Clare and Ray’s 25th Anniversary Sampler

clare-ray samplertop

One of the items I submitted to the embroidery exhibit earlier this year was an anniversary sampler I stitched for my friends Clare and Ray.

The piece was designed by Barbara Rakosnik, though I made a couple of changes to include the date, text and bottom band. The materials are 29 count Glenshee Linen with Kreinik Soie d’Alger.

I really like Barbara’s deigns and classes. Her instructions are well written and very adaptable. I used another piece that she taught as a class, Rose Without Thorns, as a wedding sampler for friends. Sadly the couple did not remain together and after a stay of a year or so in Arkansas the piece has returned to me.

Current temperature 73F/23C

clare-ray samplerbottom

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6 Responses to Clare and Ray’s 25th Anniversary Sampler

  1. Clare Strand says:

    Thank you so much.

  2. Jane B says:

    Oh, I do like that. Particularly the black backstitch around the alphabet letters, which gives them a lovely 3-D effect. A band sampler is one of the many things I keep meaning to stitch. I have some of the Just Nan series which I take out and drool over occasionally, but that’s as far as it gets!

  3. WeatherGirl says:

    I have several charts by Just Nan too! I love stitching samplers. They are a great balance between structure and free form. Plus they make great gifts, something entirely unique even if you are using someone else’s chart.

  4. Phi says:

    What WeatherGirl failed to mention is that Clare and Ray didn’t know this piece existed, much less that it was going to be in the show. WeatherGirl just quietly hung it with everything else and waited for Clare to notice it. Let me tell you, there was the surprise, and the smiling, and the tears, and the hugging and the thanking and more of the tears. It was a great moment! It’s so cool when WeatherGirl does things like this, and I can bask in the reflected glory :-).

  5. Linda Jean says:

    How lucky you are Clare and Ray to have such friends as these. This is a beautiful keepsake that I know you will enjoy forever. So glad to have been a part of your celebration of 25 years of marriage. I love you both, Linda

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