how I do!

My Mary

Shown below is my Mary. I haven't worked on her nearly enough lately. I have decided that I hate the fabric that I am using, but I have too many hours invested to change that...I think!

This was the official beginning to my "blue and green" period. I'm still there and it makes me happy. I would like to replace the original initials with the letters of the alphabet like I saw someone on the Needleprint site do.

I'm in the process of finishing up a BlackBird Design project with hearts, but am looking forward to getting back to Mary after that...at least on a part time basis.

Bobbi

Another New Member!

Hi, All -

My name is Bobbi and I live in the Cleveland area. I just came across this blog for the first time this morning and am thrilled to be able to join. I started my Mary quite a while ago, but she has gone to the bottom of the list a few times in favor of new starts and some actual finishes.

I am a widow, a mother to two, a grandmother to five, and will become a great-grandmother in July. Where in the world does the time go?

I have to run out to do some errands that I have been putting off for a couple of snowy days, but I will post a photo of my Mary over the weekend. I look forward to becoming excited about this project again and meeting the goal of having the project completed in 2010. I will catch up on all your photos and posts over the weekend, also.

Bobbi - Ohio

Hello

Another new Mary here. My name is Jennifer and I live in Dallas, TX with my partner of 13 plus years, our two-year old, an elderly boxer/pug and a middle aged fox terrier.
I have to finish a project (a service flag in honor of my nephew) for my sister in law before I can start my Mary. Little did I know that was not my only obstacle.
Finding the supplies has been a real pain! I am returning to needlework after twenty-year hiatus. I had no idea how hard it is to find quality supplies now! The WalMarts, JoAnns, and Michaels have made it really difficult. I've decided I'm done with them.
I have a couple leads on some far flung independent shops. A trip to any is going to have to be a planned adventure due to my little sidekick. Anyone in the DFW area with some favorite local shops, please email me. j.roberts.ratliff@gmail.com

Thank you to those of you that have posted about what materials you used and where you found them. While my daughter fought a nap, I placed my order today for some linen and thread - and a new, free standing scroll frame. (A huge splurge for me.)

This is the corner of our bedroom where I like to work. It's drafty and the view isn't so great (except in spring when the trees bud.) but the rest of our little house is behind my back when I sit here and so I can pretend that the mountains of laundry and towers of mail are someone else's problem.

Since I have no work to show, I'm posting this to ensure that I finish that darn needlepoint service flag and am ready to start Mary as soon as the supplies arrive. I hope to publish my first start (I usually have to rip out the first 2-5 starts.) here next week.

My thanks to everyone posting and following here. You have been a real inspiration to me since I discovered Needleprint just a month or so ago.

Jenny

A newbie and her MW

Hello, my name is Lisa D from California and I am new to USA MW blog. I started my MW Thanksgiving weekend 2009 and unfortunately put her down mid-December as exchange stitching took priority. I am stitching Mary on 40ct Maple Syrup Linen using 1 strand over 2. I started out using the GAST color conversion, but as I stitch motif after motif, I find myself changing the "assigned" color. I find stitching the motifs very relaxing and cannot wait to get back to stitching MW. I look forward to participating on this blog as I know it will inspire me to continue working and finishing MW.

Thank you Valerie for inviting me to participate.

Take care everyone and remember:

Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often!

Lisa

Snowy Weekend In Northern Virginia

Took Miss Mary to work with me this weekend, I was covering for some of the other Call Center Agents that couldn't get in because of our 20 to 25 inches of snow. I spent 25 hours working from 11:30 Saturday morning till Monday morning at 11am. Didn't get as much done as I hoped to since we where pretty busy. I am changing the colors a little so you can see them better on the 1st piece of tea-dye material I made. I am doing this on 25 ct evenweave with 1 over 1.
I hope we will be seeing more process pictures in the next few months and I promise to do my part to keep my updates coming.
Happy Stitching
March Ann

New Memeber

Thank you Valerie for letting me come aboard. I have just started my Mary a week ago and have a little progress to show. I have been drooling over everyone's project and just had to start myself. I will be using the recommended linen and DMC threads with maybe a couple color changes. I also probably won't be ironing this piece every time I post a pic. I heard it could mess with the fibers, so I apologize for the sloppiness.

Happy Stitching,

Hillery

Mary is still Alive and Well

I know it's been forever since I posted but Mary is still alive and working. I have just gone back over the many lovely posts you've all been putting up. It is just amazing how many different ways one design can look so beautiful! Keep up the wonderful stitching my friends.

Well, here is my Mary as of January 31, 2010.

clickable

Yoyo Progress 4 -- Mary Wigham Forever sampler.
Over 1 on 40 ct Lakeside Linens
V. Lt. Examplar Linen using over-dyed conversion threads (list posted here)

Intro and Blog Update

Hi Everyone,

As Shari announced, she has stepped down from being the group leader and I have offered to come on board. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Shari for stepping up to the plate in the very beginning and setting up this blog for all of us. She did a great job! Soon after she became group leader, she became a grandma to triplet grandsons and she's been juggling lots of bottles and diapers! She's been busy.

I just started my Mary in November and have been loving her even though I'm still on Part 1. It's not too late to start! It's a New Year, the holidays are behind us and it's time to dig our Mary's out of the closet! I know I would love to see how yours are all coming along!

Announcements

~ There is one more spot available on the blog. If someone would like to be a member and is working on Mary or about to start, please email me for an invite. First come, first served. My email is on the sidebar in the "Welcome" section.

~ If there is anyone who is no longer interested in being a member, please email me and I can take you off as an author and open up some free spaces. Don't feel bad...life happens and frankly, I was supposed to start my own Mary back in June and didn't get to it until November. But I'm glad I did!

~ I changed the look of the blog a little and will probably change it around a little more. Don't be surprised if one day it's one way and the next it's another. I'm just playing around.

I think that's it. Please feel free to email me if you have questions or blog layout ideas.

Thanks!
Valerie

New Leader---Welcome Valerie

hello all,
I have been in contact with Valerie & she is willing to take over as the leader of the USA group for Mary Wigham. Thank you so much Valerie. I am staying on as a member of the blog, but I will not be the contact person any longer. Any concerns can be voiced to Valerie, who is in the member list.
Please, keep working on your Mary's!!!!
I have enjoyed getting to know some of you better, thru this blog!
Shari

Group Leader

I have been a terrible group leader. I have not worked on my Mary in eons & I haven't posted here either.
I would like to offer the leadership of this blog to someone else, someone who would like to make this a great place to be.
If you are interested, drop me an email or reply to this post. I will check it often for a while, with hopes of the right person seeing it & wanting to take over!
Keep up the great work, those of you still working on your Mary!
Shari