This & That

This is my BIG piece of 30 count R&R linen (Old Town Blend) that I bought for Anniversaries of the Heart; however, when I got the piece of linen, (purchased online with a birthday discount) I wasn't really thrilled with the look of the fabric. It had some funky coffee stains on it in just one place. So, I remembered some distress solution I bought a while back from Lori at Not Forgotten Farms. So, getting brave (what have I got to lose, I said to myself, it was only a 33.00 piece of linen ACK), I got out the solution, sprayed it evenly on all the fabric, scrunched it up, put it on a cookie sheet and baked it in the oven on 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. This is what it came out looking like. I love it! Now it's all ready to go...just need to find some time to stitch. Dear readers, I know I'm going to stitch this piece in hand because of its huge size, but how would you handle all the fabric? I'm thinking Q-Snaps and one of those claw clips women use in their hair? Any other ideas on what to do to keep the huge amount of fabric out of the way of the stitch area? Would you fold and baste it...or what? Next up is a project I stitched way back in September but forgot to take pictures. This was a Swan Sampler Guild project that was designed last year by our guild treasurer, Linda Schmunk, to commemorate the guild's 10th anniversary. I just had an itch to stitch it one day, grabbed myself some linen and Belle Soie "Cranberry" silk thread and stitched it up. The blackwork for the ruler keeper took the most time to stitch. I actually hated stitching that part, but love how it turned out (I guess I will do more blackwork again because I like the way it looks), but stitching it was just a pain! The wood pieces were purchased through Bloom Woodworks. What a fabulous online company to work with! As a side note though, after I got done with all the finish work and after glueing the oval part on the floss keeper, I realized I had inadvertantly left off the date 2001-2011. Doh! Not gonna take it apart...I'm just not....so it'll have to do. I am slowly making progress on the "A Sweeter Love" sampler, but not enough for pictures, hopefully next time! Hope everyone is having a great week and finding lots of time to stitch!