Margret Gatis - complete - pictures as promised

I had promised to post pictures of the completed sampler this weekend so here are some really quick pictures.  I am in the midst of finishing up some projects for submission in this upcoming week and will add to this entry later on but figured that some of you may be curious to see the sampler finished.

Full sampler

top portion

bottom portion

closer view - top

closer view - middle

closer view - bottom part

Day 15 : Completed Margret Gatis - final band

Completed Margret Gatis on Monday night - St. Patrick's Day.
Just a quick post of the way I completed this band which was is just charted for satin stitches and buttonhole eyelets.  I somehow always felt the urge to add more stitches to give the band some texture and had skipped over it in the beginning so that I could think about it a bit.  As the sampler developed I really felt that this band could easily lend itself to more texture.  Below are some pictures of my interpretation - I added fly stitches, fishbone stitches and a variety of eyelet stitches and also played with the directions/length of satin stitches to add effects by the play of light on the silk threads as well as color placement.  All satin stitches would have been just fine as charted in the original but this gave me more 'interesting' stitching time.   So here are some pictures of my interpretation of this band which completes this sampler at this point.
I will take some time over the weekend and post the full picture but thought that this may interest some of you in the meantime.

Margret Gatis - Day 15
Fishbone stitches, working on balancing the colors

Margret Gatis - Day 15
Completed band

Margret Gatis - Day 15
RIght side - closeup

Margret Gatis - Day 15
Left side closeup

Margret Gatis  - Day 15
Central area closeup

Margret Gatis - Day 15
Completed band / completed sampler

Margret Gatis - Day 14 - On the home stretch

Here is the continued progress on Margret Gatis - I am going back to the bands I had skipped over either because they were simple cross stitch bands (good to work on when tired) or because they were bands that required some thought.
Last night I worked on two of the cross stitch bands and got them finished up. I made some adaptations regarding color and stitch selection (to counteract boredom).
Here are some of the progress pictures :

Margret Gatis - Day 14
- changed a few of the colors to darker shades of cream
- added the reddish diagonal twigs on one side which was not charted but felt it needed the symmetry 

Margret Gatis - Day 14
-added my initials and the year on the alphabet band on top and added some of the letters
in my name within the larger band - the original charting showed M,G,S,T etc.
- also changed the colors and distribution of colors to make the band more balanced

Margret Gatis - Day 14

Margret Gatis - Day 14

One more band to go and then this sampler will be finished. I will evaluate if at the end I 'like' the changes I've made.  This is a nice sampler to work on and I have enjoyed my stitching time.

I wanted to thank you all for posting your comments on this blog or on Facebook or the SL blog -  it really means a lot to me.  It is nice to share some of my needlework this way.  

Margret Gatis - Day 12 & 13

Continuing on with the cutwork band - the instructions called for a greenish/taupe colored DMC cotton thread but I chose to use Ecru to make it more of a whitework band.  I  wanted it to be part of the other whitework bands above and below it. 
I have always liked various cutwork techniques - this one was fun - I have been away from  needleweaving and or hardanger type techniques for quite a while and it was good to get back to doing a bit. It is quite time consuming on this 40 ct. linen especially because the linen threads varied in thickness - another linen would have been more suitable perhaps. The fillings were done over the past two evenings.
Here are some of the progress pictures :

Margret Gatis - Day 12 & 13 -  Finished band
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Day 12 -Starting the band
The Song of my Needle

I enjoyed working the variations on both of the flowers.  Just positioning the dove's eyes and satin filling stitches differently on the petals of the left and right flowers brings a different feel to both flowers.  It is good to see that simple solutions like this can be quite effective.

Margret Gatis - Day 13 - left side of band
The Song of my Needle  

Margret Gatis - Right side of band
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Completed band
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Day 11

Continuing on with the sampler yesterday evening - was pretty tired and initially just stitched here and there but none of it was keeping my interest.  So, I decided to start working on the band with the drawn thread - needleweaving by working out the grid etc.
Here are the progress photographs :
 

Another Whitework band - my interpretation
Margret Gatis - Day 11 

Moved up to the satin stitching in this band
Margret Gatis - Day 11

Moved down to the Drawn thread band
Margret Gatis - Day 11  

Starting to remove horizontal threads
Margret Gatis - Day 11

Starting to remove the vertical threads
Margret Gatis - Day 

All horizontal threads removed
Margret Gatis - Day 11

Starting to stabilize the remaining threads
Margret Gatis - Day 11

Gridwork for band
Margret Gatis - Day 11 

Continuing on - Margret Gatis Day 9 & 10

Somehow lately I find it is easier to pick up a sampler in the evening so I am continuing on with Margret Gatis despite other projects I was originally planning on working on this week. 

