Saturday, January 21, 2012

1st TUSAL! And a Pic of Jane before ISHW

Bonjour mes amies!!

I hope I find you all well and happy.  I have to say it's been quite the week here in the city! I have been working with some lovely groups of children that have made me smile all day.  I feel so blessed to be given the opportunity to work with such lovely little souls.  Even though I don't have a contract, it's nice to go and teach at the schools you have taught at before because the children get to know me and then I get little hugs!! Sometimes when I leave work I want to skip to the bus stop but stop myself because I'm not 12 anymore!! Although I do sneak in a skip here or there :D

So before I head out to babysit my little cousins, I wanted to show Jane pre-ISHW so there can be a progress pic for Monday.  I, ehhem, still haven't replaced that colour yet, but I will! It's just that Michael's is out of my way and I have to make a special trip.  It's okay though because I have been putting in some of the grass and just having fun with the sampler!
As for my last query about how the girls made their designs, I found an interesting article about American Samplers (not sure how to upload the pdf file).  To sum it up, since it's a large article, the girls were usually taught by teachers in schools.  The purpose, as I'm sure you know, was for the girls to practice stitching so they can use their skills to adorn linens, clothing, etc, for their future homes. The designs were either inked on by the teacher following a template, or done by freehand.  Then the girls would stitch over the markings.  Some may have created their own designs while using templates that the teachers provided them.  The materials the girls used varied according to their status.  The poorer the girl, the poorer the materials, the richer the girl, the richer the materials, like silks and fine linens. You get the idea! Here is a link to a list of the motifs the girls used in their samplers.  It's really neat to read up on what each symbol means!!

The wedding heart is completed and I love it! I should really stitch one for me and my hubby!! It will be framed by next week.  The colour is really quite beautiful! Some of you mentioned that I should use the lace for the design, but the pink is a lot more rosier than the pink I used for the design.  I will use the lace for something else. Here is the link for the design: Needleprint. It's the design on the upper right hand corner.

I also stitched a really sweet little design for my friend's birthday but since she reads my blog, I can't post it yet!!
Without further ado, here is my Tusal "jar".  I haven't found one yet so I'm using a pretty white dish.  I've noticed that there isn't a lot of orts even though I stitched quite a bit.  I think it's because I'm very thrifty with my threads!!
Wow.  It really looks like I haven't stitched at all?! Those pale pink bits is from the heart, the blues from the snowman and the dark bits are from Jane.  Odd.  I thought I had more!
Here's a pic of a beautiful candle my little brother bought me for Christmas.  He picked it out himself, which is quite amazing! It's handmade in Prince George!!

(I am horribly behind blog reading, but will try to catch up tomorrow!)

Take care and Hugs for all of you!!

EDITED: Oops, just looked at the dates for the TUSAL and I'm two days early!!

18 comments:

Margaret said...

Your Jane is looking good -- it's such a pretty sampler. Your TUSAL looks about like mine --except that DS cut all of my orts up so it looks "prettier." lol! Nice candle!

Chris said...

Beautiful stitching.
Your brother did a great job picking out a gift for you.

Teresa said...

Love the heart. I like the pink, but then again pink is my favorite. Thanks for the lesson on samplers.
Your brother picked out a very nice candle.
So happy to hear the kids made you feel like skipping, you will make a wonderful full time teacher.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches

mdgtjulie said...

LOL, better early than late!!! Looks like you've gotten a lot done on your projects. I love the color of the heart, and I love the candle too. Hope you're enjoying hermitting!!!

Kaisievic said...

The wedding heart is a gorgeous pink.

Hugs, kaye xoxox

cucki said...

very lovely stitching..
the wedding heart is looking so cute..
big hugs xxx

Pauline said...

Lovely story, and beautiful things!

Cristina said...

I enjoyed a lot reading your post.
Beautiful WIPs. I esppecially lovved the heart.

Melissa said...

Anne, it's great to hear you are having such fun working with various schools and meeting up with your little pals! Hugs from little people are all so great. Knowing you I can see why they would love to see you every time!

Jane is looking lovely!

I still owe you an email so hope to do that later today!

Joysze said...

Bonjour, ma cherie!! :D What little I remember of French from college. LOL!!!

Jane is coming along beautifully. In all honesty? I don't think you should change the light green. It adds such a nice contrast and texture... almost like a green companion to the lightest pinks in there. But, of course, you have to be happy with what you'd like it to be... :D

Those kids sound adorable. That's why I teach too. Such little darlings. Have fun and then send them home to their parents. LOL!!

Oh, congrats on the finish, girlie!!!! It looks spectacular and YES you should stitch this for you and L!! Do it, DO IT!! Hehehehe.

Aww, gorgeous candle. Your bro did good. The front actually looks like a pair of ballet slippers from the angle of your photo.

ORT!!!! I have more than usual this time cos I frogged a smallish part of CG and messed up with some silks.

Sheeesh... this was a long comment, prolly should've just emailed, huh? ;)

HMBW!!!

valerie said...

Jane is looking great! I hope you had some time to stitch this weekend. Love the pink heart finish!

Lynn said...

Your wedding heart is gorgeous!! I'm sure the recipients are going to be thrilled with it.
Looking forward to seeing more of Jane after your weekend stitch.

Carol said...

There is nothing like the smile or hug of a child to make your day!! Never stop skipping, Anne :)

Nice progress on Jane and the little heart is darling--such a pretty shade of pink... Interesting to read about the samplers, too.

Sally said...

Jane is looking beautiful:)

Love the heart. It is so sweet.

Nicola said...

Hello

I am so glad that you have become a follower of my blog I am looking forward to sharing my stitching journey and life at Poldhu Cove with you.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my visit to your blog and signed straight up as a follower.

Nicola x

Meari said...

Your WIP looks good, Anne.

It really nice to read about how much you love teaching the children. ☺

Very cool to read about what each motif means in samplers. Thanks for sharing the tidbits of info on embroidery.

Cute little heart finish. Love the muted shades of pinks.

I didn't think I had a lot for my TUSAL, but there was more than I thought! All my snippets are like 1/2" or less long, lol. Petite needles allow me to use threads right down to the nubs.

Ziggyeor said...

Nice TUSAL and great job on brother picking out the gift.

Pumpkin said...

Your sampler is coming along nicely. I'm sure you'll find the right color.

I think it's amazing how samplers were made by girls way back when ;o) Such an art and someday I would LOVE to come across an old piece that I could buy.

Congrats on your finish!