Cross@stitch

DH Art Exhibition

2012-02-13T11:24:00.000Z

My post today is not about cross stitch, but about something I am very proud of - the first solo art exhibition of DH Robert.

The exhibition opened last Saturday and will be held until the 10th March at the local council gallery.

In this past year he has been concentrating more on his painting and this exhibition includes most of that recent work.

As you can imagine I feel very happy for him and very proud, and so I felt like sharing with you some photos of the exhibition and of his paintings.

In the middle of the room there are some more panels with his watercolours, but of those I don't have any pics.

Here is also a link of a short film made and published in You Tube by an on-line newspaper:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd9vR0UmBLk&feature=share

Have a very good Valentine's Day and a wonderful week.

WIPocalypse 2012 - # 2

2012-02-07T11:58:00.002Z

Between moons I went on stitching my sampler map. The progress in the stitching itself is not much, as I had to do some searching for the right alphabet. The one I came up with is an adaptation, or better said, the result of the mixing of several ones.

In this photo you can see the alphabets I made with cross stitch software. Nevertheless I still go on needing cross stitching grids to write the name of each county. I like to see the effect of the name together before starting stitching, mostly because of the spaces between letters. Unfortunately all this preparation doesn't prevent me from some frogging... but I guess it is all part of the process.

And in these pictures you can see my progress.

I'm really enjoying stitching this piece, which is quite a challenge for me.

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful month.

Sampler map Progress

2012-01-24T15:23:00.000Z

Here is my progress of my England map sampler...

... as you can see I am still around the counties... and still five and an island to go!

I like how it looks like, even size wise, but I regret not having made a bigger map, with more space within the counties to stitch their names, as some of them will pose a problem.

According to almost all map samplers I saw in my searches, all the names were stitched only in capital letters, but I think I will have to settle with a capital initial, as it will give me more space. Also, in some counties I can only use the initial of their names.

As you can imagine a lot of counting and re-counting awaits me!

I like the process of creating the design for a piece I want, but I don't find it an easy job. It makes me admire all the wonderful designers we have in our stitching world.

I have also been working on my design for the Needleprint competition, but altogether I have not been having a lot of time for stitching lately, as I have been helping out with paper work in the local council committee for the protection of children, where I was the representative of education at the time of my heart attack and heart operation. I went on working there as a volunteer and there is always a huge amount of paperwork to do in January, because of the yearly report. Being on sick leave, I have more time than the others, but going there 2 or 3 times a week leaves me completely worn out, because I still get easily very tired and therefore it is the stitching that pays. It is also only the second Winter after the operation and my bones still complain, especially when the weather changes.

Today I wrote a lot and therefore it is time I wish you all a nice week, thank all for the wonderful comments you left me, which I enjoyed so, so much.

Two finishes framed

2012-01-12T12:59:00.003Z

Yesterday I got two finishes framed. I am so very pleased with them.

I think the frames do enhance both pieces.

The first I had completed over 15 years ago and was in a drawer. It is my attempt of a Portuguese traditional embroidery called Castelo Branco.

Castelo Branco is the name of a Portuguese town and this embroidery is typical from there.

The main stitch gives the name of the embroidery and it is the one seen, for example, in the carnations, which are, by the way, one of its typical motifs.

Castelo Branco embroidery is always stitched in shiny silk on linen, and it has a very specific set of motifs and stitches that can be used.It was used mainly in throws and as either the materials and handwork were quite expensive it used to be only available to the wealthier families whose daughters usually took one (throw) in their dowry, when they got married.

If you want to have an idea of how the Castelo Branco embroidery is done, here in these 2 links you can see 2 ladies stitching.

You tube - Castelo Branco embroidery 1

You tube - Castelo Branco embroidery 2

My second framing is of Deborah Cockin Ackworth Sampler by Needleprint. And this one was a pleasure to stitch, as I said in some earlier posts.

What do you think of them?

Have a wonderful day

WIPocalypse 2012 - first post

2012-01-09T21:12:00.001Z

I can't say I have a very long list of WIP's, which you can see in the sidebar, but for me it is rather long, as some of these projects have been on the side for a very long time.

