Eyelet Alphabet Sampler

So many antique samplers I have seen have an alphabet comprised of eyelet stitches. I've always loved the way they looked. The stitches are so delicate and add a wonderful texture. I don't have much experience with working eyelet stitches. The last sampler I designed I added a few here and there just to get some experience and I adored the way they came out. I decided then to simply throw myself into the deep end and start working on a sampler I'd designed inspired by several antique ones I'd seen pictures of. I don't actually own any antique samplers of my own but they're on the "wish list" my husband keeps for anniversaries and birthdays and the like. There's a full alphabet of cross stitches and a partial alphabet of eyelet stitches as well as three borders of eyelet stitches. By the time I've completed this sampler I will certainly have plenty of practice!

I struggled with choosing the blue thread for the design. I tend towards blues that actually appear more grey. This is truly a blue and I was a little cautious as first; I wasn't sure if it was just too bright. The more I stitch with it the happier I am with my choice. It's very unusual for me not to change thread colors several times once I've begun stitching. How the tread looks stitched can be so different than how the skein itself looks. I am flirting with the idea of stitching a few letters with a lighter shade of white, only slightly darker than the background color actually. The thread barely shows up on the linen, but the texture of the eyelet stitches makes them slightly more noticeable. I've always loved the tone on tone effect and with some older samplers the threads have blended through age beautifully into the background. I'm not sure if I can achieve that effect or how it will look if I do but once I've stitched up the letters I'll post a photo and get some opinions.

The linen is new to me as well. It's a color from R&R that I've never worked with before. For another sampler I designed I wanted an aged white linen so I simply ordered a bunch of colors from several different lines. It's amazing how they all appear white when viewed alone, but when put together you can see subtle differences. One is yellow-white, one is blue-white . . . also different thread colors bring out different tones in the white. This particular linen is a grey-white and while it didn't work for the other sampler it looked wonderful with these colors.

I have no idea when this sampler will be completed. Eyelet stitches are a little more time consuming than I had anticipated so it's slow going. I promise more pictures as I make more progress. Until then, best wishes and happy stitching!

xoxo

Jennie Lynn