This section of the sampler is large sea horse motif that is a mix of techniques, stitches and threads.
Within the design there is bullion knots, buttonhole wheel stitch, cast on stitch, chain stitch, couching, detached chain stitch, double cast on stitch, French knots, long and short stitch, Oyster stitch, Portuguese knotted stem stitch, satin stitch, straight stitch, and whipped spider’s wheel stitch.
The border is three sided stitch.
Threads:
Hand dyed perle thread #5 and #8, hand dyed mercerised cotton, and wool which is about the same weight as Appletons. A hand dyed soft Danish cotton which feels and works up in a similar way to coton a broder and is matt with no sheen. It is approximately the same thickness and weight as perle 8. Hand dyed silk, knitting yarn, rayon ribbon floss and bunka thread.
All embroidery threads are hand dyed by me.
Fabric:
This section of my sampler is worked on 26 count linen
Dyes:
Procion cold water dyes for threads that consist of natural fibre such as the cotton, wool and silk threads
Disperse dyes (also known as transfer dyes) on the synthetic threads.
Size:
All samples are 15 cm (6 inches) wide and stitched together in one long band sampler.
The sampler is currently 44 ft 5 inches or 533 inches (1353.83 centimetres) or 14.8 yards (13.53 metres) long and still being added to.
Date:
This section of the sampler was worked in April 1998.
Sampler FAQ and back story
For the full back story on this piece visit the Sampler FAQ.
All posts in the series are in the category the Love of Stitching Band Sampler.
I absolutely love the sea horse sampler. I am very much intuned with the ocean as my first love and father of my three daughters, ashes are scattered in the ocean off the Hawaiian islands. So, anything to do with the sea is okay in my book but this Sea Horse take the cake. You do such beautiful work.
Not to upset you, but have you dedicated any of your samplers to your feeling regarding your much loved mum? For me, I did a painting of her my Mum sitting in the garden surrounded by sunshine and boganvilla and drinking her favorite, Margarita. She had her sweet dog beside her feet. It was good therapy for me and made me smile.
Jan
This is just gorgeous. Glad to see you back.
This is as lovely as it can be. Just delightful colors and stitching. So glad to see you on your blog. Take care.
This is my favorite piece! I am inspired to pick up my needle everytime I see it. Welcome back to the land of blogging. You were missed, but we do understand your need to step away for awhile.
Ah, this is one of my favourite parts also. I have been fascinated by seahorses ever since I was a small girl.
One thing that intreges me about this sample is that even though the reverse image clearly stands out from the stitched elements, the seahorse still blends into the background!
CA
It is good to see you back. I found, after losing my most beloved little granddaughter last year, that a regular activity, like blogging and design work and magazine deadline responsibilities, helped me focus on continuing life rather than sinking totally in misery, which would have been easy to do. It doesn’t ease the pain, but it certainly helps keep one focused on living.
Welcome back, my fave Aussie! (*sends Texas hugs across the pond*)
Lovely stitching, this is one of my favourites of your sampler.
Welcome back.
Lovely to see you back Sharon.
Hi Sharon
missed you a lot. Happy to see you again.
Happy to see you back. Take it easy and don’t push yourself. It just takes a little time. We love you no matter how often you post.
Good to see you back!