At the moment I am only working on two projects: the first one I have already begun at the end of last year and it is a map of England sampler I am recreating and designing as I go along.

You can see its progress in my previous posts and here it is an update photo:

The picture isn't very good, as it is more colourful.

Stitching inside all counties takes a lot of work, but the worst it is yet to come, as I will have to do the counting of each one of the counties, so that I can design their names in cross stitch.

As I have seen in map samplers pics, the names of the counties should be written in capital letters and that will take a lot of space.

The second project I have already started this year, is a Needleprint competition called "A Mirror to my Art". Although I will give the updates on the project I won't be able to show any photos.

For the moment there isn't much to say, just that I have already got the mirror and I am around the design. I have also already decided I am going to embroider it in a traditional Portuguese stitch, which encompasses not only the stitches that can be used, but also the motifs. I'm very excited to see how it enfolds.

I hope next month I can say I have worked on other projects from my list...and that I have some finishes! That would be great.

May 2012 bring you all you wish

2012-01-01T15:40:00.003Z

I hope you had a very happy Christmas.

Mine could have been better, but a very close uncle had to go to hospital and didn't make it to Christmas - he died on the 22nd. It moved me a lot, as it seems all my close family is leaving and it also brought me back how close I was last year to leave as well.

Nevertheless, life goes on and it is time to celebrate the New Year and hope it goes better than this one - may it bring health, happiness and a bit of money to make our lives easier.

Here are also two pics of my map of England sampler. It is giving a bit of work, but I like it and I think the distressed look makes it look old.

Thank you all for visiting my blog and leaving your comments - they always make my day.

Map Sampler of England - 2nd phase

2011-12-05T13:34:00.001Z

Thank you for all your kind comments. They always make my day.

Here is some progress of my map sampler:

Phase one - I embroidered all the boundary lines using back stitch in black.

Phase two - I am using outline stitch within the boundaries in different shiny silk colours.

It is not very easy to stitch with this type of thread (they make knots very easily and also after stitching for some time the thread begins to frail and come apart), but I thought it would help to make the colours stand out.

I have to admit that this work is kind of addicting - I am always looking for to add a new colour and see the general result: so far I am happy with it.

What is your opinion?

Have a great week

Hannah's progress and a map sampler

2011-11-28T12:38:00.001Z

First of all thank you so much for your comments and encouraging words and the doctors kept me on sick leave, which has been a blessing, because as Winter settled in, so have the pains in my chest.

Hannah Westcombe's sampler

Here is a pic of my Hannah's progress. It is not a major progress, because I had some sewing to do and began a new project.

I don't know if it happens to you too, but sometimes we need something new, like a new start to help us going out of our crisis/depressions/thoughts. Shopping used to do the same for me, but that, as for many of us, had to be cut down...

I am indeed sampler lover - I love the quaker samplers from Ackworth school, alphabet ones (like Hannah's) and always "had a thing" about the map ones.

So here I go - I'm trying to recreate a sampler map of England!

I started by searching for some map samplers and also maps of England at the time, to have an idea of how they were and what I would like to have on mine - mind you this is just a recreation, not a reproduction therefore my sampler will have modern and old elements: the map of England I traced is a modern one, but then I looked for an old compass and an antique frame for the word England.

Here is the traced map done in white card board and then passed to tracing paper. I recreated the compass and used a frame from the *The Graphics Fairy*.

I'm using Belfast linen (32ct) from Zweigert. It's the first time I'm using 32 count, but I needed a higher count so that I could have space within the county bounderies, to stitch their names. My husband and I dyed it with coffee to give not only an aged look, but also the look of a worn map that had been folded and carried around in someone's pouch.

It will take different stitches, but at the moment I'm only using the back stitch to trace all the map in the linen and used it also for the frame of the map. For sure all the wording will be in cross stitch.

I haven't decided yet what I am going to do with the border, but as you can imagine for the work ahead that is no rush.

It measures 49,5cms X 42 cms, not counting the border.

