Over the next couple of weeks I will talk about each area of the For Love of Stitching Band Sampler which was worked in April 1998 on 26 count linen. It is 6 inches wide
In section 5 I took a different turn with my sampler experiments as I decided to work more with the elements of design on samplers. I think regular readers will see the shift in mood. As you can see this section is very much designed whereas up until this stage I had simply been adding stitches as the fancy took me.
Because I was working from a design – which was a sketch in my studio journal made after a trip to the coast, this section more or less was worked from start to finish in a fairly straight run. Unlike other areas of the sampler I sat down and worked it instead of picking it up when I was in the mood.
I wanted to demonstrate how texture can be used as a design element itself. Most of the threads used are hand dyed by me.
I hope people are enjoying the series. I know that since I have started to write it I have become even more interested in samplers. I am sure people will understand when say it’s a case of the more you put into something the more interesting it becomes. I hope readers sense this too!
What is on the sampler hoop now?
This year since my interest has been stimulated I have been quietly working on new sections for the band sampler. Samples for the new Silk ribbon Embroidery class were all worked on a sampler that will be added to this band sampler. Also this year I have treated my stitching in more diaristic manner as regular readers had a glimpse of when I announced this months stitch explorer challenge.
This journal aspect is proving to be an interesting challenge which I will share when I piece the sections together. A bit of an overarching narrative will be easily conveyed and understood by then.
One thing I have noticed too in blogging the past sections I have been picking up the present section more often and it is growing much quicker. This is an unexpected benefit to documenting the rest of the sampler!
Sampler FAQ
For the full back story on this piece visit the Sampler FAQ page.
All posts in the series are in the category the Love of Stitching Band Sampler.
Sharon You are certainly getting to the exciting part for me – I love both these pictures – just had not woken up to the fact that they had the same palette – slow really!. I now look forward to a detailed explanation of each band in this section.