As I mentioned yesterday I have hit the first join in the sampler. (For those who have not read the introductory post this band sampler is made up of a series of smaller samplers pieced together.) In other words I have covered the first section
Before moving on to the next sampler I thought I would show you an over all picture of the area I have just covered and while I am at it give you a glimpse of the section coming up.
The first section was worked in 1996 and made simply to explore stitching.
If you looking for a stitch guide to hand embroidery stitches, instructions can be found in my stitch dictionary
The next section
The section coming up is dated 1996 – Jan 1998 in other words it took me over a year of picking it up stitching a bit and then putting it down and working on something else.
At this stage I was only half interested in using samplers as tools to record what I did. Like many people I still thought of samplers as part of a rich and creative tradition that had degenerated into what many people think of as samplers (ie kit cross stitch).
At the time I felt the trauma of schoolroom samplers plus the commercialisation of easy cross stitched kits had created so many negative associations that a rich tradition had been lost.
Thankfully I think I was wrong. On one front we have stitchers that are interested in historical textiles and whole communities around the globe are reviving and keeping textile traditions alive.
On the other side we are currently enjoying a craft revival which means a small but growing number of people are interested in developing a skill and they understand it takes time to develop it.
Many of the stitches worked in the next section were to demonstrate stitches for The Young Stitchers group at the local branch of the Embroiderers Guild which I co-ordinated at the time. At the time the Embroiders guild catered to children between 7 to early teens. This means the next section mainly houses the basic stitches and those who are new hands to embroidery should enjoy it.
At that time many of my stitch samples were still housed in folders and it was while I was stitching this second section that I realised a band sampler could solve the problem of carting folders to and from a teaching venue.
Also in 1997 I also created the work for the Samplers and Sampling exhibition. Images from the exhibition are archived online. As a side note the long sampler strips are 1.25 meters long ie about 50 inches and I made 7 of them for that exhibition!
By the end of the 1997 I was really taken with the idea of working more samplers with a width of 15 cm (6 inches). I wanted to work more and use them as ‘tools’ something to experiment on and refer to and this one was completed in January of 1998 over my holiday break. At the time I wanted to start another sampler which was experimental. So to cut a long story short, it was during this period that the idea of making more samplers really developed.
The sampler is worked on a tea towel linen. I found some linen that was priced very reasonably ($6.00 per meter) and I purchased a good few meters of it. It has proved to be wonderful as even now I am using it up in my latest sampler only it is dyed.
Many of the bands on this sampler consist of very common stitches and are worked so close together that I will write about them in groups.
I will be blogging this section as of tomorrow so stay tuned and I hope you enjoy it.
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.
Hi Sharon, I regret that not even deliver the tasks Once inscribi me, but the death of my grandmother and my mother-in-law and all the problems at home it had no head … but I hope to make this year the area .. and the points of the sketch books
Rene
Use a linen with a lower thread count such as 22 count or 20 count as then you can see it easier
Also as to the comments I miss it too and would very much like a plugin that does the same thing. If you use a RSS reader you can subscribe to just the comments then not miss a thing.
Sharon, Of course you know how much I love your work. The sampler is such a tribute to the art of Embroidery. I wonder what folks will think in 100 years, when they view it. (grin) I am not sure of fabric. Since I do all shopping online I would like to know more about chooseing fabrics that work. I use Aida often. But it does not suit all projects. I think in the U.S. we gloss over weaves and body. We move too fast. I do most fabrics from joggles. The stitching linen is very fine and my old eyes have a problem using some.
I also want to say I miss the listing you use to have on the old site of names of posters and topics, I used it a lot, as a way to keep up with others, and what they were doing. With dial up, it takes forever to travel the posts. (grip,grip) LOL
have a great week! Rene