As always, I will be looking for your comments and opinions.

Have a great week.

Ramblings and Hannah Westcombe's sampler

2011-11-14T11:48:00.000Z

I am definitely a very irregular blogger! The main reason, in my case, is always the same - if I don't have any cross stitch progress to show, then I don't post.

In these last months I haven't been in a frame of mind that makes me me want to stitch: my health problem that goes on playing with me in addiction to the side effects of medication; the financial situation that is not brilliant - I am just one of million civil servants, that is being affected by all the status quo in Portugal at the moment.

I guess all these made me a bit depressed and therefore not in the mood to stitch. On the other hand, I know this is stupid as stitching can be a great therapy!

It also made me close a lot in my shell and not wanting to socialize - another huge mistake, as many times blogging makes us feel good with the nice comments we get and the feeling we belong to a big family. More than ever I need your words of encouragement.

Next Wednesday I am going to an appointment with the state doctors who will determine if I have to go back to work - not always they follow our doctors advice, as their role is much more following the government policies than anything else. At the moment it frightens me the thought of having to face 5 classes full of teenagers than have no mercy on how a teacher may feel, when I an not well.

I apologise for all my ramblings, but sharing with you is making me feel better.

Here is a pic of the small progress in my Hannah's sampler. The colours shown are not the real ones, as I'm stitching in dark blues. Hopefully I will post in a short time with more progress and then I will show better pics.

Thank you for "listening" to my ramblings and I thank you in advance for your comments.

Have a great week.

Deborah Cockin sampler finish

2011-08-08T15:42:00.000+01:00

Finally a post. I want to apologise to you all, not only because I have not been posting, but also because I have not been leaving any comments on your blogs. The reason is I have not been around the computer mostly due to health reasons.

Anyway, here you have today Deborah Cockin sampler finished.

I hope you like it as much as I do. I think all the colours match very well together.

I have now begun another Ackworth quaker sampler. This time I went for something very different: Hannah Westcombe from Needleprint. I am stitching it with one over one in an antique white from Zweigert, 30 count.

I am using dark blues and dark greys.

Here is a photo of my beginning

Please, if you pass by, leave your comment - I love to hearing from you.

Have a wonderful week

D Cockin sampler update

2011-07-03T16:11:00.000+01:00

Here is my weekly update of D Cockin.

I decided to go for the 6 big medallions inside the frame and now I am heading to the centre medallions. It allows me to choose which ones will be light or dark. Of course I will always have a dark medallion next to another dark one and the same happens with the light ones.

I am going now to start another medallion and I wish you all a very good week.

I have been taking some time to browse around and I have seen some wonderful pieces either already finished or in progress. Congratulations to all fellow stitchers.

I would like to thank you for all kind comments you have been leaving - it's so very motivating!

Hugs

New pics of the update of D Cockin sampler

2011-06-21T11:47:00.000+01:00

DH took new photos with another camera, but I'm still not very impressed with colour, as they are somewhat greyish.

I hope you like.

An update on my Deborah Cockin sampler

2011-06-21T11:20:00.000+01:00

My "companion" goes on "growing" in my fingers. As I said before, it is a pleasure to stitch.

In some of the medallions I found some mistakes made by D when she made her piece and it makes the sampler feel alive - I can imagine a very young girl, either not noticing she made a mistake or not wanting to undo what she had already stitched. It's funny, because it is precisely through the mistakes that the presence of Deborah is more noticeable. Do you understand what I mean?

I hope next week I can post some more progress and until then have an awesome week.

If you pass by, please, leave a comment, as they push me forward.

P.S. I'm sorry for the quality of the photo, but the camera isn't working very well.

D Cockin - some more progress

2011-06-08T15:37:00.001+01:00

It has been a real pleasure to stitch Deborah Cockin's sampler! I'm in the last 3 medallions of the "frame".

