Tuesday 21 July 2015

Blog #37 - The 'Favoured Shades' Sampler Exhibition



Tuesday  -  2 June  2015

WOW!  What a wonderful weekend!!



So many visitors came to the Gallery to view the exhibitions
of the 'Favoured Shades' Samplers, Joy’s stitched sampler designs
and Elizabeth’s stitched sampler inspired designs.



Thank you.  Thank you, to everyone who loaned their pieces of needlework
so that I could create the displays.
Without you, this event would not have been possible.
 

And, thank you too, to everyone who visited.
Without you, the exhibition would not have been a success.



To recap - this sampler was presented
as a ‘Mystery Sampler’ in 2014 -
six parts over six months.

No-one knew beforehand the finished look
of the sampler and the participants
had to choose the fabric they wanted
to stitch on and the thread colours
were their choice - 
seven shades of one colour :
their favourite colour. 

Stitches and/or rows of stitches
could be changed or deleted, 
a verse could be added, etc.  





This sampler gave every participant
an enjoyable challenge 
and the opportunity
to create their own sampler.



Here is a photo of my original sampler that I stitched in 2006
and the one I had to stitch again when it was decided 
that this would be the 2014 mystery project.








































In 2006 I had not intended to publish this design and so my charts
were only roughly hand-drawn and no thought had been given
to writing stitching instructions.

Consequently I needed to stitch this piece again
as I printed charts, wrote instructions and drew stitch diagrams.

The reason for the difference in size is due to the 2006 sampler
being worked on Cashel Linen fabric  (28 count)
and the 2014 sampler being worked on Permin Linen  (35 count).

A few pictures of the overall display in the dining room.
On the dining room table -





















in front of the fireplace -



























and on the sideboard -






















As already mentioned above, this sampler was to be the needleworker’s 
“own” sampler  which meant that each participant 
had to choose their favourite colour and then choose seven shades
of that one colour.  

 It was amazing to see how the samplers looked so different 
due to the choice of colour and shadings of that colour.

And, as already mentioned, the other choices they had were that they could change
or adapt stitches or rows, add a verse or a different pattern band.

Once again these changes made each sampler unique.

To follow are pictures of the samplers on display.  
Some are completely finished, others have yet to be framed
or made into bellpulls, others still a ’work-in-progress’.

Note:  Description of colour combinations : mine 







Glennis Harris

Waipawa

Dark Chocolate

















Joy Hurford

Hastings

Brethren
Blues












Alison McCluskey
Taradale

Garden
Greens
















Pam Hales

Otane

Rust
&
Old Bricks
































Janet Jones

Hastings

Sweet Pea
Mauves



































Linda Graham 

Christchurch

Ice Blues





















Maryann Kingston

Waipawa

Sampler
Blues
























Annette Webb

Hastings

Cerise
&
Lavender
































Robyn Phillips

Hastings

Shades
of 
Teal


























Marilyn Thorp

Taradale

Rusty
Peaches



























Sharon Gordon

Napier

Indigo
Blues
&
Violet










Ruth Kerr

Taradale

Apricot
Floss

























Karyn Roberts

Hastings

Navy
Blues































Elisabeth Beachen

Napier

Anenome
Violet






























Cherry Neal

Auckland

Aqua
Seas




























Sharon Gordon

Napier

Cobalt
& Lime


(this is Sharon's
second sampler :
stitching it for cousin, Trudi
who chose the colours
to suit her home)
















As mentioned in my previous blog,
visitors to the exhibition had the opportunity to vote
for their favourite sampler -
that is, the one that “caught their eye”.

The winner of this Viewer’s Choice”
would be given a small gift of a pack of special
‘Limited Edition’ Sampler Threads
by The Gentle Art.


Photo of the winner and her sampler
will be in another blog. 

I will announce though that the blues have it!

So too, photos of the other displays during the weekend -
that is, samplers stitched by my friend, Joy Hurford
& sampler inspired pieces by another friend, 
Elizabeth Darrah.