Signing your work

When I was a young girl, I had a teacher who told me to always date and sign all my school papers. At the time I didn’t understand fully what he meant, but now that I have lived a good four decades, I have come to realize that I do not always remember when I wrote, (or created) something and this is when the wisdom of my old teacher comes back to memory. You date your papers so that you remember when you wrote them, and you sign them to confirm that it was you who wrote it.

 

Now this should also apply to items you create, draw, paint or sew. Naturally it is easier to sign a piece of paper than an item, but signing and dating it can make all the difference later, and if nothing else, it will help you keep track of the evolution of your skill.

 

Earlier on this summer I took a little trip to Scotland to visit my sister, my plane arrived at Aberdeen and there we passed by a little charity book shop where I found a few small treasures including a vintage embroidery book by Mary Thomas.

 

Inside the book there is a section for ‘Technical and miscellaneous hints’, and to my pleasant surprise I saw a paragraph that expressed beautifully what I have said regarding the importance of signing and dating your embroidery projects.

 

    “The old custom of signing and dating any elaborate piece of embroidery, with the idea that it should last, has now happily been revived. A signature may seem of no particular consequence to the worker, but it adds greatly to the personal charm and interest of the work, which later may be handed down with pride from generation to generation.”

Mary Thomas 1936

Here I am showing the rose sampler

 

Details of how I signed my roses project

Close up of the signature on Mine Sampler

Mini sampler on ETSY: Mini Sampler

Free rose pattern on the blog with link to the different parts of the serie:  Small rose

Antique embroidery notebook - Dated 1906

I like everyday objects, items that tell a story ! And this is why I’m often just as thrilled to add to my collection odds-&-ends of no value, as I am to find a rare or more costly piece.

This time I want to show you a little notebook I found for just about nothing on an online auction, it’s simple and has no fancy patterns, but I love how it gives a little peak into the ideas and projects a girl (or lady) was working on sometime in 1906.

I still find it hard to call items from the early 20^th century antiques as I feel it was just yesterday, but technically antiques are items that are over 100 years  old – so this notebook is officially an antique as it is 113 years old. 

It’s a German notebook with square grid pages, and held together with a sewed string – no staples. Inside someone tried out ideas, and drew counted patterns in pencil and colored crayons. The name Minna and Margret are done in pretty lettering, along with the family name Hövermann. 

I found a Minna Hövermann (1871-1922) who could fit the date, but she seemed to have lived in in Illinois (USA). I don’t know if that was the owner of the notebook, but could be if she had immigrated to the US ? I always love a little detective work, but it would be so much easier if people would have remembered to date, and sign all papers, works of art, sketches, notebooks, needlework piece and so on. 

I don't speak German, so if someone could translate for me what is writen on the front and back of the notebook I would be really interested to know what it says.

Antique German notebook

A little Assisi pattern or a swirl and dragon

That's it...

The back of the notebook

I can't read German, but I figure it means 'Printed in Stuttgart'.

Small rose. Free cross stitch pattern - Part 4 Cross stitch and beads

For part 4 I decided to work the rose with seed beads, while stitching the leaves in cross stitch.

To be honest at first I made a mistake by using beads that were just too big, and did not sit properly when stitched tightly together on my 28 ct linen fabric. So I took it all apart, and used Mill Hill seed beads instead.

Mill Hill beads are perfect for adding a little dimension to your stitching, or for working a counted pattern in beads. They come in several sizes, from petit seed beads to larger beads.  If you are planning on adding just a couple beads to your project, the size might not matter too much but for larger areas you need to make sure that the beads take up the actual space of a cross stitch and not more, otherwise you will end up with a distorted embroidery.

I used Wonder Invisible thread for attaching the beads, it’s a bobbin I bought years ago and honestly you use so little of it that it last forever and well worth investing in. You can also use fine fishing wire, or a thread that matches the color of the background, but be aware that beads are heavy and in time can make the embroidery sag so using quality beading thread is recommended.

Rose worked in Mill Hill seed beads

Small rose part 1 - Cross stitch
Small rose part 2 - Gobelin stitch
Small rose part 3 - Petit point

The small rose pattern is available as a free instant download on my website, see link below. 

I would like to challenge you to also try out different techniques and styles of embroidery, needlework or other crafts that can be worked from counted patterns. The possibilities are endless, and lot’s of fun. 

Be sure to tag your work with #smallrosechallenge  or #rolanddesigns

 

The cross stitch was stitched with 2 threads over two threads on 28 ct linen.

The free pattern can be downloaded here:  http://www.roland-designs.com/free-patterns

 PS: All recommendations are my own preference; I am not sponsored by Mill Hill or the creators of  Wonder Invisble Thread.

Small rose. Free cross stitch pattern - Part 2 Gobelin stitch

Continuing with my counted stitch challenge, here is a new version of small rose. 

For my second version of the design I simply replaced each ‘cross stitch’ with two small long stiches. Tbe Gobelin stitch is really easy to do, and results in a sort of flat embroidery which is pleasant to touch and resembles weaving. 

The small rose pattern is available as a free instant download on my website, see link below. 

I would like to challenge you to also try out different techniques and styles of embroidery, needlework or other crafts that can be worked from counted patterns. The possibilities are endless, and lot’s of fun. 

Be sure to tag your work with #smallrosechallenge  or #rolanddesigns

 

The rose was stitched with 2 threads over two threads on 28 ct linen.

The free pattern can be downloaded here:  http://www.roland-designs.com/free-patterns

Small rose challenge part 2

Small rose part 1 - Cross stitch