Fading Away ~

...the group that I am a member of on Facebook called

Prim Stitchers Society

is a place where we can go & chat, 

see what others are stitching 

and drool over their finished works or WIPs ~

I love this group as it gives me inspiration yet much needed down-time & enjoyment.

the other day, a member posted about a subject that caught my attention as a designer.

She brought up the subject of hand dyed linens,

 and stitching with similarly-hued threads 

used in a design.

...she stated that the threads she was using 'disappeared' into the linen, 

being so close to the color-value of the linen….

She also pondered if it was because the designer chose the linen/thread colors purposely?

 or if perhaps the dye-lots of the linen she bought from the linen supplier was not exactly as the designer showed in her photographs of her design….

(and as being a hand-dyed product, this often happens.)

I love questions like this, 

so

of course I had to chime in ;)

My response was that I love the look of the old faded samplers.

the colors of the threads initially used in the making of the actual antique sampler have, 

through time, faded into the background, so-to-speak.

the dyes used in the threads long ago were not dye fast, as many are today.

thusly, being exposed to light and hundreds of years of weathering, 

...the threads change colors.

antique sampler with faded threads (found on Pinterest)

As a person who LOVEs this look,

it doesn't bother me one bit that sometimes you can't see the alphabet, tiny bird or crown…

and as a professional designer of cross stitch,

I sometimes intentionally will choose my thread colors to 'match' my hand dyed linen ~ 

just so I can purposely achieve that old & faded look we love so….

I talked with Brenda Gervais 

(Country Stitches/With Thy Needle and Thread)

yesterday on this very subject ~ and she said something to me that really hit home…

she said that when the threads have faded that much, 

we really need to lean in and look more closely at the sampler….

it's then I think, that we can appreciate even more the work involved.

and I totally agree.

antique sampler  w/ faded alphabet ~  found on Pinterest

when I began my love-affair with needlework,

it was those very samplers that did it...

the ones that made me lean in a bit closer and look a little harder 

at those seemingly infinite, almost-microscopic stitches

made by, of all things, the small & delicate hands of girls that were as young as 8 years old!!

antique sampler w/ faded threads ~ found on Pinterest

so that's why I do what I do when I design my work ~

I try to replicate the years of sunlight & shadow,

humidity & dampness of perhaps a dusty attic or dimly-lit barn…

...I try to replicate that work that drew me in.

...here is a good example 

of one of my very favorite samplers 

that I designed:

'Fronica Bieler 1852' ~ designed and stitched by me

 I hand dyed the linen, then matched the threads (closely) with the linen...

I think it turned out well, and I think I achieved that look of age & fading.

you can hardly read what it says until you get up-close and personal.

((totally intended it that way!))

and it reads:

"... 'dis work done by me    when 'dis you see remember me…"

'Fronica Bieler 1852' ~  ©Notforgotten Farm

 I hope you can understand a little better now 

why I do what I do ~ 

If you haven't looked into joining the Prim Stitchers Society on Facebook,

…you should!

Hoping you all have a loverly day filled with many tiny stitches!!

* Blessed be * 

Lori