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.

A long overdue 'brief' update

It has been quite a while since my last blogpost ... the past few months have been good ones, productive ones.  Life has started to resume it's old rhythm which I am most grateful for.

First of all, I want to thank all of you who have emailed me personally, prodded me on Facebook or nudged me on Messenger or WhatsApp... inquiring about my projects, my hands, my activities and hoping I will continue posting on my blog.  I was touched by all this interest and a bit surprised too ... the 'Follower' area has not really changed much over the years, nor are there many messages left here; if I post a link on my Facebook page I get some activity with 'thumbs up' emoticons mostly...  so I have often wondered about the relevance of this idea of blogging for me personally.

You see, I am perfectly happy working away on my own projects of diverse nature in my own little corner of the world... I love all sorts of needlework as most of you might know and am passionate and intense about it - like just about anything I choose to spend my time on.  I started this blog at a time when I was down with a nasty cold/cough years ago, on a whim and egged on by people on another sampler blog (now defunct) who wanted to see more photographs of my samplers.
I am dealing with another one of those unscheduled cough/fever downtimes right now and decided to try and figure out the issues relating to why I cannot connect to my blog using my Apple devices....
still haven't been able to figure that out yet but, finally, now that my neglected laptop has finished updating a million things, I am just trying this post out - seems like a lot has changed again!

I have surprised myself as to how many things I did complete last year when I was going through my self prescribed 'hand therapy' mode of choosing projects.  I didn't realize it myself until I was putting them all away in the 'finished, yet to be framed' drawers or in the ' completed, can be used' drawers.  I took pictures on my phone ( not the camera anymore for a while now after I learned about the pirating issues and copyright issues ) ... but still, the phone takes pretty detailed photographs which makes me hesitate to post large or detailed pictures like I used to.  Even so, I know that the more recent pictures are not a deterrent to a determined person...which is really a shame.  My main reason for blogging on mainly samplers was to encourage people to try other stitches and explore this amazing world of 'needlework'; and many of you have emailed me to tell me that after you read my ramblings,  you  are now happily over your 'fear' and are busy learning and trying techniques you once never dared to even try.... my smattering of a few crewel, stumpwork, whitework, Schwalm, and other little needlework posts interspersed between the sampler posts have also had the desired effect and people have either started learning or rekindled their love of crewel for example.

Lots to share but have to still figure out all the new things here and the interfaces etc. and see if this even posts.  I even have a perfect sampler I started and finished this year that would have been good for a post yesterday, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
SO, I will be back to blogging periodically if this works and I can figure out the other issues shortly ...

For now, just experimenting with photos - from old blogposts:

Lessons in life and needlework

In the early hours of the morning exactly a month ago I realized that the amount of time for the body to heal is something one cannot always plan or predict. This is still a lesson I have to learn with all it's nuances.
Hard to do when until recently I was fortunate to live life simply by planning and doing whatever it took to make things happen according to my own time table...
I have to embrace a different approach and allow my body to heal on it's own time ... and accept 'defeat' and be grateful for the continued improvement ...
and let some things go.
For most people my progress is already almost 'normal healing and movement'... just happen to demand a lot more of myself in my profession and in my 'serious needlework projects'.... never knew how much I have fine tuned things over the years ... still working towards being pain free and regaining "my" full range of movement...

I will post on some of the needlework projects I have been busy with these past months shortly.

Lessons of 2016 and a new approach for 2017

As 2016 comes to a close and 2017 approaches, I can only sense it's potential. After quite some time I feel an excitement
about the coming year, about the chance to write a happier story and dream about all the possible stitches I want to make,
trips I want to take and things I want to learn.

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and hope it brings us all many moments of Joy and Inner Peace.

During these past few weeks of 'mandatory recuperation' I have finally had some insights that have brought me some peace.
Some of these points are worth sharing here since these topics reoccur in various chat groups and had been nagging issues
for me over the years.
In the past, my vast and varied 'stash' of needlework items had started to become a source of worry and analysis; I tried to see
if I could just limit my interest to one or two types of embroidery. The benefits of just sticking to one technique would be many:
I tried to convince myself to no avail that it would be simpler, more productive use of time, more focused
and easier on the pocket book. And, for years I have tried to prioritize and arrange my needlework projects, books and
accessories that way - only to have to change it all around again when I focused my thoughts and attention to another
technique that suddenly caught my fancy!

I had never considered my books to be a burden - they were a wealth of knowledge and inspiration always.
I had wondered about my need to keep all the different hoops and working frames, stands, lights, needles, and stuff I had accumulated over the years as I delved into this art form further and deepened my understanding, learned new skills, and refined others.

This 'mandatory pause' in most activity because of my broken ankle and severely sprained hands made it clear to me how much I enjoy all the various aspects of creativity with needle and thread. Initially, my books and surfing the internet gave me hours of adventure and I discovered many new techniques I will study more in the years ahead.
Then, within a few days I realized that I could just not sit still anymore. Although watching old shows and Christmas movies on TV is most pleasurable, I felt truly unproductive and realized how much TV watching for me is more about listening to it while I stitch.