She has been a very good companion of these times when I still have to endure a lot of pains in my bones... still due to the operation. On the one hand, we have had a rainy (humid) Autumn and Winter and now also a long rainy Spring (very unusual for us), which is not good for the bones. On the other hand the pains remain, because my sternum closed with a difference of about 50mm apart from top to bottom. It affected the position of the bones in my shoulders and cervical.

Thank you so much for asking how I have been. Besides those bone pains, tomorrow I'm going to Lisbon to have an exam done, which takes around 5/6 hours to be done, so that it is assessed the state of all my coronaries, as the Cardiologist fears I may have another blockage! Let's see and hope for the best.

I'm sure that like for me, cross stitching is very therapeutic for many of you: it takes our mind away from pains and worries. Even more, when we are engrossed in a piece that is a pleasure to stitch and we love.

Have a very good week full of good things.

Deborah Cockin sampler progress

2011-05-29T15:27:00.001+01:00

This week I made good progress on my D Cockin sampler, taking into account I am a slow stitcher.

Finally the post delivered the rest of the HDF threads I was waiting for, and I was able to stitch the medallions in between the other ones I had already done.

I am very pleased how both colours go together and combine with the fabric. It is not a monochrome, but the colour is the same one, being one just a tint lighter than the other one (Penny Wort 3449 and Penny Wort 3447).

I hope this week I can progress nicely again.

I wish you all a very good week with nice weather, which is something we are not having here: although it is 24 degrees Centigrade, it is raining a lot, which is not common in May.

Please, let me know your thoughts and comments, as they all mean so much to me.

D Cockin sampler start

2011-05-21T12:56:00.000+01:00

Here I introduce you to my D Cockin (1806) Sampler.

It was offered to me by Jacqueline from Needleprint and I think it is a wonderful monochrome sampler from Ackworth School.

I am using rustic looking (not so 'greeny' as the photo shows) linen from Zweigart, 30 count. It is the highest count I feel comfortable working with, despite the glasses and a powerful magnifying lamp: sweet fifties!!! I'm stitching 2 over 2.

I've chosen Hand Dyed Fibers from Vikki Clayton (my favourite!). I will be using 2 colours: Penny Wort 3449, which is the one you can see on the photo and Penny Wort 3447, which is the conversion of the DMC recommended. As I already had the 3449, I started with it and now I am anxiously waiting for the post to bring me the other one. It was posted 2 weeks ago, but it seems that the cross of the Atlantic is taking some time.

I'll be posting my progress and I would love to have your comments on it.

Have a fabulous weekend and take some time to stitch - I will!

Dolls' Houses rugs

2011-05-14T13:14:00.016+01:00

After a long time without posting, mainly due to health "ups and downs", I am showing you today something other than cross stitch: 2 rugs done for a doll's house I am assembling and furnishing.

These rugs were made with the "Arraiolos" stitch, which is a Portuguese traditional stitch for normal rugs (you can see some pics of the rugs I made in this post).

You can see the reverse of each of the rugs on the pic on the right, as well as their sizes.

Even though I love cross stitching, sometimes it is a nice change to experiment something different and work with other stitches.

I would love to have your opinions on my experiment.

My heart goes to Japan

2011-03-12T10:27:00.004Z

Every time either I haven't photos of cross stitch to show or I'm not well I tend not to post as I feel I have nothing to say!

I caught a very bad cold in the beginning of the year which still lasts! It has been affecting me immensely as I don't feel well physically and due to sneeze and cough I have been enduring more pain in the bones of my chest - more like the pains I felt after the operation.

So I have not been having any disposition to cross stitch or do any other hand crafts, because I have been feeling very down.

But today I felt like saying something: I was very touched with Chris and Yuko postings.

It is sad for me to realize that when I am down, seeing that there are others who are worse than I, shakes me and brings me up.

I want to leave here all my thoughts and prayers to the Japanese people - my heart is with them

Wishes for a fantastic 2011

2010-12-31T16:19:00.003Z

I wish you all a great year full of health, peace, harmony, love and also enough money to be able to enjoy life.

greetings

10000 viewers and almost 100 followers

2010-12-22T15:55:00.009Z

I thank you all for viewing my blog and for following it...by the way I'm so near the hundredth follower - would you help to reach that number? It would make me very happy.

