Echoes of a garden past: A special antique reproduction

Sometimes with designing and reproducing, a mistake can send you in a whole new direction. I started this piece many months ago, hoping to release it for Market earlier this year. I started reproducing it in overdyes and stitched almost half before I decided it wasn’t working. Now, it’s not unusual for me to have doubts while I’m working on a piece (I typically think it’s dreadful until the stitching is near completion!) – but I just knew the colours, although a good match for the antique, were not giving it the light and life that I felt the piece deserved.

After having to take a break on it for a couple of months, I tackled it again using Cascade House Embroidery Silks – beautiful hand-dyed silks from Robyn, another talented Australian dyer. I’d been wanting to stitch a piece in them for a while, and stitching with the soft silk was easier on my affected stitching hand.

I was thrilled by how they came out – and it inspired another new series I’m starting here. Every year in November, I’d like to release an extra special reproduction – something that I can provide to you with special materials or based on a very special antique and as a special thank you to all the kind stitchers I’ve met online and in-person. I’m working on a name for this series (any ideas?) – and think of it as a kind of reverse birthday!

I’ve called this piece “Echoes of a garden past” as it’s had a few iterations, both with me and the original stitcher. Sourced from an unnamed ‘great house’ in England, the original Victorian-era stitcher created her piece to echo the Elizabethan/Jacobean style. I love the thought of this conversation between stitchers carrying down over time and I’m thrilled to invite you to join in.

The original was stitched in needlepoint wools and was originally used as a pillow (there’s still feathers stuck in the back) and was badly moth-eaten. I’ve added in a few areas that were damaged, as I felt that the design called for a light and lively approach.

I just loved stitching this beautiful lady in her garden full of blooms and beasties and I hope you do too. It is available exclusively through my Etsy store in both hard-copy and PDF, and Cascade House Embroidery Silk threadpacks are available too. For a limited time, these come with a decorated stitching ring and one of my new postcards.

My model was stitched in Cascade House Embroidery Silks (the chart contains a full DMC conversion). It was stitched on 36-count ‘Weak Tea’ by JaysXStitch on Etsy, 1 over 2.

The design has a stitch count of 310w x 200h, and is stitched in full crosses over 2, a few backstitches and a small section of tent stitch (diagonal backstitch). It is suitable to be stitched on linen, evenweave or Aida in any count that you prefer.

I hope you enjoy creating this very special piece, and I would be enormously grateful if you could spread the word among stitchers you know.

Back soon with a big post on the fun we had at the Stitching in the Mountains Retreat!