Here are some pictures of my progress from last Sunday and last night.  I decided to continue mapping out the entire sampler and work out the satin stitch areas first.


Margret Gatis - Day 9
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Day 9
The Song of my Needle



Margret Gatis - Day 9
The Song of my Needle



Margret Gatis - Day 9
The Song of my Needle

 Progress last night - the last band of the sampler

Margret Gatis - Day 10
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Day 10
The Song of my Needle

Margret Gatis - Day 10
The Song of my Needle

There were some issues with the charted area of the whitework bands and the actual space it was to fit into so I had to add to bands.  I also decided to add pulled thread techniques (four-sided stitch) instead of the satin stitches charted and added Smyrna crosses to another area.  I am still thinking about one of the areas in this last band of the sampler.

Completed samplers : Elizabeth Harborne & Ann Scutt + Continuing on with Margret Gatis

Here are the details and pictures of the completed samplers.  I had intended to post the fully framed Elizabeth Harborne but doubt I will get the time to do this right now,  so for now I just stuck it into the frame intended for it.  If I get the time to lace it and frame it in time I will post it.  I still have to choose and order the frame for Ann Scutt.  Now that it seems that there is a lull in snow storms for the latter part of the week we will be busy playing catch up in the office so cannot be sure if I will feel like lacing and framing this up in the evenings...    
   

Elizabeth Harborne 1647 - an adaptation :                            
Threads : AVAS silks
Fabric : Zweigart Belfast (32ct.) linen - Cream 
Started on :  Wednesday evening, May 15,2013
Completed on : Saturday morning, January 25,2014
# of days of stitching (averaging 3 hours/day): 30
Framed up on :

Elizabeth Harborne - frame check

 



Ann Scutt 1675 - an adaptation :
Threads : AVAS silks - added a darker gold tone in addition to the one recommended
Fabric : 35ct. Ivory linen
Started on :  Tuesday evening, December 24,2013
Completed on : Tuesday evening,  February 11,2014
# of days of stitching (averaging 3 hours/day): 12
Framed up on :

Ann Scutt 1675 - an adaptation

Here is the progress on Margret Gatis since my last posting - Day7 & 8
 ... got a fair amount of the sampler marked for the next few bands thanks to the snow days.  However, did not get much stitching done because of some of movies we watched during the storms.

Margret Gatis - Day 8

Margret Gatis - Day 8

                                                        

 All of these samplers have been a lot of fun to stitch - all of them were reproduced by The Scarlet Letter.
Thanks Marsha for choosing to reproduce them!

Ann Scutt, Elizabeth Harborne & Margret Gatis

Hi again!
Took some quick photographs of the 3 SL samplers that I have been actively working on these past months.  Will write in more detail but I know some of you wanted to see them... Ann Scutt and Elizabeth Harborne are 'finished' - Margret Gatis is not.

At the moment I am still contemplating if I should extend some of the bands of Ann Scutt so that they all start and end with more or less the same width.  Normally when I stitch a reproduction sampler, I do not change things... this time on both Ann and Elizabeth I changed things so at this point neither of them are 'true reproductions'.  I had left the decision about the width to the very end to get a feel for the sampler... you'll note in the picture the margins marked from the widest bands ... the narrower bands on the top have bothered me right from the start and I had extended the satin stitched motif on the right at the beginning to make it more symmetric.
I feel that the narrower top part makes the whole thing look a bit off kilter - in some samplers this is quite a charming effect but Ann is quite a balanced sampler.... so I am thinking of extending the narrower bands on top. 
The other area that I feel was 'odd' was the solitary leaf in space on the right side in the band with the two flowers and coiled connectors further down (3rd band above the alphabet area).  I am thinking about stitching another coiled area and anchoring the solitary leaf.  Ann Scutt reminds me a bit of Mary Hollingworth in color and symmetry so that is why I am still considering this...

I would love to get your thoughts on this too...

By the way, you'll notice in the picture of the entire sampler (Ann Scutt) how restrained the use of the color red is - it almost seems like it was put in to be 'auditioned' but then it was decided not to use it at all and work the sampler in 3 colors only : blue, green, light gold.  I decided to use a darker gold (same color family) because I felt that the lighter gold would not show up from a distance and the viewer may see an absence of color/stitching in some areas.  I like the overall effect of working in both of the gold colors - this way the entire sampler is visible to the viewer... samplers are now displayed on walls whereas in the 17th century they were rolled up and kept in a drawer as a pattern record. 

