Samplers are always 'fun' to have in the works - they provide a good break from other complicated projects and I do have a good collection of reproduction samplers in my stash that I have always wanted to stitch/finish.
I have decided that both Ann Scutt and Margret Gatis will be two of the 'new' Scarlet Letter samplers I will be working on besides finishing Elizabeth Harborne and two other samplers (still have to decide which ones) in 2014.
Still have to decide which projects will be on my list in other areas... good things to keep my brain occupied while I stitch on these samplers.
To make things more accessible to me and to decrease the pile of frames in my needlework area downstairs I decided to frame both Ann Scutt and Margaret Gatis together - this will give me a chance to work on both of them at the same time. This is what they look like together :
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| Ann Scutt (left side) and Margret Gatis (right side) - Framed together - hope this will work The Song of my Needle |
I was most intrigued by Band 5 of Margaret Gatis and skipped over to that band and work on that yesterday - spent a glorious afternoon stitching after a very long time! It felt really good to take some time out...
Here are some of the pictures of my progress so far - I decided to change the gold colored silk from the lighter color specified for the blackwork area to one of the others - I felt that the lighter color was hardly visible from afar. So even though I thought I would work this exactly as charted I've made a change right from the start. The stitch direction of the central flower is not specified nor is it very clear on the photograph provided with the chart so this is my interpretation of it... it was an interesting and time consuming area but fun. I would have loved to have seen close ups of the original sampler though - it may have given me more insights into what the thought processes of stitchers in those times were. I stitched this flower from the outside in but if stitched differently there would be a different profile/dimension... in this interpretation the central area is foreground and the outermost red petal satin stitch area is receding/background. While I was stitching it I was tempted to use other stitches (fly stitch for example) but decided to stick with just satin stitch as specified and not make it too complicated.
Progress on Marget Gatis so far :
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| Margret Gatis - Day 2/Band 5 The Song of my Needle |
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| Margret Gatis - Day 2/Band 5 The Song of my Needle |
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| Margret Gatis - Day 2/Band 5 The Song of my Needle |
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| Margret Gatis - Day 2/Band 5 The Song of my Needle |
mj - if this is the band/flower you were referring to let me know - perhaps this closeup above will help you figure it out (if you like my interpretation that is) ... these are just some of the pictures and I would be glad to send you others if you feel it helps.
