One of my favourite finishes of all time has to be this Blackwork Sampler. I wanted to learn how to do blackwork and so did 2 of my friends, and this was the perfect project for it, lots of different motifs to try out. We decided to do it as a SAL. Each of us picked different fabrics and threads and got to work. Being the traditional girl that I am, I decided to stitch mine all in black, except for a touch of metallic in the middle to break down all the black.

As it turns out the sampler is quite large for a first time piece but it was well worth the effort.

Details:

Fabric: cream 22-count Oslo from Zweigart
Threads: stranded cotton DMC310 and a touch of metallic “light effects floss” E301 (copper)
Design: by Lynne Herzberg and published in The Gift of Stitching

This is it finished:

And here is it framed, where it hangs on proud display just above my desk:

I decided I was never going to finish Medieval Town Mandala in its current state. After it got stained with wood varnish, then had the stains removed by bleaching, then was tea stained to hide the bleached areas… it simply lost its antique white and blues crisp prettiness. The tea staining meant the colours of the center part would be darker than the rest and not as bright. Which would require a further tea staining at the end. I didn’t like how the fabric and threads looked after staining. Add that to the fact that I was not sure how the fabric would survive all the rough handling, I lost any desire to finish it.

I ripped out the unfinished section, leaving visible lighter areas where the stitches prevented the tea from staining the fabric as much, cut up the fabric, washed it, ironed it and framed it.

For anyone curious about what it would have looked liked finished, take a look here.

WIP before the staining disaster:

Pre-framing:

Framed:

I am actually happy with how it looks framed. Now I just need to decide if I have the heart to purchase the materials again and start over!