New Pattern: Gracious Love

Yesterday I uploaded a new pattern to my Modern Folk Etsy shop:

As I wanted to do a sampler with text, I searched for a suitable poem and found this verse from an old English by Nicholas Breton(1558 - 1626):

Foolish love is only folly
Wanton love is too unholy
Greedy love is covetous
Idle love is frivolous
But the gracious love is it
that doth prove the work of it


The lettering was borrowed from an antique sampler in the V&A collection, whilst the edge motifs were inspired by traditional patterns from the Andes. Inspiration for the turtledoves came from Byzantine paintings, making this a rather eclectic pattern.


This pattern measures 119 by 140 stitches. Stitched on 32 count linen, this would measure approximately12 1/4" by 9 1/4" (31.5x23.5cm).


Click here to visit the pattern page on Etsy.


Hope you like it!

Scandinavian White

It's been a while since our last post, but I'm planning to do more regular updates on this blog. Last year has been a very busy year with me making lots of patterns and taking exiting steps with my Modern Folk embroidery shop.

A few days ago Etsy featured my treasury Scandinavian White on its European front page - so I thought I'd share the treasury here with you. Enjoy, and if you like it, leave some comments either here or on the Etsy page!

Scandinavian White by modernfolk

A celebration of the colour white with some fantastic Scandinavian design and vintage finds - making great gifts for Mother's Day as well! Featuring shops from Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, The Netherlands and the UK. Enjoy! :)

Mid-Century Finnish Bis... 1001vintage $125.00	alvita pearl shell earr... MariaHelenaDes... $19.00	Snow quartz round beads... jivah $2.80
Swedish vintage table s... annchristinlju... $22.00	David Anderson Mid Cent... JannesVintage $42.50	The Reykjanes Divide 12... ArpadLukacs $48.00
White linen bird - chub... JennyKarlsson $19.00	Sky reflection (BL & WH... HavenOfHarmony $18.00	White and silver Genuin... fishskinpr0duc... $25.00
Table clothe vintage ha... orlova1 $70.00	Handmade Silver Bangle ... saedis $129.00	1960s Danish porcelain ... thelittleblack... $19.00
Horse photo - Black and... madebymoongirl $26.00	Medium Trio Triplets Ko... Maari $89.00	Vintage // Small & Cute... VintageDanishD... $8.00
So clear -necklace -roc... HappyDayDesign... $26.00

The Third & The Seventh

Last year I came across a beautifully animated short film called The Third & The Seventh by Alex Roman. It is unbelievable that this whole piece was made on a computer as the 3D models look amazingly realistic.

Just watch the video and enjoy Alex Roman's wonderful work. Make sure to watch it full screen though, and put the volume up as the music is fantastic also!

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

Hindsvik - An Inspiring Etsy Shop

Ages ago I discovered Hindsvik, as they run a beautiful little shop on Etsy filled with the most amazing vintage finds. I was very pleased to find a little video by them on the Etsy blog, which I'd like to share with you.

In this video Daniel and Valeria of Hindsvik share a glimpse of their beautiful home in Canada. Enjoy!

There's No Place Like Here: Hindsvik from Etsy on Vimeo.

Of Fixing Chairs & Finding Hidden Artworks!

Today I visited one of my favourite places in town - the Banana Warehouse in York, which is crammed full of old stuff. Lots of stuff is overpriced, but sometimes you can find great deals - if you know how to fix stuff up!

I was looking for a couple of frames as they are very expensive when you buy them new, and managed to find four that caught my eye. One of them had a peculiar piece of embroidery in it:

I also found a little green chair stacked on top of a pile of old furniture & rubble. After climbing on some benches and pulling it out, I discovered that it was actually rather lovely! I quite like the fact that it has been fixed with a wooden seat from a different chair. It goes very well with the character of the chair.

Once I got home I got a bucket out and washed everything as it was all very grubby. Less shabby chic, more so minging! The paint was also in a very poor condition and clashed with the rest of the interior. So it was time to paint!

I'm really happy with the end result. I've been trying to frame some of my samplers but couldn't find the mounting knife so that will have to wait for another day. I did however find a surprise when taking the embroidery out of one of the frames.

It's quite a sweet piece of Chinese inspired embroidery, but the real surprise came when I took the linen off the cardboard it had been glued to: a Pre-Raphaelite looking sepia watercolour of a young woman appeared! It's nothing valuable (I think) but it's sweet nonetheless and I'm quite happy with it.

I'm off doing a little stitching now, which I hope to share with you in a couple of days!

Galerie Gravin

I would like to give you a little peek inside Galerie Gravin in Sloten.
Although the Gallery is small I think it looks lovely -  it has definitely lots of character!
The room has still most of its original features. Since the house was built in 1880 this room has always served as a shop, hence the shelves and cupboard.

 

 

 

Besides my own work Galerie Gravin also features work by my son Jacob and a German artist named Wilfriede Doppelfed. Wilfriede devides her time living both in Germany and Fryslân. Although most of Wilfriede's work are abstract compositions, you can sense that she takes most of her inspiration from the Frisian landscape with its flat horizon and wide open spaces.

I highly recommend checking out her website 

If you are visiting Sloten this year I would love to welcome you to Galerie Gravin.

- Geertruida

 

Modern Folk Embroidery

A couple of days ago I launched my website Modern Folk Embroidery - a site providing cross stitch embroidery patterns influenced by traditional examples with a Scandinavian touch. You can find the website here: www.modernfolkembroidery.com

I have also opened an Etsy shop (modernfolk.etsy.com) where you will be able to find some exclusive content, including commissions (which I can't offer on my personal website).

The first new days of the year brought me a lovely package from Petits Details, with a selection of embroidery linens. I wanted to try out the light grey linen first, so I embroidered this little heart on it:

I am quite happy with the result - the white on the light grey looks very pretty I think! I am now working on the redwork sampler depicted earlier in this post. I really enjoy creating the patterns first and then working on a pattern that you've made yourself. It's so nice to see an idea on paper take shape like that!