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Monday, February 22, 2016

Frances Cheyney - continued

Finished this band with the mother, child and cat in time to celebrate my mother's Birthday. It was an intense amount of stitching with lots of finer points to be figured out. I didn't stick to the instructions or the pictures provided and changed some elements, added others and at present I am not planning on using the colored silk to stitch the facial features ..seems a bit odd to introduce color in an otherwise all white sampler. I had contacted the museum and Margriet in hopes of getting a better picture of the original sampler but have not received such information yet. After I finish stitching the last band I will revisit some of the 'liberties' I did take and decide. This sampler is a lot of fun to stitch and I am intrigued by the various ways thread and needle have to be manipulated to give various effects with very simple stitches.
My design interpretation instead of the scary severed head  on the original sampler 

Close up 
Close up of my needle lace design

POST SCRIPT dated February 24,2016 :
Thank you all so much for your most enthusiastic support - needlework brings a special joy into my life each day and I am glad if this small sample of my stitching brought you some joy too. 

There are a few questions that keep cropping up so I thought I would address them here:
1.  I am using the materials provided in the kit from Essamplaire (40ct. Linen and Linen threads of two weights)

2. I posted the following as a reply on another Facebook group but since this question seems to crop up often I decided to post it here  also.
This sampler  uses various whitework techniques like Drawn thread, Pulled thread and Needlelace techniques.  In this area for example I am removing the foundation fabric (linen), leaving a few threads behind which are then wrapped or woven. This grid then allows me then to put in a scaffold of sorts with thread and then using either detached buttonhole stitch, picots, needleweaving etc make a design.  There are also some other stitches like dove's eye, spiderwebs etc (hardanger techniques).  
The result of using basically a buttonhole stitch is similar to crochet - you create a new 'fabric' from thread like in knitting or crochet (which I also love) but this is all created with a tapestry needle and thread.  Hope this helps understand the process a bit more.
Thanks for all your compliments but it may look complicated and the kit may be marked as "for very advanced stitchers" but it is actually quite easy...it challenges your patience though;) I do hope you try your hand at some of the whitework techniques and suggest trying a simple band or project first if you have never done this or hardanger.

3.  I have been asked to give an opinion on this sampler /chart etc. many times now. I will address this after I finish the last remaining band of this sampler.  I am working on the last band now so I hope you understand and can hang in!

15 comments:

kiwimeskreations said...

Beautiful work Nupur - I agree with not introducing colour on the faces. I am so enjoying your sharing your work on this sampler
Blessings
Maxine

Glenna said...

Oh, boy. So glad I found your blog. Breathtaking.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

Absolutely gorgeous work. I really like the plain faces. Beautiful!

wichitastitcher said...

This work is beyond words it is so beautiful.

Paula Shelgren

Ann said...

Exquisite!!!

D1-D2 said...

Very cool. I actually didn't notice the cat.

Kristy in Maryland said...

Your work is inspiring! Have you shown any detailed stitch diagrams for this sampler? That would be fun to see, as this white work seems daunting. Thanks so much for sharing your expertise with us.

Anonymous said...

Lovely work, Nupur. I have this project in my stash. I wonder if I'll ever get to it. Seeing your progress is inspiring, though.

Carol S.

Anonymous said...

Stunningly beautiful! Your needle must be singing with joy to produce such wonderful work. I love all of it, but the quirky cat is a special delight. Frances Cheyney must have been an extraordinary stitcher - as are you to be able to reproduce the sampler. Elaine in Australia

Anonymous said...

Wondrous work Nupur. Thank you for sharing.

Anita said...

Your work is truly an inspiration to me! I appreciate the close-up photos. Please post more!!! Your photos will be a life saver if I'm to have any chance at stitching this piece! I was very disappointed with the meager photos that came with the chart. Thank you so much for sharing your work!

Jennifer said...

It's great to see your progress. Beautiful work!

Ellen said...

This is incredible!! Such a beautiful sampler stitched by a VERY talented needleworker!

Maria del Valle said...

Thanks by sharing your excellent work dear Nupur!! I love it! 😘😍

Rachael Kinnison said...

Just checking in to see if you have finished Frances Cheney yet Nupur~ cant wait to see it!