Sailing Away.......695

 

My voyage to find and stitch the Sailor's Valentine by C A Wells has finally reached shore. I started  on this journey 15+ years ago when I was signed up for this class but CA backed out at the last minute. It was disappointing and aggravating, but set me on a course of determination to track down this unicorn. A little over a year ago I put an ISO post on a FB page and a friend responded that she had the chart/instructions and would give it to me. Holey moley was I ecstatic!!!  I immediately pulled together the fabric and fibers and it sat in a project bag for over a year. I finally decided 2023 was the year to "get 'er done" and this became my January 1st start. We didn't get off to a great start as the instructions are fairly minimal and very vague, not to mention her charting. But I took my time, read and reread and pulled on my knowledge of classes taken with other teachers. Oh, and there was a bit of cursing involved!!! It is done and I am extremely happy with it. It will be my Valentine gift to Rich, but will live in my display cabinet. I included a little note on the inside for the future.

So, the nitty gritty......as I did change things up. I stitched the main parts on  32 ct White Chocolate linen  (the original was on 30 ct) and used a 27 ct banding instead of linen for the edging. The original design had you doing all those four sided stitches on a piece of linen, then sewing a piece of ribbon up the center.  I wanted to be able to stitch something on the banding so had to 'reinvent the wheel'. I used a variety of silk fibers: Gloriana, Belle Soie, Silk n Colors and Waterlilies.....trying to stitch from stash. By the way...the White Chocolate linen is perfect for 3D pieces; it is a stiffer fabric and stands up nicely....plus a nice neutral color.

Okay, now for the photos....I hope you enjoy them.

Front

Back

Inside

Edges with song lyrics

The lyrics are from an song by The Seekers....."I could search the whole world over.....but know I'll never find another you'. I had to edit them to fit.

Some other changes were the addition of the scrimshaw compass on the back, switched out the stitched dog on the bow with a dolphin charm and changed the location and longitude/latitude info from Martha's Vineyard to Ocean City, Maryland. I also changed the closure from a button to a peg. 

Well, I think that sums it all up. I am thankful to the friend that passed her chart on to me and  my dear friend, Paola, who shared photos of her finished piece that made it much easier to visualize what I needed to do. Stitchy friends are the BEST!!!

Now I am off to pack for my annual trip to OCMD tomorrow for Super Bowl weekend. A plug for Salty Yarns..they have  a great sale this weekend and you can earn 10-30% off your order, for in stock items, depending on what you spend. I've got my list ready!!!

Thanks for stopping by and your "twisted threads" of friendship!

Stasi