So, here are the pictures of the 3 samplers as they are at present....

All 3 samplers - 2 finished, 1 WIP
The Song of my Needle

All 3 samplers - 2 finished, 1 WIP
The Song of my Needle



Ann Scutt 1675
The Song of my Needle

Elizabeth Harborne 1647
The Song of my Needle

This adventure back into stitching samplers again after a long time has been a lot of fun.
Please do let me know what you think... I will revisit this 'width problem' in the next few days.
At this point because they are not 'true' reproductions because I added stitches etc. I want to 'finish' this sampler in a way that will make me happy to see it on my wall.

Thank you all for your kind comments and emails - I have enjoyed sharing my progress with you all "out there" and am humbled by your comments of my work inspiring  some of you to try your hand at some of these samplers that are considered 'advanced'.  Band samplers are a lot of fun, you can set smaller goals and achieve them one band at a time, learn new stitches etc. etc....they teach us a lot, not just in the needlework arena but also about the history, design and symbolism.  I am glad that this blog has enticed some of you to try ... it is a great adventure - one that we can fully control with just a needle and thread!

Another thing - many of you commented on the 'speed' of my stitching... I don't think that speed is an important thing.... I am a deliberate, disciplined, focused stitcher - I am not necessarily a fast stitcher - technique and quality of my stitching  is more important to me than anything else.  The only other thing that has equal importance for me is to spend my 'free' time doing something I enjoy and needlework fits the bill beautifully at present...
this is the first time I kept track of my days - most days I stitch for about 3-4 hours while 'watching' TV with breaks for meals etc.- on the snow days I averaged about 5hours during the day and the normal evening 2-4 hours...  so, I guess what I am trying to say is that I don't focus on the time it takes to complete a piece, I prefer to focus on each stitch and 'stay in the moment' of this great adventure.  I truly feel privileged to be able to spend some time each week doing some type of needlework...

Status report - after Day 6

I thought it would be good to work both Margret Gatis and Ann Scutt together on one frame.  And it sure is ... it is interesting to note how very similar color schemes, stitches and motifs are developed differently.  And then as I worked through both samplers my brain kept thinking of all the variations different needlework techniques could provide with the same design.... that is one of the things that  I find so fascinating about needlework!  There are endless possibilities that can provide me with endless hours of enjoyment...all with a humble needle and thread!

One of the emails concerned silks vs. cotton thread.... all the samplers I have 'blogged' about here have been done with Au Ver a Soie silks. I have done other reproduction samplers with cotton threads ... I will discuss this more at a later time after I take photographs... BUT for now I do want to address this here... there IS a sheen to cotton thread also and it is just as appealing in the end... depends on your stitching and technique.  For some types of samplers I do feel silk gives you an additional luster but in most colorful samplers I truly feel that if the budget doesn't allow the 'silk version'  don't be disheartened and deprive yourself of the enjoyment of stitching a sampler that appeals to you.  I will take pictures to illustrate this 'sometime' in the future but I hope this helps... stitching something that appeals to you is good for the soul... enjoy the journey and try to do the best you can at that moment in time - that is my motto anyway!  I feel lucky that in the times we live in we have so many possibilities, techniques and books available to us...

SO, without further ado - here is the status of both Ann Scutt and Margret Gatis after 6 days of stitching on both; both of them are a testament to enjoyable hours of stitching this past month.  I would have been further along if I had not had the trouble trying to post on blogs - hours spent trying to figure out computer issues and then just as the problems had cropped up they miraculously 'went away' (fingers crossed ;0 ) - wish life's problems would be that easily solved!

Day 6 does not mean however that the same amount of hours were spent on each sampler - Ann Scutt had less progress because of busier days and increased tiredness in the evenings....I rarely concentrate on speed of stitching, 'clocking' hours or progress - the blog has started me keeping track of 'days' and that is as far as I will go with it.... it is a hobby for me and I will continue to concentrate on the enjoyment factor not the speed factor... I think my needlework will always remain a testament to how I chose to spend some of my time "after work".     

Day 6 : Status Report on Ann Scutt (left) and Margret Gatis (right)
The Song of my Needle 

Day 6 : Ann Scutt
The Song of my Needle 

Day 6 - Margret Gatis
The Song of my Needle


Have a great weekend!

Margret Gatis - Day 6 One more try to post pictures

Margret Gatis - Day 6
The Song of my Needle

I cannot figure out why posting pictures has become a challenge suddenly... I figured I'll give it one more try:

Margret Gatis - Day 6