Handwerkbeurs at Zwolle
February 20, 2005 at 3:07 PM
by Ashleigh
After that we had to rush to get to the Joke Visser's lecture on "'Waarom zijn merklappen zo Nederlands en zo boeiend?' De schoonheid en symboliek van de Nederlandse merklap uitgelegd met sprekende en kleurrijke voorbeelden." (What makes samplers so Dutch and so captivating? The beauty and symbolism of the Dutch Sampler explained verbally with coloured examples) Joke is the author of two books - Merklappen uit de Lage Landen (Samplers from the Low Lands) and Tijdlose Merklappen Motieven (Timeless Sampler Motifs).
She gave a wonderful half hour lecture. I was told by Miranda and Marijke that I needed to have a parrot on my sampler because its a symbol of talkativeness! I also didn't know that the cat featured in so many samplers symbolised laziness!
Joke showed some close ups of samplers on the overhead projector and we were able to see a very detailed view of the stitches. To begin with she showed some examples of Dutch paintings which had samplers in them and showed us a close up of the one with a folded sampler in it - she said she wished the artist had painted the picture with the sampler spread out, and I agree! This dated back to the 1600s, but I'm unsure of the exact date now.
The provenance of some samplers was also explained and Joke showed how in schoolgirl samplers from the 19th century there would often be errors in planning, which added to their charm. She explained that the addition of names of other family members in samplers often helped to identify other young girls of the same family who had subsequently stitched samplers and showed us an example of a young girls sampler where her whole family was named, followed by a sampler stitched by her younger sister 8 years later. She also had an old sepia photograph of one of the young girls who had stitched one of the samplers in her collection and upon seeing the photograph the audience suddenly realised the youth of the girls who were stitching these pieces on fine (50 count and upwards) linen!
She also showed the colour balance in various samplers and how the colour choices of the girls can identify which region of Holland they came from. She went on to explain how in the sampler the girls would start with the easier letters, then proceed to the harder ones which explains why the top row on a lot of samplers consists of straight up letters followed by letters which have diagonals and lastly have letters with curves. The outer regions of the samplers have easier stitches working inward to harder ones.
Joke showed us a sampler stitched 'in the round' so that there is always one motif upside down. These were particularly fascinating! There were also mirror image alphabets which were to show that girls were particularly proficient in the alphabet - they had no pattern to follow and invert in a mirror so it all came out of their heads! She showed some Berlin woolwork too with its romantic images and a chart that was distributed for Berlin woolwork - the charts were handpainted onto graph paper with watercolours!
We then waited until after the lecture to meet Joke. She took us off to her stall at the market where I got to see some of the samplers and some of the things she had for sale Both Miranda and I exchanged addresses with Joke and I hope to be able to attend other lectures of hers when she speaks again. I was fortunate enough to buy some antique lace for finishing off pincushions and such, and Joke's most recent book. Unfortunately I couldn't find the two previous books which I wanted to purchase.
At another stand, that of Handwerken Zonder Grenzen, I was fortunate enough to see a stitched example of the Permin Vierlande 1826 - I had never imagined it to be so big! I saw some books that I would have liked to buy on Dutch Needlework tools, but they were a little too expensive locally.
This is what I got:
- A kit to make a primitive lavender sachet
- Nederlands Centrum voor Handwerken Merklappencursus leaflet (explains all the meanings of sampler motifs)
- Marquoir booklet by Joke Visser from Mango Pratique with 400 motifs
- Emie Bishop's A Collection of Beautiful Stitches (Booklet explaining stitch techniques with emphasis on cutwork)
- Permin 32 ct linen undyed 27.5 x 19.5 inches
- A new embroidery hoop (the shop I bought it from has a lovely range of German made hoops which are very sturdy)
- Issue 58 of Jill Oxton's Cross Stitch and Beading as it has a chatelaine I would like to stitch in it.
- A starter kit with some Opal sock wool and bamboo sock needles to knit a pair of socks
- Moda Scrapbook Garden 3 inch quilt squares
- Moda Vienna Nights 3 inch quilt squares
- Moda Harvest Home 3 inch quilt squares
- 50 x 110 cm Valentine themed patchwork fabric
- 50 x 110 cm green and red mini print patchwork fabric
- 50 x 55 cm pink and cream striped patchwork fabric
- Ball of Perle 12 col 712
- Three pieces of antique cotton lace for edging lavender cushions etc.
- Indigo Rose limited edition pincushion kit
- Indigo Rose limited edition telephone message pad
Comments
Sound like a fantastic day! What an interesting talk. Funny about the meaning of the cat: I was just reading a new (for me) book this morning "Sampler Motifs and Symbolism" by Patricia Anderle, and she said that the cat symbolizes independence. Both meanings fit though.
I am looking for a website in the Netherlands, but do not know how to spell it
joke'....something
prounced "joe key"
They have patterns with dots and you use embroidery floss and stich from dot to dot.......HELP, sue
Sounds like a heavenly trip - I so wished I could have gone when I read about the show. But not speaking Dutch would have been a problem I think! Enjoy all your new stash. PattiNH from Legacy BB
February 22, 2005 3:17 PM