Birth Sampler: Part 5

From the last time I posted about Baby’s birth sampler:

Here is the latest progress picture.  You can see that my second motif is now complete:

I thought the stork with the pink bundle is the cutest (there’s no guessing as to what the stork had brought me!).  The stork symbolizes parental love and filial devotion.  It’s Germanic name (adebar/odebar) means “bringer of happiness”.  Indeed, Baby has brought much joy in the Ivory Spring household.  We only pray that we continue to learn to be better parents.

The swans are birds of love, also symbolic of purity:

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have enjoyed these progress pictures on my Baby’s birth sampler.  Have a nice day, would you? :)  Till tomorrow.

Birth Sampler: Part 4

Good day, my friends! I hope you are doing well. My “downstairs” project(s)” hadn’t been happening in the last few weeks. Baby needed all my attention. But these past few days, she has let up on her demands as she has learned to entertain herself better… so, when the “cat” (Baby) plays, the mouse (Mom) plays too! :) This is picture from my last update:

You can see I made a bit of progress here. The stems for the yellow fruits were not the easiest to stitch. I took out stitches several times because I was “eyeballing” the chart wrong!

I believe fully in my downstairs projects. I read this quote on Jane Austen’s writing by her nephew, James Edward Austen-Leigh, that affirmed my belief – “She had no separate study to retire to, and most of the work must have been done in the general sitting-room, subject to all sorts of casual interruptions.” I guess the moral of the story is that working on projects piecemeal is perfect alright.  After all, it is definitely Austen-tatious! :)

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely and productive day!

Birth Sampler: Part 3

Between reading Dr. Seuss’ “I can read with my eye shut” for the 50,045th time, and singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” for the 45,678th time, I managed to squeeze a few more stitches on Baby’s birth sampler.  This is my progress after about two weeks since my last update on the birth sampler:

The chart is very easy to follow – so, I have had no problems stitching without using a marker to mark off the stitched area.

I don’t have too many symbolisms to share this time – I will wait till the next update. Meanwhile, I’d better get back to my quilting. Thanks for stopping by – I shall catch up with you later!

Birth Sampler: Part 2

Baby’s Birth Sampler has become my “downstairs” project lately. The definition of “downstairs” project can be found here.  This is the progress I have made so far:

The following are the symbolic meanings I have found for the various motifs:

1. Tulips (stitched in yellow) symbolize Perfect Love.  I pray that Baby would know that she is loved, and would embrace the Source of Perfect Love – God Himself.

2. Dianthus/Carnation (stitched in peachy pink) symbolize Maternal Love. I do hope and pray often that there isn’t something seriously lacking in my love for Baby, and that if there is, I would be made aware of it immediately.

3. Thistle (I think of these as thistles, stitched in crimson) symbolize Protection.   I pray for that A LOT for Baby.

4. Daisy (stitched in peachy pink in the middle of the motif) symbolize Humility.  We all need a bit of that in our life, don’t we?  I pray for humility to prevail in my relationship with Baby, and that she would learn to humble herself before her Creator in all her life.

5. Flowers in general (stitched in peachy pink) symbolize Nature.   I pray that Baby would learn to appreciate the glory of nature and the One who had created it.

As for the blue urn…

If you aren’t new to my blog, you will know exactly why I have stitched the urn blue — that’s because of my love for the British blue dishes!! This particular urn is my rendition of the Wedgwood Jasper — I don’t have any deep meaning for this except that I hope Baby would “inherit” my dish-aholism! :)

6. Heart (stitched in pink) symbolizes Love or Divine Love.  See #1 (Tulips).

7. Forget-me-not (stitched in blue) symbolizes Friendship and Loyalty.  My prayer is that Baby would find herself loyal and loving friends throughout her life.  More importantly, she would know The FRIEND who sticks closer than a brother.

8.  Butterfly (stitched in blue) symbolizes Resurrection or New Beginning.  I have prayed for a long long time for Baby, before she was born, to know the power of Resurrection.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoyed seeing the progress I have made on the sampler. It has been a most meaningful endeavor for me.

(In case you are wondering, this is the Bienvenue Sampler by Long Dog Samplers, inspired by the Ackworth Schoolgirl Samplers).

Mary Wigham Part 4

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe it’s already Friday?  I hope you have had a good week.  I didn’t get as far as I would have like on Mary, but I did get my Northcott’s Victorian Courtship quilt finished in time to ship to the editor (YAY!).  Below are some latest pictures of my progress on Mary:

It has been a very meaningful and worthwhile endeavor for me to reproduce the Mary Wigham Sampler.   Working on Mary has perfectly melded my love of needlework with my love of history!

Jacqueline of Needleprint mentioned on her blog that the number of downloads has gone through the roof, and her current website does not have enough bandwidth to handle the traffic.  I am excited by the level of interest in Mary — Mary’s legacy is alive and well.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a lovely weekend!

p.s.  Cathi, are you still wavering about Mary?!  Come join me and waver no longer! :)