Friday, November 27, 2009

The Lady of Shallot....

Dad sent me a picture of the I am Half Sick of Shadows piece he is working on for me. I thought he wasn't working on it and was shocked at how much he has done! The detail is amazing!

update nov09

I don't know if you are aware that this piece of art has its origins in the poem "The Lady of Shallot" by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is rather a long poem which you can view here but I thought you might like a few of the verses that represent this scene:

Part 2
There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving thro' a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot:
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village-churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls,
Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd-lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad,
Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes thro' the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two:
She hath no loyal knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often thro' the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot:
Or when the moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed:
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.




And here's something else... another ornie I can finally show. This was for Nancy fromt he FTT exchange. I decided to stitch her the Blackbird Designs Peace ornie from the Just Cross Stitch ornie mag this year:

BB peace ornie for Nancy FTT ex 09

I believe she likes it! I enjoyed stitching it for her.

Whilst I'm about it, here's an L Fairy update.

Nov update

I am enjoying working on her. She is a dream to stitch using 18 count aida and dmc threads 2x2. Very blocky but with some confetti on her body and wings. Again I should apologise for the quality of the picture. I am going to have to wait till Christmas to get a new camera. I'd like to get this one finished for Christmas and Tracy and I are going to SAL together to get one of our wips finished. We did it in the past and it worked well. We just post each other pics of our wip of choice once a week until we get it finished.

Has anyone seen this gorgeous SAL that has just started:

Marquoir


Just click on Marquoir to the right hand side. The first two parts are up. I agonised for hours over a Threadworx conversion for the french threads but when I totted up the amount it was going to cost for the threads and fabric it came to about £40 which is a bit too much for me at the moment. So.... this one is going to have to wait a bit I think.

Enjoy your week everyone. I'm still trying to catch up on my last lot of comments and blogs. Will be visiting you soon. xxx

13 comments:

Alberta said...

Hazel, please pass along to your dear Dad my admiration for his stitching! WOW! Aren't you going to have a beauty to display in your home when I am Half Sick of Shadows is done.

GoldenAngelsWorks said...

WOW your dad's stitching is awesome!

I love your piece's as well.

CindyMae said...

Your Dads stitching is wonderful. He is making wonderful progress. Thank you for the story behind it as well. Love yours as well!!

Julie said...

Well done Dad, that looks amazing.

Well done Hazel, nice stitching on the ornie and 'L'

Brigitte said...

WOOOOW, this piece is just amazing. I love the Lady very much and your dad is doing an amazing job. It's a wonderful piece indeed.
Your L fairy looks so great, too. Fantastic stitching.

Barb said...

Hazel that piece of needlework is just astounding, my dear late fil loved to stitch big designs and I have the country wedding on my wall. I also have a book, women and needlework with this pic in ,and I have always loved it.
Just two words for you and dad "keep stitchin"

Carol R said...

Amazing piece of work - my congrats to your dad. And the poem took me right back to school - yes I can remember that far back - and we had to learn The Lady of Shallot!

mainely stitching said...

Everything is really lovely, Hazel, but your dad's project does steal the limelight. Congratulations to him, and lucky you, having such a talented dad!!

Christine said...

I love that poem and painting, and your dad's stitched version is breathtaking.
Your fairy is coming alonng brilliantly too

Jeanne said...

Your dad is a great stitcher! I don't think I would ever even attempt an HAED with all the projects I already have going. It would probably take me 10 years to do one! The Lady of Shallot always makes me think of Anne of Green Gables as she dreamed of being the Lady and quoted from the piece in the movie. :)

Siobhán said...

Wow!! Hazel, your dad's stitching is fantastic. It's clear to see where you got your talent with the needle & thread. :) I love your fairy, and the ornament is adorable!

Heidi said...

I have seen this painting and it is amazing. I love this poem and also Loreena McKennitt's sung version of it. Do you know it? This is going to be just beautiful!

Hugs ~
Heidi

Karan said...

Your Dad's stitching is wonderful. Pretty ornie & L Fairy is growing nicely. :0) I checked out the Marquoir but couldn't decide if to start or not, with my mojo going off again. Haven't seen a WIP pic around any blogs yet - that might just make me start! LOL