A New Cross Stitch

Two days ago , I started a new project . My husband is the family genealogist. Because of this, when his Mom passed away, he was given all the family mementos. This included two wonderful pictures of his Grandparents. We think the pictures were taken for their marriage. I wanted to do something to honor them. I decided to stitch a sampler with their names and wedding date. I do love Blackbird Designs and they often suggest ways to personalize their samplers. I collected all the "Anniversaries of the Heart" series. The last one, Elizabeth Jane , had a bonus pattern called "for those recorded here." We thought it was very pretty and it had a good space for adding information. So that's the one we chose. I'm changing 3 colors so it will look good in the dining room where the pictures are hung. The 3 colors that were suggested were too pink. My room is more of a cinnamon color, so I chose threads that will compliment that color.

Here is the lady known by my husband as Grandma Boo. Her name at this time was Edna Bandina Johnson. These are old frames with old convex (curved outward) glass. Sorry for the glare!

Here we have James Washington Witter. He died when Jim's Mom was very young.

Here is the cover of the chart that I'll be using.

Here is the bonus pattern. As you can see, there is quite a bit of writing so I hope to have room for their names , the place where they were married , and the date.

I found a new source of thread. As I have mentioned, prior to my new discovery, JoAnns was my only local source for thread. That meant I had to take my chance with colors and order online. A nearby quilt shop has stared carrying a few cross stitch supplies(Thank You) !! They have Weeks Dye Works threads and Gentle Arts threads. They also have a small but good supply of linen. The shop is located in a small town called Port Gamble, WA. The picture shows a very nice 2-ply thread they carry. It is great to work with and the colors are super. They have several shades of a color sort of like the Needlepoint Silks.

The first motif is done and this does show my color choice.
Thanks for taking a look. If our plans go as we hope I'll have some great pictures to show tomorrow!