Rapunzel: Marion Scoular, designer

Project: Rapunzel

(WORK IN PROGRESS)

Designer: Marion Scoular

Type of needlework: Blackwork

Photos: 4 photos and more to come

Some of Marion's designs and books here

Marion's Achievement Award at National Academy of Needlearts here

Photos showing some of Marion's work here and here

Free online class here

Example of one Marion Scoular hardanger class here

While doing research I found this very interesting article on How to start and end threads

Comments: Here again Marion tells us about Rapunzel like she did for The Princess and the Pea. Here is what Marion tells us this time around.

"Rapunzel"

There was once a couple who longed in vain for a child. A window of their modest home overlooked the garden next door which was owned by a Witch, who filled it with beautiful flowers and tempting vegetables. So envious was the wife that she persuaded her loving husband to sneak through the fence to steal some rampion for her salad. On the second foray, the Witch caugh him, and in response to his plea that he was only trying to please his dear wife, she agreed to let him go, but demanded that in return, she should be given their child.

Indeed, when the child was born and given the name Rapunzel, which means rampion, the Witch took her to a high tower, deep in the woods. There she grew to be incredibly beautiful, with long golden hair. The Witch would stand at the foot of the tower and call, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel all golden and fair, Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair." Whereupon, Rapunzel would unbraid her glorious locks so the Witch could use them as ladder.

Rapunzel sang with the voice of an angel, and one day, this was heard by a Prince as he rode through the forest. Mesmerized, he witnessed the Witch's ritual, memorized it, and when the Witch had gone, used it himself to see at closer hand the lovely Rapunzel. Love blossomed, but sadly, Rapunzel made the naive mistake of asking the Witch why she was so slow and the Prince so nimble. Furious, the Witch slashed off Rapunzel's locks and carried her off to the wilderness.

Using Rapunzel's hair, the Witch lured the Prince back to the tower, where in trying to escape, he fell into thorn bushes which scratched his eyes, blinding him. Doomed to wander for many a day throughout the land, the Prince eventually heard a plaintive familiar song.

Seeing the Prince's blindness, Rapunzel's tears fell on his eyes, restoring his sight. Joyfully they returned to his Palace and have lived happily ever since.

---End of story---

I just think that it makes the stitching of any piece so much more special when you know what the design is really all about. I always love to know where the inspiration for any designs has come from.

Below, you can first see a photograph of the finished project. This photo came with Marion's instructions. Then you can see a few additional photos of what I have done so far.

(Marion's photo of the finished project)

(Tree on the right side of the tower)

(Tree and foliage)

(More foliage surrounding the tree)

*** Additional posting about this project will be added to this post.

--------------------------------

I have received a personal message asking information about a Victorian Heart Pincushion. I normally respond directly to the writer, but I can't this time around as I have unfortunately lost the email. The needed information is right here.

Hope you read this.

The Princess and the Pea: Marion Scoular, designer

Project: The Princess and the Pea

Designer: Marion Scoular

Type of needlework: Blackwork and Hardanger

Photos: 12

Marion's instructions for this project can be found on the NeedleArtworks website.

LEGEND: First, let's read  what Marion Scoular has written for us concerning the legend about

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA.

Once upon a time there was a Prince who longed to marry a real Princess. He searched all over the world to find her. There seemed to be plenty of Princesses but for one reason or another, the Prince could never be sure that they were, in truth, what he sought. Disconsolate, he returned to his castle. Slowly he grew paler and thinner, pining for a real Princess.

One evening there was a terrible storm. The wind blew, lightning slashed the sky, thunder crashed and rain lashed the countryside. Suddenly a knock was heard at the castle gate. The guards hurried to the gate, holding their lanterns high above their heads.

There at the gate stood a Princess. Rain had soaked her hair and streamed in rivers from her gown to her toes. But she was a Princess ... a real Princess ... she told the guards, and had become lost in the storm.

"A real Princess?" asked the Prince, in disbelief. "We must make sure," said his mother the Queen. She prepared a bed for the Princess, made with ten mattresses filled with the softest eiderdown. Beneath the first mattress on the boards of the bed, the Queen placed one small dried pea. The Princess, unaware of this, climbed up to sleep on top of the feather mattresses. In the morning, everyone in the court gathered to hear the Queen ask her how she slept.

"I hardly slept a wink," moaned the Princess. "I am bruised all over. My bones ache as if they were broken. There must have been some frightful object in my bed".

"She is indeed a real Princess," proclaimed the Queen. "No one but a real Princess could have such tender skin!"

The delight of the Prince knew no bounds. The King and Queen were well pleased. The Prince married her the very next day because now he knew she was a real Princess.

And the pea can be seen on a pedestal in the Royal museum to this very day.

(end of story)

Comments: This is really a project that I enjoyed stitching from start to finish. The design is beautiful and I guess it brought back the child in me with this lovely legend.

The brochure is very well written and it was not difficult to follow Marion's instructions.

I was blogging pieces at the time which would explain why I have so many photos to show you today.

(Photo showing the bed with the first 2 mattresses and if you look under the first mattress you will see the little round pea, which has not yet been stitched )

(3 mattresses now)

(4 mattresses)

(Going up to 5 mattresses)

(6 mattresses)

(7 mattresses)

(8 mattresses, getting pretty high)

(9 mattresses)

(10 mattresses - this is as high as this goes - would not want to fall from that height myself)

(This photo shows the blanket, hardanger canopy, canopy drapes, tassel and the Princess herself)

(Fun frame for this project - Don't forget to look at the little pea under the first mattress - you may also have a look at the very first photo way way up this post so that you can have a good view of the little pea)

Beginner's Hardanger: Marion Scoular, designer

Project: Beginner's Hardanger

(1999)

Designer: Marion Scoular

Type of needlework: Hardanger

Photos: 3

An EGA correspondence course: http://www.egausa.org/

Taken with EGA CyberStitchers: http://www.cyberstitchers.org/

Comments: Before I took this group correspondence course with EGA CyberStitchers, a course written by Marion exclusively for The Embroiderers' Guild of America, I had only done a few tiny hardanger projects and I wanted to learn the proper way to do hardanger.

I am so happy that I took this course as I had been having a few problems understanding on my own some stitches and that even with the help of some hardanger books I had, but with the instructions in this course, everything became clear to me and had no problem doing what was required in this piece. Marion's instructions are just wonderful. As a beginner's hardanger course, I could not have asked for better.

The design size is approximately 8 3/4 inch square. I finished mine using a 14" by 14" pillow form.

For the fun of it, I took a photo showing what the design looks like depending which way I would finish it. I decided to go with the same orientation that Marion used as it just seemed to make more sense.