I also want to wish you all a very merry Christmas and my pets (the old robin and young georgina) wanted to help me with my wishes to you.

not like this mum...

much better now!

I'm not very impressed with the result!

lots of love

Season's Greetings

2010-12-12T12:13:00.005Z

Two photos of my Christmas tree and crib, which I painted some years ago, to wish to you all around the world, the best of seasons.

May you all enjoy it with health, joy and peace in your hearts.

love to you all

Posting Again!

2010-12-07T14:18:00.015Z

Almost 3 months passed since I posted last time. Not that I have not been reading daily the posts of the blogs I follow and admiring all the beautiful works, but I was not in the mood to take photos, which was my DH job today, because since Autumn got in I have been full of pains because of my operation. I thought the worst was gone, but the weather has been showing me that I still have a long way to go in what having my muscles and bones in "good working order" are concerned.

Anyway I have been doing some cross stitching and at the moment I am in knitting mood, which I wasn't for many years now.

So, here is what I have been doing:

A scissors fob

I took the pattern from a Sampler & Antique Needlework magazine and mirrored it so I could get to triangles joined together.
As to the scissors I'm showing it in the original box I got them. I bought them in ebay as my 50th birthday present and when I got them I had the very pleasant surprise to see they had been a birthday present for someone who had the same birthday day I have and precisely 50 years before.

LHN design

Even though I love the LHN designs this was the first one I cross stitched and I love it.

Old fashioned ways

This sampler is a tribute to mum and I. It will go on the top of a box and so I had specific measurements to create it. Not to have to be sitting at the computer, where I have 2 cross stitch programmes to design I used the old paper and pencil and so I could do it sitting on my sofa!

This sampler is a mixture of all I love in a sampler: alphabets, house (this is a typical Portuguese one), people (mum and I) animals (doves, stork, peacock and the dogs will be in too), trees and flowers.
It's stitched with 2 over 2, except the phrase, which is 1 over 1.

I'll show some more photos of it when I complete it, as...

... for the moment I'm in a knitting mood:

Woolen long cardigan

This this the back of the cardigan. For the first time I am creating a pattern and see how it goes along.
The back consists on 4 different parts: first I knitted the bigger part in a A shape, then a braid that was sewn along it, afterwords I knitted the upper back from side to side and to finish the lower part.
Now let's see what I will come up for the front!

I hope you enjoy watching my pics and leave a comment. they always make my day.

Love to you all

2010-10-10T15:24:00.002+01:00

First of all I thank all your lovely comments and also everyone who is following my blog.
I'm not a regular blogger, even though I visit your blogs daily - it helps me going. Autumn has brought an increase of pain in my chest and therefore I am not sleeping well and have no drive to stitch a lot and I feel I should only post when I have new photos to show.
Anyway today I decided to post and wish you all a new coming week.

Pinkeep with stork

2010-09-24T15:26:00.006+01:00

I stitched this pinkeep using the design of my stork. I wanted it to look a bit rustic and I think I achieved what I wanted. The colours are not as bright as they are shown here.

I got this Victorian purse in e-bay some time ago and I just love it. In those days ladies just carried a handkerchief and a coin for sure... see its size!

I have some more WIPs and soon I will post more photos.

I still have to go slowly otherwise my chest really complains, as well as my blood preassure, which lowers even more. But on whole I am making a very good recovery from my op.

GOS - The Creative Cross Stitch Challenge

2010-09-12T13:41:00.007+01:00

This time I decided to enter The Gift of Stitching challenge. When I saw the design it reminded me of a Victorian design and therefore it had to be used in a Victorian something... my something is a drum pincushion. It was nice to stitch.

Here are the photos:

the model...
... and the product!

My new logo - my stork

2010-08-22T14:28:00.012+01:00

For quite some time I had thought of using the stork I created for my MW, to replace the squirrel, as my logo.
Today I recreated it with a cross stitch software and my DH, who is a graphic designer, adapted it for my new logo.

