If I ever finish it...

Over the years, I've done a number of cross-stitch pieces. They usually take multiple years (years!) to complete. And while I'm making it, I tell myself that's the last one - it takes too long, correcting mistakes is deeply frustrating, and keeping the supplies for a project all together and organized for multiple years is a challenge.  And then I find a bit of a pattern I like, or a poem or saying I think would look good as a cross stitch piece...

So, this project  started because of two things. Firstly, I was researching Renaissance embroidery and needlework methods, and came across Assisi needlework. Modern cross-stitch design borrows some elements from Assisi needlework, especially those cross-stitch patterns that use outlining. I started wondering if there were modern cross-stitch patterns that used Assisi needlework patterns, and thanks to Google translate, I found myself on a Russian website with a pattern I could make sense of.

It took me an eye-crossingly long time just to get this far...but it looks really intricate and beautiful!

Finally getting to the actual cross-stitch part of the pattern. Assisi needlework fills in the background and leaves the figures outlined in relief. Can you see the upside-down bird?

As Aida cloth didn't exist in the Renaissance, most work was done on linen, or some other kind of evenly-woven fabric. From my very first frame-able piece, I've used evenweave, which is an embroidery fabric usually made of a blend of cotton and rayon. However, I came across some Belfast linen for needlework on clearance, which I snatched up, knowing I'd find a use for it. Linen is a little more difficult to work with than evenweave, but it has really given the project a more period-appropriate look.

Secondly, I stumbled across this song on YouTube that I found myself replaying for its beauty and calm. Below is the version I first heard. It's not your typical recording space, and it's not a professional quality camera/microphone by any means, but take a couple of minutes and listen:

There are a few things to know about the song; it is one of the most popular hymns in Iceland. The lyrics are a psalm composed by the devoutly christian poet-cheiftan Kolbeinn Tumason in 1208. He had been mortally wounded in battle, and it was composed on his deathbed. The tune was composed in 1973 by ​Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson, but it evokes the style of a medieval chant.

Here's the first verse, translated into the modern Icelandic you hear in the song:

​Heyr himna smiðr
hvers skáldit biðr;
komi mjúk til mín
miskunnin þín.
Því heitk á þik
þú hefr skaptan mik;
ek em þrællinn þinn,
þú est dróttinn minn

After reading through several different English translations (both word-for-word and more poetic translations), I came up with my own version of a translation that I really liked. Here's the first verse as a teaser:

Hear my invocation, Smith of Constellations,
May your mercy come softly to me.
So I call on thee, for you have crafted me.
​I am your slave, you, my Lord on High.

I really have no timeline for how long this cross-stitch will take. I tend to work on these more in the winter, and as we're just getting into the good parts of spring, I may not get back to this until late fall. In the meantime, hopefully by telling you all about it, I'll have more motivation to pick it up again when I have the time?