Oh Happy Day....New English Sampler

Today my new sampler came in the mail! Oh happy day! It's feels like Christmas! I really need to stay off eBay,but I can't seem to help myself. This is my first English sampler and I have to say when I opened the package I was pleasantly surprised. Although I absolutely love our american samplers they sometimes lack the vibrant colors I long to use when stitching. This one has vibrant pinks, greens (my favorite color),blues and beiges and even a tad of violet. I believe this time I'm going to use overdyed threads. The original Ann Merchant was stitched with silks and I tried to stay very true to the original (because she was a family member). But this one has all kinds of possibilities. With Ann, I also tried to recreate what she would have looked like 150 years ago. On this one, I think I will reproduce it looking aged. It has stood the test of time very well. It came to me already framed so it has been preserved well. The verse on it reads: Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth. Eccles. XII I. I have so many ideas for new original designs and am working on a new release for later this month. I am still charting another sampler, Mary Pilgrim that I purchased last summer! She is very detailed and has some over one stitching that kind of slows you down when charting...but I think she's also going to be a beauty when completed. Also planning to participate in the Online Needlework Show in October. The summer went by quickly here in south Texas. I'm ready for some cooler weather...no hurricanes so far this year...but we aren't out of the season yet....so I'll just keep my fingers crossed that we can make it on through hurricane season without any storms. A cool front is scheduled to come through here tomorrow...it will be 90 degrees instead of our usual 100-102 degrees :). I don't care, it's a start to cooler days! Happy stitching!