As I explained it in a post at the time, as far as I know, there are no squirrels in Portugal, but we have plenty of storks, such as here where I live and I just adore them! If you scroll down you will be able to see a pic of the stork in my MWigham.

I intend to use the design in a fob, a needlecase and such, making the necessary adaptations to it.

Here you have the design, if by any chance you want to use it.

One month yesterday...

2010-08-21T18:43:00.005+01:00

Yesterday was a month I was operated and couldn't cross stitch yet!
Everything is ready for it, but I still don't have courage to pick up the piece and start working...when I think of it I feel a bit sick, maybe is the position I will have to be sitting or the head that is not very clear yet... or maybe the constant pains I have in my bones, especially in my rips!

Next week I will have 2 appointments in the 2 hospitals where I was: Tuesday with the surgeon and Wednesday with my cardiologist. I have loads of tests to show them and hopefully I will have good news. But for sure my life will go on, on a stand still for some time more.

Anyway it is great to be alive and watching how much I have been improving.
Like in many situations in life we have better days... and others that are not so good, but the most important is having the privilege of living them... that's what I think and how I cheer me up in the gloomy days!

I want to thank everyone who left a word cheering me up. Believe me, those words helped a lot.

Happy Birthday, Robert

2010-08-21T13:32:00.006+01:00

Today is my DH birthday and I want to wish him all the best in his 52. year... and of course, that I can witness it all. Now this wish of mine makes much more sense.

By the way our "children" asked me to publish their wishes to "dad" too!

Georgina and I

2010-08-08T20:06:00.002+01:00

This is my new girl. She came from the North of the country where she was saved by an organization called Animais de Barcelos. She is with us since last November and already rules around here - even robin loves and protects her.

One year after

2010-08-08T15:21:00.004+01:00

After 1 year without posting anything, here is one update of my Mary Wigham.

Meanwhile I had the death of my dear Lucy (one of my dogs); robin, my 10 year-old-boy with health problems; my husband was operated and to finish with I had a massive heart attack last month and had to undergo open chest surgery and now besides a double bypass, I am very grateful to have had a second chance in life. No one expects such a thing with 52, but it happens - now I am slowly recovering and my cross stitch will be a very good help...

...and I'll keep posting!

Storks visit Ackworth

2009-08-03T22:33:00.002+01:00

Mother stork

2009-08-03T21:42:00.008+01:00

As I am changing the palette of colours I thought I could go a bit further and also change some elements.

Since we don't have squirrels in Portugal I thought of replacing it by a stork, because we have many where I live.

Afterwords I thought it could be even more meaningful to me, as my mum used to tell me I had been brought by a stork. So, I decided to add a chick, symbolising my mum and I (the only chick/child in this nest).

As next Thursday, 6. August will be one year that my mum left us, here is a very warm thought for her, whom I miss extremely.

Robert made some magic with photoshop, so that the white stitches in the stork and chick could be noticed in the photo.

Mary Wigham update

2009-07-19T14:50:00.005+01:00

Here goes a bit more of my Mary Wigham sampler. The colours are starting to come together to achieve the effect I wanted. What do you think?
Unfortunately the white medallion isn't showing in the pic.

Some more progress

2009-07-12T10:44:00.003+01:00

This is just a very small progress as it has been hectic lately in the work front.

Please, let me know what you think of my choice of colours so far.

I want to stitch a more rustic Mary Wigham and I'm choosing the colours as I go along.

My progress so far

2009-07-07T19:05:00.002+01:00

This is how I stand at the moment. I was not very pleased with the dark red, but I am now growing to it.

An Award

2009-07-06T14:09:00.005+01:00

Thank you so much, Bonnie for this Award.

The rules are:
Put this picture on your blog
Put a link to whom you got it from
Name at least 7 blogs!
Leave a comment on their blogs

I love to read blogs and see the wonderful pieces that are stitched.

Here are a list of 7 that I like very much

Cenoura

Between Crosses with Nina

A rustic Mary Wigham

2009-07-03T13:33:00.005+01:00

These few last days I had some time to stitch my Mary Wigham.
I decided not going for all the colours but just use some more rustic colours, that in my opinion go better with the rustic wooly fabric I choose.

