Needlework designs and delights
An antique adaptation with heart. Sometimes a little piece of history comes your way and just captures your heart. From the moment I saw Harriett’s needlepoint sampler, I knew she was a kindred soul. While the beautiful, almost abstract flowers first caught my eye, it was the sentiment that really drew me to the piece.…
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An antique reproduction and a mini design. When I’m especially busy (or, let’s be honest, a bit frazzled), I find I reach for monochrome stitching. Working with a single colour is particularly restful, as you can just focus on the calming repetition of thread flowing through linen. And, more often than not, it’s a redwork…
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An antique reproduction I must confess – I have a real love for Victorian needlepoints and have been collecting them for some time. When I reproduced “Mary Barton’s Work” last year, I wasn’t sure anyone else would want to stitch it – and I’m thrilled that Mary’s weird little bird found so many homes with…
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An antique reproduction Sometimes you can be lucky enough to stumble across an antique piece of needlework that just makes you smile. The original of this design was done completely in petit-point – the tiny stitches creating such a lifelike image, I could almost see those ears turning and those noses twitching. I tried several…
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And finishing tips… When preparing new designs for the US Fall 2021 Needlework Expo, I was in the middle of a prolonged lockdown. I was working on a different antique reproduction, when it became clear that the lockdown would not end before Expo – meaning I couldn’t get the piece framed, or even get framing…
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My heart skipped a beat when I first saw the antique – such a sweet collection of flowers, such a bright, rainbow palette and such an enigma. The almost anonymous stitcher only left us a single initial. Having sourced the antique from France, I decided to give her a French name, and to recreate her…
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An antique reproduction I can’t help it. I call this the ‘Chilli Sampler’ in my head. Those rosebuds in the border? They just look like chillis to me! And yet somehow this fits. I can’t shake the impression of heat and warmth with this sampler. The palm-like trees, the bright colours – I wish I…
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Hannah Hodgkison is another charming visitor: a tiny, bright and cheerful little sampler that caught my eye. Without a date or a place, we could not locate Hannah in the historical records, but spending time with her work, I can’t help but think she was a bright, cheerful little girl. Her colour palette is unusual…
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An antique reproduction Lavenia came into my life unexpectedly. I couldn’t believe I found her, sitting quietly and demurely, unnoticed and unclaimed. I understand now why antique samplers are always referred to by their stitcher’s names, as if they were a person themselves: I feel like we met that day – over distance and over…
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Mojo Stitches 