Quick update : Agnes Begbe sampler & a new start

The month of May ushered in lots of celebrations.... my parents 60th wedding anniversary, graduations from high school and universities in the immediate family and finally, signs of Spring!

Life on my end has been busy - the organizational review of all systems continues on the side - a lot of work but also a good feeling to slowly be getting back to ‘old routines’.

It seems like the posts where I express my opinions in needlework do generate a lot of interest - there are many ways and lots of things I know have worked better for me than others - I usually don’t share too much of that because I realize that most things are personal preference.  Please let me know if you would want me to share some of the tools and ways I have found to work for me ...

So, I know some of you are curious to see the recently completed samplers ... I will post  my working photographs today - I was waiting for good light to take better pictures.
Yesterday would have been a good day for this but I was too busy taking a day off and watching the Italian Open tennis championships  🎾 and then the Preakness horse races 🏇 🐎 after that!
So here are some photographs of Agnes Begbe : 

May 8,2019

Agnes Begbe  - The Examplarery

www.thesongofmyneedle.blogspot.com
35ct. Linen & DMC threads in the kit 

And then, like it often is after I have finished a project, I feel extremely odd just sitting there and watching TV... I just didn’t feel like getting into something ‘complicated ‘ at the moment since the days are pretty filled with ‘organizational’ decisions and leave me quite tired at the end of the day. 

The other day when I was ‘helping’ a friend choose her next project I had made the big mistake of opening my file cabinets filled with fun and easy samplers suitable for travel etc.  I had taken out three samplers to show her ... Agnes Begbe was one of them ... and the next one was another sampler kit by Joanne Harvey.  Another kit I had bought a very long time ago ... I always like to begin a needlework project  on a ‘special’ day ( birthdays in the family, anniversaries etc ).  I had been resisting the urge to start a rather complicated Japanese Embroidery project on my parents’ 60th anniversary and sitting around after coming home from the luncheon celebration with them was just too ‘weird’ ... I knew we would be busy with a longer /larger celebration on Saturday  so, on Friday evening, I started this simple sampler instead :

 

It was fun setting it all up on Friday night and then having something fun and easy to work on while watching 🎾 tennis or horse racing 🏇 these past few evenings or watching some interesting videos on YouTube on music, musicians, history/ crafts etc etc ...  it turned out to be a perfect project since I was feeling a bit under the weather too...

So, here are some progress photos on this new project - A Norwich Sampler by The Examplarery... using all the kit materials - 27 ct. linen & 2 strands of DMC threads provided in the kit.

www.thesongofmyneedle.blogspot.com

Completed Agnes Begbe - The Examplarery

Just a quick note - I will post in greater detail on this beautiful Scottish sampler by the Examplarery.
It was a sampler I started on a whim last month... it is a sampler that is not very challenging for me but was perfect for at least keeping my hands doing something  ‘needlework related ‘ during a very busy month.

This is just a quick post to address something I have seen many people discuss on social media and it is a topic I have addressed here on this blog many times before.  I know I have been remiss in following up with photographs etc for many years now.  The question on what materials to use, whether it is on ground materials like linen vs. Aida or congress cloth,  or what threads to use - cotton or silk or others - is an entirely personal choice.   I have noted a tendency for some time now where people discuss the counts of linen or their choice of silk threads as something that puts them in a ‘sophisticated league’ of sorts ... I really feel that we should first and foremost ENJOY our time with needle and thread, enjoy our hobby and use the materials that best suit our abilities, our budgets and our specific lifestyles at this moment in Time ... I enjoy seeing everyone’s work - it is all beautiful to me because it is first and foremost, a manifestation of our life’s energy, an expression of our creativity and just one example of how we choose to spend our time on this Earth.
I don’t feel that silk is ‘better than’ mere cotton threads - it is as always not so much about the materials we use but rather, for me,  more about our personal attention to detail and personal commitment towards Excellence.  And, over the years, I also know that ‘life’s circumstances’ change abruptly sometimes,  and one may be faced with physical or other  challenges that make it difficult to even make a ‘simple’ cross stitch as ‘easily’ as one once could.
Anyway,  even though this is a ‘reproduction sampler’ we will rarely / never have access to the type of linen or the types of silks people had access to in the 1600s, 1700s, etc ...

Many of you following me for a while know by now that I enjoy working and learning and continue honing my skills in a variety of different types of needlework.  I have taught many types of needlework before, actively teach Japanese silk embroidery, always  to a very small group of students etc...

I am grateful to have a profession I thoroughly enjoy and various hobbies - needlework is one of my favorite ones. When I look at the life and stresses and quality for work expected  of ‘professional embroiderers’ all over the world,  I am always inspired by their beautiful work but also thankful that I can just ‘enjoy’ needlework on a ‘hobby level’ .... so that is why I feel really sad when somehow lately some people are made to feel ‘inferior’ because they choose a lower count of linen or if they choose cotton threads over silk threads etc...
so, here is a quick photograph I just took of this sampler I finished last night - I used all the materials provided in the kit so thoughtfully put together by Joanne Harvey of The Examplarery.  I hope I can capture the sheen of DMC cotton threads for you ...  35 ct. linen and one strand of DMC thread was my choice instead of the 2 strands of floss recommended by Joanne ...
I will post a more complete post on this sampler and also on silk vs cotton threads soon ...
Hope this helps some of you ‘feel better’ .... like I always say : the main thing is to enjoy the process and the journey.... there is Beauty all around us and as always one can always find room for improvement of one’s skill - that is part of what makes Life such a great adventure !

Agnes Begbe- The Examplarery ... the sheen of cotton threads 

Again, these are just my thoughts - I have received many emails of late ... we should all support each other and be grateful of  the fact that in this world we can actually have the luxury to pursue our ‘hobbies’ whether they be with silk or cotton threads.