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The sampler only has a palette of six colours yet dances with colour; the design is very pleasing on the eye. The stitches are neatly worked, and Marie showed skill with her needle, particularly in the bottom section, where she has worked seven darning panels. I particularly enjoyed recreating these panels, and they worked up very quickly. The stitch used is a simple running stitch.
Hands Across the Sea Samplers will be releasing several samplers that contain darning panels. Marie’s sampler is the first in the series, as we believe that this is a good one for you to start your journey working in this medium. We hope that you enjoy this pretty sampler and that she will hang on your sampler wall with pride.
Whilst samplers were stitched by girls to demonstrate their stitching skills (cross stitch), they could include sewing skills such as structural sewing, mending, and patchwork. In centuries past, clothing and household linen were not thrown away if damaged, as they were valued possessions. Women spent many hours mending, darning, and patching. Extending the life of garments and linens was not only a necessity but a valuable skill. Young girls learned to darn, patch, and mend either from their mothers or as a part of their education.
Mending is when a tear is repaired using a line of stitching. Patching is when a piece of cloth is used to repair a hole in the ground material by covering it. Darning is characterised by the use of thread to replicate the structure of the fabric, and although it was meant to be invisible, sometimes different coloured threads were used to embellish the fabric. The darning blocks found in samplers with weave structures were designed to show that the girl could repair a variety of different weaves.
We believe that this eye-catching sampler is Belgian. Although the needleworker only stitched the name “M Nenquin” on her sampler, it is possible that she was Marie Philomène Nenquin who was born on December 26, in the year 1853 at Gimnée, Namur, Belgium. Marie’s parents were Désiré Nenquin and Anne Joseph Landry. Marie married Léon Poucet on December 3, 1875 and sadly died six years later on May 23, 1881 at only 28 years of age. Less than two years later, Léon remarried.
Marie executed her sampler predominantly with cross stitches laid over two threads of linen; the darning panels are worked with running stitches of varying lengths. The sampler is suitable for needleworkers of all levels of ability; however, please note that the darning panels cannot be worked on Aida.
