Late 19th century antique sampler by May Nicholls aged 10 is worked in wool and cotton on even weave gauze.

The original sampler is completely charming with neat stitch work throughout. 

The gauze has overall discoloration consistent with its age. There is also some stitch loss to the outer red chevron border and the odd stitch elsewhere.

I chose to stitch a reproduction of May Nicholls’s sampler, that was finished in September 1894, and comes from my personal collection, on 40 linen using 1 strand of new over dyed colors from DMC one over one. That is why my sampler looks much smaller than the original. The size of May’s sampler is 11″ x 13″, and the reproduction is 2 1/2″ x 3″. I used the same stitches as May did: a tent continental and cross stitch mixed.

The upper section of the sampler is stitched with rows of alphabet letters, numbers and border patterns, all underlined with a Greek key style border.

The lower section of the sampler is stitched with the words “The Lord is my Shepherd”, underlined with a zigzag border which has row of trees and cups and saucers below. There is a central fruit basket below which has a tree and a cross to each side, the date September 1894 above and May’s name and age below. The whole piece is then surrounded by a narrow red chevron border.

I added my initials NF and a year the sampler was finished 2020 on each side of the fruit basket.

The pattern of a reproduction of an Antique Sampler by May Nicholls, 1894 is available at www.dollhouseneedlepoint.com

OOAK Miniature Petit Point Persian Area Carpet KIRMAN VASE is charted and hand stitched by Natalia Frank.

It measures 11 1/4” x 13 1/4”. It is stitched on 48 count silk gauze with Classic Colorworks over dyed silk floss. Total of 291,156 tiny stitches, 771 hours of stitching.

The design for the OOAK miniature Petit Point Kirman Vase carpet is adopted from an antique Kirman ‘Vase’ carpet, mid-17th century, that was woven in Kerman, Iran, a major weaving center in the south-eastern part of the country, and sold at Christie’s, London on April 15, 2010 for $9,599,535.

Some observers have described the design of this carpet as a prototype for the Herati motif with it’s four curling, serrated leaves surrounding a rosette connected by vines. The pattern repeats across the rug on a relatively large scale. An interesting feature of this carpet is that the curving serrated leaves have three colors, including black, which is rare, running longitudinally upon a vibrant blue background. The designers of the original rug worked out an arrangement that makes the blossoms of the flowers completely secondary to leaves. It is no longer the powerful scrolling of individual leaves that creates energy of the design. Here it is the rhythm set up by the interlocking leaves. Their stems and the drawing of the individual plants growing from each end of the carpet create one rhythm, but the coloring, which makes facing leaves from two different plants still have the same colors, creates the counterpoint. It is an apparently simple but wonderfully satisfying design that gives an unusual energy and charm.

The six-volume “Survey of Persian Art” by Arthur Upham Pope, described this very carpet as having belonged to a Frenchwoman by the name of Martine Marie-Pol, Comtesse de Béhague.

Born at the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, the countess stood out for her collecting. She was a woman in a man’s world, wealthy and possessed of a spectacular eye which she used to build up noted collections of antiquities and Islamic art.

Some of the de Behague collections were dispersed in two sales at the Château de Fleury-en-Bière in 1927 and 1928, but this carpet was not included. After her death in 1939, the remainder was inherited by her nephew, the Marquis de Ganay. It remained in the family collection until December 1987, when the bulk of it was sold at auction in Monaco to a German dealer.

The German dealer obviously did not realize what he had and gave it to his housekeeper. This housekeeper had left it in her will to her friend – who had kept it in storage for years. “It was so big, so long, it didn’t fit into my flat,” she said of the carpet which is more than three meters long and one-and-a-half wide.

She decided to move to a new house after her husband died and wanted to sell off some stuff via the auctioneer. He said as a general dealer he was no expert in carpets and put it in his catalog without a picture, with an estimate price of €900.

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed each minute of stitching this carpet!

I started working on the TREE OFLIFE series last year. The first carpet Tree of Life 1 was stitched in 3 months and won the 1st PIMA (Perfection in Miniature Awards) prize at the Kensington Dollhouse Festival in May 2016.

This is what the judges said about this carpet:

"Some miniatures take a while to absorb. At first glance it was a beautiful rug, but then you look closer & you see the absurdly tiny stitches, the multitude of colours used to give the subtle shades & shapes of the creatures depicted. You turn the rug over & it is as neat & perfect as the top. It was virtually impossible to find any error or criticisms in the piece."