I am amazed of all the beautiful Mary Wigham pieces. They are really incredible.

I have to apologize to my Beatrix Potter, and tell her I have not forgotten her, she's only waiting a bit, as I am a very slow stitcher and more so, as I am stitching over one.

2009-06-17T12:28:00.003+01:00

Robin and Lucy

Today I'll introduce my dogs to you. They are my babies. Both of them are of no definite breed, which I love, as they are unique.

Robin was named after robin hood (who would tell me then that some years after having robin I would meet DH precisely from Nottingham?!), he is 8 years old and have him since he was 2 months old. He is spoilt to death and very demanding. Very bright: he is becoming bilingual -he starts to understand DH in English, almost as well as he understands me in Portuguese.

Lucy is a very different matter: we adopted her from a rescue centre 18 months ago and her level of communication is only now to get a bit higher. Nevertheless, she is the sweetest dog you can imagine. She's over 10 years old and not even the vet can guess how much "over".
In her long life full of tribulations she was run over and never treated, so she limps from a back leg. She's in a very poor health and since 2 months we have almost daily visits to the vet... and some big frights in between.

2009-06-15T17:33:00.004+01:00

The fabric is 29 count and I am stitching one over one.

I am not as comfortable as it seems, as my dog robin can't see me sitting there without coming to my lap to sleep.

I love to live in front of a park - the trees are very relaxing and soothing.

Due to a hectic time at school, I have not been having time to post, better said, I have not much to show.

Anyway today I decided to post the photos I sent yesterday to Jacqueline, Needleprint, showing of where I stitch, the view of my window and my very, very start in mary Wigham. I must say I tried 3 different fabrics and chose one that looks very rustic and is a kind of wool. Let's see how it will look like when I has several different colours on.

How Mary Wigham probably lived at Ackworth

2009-06-08T17:03:00.009+01:00

I decided to post here in English, a summary of what I posted in the blog of Mary Wigham SAL - Portugal about her.

I took the information from Carol Humphrey's Quaker School Girl Samplers from Ackworth book, published by Needleprint. A delightful book in my opinion.

Ackworth School is situated near Pontefract in Yorkshire in the North of England. It was built to be a Foundling Hospital, but in 1779 a School was founded there by Sir John Fothergill.

Mary Wigham was a girl from the region who attended Ackworth between 1788-1791.

Her piece is very important for the history of the samplers as it is the first known with medallions.

The region where Ackworth School is located is known for its very harsh winters. All children suffered from the cold and with it many infections came along. Several times infectious deseases swept the school and at the time medicine didn't have much to help.

Even the children who were saved from the most severe deseases could not avoid being afflicted by chilbains.

Until 1809 the only source of heating the children had to warm up the huge flagged school rooms was a fire, but the children couldn't get nearer than 3 or 4 feet from it.

The gas lighting was only installed in 1838, therefore Mary had only candles and oil lamps to give her light while stitching.

Can you now imagine the circumstances in which this small girl stitched her wonderful sampler?

By stitching her sampler I have the feeling of bringing her back to life in a world of much better conditions.

Mary Wigham's threads

2009-06-04T19:40:00.004+01:00

Today I got my threads for Mary Wigham International SAL. I'm so happy with them. I've chosen Victoria Clayton silks and as you can see the colours are very beautiful and thinking that such a young girl chose it is thrilling, isn't it?
I will be able to give my first stitches this weekend.

Mary Wigham SAL - Portugal

2009-06-02T18:26:00.005+01:00

Quem quiser participar no SAL do sampler de Mary Wigham e, seja falante de língua Portuguesa, pode clicar na foto do sampler, na coluna da direita e será redireccionado para o blog do SAL em português.

Sendo a coordenadora deste SAL, para a língua Portuguesa, criei este blog unicamente com o objectivo de divulgar, informar e coordenar toda a informação deste SAL.

