Newcastle Sampler

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A contemporary take on the traditional sampler, this was made for the ‘Momentum’ exhibition in Hartlepool Art Gallery in 2006.

The panorama of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s Quayside and its iconic bridges, with the cathedral and castle keep in the background, is based on a series of photographs taken by Ruth.

The sampler is entirely hand embroidered. The lettering is in metal thread chain stitch, filled in with split stitch in stranded cotton. Split stitch is used for most of the central panel as it allows subtle shading, with areas of defined colour outlined in double running stitch. The shrubbery in the foreground is worked in French knots.

The quotation is from Yeats:

Meditations In Time Of Civil War
by W B Yeats

An ancient bridge, and a more ancient tower,
A farmhouse that is sheltered by its wall,
An acre of stony ground,
Where the symbolic rose can break in flower,
Old ragged elms, old thorns innumerable,
The sound of the rain or sound
Of every wind that blows.