Samplers-and-Santas
Just wanted to remind you of this product, invaluable for sandals and summer sling backs, tank top and spaghetti straps, and peeking bra straps. My legs are crossed and I'm twisting my ankles, and look how the straps still hold. I was never able to wear these because of the sling constantly falling down.
Here's the baskets after their Rit dye bath of Pearl Gray, Black, Orange, and a touch of green. Rit's brown and black have a red tone which I don't like, therefore, the green to tone it down. Each basket dyed a little differently.
And my Sargent Crabs made it! They were almost dead last summer so I was hoping to see blossoms this spring.
I burned a dozen very small wood boxes that I planned on painting and was tired of storing, and found this little dome in with them. I covered it - sidetracked. Now I'm playing with the large heart boxes and some others instead of completing my work. Which led to another idea I'm working on and can't wait to try.
Bingo! Right on target. If I made it as a pinkeep, I guess this is to be expected. Do you ever stitch a design for this purpose, or do you display as such and not use it? If you've used a 35 count tight weave, your chances of splitting would be greater, right? Just curious.
My next color was 351 and I removed the letters after seeing it in place. The brights are growing on me, but this one was like a nerve conduction test. So I decided to use the 351 that I dipped in a speck of gray dye. Pretty isn't it? Some floss took the gray with one quick dip and others, barely a change. This was a quick dipper.
Pulled through the loop, slipped the needle under the fabric, and came up at the correct spot. The loop disappeared and I can't even tell where it was. Keeping the needle flat, I used a piece of paper to cover the linen starting directly where the needle came out.
This made it really easy to stitch without snagging onto any other threads. Ended with the needle beneath the fabric to catch the back threads and it worked.
I think that's what did it for me. And yes, they may get dusty without protection and eventually change somewhat, but that's the look we try to achieve for reproductions, and being pressed against this film can't be good either. Being completely sealed, this must be an off-gas from the threads. Or the mounting board? Acid free yes, but there are glues and binders in mat board and who knows what in foam. Spacers would prevent the build up where the floss touches but would it still release something? So do they need to breathe? Is it because of something in my house? Another thing I noticed - the old pieces that didn't have the paper dust cover were not as filmy. ??? Pros and cons for both methods and I like the elegant beauties behind glass, and the primitive repro's bare naked. As I'm typing this, I'm looking at large Hannah on the wall. The sun angles here briefly only at sunset in spring before the trees leaf, and I can see it needs to be unassembled and cleaned also. Take a look at how dull and hazy this is. 