Estarei à vossa disposição

A huge THANK YOU to Jacqueline Holdsworth - Needleprint

2009-05-30T15:40:00.003+01:00

I want to thank Jacqueline, for all the support she has been giving me and my blog and for those two wonderful features in her blog. On Monday, she dedicated the evening to the Portuguese rugs of Arraiolos and on Tuesday to the Castelo Branco embroidery, all accompained by beautiful Portuguese music and videos of the rug making, embroidery and Portuguese places.

http://needleprint.blogspot.com/

Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler Sal - May progress

2009-05-30T15:22:00.002+01:00

This month I was able of progressing a bit more, but stitching over one in 25 or 28 count is always a drain on my eye sight, even under a magnifying light.

It is worth to visit the blog to see all the wonderful pieces stitched by ladies from all parts of the world.

My congratulations to them all, especially to Hazel who organised this wonderful SAL.

Other handwork

2009-05-25T15:16:00.003+01:00

This is an attempt to another Portuguese traditional stitch - the embroidery of Castelo Branco - it is embroidered with silk thread on linen.
I don't know how correctly made the stitches are, as I made it searching on an old book and magazines for instructions on the stitches.

This embroidery is mainly used for cushions, bed spreads and wall hangings.

Besides victorian I love the celtic era, so these curtains I embroidered for my bedroom are celtic knots.

A design I conceived for a RR .

A monochrom pattern, that I decided to have in many colours.

Portuguese Arraiolos Stitch - material and stitches

2009-05-23T19:52:00.007+01:00

Materials: hessian - this is a special type of hessian for arraiolos. You have all the squares done, (like a aida for cross stitch) and big 10cm(20 stitches) long squares marked. But the normal hessian fabric is also usable, though not so pratical.
wool - this is a special 100% wool that usually is dyed with natural corants.

Here you can see a border I am stitching for a hessian rug - my first step was stitching the inside border, after the outside one, then the inside red and finally the green. Always being attentive that each rows are alternate: right/left and left/right.

This is the back. See that the position of stiches change according to the position of the sides of the rug.

Here I have a bit already finished. I was dying to see the end result of the colours.

And its back

The steps to stitch an Arraiolos rug

2009-05-23T13:18:00.009+01:00

Hi to all,

In this post I am starting to give you some information on how to stitch arraiolos rugs. If I can give a title to this first step, it would be:
"Steps/order of stitching a rug"

As cross stitch, the Arraiolos has to be stitched in a certain order so the rows of stitches are shown one stitched from right to left and the next from left to right;
order of stitching:

- first the borders of the border;

- then the borders of all motives

- then filling in the motives

- and lastly the ground of the border and the ground of the centre.

I found this Portuguese blog, which has a very clear flash presentation on the right of the screen. I will make a small film or take photos of me doing the stitches, but that will be step 2...

http://subblogdotapete.blogs.sapo.pt/

... meanwhile feel free to ask questions

Arraiolos Stitch - Portuguese embroidered rugs

2009-05-20T19:21:00.005+01:00

Here are three rugs stitched by me. The arraiolos rugs are known in many countries and we can find many, in palaces and castles carpeting the floors, as well as tapestries done in the same stitch hanging in many walls.

The first record we have of "arraiolos" goes back to the 15th century. Arraiolos is the name of a village, whose name goes hand in hand with this embroidery.

I hope you like them and in a near future (work allowing) I will make some photos of the steps to make such a rug and of the stitches. One of the photos shows the back of the rug which has to be as perfect as the front.

Needleprint Beatrix Potter Quaker Sampler Sal

2009-05-19T23:06:00.005+01:00

This picture is from my progress in April.

It is being stitched in 25 count antique white linen in one over one. I'm using silk, which gives a nice antique look to it.

Back of the pouch

2009-01-05T17:14:00.000Z

This chart shows the 2 parts of the back - they are divided by the line and when the pouch is finish they will close with 3 buttons that will be sewn in between the 3 medallions of the down part.

Sewing set pouch chart

2009-01-05T17:10:00.000Z

Here goes the chart of the front of the pouch.