More William Morris - Mary, Hilda & Peg...

Now this one is DEFINITELY on my stitching list - 'Brer Rabbit'- another one from the William Morris book. I really like the gradual colour change and the design is well balanced. I can see this one hanging on my wall already. Perhaps like a few of the other stitchers whose blogs I browse, I might have to start a stitching rotation.

These designs from this book really appeal to me. They give me a sense of balance and order. They 'speak' to me and touch some inner space that feels replenished when I look at them. Strange reasons I guess...

Interesting enough another of my 'must does' came from an old magazine I found recently in my stash is also a William Morris influence...

This design was stitched by Peg Fraser who recreated it from a screen panel which was stitched by Hilda Leviny whose family owned Buda in Castlemaine.

This is Hilda's version...

Hilda Leviny 's screen - this photo does not do it justice - but does give some indication to the size of the panels. The hours of stitching which must have gone into them 'boggles' my mind.

I was flicking through another unrelated English stitching magazine from my stash which is years old and I happened to see in its table of contents an article about William Morris. And as I seem to be having a 'William Morris moment' I turned to the page and saw this... For a moment I looked at it and for the life of me couldn't think why it seemed so familiar - then it dawned on me. The caption beside the photo read - "Morris's youngest daughter, Mary, worked this Flower Pot Embroidered Cushion Cover design of her father's in silk and gold thread"

Now, here if you like, is evidence how one design has influenced so many people - obviously Hilda Leviny saw the William Morris design and used the basis of it for her screen. And in recent times Peg Fraser saw Hilda's screen and she adapted the design using cross stitch as her medium...

When I first saw Peg Fraser's cross stitch I was into decorative painting and I thought how well it would lend itself to a paint medium... And on it goes...