Two Contrasting Samplers: Part One

Continuing the sampler theme I've got going on, I thought I would provide two contrasting examples from my own work. 

The first sampler is highly traditional, and in my eyes now, a little boring... It is dated 2010 but I actually must have started it about four years earlier when I was 14- I did about half the border then it sat in a drawer for years until I rediscovered it the summer before going to University!

I say it is boring now basically because it is all in just cross-stitch (although a little backstitch features too), and I did it by following a purchased pattern. I know it was a DMC kit that cost about £30, but I can no longer find the design. 

That being said, I do remember feeling very proud of it when it was finally complete! It was the largest thing for 'display' I'd done, and it did feel like a record of achievement. My obsessive-compulsive side also loves the 'perfectionism' element of cross-stitch, as it is technically possible to produce a perfect piece if you follow the pattern exactly, and I even became obsessed with the top threads of each cross pointing the same way (it gives a much neater finish trust me..!) 

Whilst trying to find online the pattern I used for this just now, I must say I came across some beautiful designs that I probably wouldn't mind having a go at one day..! I do have a soft spot for the perfectly neat and traditional... For the last couple of years I have been much more into making my own designs however, although I have never tried to produce something so traditional looking. I think a future project could be to make my own traditional looking design, to keep things a bit more interesting than just following a purchased pattern that can look the same no matter who stitches it! 

One thing that I really love about stitching samplers of any kind is that even now, years after making it, I can still remember exactly where I was and what was happening when I stitched each little bit. I did the alphabet sitting in Whipsnade Zoo car park in the rain with my Mum for a good few hours, waiting whilst my sister enjoyed the 'Zookeeper for a day' experience we had got her for her birthday earlier that year. The purple heart motifs on either side of the alphabet were done when my Uncle came over to visit, whilst the large pink flowers sparked an argument with my boyfriend at the time who was annoyed about me focusing on the embroidery more than on watching him play Call of Duty... (yep, guess which one I still prefer..!) The whole thing is like a visual diary to me, and it is the same with every piece of embroidery I do really.