Amager Blue - Conceived in China?

Or conceivably it could be the other way around? While travelling last month I came across again a book published in 1978 called Blue and White, The Cotton Embroideries of Rural China by Muriel Baker and Margaret Lunt. I think first time round, in my uneducated state, I had dismissed the book for what I considered very simplistic and uninspiring charted extracts, never bothering, as a consequence to delve into the text. My loss. But sometimes learning is a cyclical thing and it is only when you have come to appreciate something else that you can return and find hidden enjoyment in what you have previously discounted. There is a time for things to make sense. And I had had to wait until I had discovered the fabulous Amager stitched panels for these blue Chinese folk embroideries to make sense. Amager is a Danish island a bus ride away from Copenhagen. Until very recently it was a self contained, self regulating Dutch enclave which had been plucked by the King of Denmark out of the Netherlands in the 1520s and dropped down on fertile ground in order to stock the court pantry with good green vegetables as only the Dutch know how. They have such a totally fascinating history - they maintained their customs, their speech, their dress and embroidery over the centuries. When I visited Amager, I was totally struck by their wonderful indigo blue embroideries teeming with mermaids, lions, horses and angels. What most impresses me is the superb gestalt of their designs in which all these apparently chaotic motifs are positioned, not at random, but in such a studied way with respect to their neighbouring motifs that the overall composition comes together in a beautiful close harmony. This effect is enhanced by the internal patterns that powder the large motifs. It is incredibly distinctive, and although I have seen some of their motifs elsewhere - for example, the paired angels appear on Vierlander samplers - I have not seen that particular approach to design anywhere else. Until I looked more carefully at the Chinese cotton embroideries book again. This is very much work in progress for me at the moment. There was a Danish East India Company with warehouses on Amager which traded with South East Asia - and the question is, did one trading country influence another? The Needleprint Amager Panel 1797 Chart contains more history. Because of the present postal strike, I have decided to make a black and white PDF version available as a download for those of you who are unable to buy the physical chart at your LNS. Just click here for the Amager Panel PDF costing $10. By clicking on the little Chinese extract below which I have charted, you should be able to have a sufficiently large pattern from which to work. If you are a Needleprint Infinity user, you can click here to download a free editable version. (Remember you need to choose the option to save and not open the file as you can only open it from inside Cross Stitch Designer.)

My Dear Father - Free Infinity Download

I was delighted to hear from Sampler Central today that the V&A Museum now have their sampler collection on-line! This is just what I dreamed of five years ago, now we can really start to put the sampler jigsaw pieces together to help with our researches.

I have chosen this sampler from the V&A collection to show you because it makes me smile as I remember my friend's father. As a young man he and his best friend escaped from Alsace, France at the beginning of the war. Together they somehow made their way south, down to the Pyrenees, from where they crossed the border into Spain. They spent a year in a Spanish prison - as many fleeing French did, they escaped again this time to England and from there got themselves back into France again to work with the Resistance. In the final days of the war they scaled Strasbourg Cathedral under sniper fire to fly the French flag from the spire. They were subsequently awarded the Legion d'Honneur. editable Infinity excerpt to download. If you prefer a colour PDF version to download, just click here. I am sorry I didn't keep a record of the colours, but I am sure you will have great fun choosing your own.

I think when I composed this excerpt I was rather wishing I had trumpeted these words to my father, louder and more often! To honour fathers everywhere, here is a little charted

A Norwich Darned and Embroidered Shawl Counterpane

Thank you for supporting Carrow House with your purchase of samplers charted by Philippa Sims. Here you can see an example of the good work undertaken by the Norfolk Costume and Textile Association. This unique, embroidered counterpane needed conservation and the NC&TA raised the necessary funds of £10,980 to complete its conservation in 1997. Conservation is expensive and now you can see the significant role played by your purchases - every purchase does make a difference. But I'll let Philippa Sims who is a member of the NC&TA and a volunteer at Carrow House tell you its interesting story.
'Folded away in a museum cardboard box is a piece of local textile history with royal and heraldic interest. Made in 1792 by the Norwich firm of Harvey and Knights this ten foot square Counterpane is a splendid - and possibly the earliest - example of embroidered shawling. It was donated soon after the opening of Strangers’ Hall Museum in the 1920s but sadly all details of the donor are lost. However, it is known to have been a prototype of a counterpane made for Queen Charlotte and won the Silver Medal of the Royal Society of Arts. Queen Charlotte and the Princesses visited the Norwich Shawl Exhibition in New Bond Street, London and perhaps this counterpane was on show.
Made with silk warp and wool weft, the design would have been block-printed on to the fabric and then embroidered. In the centre you can see the arms of George III with magnificent athletic supporters. The fleur de lis was included in the Royal Arms until George III abandoned the title of King of France in 1801, the arms of Hanover are two leopards for Brunswick, lion among hearts for Luneburg and the white horse for Westphalia. The crown above was the badge of the Arch-Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire. On four small corner shields are fleurs de lis, Scottish lion, Irish harp and three cuddly looking leopards! The embroidery in polychrome silks resembles weaving but is actually a very close darning stitch, creating some wonderful shading of colour, especially on the lion and unicorn.

The border is stitched in stem and chain stitch in realistic sprays of roses, thistles and laurel leaves, joined by Garter stars. In each corner is the monogram GR depicted in gold. All surrounded by a deep silk fringe.'

By Philippa Sims
Carrow House Costume and Textile Study Centre.

Vintage Textile Fair * 15 November 2009 * Blackfriars Hall, Norwich

Just in time for some very unique Christmas presents...... and something original for that special Christmas party.
Vintage costumes, bags, jewellery and so much more from over 30 specialist vintage traders. Sunday 15 November 2009
10 am - 4.00 pm.
Admission Charge £1.00.
Blackfriars Hall, St Andrews Halls, Norwich