As I contemplated what I could possibly stitch, I finally came to the realization that so many of my 'side projects' were started when I was not feeling well or when other aspects of life demanded more of my attention... and that having them all in my stash is a luxury I am most thankful for!
At this time for example, I knew I could not continue with any of the other projects I was working on before my fall - my hands were just not able to be that precise yet, nor did they have the strength; besides, the brace and the bandages ruled out silk work right away. So, I started slowly with a new sampler, on a lesser count of linen with larger holes in the linen to reduce the force required when pulling the needle in and out and allowing me to use a thicker needle ...


it was very slow going and not too 'interesting' but I managed to establish all the bands on Martha Salter, an intermediate level sampler by the Scarlet Letter which was quite an achievement.


Then I decided to add another project to the mix to start building more flexibility and movements into my self imposed therapy program. I needed something requiring more strength and allowing me to use various parts of my hand and fingers as I made the stitches. Martha Salter had a lot of satin stitches but in smaller areas which would require more precision; the Christmas runner I chose allowed me to test my stitching, my hands and build strength using a larger needle with more threads... the movements required were quite painful at first and not easy at all to do; I still need a lot of breaks and progress is still slow and yet, each day I could see an improvement in my stitches, each day my hands felt a bit stronger!

The orthopedic surgeon had instructed me to keep my broken ankle in the boot and my leg elevated at all times, so my Lowery floor stand and a larger hoop allowed me to recline back and stitch comfortably. The needle provided in the kit was too big and required too much force to pull through the fabric but having my stash of needles allowed me to switch to a thinner Bohin Crewel needle and continue in my self imposed therapy! I know that my needlework therapy along with the physical therapy will make it possible to resume my activities within a week or so... my leg will take longer to heal but at least my hands will be back to full function. So , having a variety of stands and needlework accessories is not such a bad thing after all!

I realize now how much I rely on my needlework to gauge when I can get back to work and what type of activities I can engage in ... it is not just one type of needlework that allows me to do this but rather the freedom to move between a variety of projects from my stash, using various types of stands and frames and paraphernalia. 

So, the biggest lesson I have learned at the end of this year is to embrace my stash of needlework items and treasure them with gratitude.
This also applies to all my other interests and 'collections'... I had not had a chance to read my German literature books for years or look at all the TIME LIFE Art books I had collected as a student by saving up for each volume. Having the time these past weeks proved to me how much I treasure books.

In this coming year, I will go through my stash and remove the projects I know I will not want to stitch at all, and I will not necessarily keep buying 'more' needlework projects; my focus will still be to work on projects I already have in my stash BUT I am finally free of 'feeling guilty' about it all... all my interests and collections bring me Joy, so from now on I will embrace them all and be thankful for my stash.

I have learned to be grateful for the small things , accept the slight imperfections in my stitches as small 'victories over the challenges and struggles of life' and leave them as part of the history marking the event in my life; as a quiet reminder of that time in my life - such imperfections only being apparent to me and to those who take the time to inspect things closely anyway. 

Wishing you all a happy and productive New Year - may you all enjoy the pleasure of spending time with needle and thread. I hope that my ramblings above make some of you feel less guilty about stash and more thankful for it. People 'collect' all sorts of things and spend time doing all sorts of things that they may never ever 'perfect' - they do them for various reasons and most do not feel guilty spending their money or time doing something that brings them joy. Not sure why I was starting to attach all these negative feelings to my books and needlework stash ... perhaps because 'life's events' these past years have made my needlework time less productive... but I am finally free of all that and finally have a way on how to arrange my needlework stash so I can enjoy all aspects of it. 

  I can't wait to implement it all and do look forward to all the adventures ahead with needle and threads and projects from my stash!

Life's little triumphs...

Had a good Saturday - even though I am supposed to remain inactive and keep my foot elevated and not walk, I decided that I could not let my students down and managed to make it through Japanese embroidery class as scheduled.
Many of you want me to post my Japanese embroidery pieces here - maybe one day I will .... but for now I wanted to share one of my student's pieces.
She has had some difficult 'life challenges' to overcome and it is difficult to find the 'quiet' to work with filament silk and figure out new techniques when the mind and heart are elsewhere.

I am thankful for the opportunity to show my small group of students some of the intricacies of this technique as I have understood them; thankful that they put up with all my persnickety quirks and that they strive to do the best job they possibly can at that moment in time and that even though we are all seriously engaged in learning techniques, we all still manage to have fun and share laughs and learn from each other's experiences!

Life is so rich because of all the little details!

She persevered and here is her triumphant result:

A mandatory pause ... time to think!

A fall on a hidden metal rim and an uneven surface ... assuming it was an even sidewalk.... a bit banged up and bruised and a twisted ankle so I thought initially. 

Lots of wrong decisions made - continuing on with 'scheduled activity' instead of taking a moment to pause.  Will power and focus are good up to a point ....

X-rays reveal fractures in my leg/ankle, hand etc. ... could have been a lot worse - instinctively shielded my eye with my hand.

So, mandatory 'rest' of all extremities now - time to reflect and reset my thinking and plan ahead... thankful that this lesson was not as tough and life changing as it could have been ....