OOAK and an award-winning rug Tree of Life 1 is stitched on 56 count silk gauze with over dyed Tudor Gloriana silk floss - 89 colors (93 skeins total).

There are 4 carpets in TREE OF LIFE series. They are all available forsale in the form of a kit. 

Tree of Life carpets are available for sale in the form of a kit. The Tree of Life 4 kit will be available shortly.

The pattern is printed on multiple pages with color symbols. The sheets are loose. I wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for your use.

Each kit uses 56 count silk gauze and overdyed fine Tudor Gloriana silk floss. Each finished rug will have a different look due to using over dyed silk floss.

Tree of Life Design is versatile and can be used for anything: pillows, table cover, book cover, bell pulls, etc... Different parts of the design can make small pin cushion, book marks, needle books, etc... Just let your imagination flow.

The prices for the kits are determined by an amount of colors and skeins used for each carpet, ordering supplies, handling and shipping.

PRE-ORDER THE KITS NOW

Chose a kit to PRE-ORDER.

PRE-ORDER will last through February, shipping will start on the 1st of June. I am attanding as a dealer a main event of a year - Chicago International Dollhouse show - and due to the preparation and participation I won't be able to put the kits together in a short period of time. I appreciate your understanding.

HAPPYSTITCHING!

Dear readers!

HAPPY NEWY 2017 YEAR!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year holiday time with your family and friends!

As my gift to you I offer a free pattern of KONYA PRAYER rug, a reproduction of an antique rug.

To download a free pattern, please, follow this link KONYA

Have a wonderful and peaceful year!

Natalia

OOAK and an award-winning rug Tree of Life 1 is stitched on 56 count silk gauze with over dyed Tudor Gloriana silk floss with 89 colors (93 skeins total).

The Tree of Life 1 won the 1st PIMA 2016 prize (Perfection in Miniature Awards) that was held at the Kensington Dollhouse Festival in London, May 2016. This is what the judges said about this carpet:

"Some miniatures take a while to absorb. At first glance it was a beautiful rug, but then you look closer & you see the absurdly tiny stitches, the multitude of colours used to give the subtle shades & shapes of the creatures depicted. You turn the rug over & it is as neat & perfect as the top. It was virtually impossible to find any error or criticisms in the piece."

Tree of Life 1 carpet is available for sale as a pattern and as a kit. 

I am happy to announce about new counts of silk gauze I listed on the website. Now I offer silk gauze in the following counts: 40 (ivory and black), 45, 55, 56, 60, 70, 83, 84, 90, 121. All pictures are pictures of real silk gauze I have with a ruler that allows you to count weaved intersections per an inch. And, yes, 121 count!!! Would you like to try that challenge? What is the highest count of silk gauze you stitched on?

http://www.dollhouseneedlepoint.com/apps/webstore/products/category/963953?page=1

I am glad to present my new pattern of the year. This is a dollhouse miniature area rug SERENITY. 

The KIT is currently available on my website http://www.dollhouseneedlepoint.com/apps/webstore/products/show/6926960

219 x 325 stitches

It measures

if stitched on 40 count - 5.47" x 8.13" (13,91 x 20,64 cm)

if stitched on 48 count - 4.56" x 6.77" (11,59 x 17,20 cm)

I hope you like it!

Happy Memorial Day!

Natalia

I am happy announced that now I can offer classes in Miniature Needlepoint at CJN Miniatures store that was recently opened in Edmonds, WA

Please, check them following this link: http://www.cjnminiatures.com/classes

I am happy to announce that new petit point area rug patterns are coming soon. Here is a sneak peek...  BLOOMING CARNATIONS

I am thrilled to let you know that my Tutorial on How to Put Dollhouse Miniature Slippers together has been published in the Spanish Dollhouse Miniature Magazine # 187, 2013, by Madelva Fernandez.

Thank you!

Natalia

Nancy from RI has just purchased the Dollhouse Needlepoint Rug Kit "Animals" and is eager to begin stitching.

While the kit is on its way to Nancy, she wrote a post on her blog about it. You can read it HERE.

Happy stitching, Nancy! We will be following your process of stitching with a big interest!

Natalia Frank