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Couleur Tourterelle - Reproduction samplers by Meriem Chauvet
All the latest news for Couleur Tourterelle Reproduction samplers, as published in Creative Poppy's newsletter.
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Meriem Chauvet - Collector and Needlework designer
Meriem Chauvet, the designer behind Couleur Tourterelle, is an expert stitcher and collector of antique 19th and early 20th century samplers, mostly of French and European origin.
Every sampler tells a story. The designer brings each one back to life, researching every motif, painstakingly reproducing every stitch, even the most faded and frayed, seeking similar materials so you can reproduce it in its full glory. These exceptionally rich reproduction charts make you travel back in time and feel almost intimate with the stitcher of yore. A pure pleasure to cross stitch.
Couleur Tourterelle Reproduction sampler and Original sampler side by side
By all means an exceptional sampler
You have probably never come across such an extraordinary antique sampler. Meriem Chauvet (the collector and needlework expert behind Couleur Tourterelle) hadn't either. Yet when it caught her eye, she had to stitch it (and therefore rechart it). Most of the individual motifs would suffice for a single sampler. Take the seascape, with three ships battling waves and wind against a rocky shore. Or the spaniel seated on a velvet red cushion, a favorite of stitchers of yore; the bird of paradise, perfectly balanced on its branch, or the bucolic river landscape, both interpretations of Sajou catalogues of the time.
We are the lucky ones, able to pick and choose among the beautifully recharted design pack brought to us by Couleur Tourterelle.
Maritime blues
From time to time we hear from a stitcher who purchased one of our patterns and receive a picture of the stitched work. It's always fascinating to find how a stitcher adapts a design and makes it truly unique.
This time Nathalie G., a fan of Couleur Tourterelle's, sent us a photo of the oldest pattern in our collection - an early 18th century Dutch sampler - that she converted into a blue monochrome. As you can judge for yourself, this is a brilliant reinterpretation as the darker blue emphasizes the outline of this wonderful ship design.
Merci Nathalie!
 | ED 1721 | Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle (stitched by
Nathalie G. left,
original right) |
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>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
A linenmaid's alphabet by a linenmaid's daughter
In early 19th century France, well-off families - and even lesser well-off ones, used to outsource the care of their linen: the laundry chore of course, but also the care of the finer linen involving washing, starching, ironing (including the fine folds of bonnets), and the occasional mending. Hence the trade of "lingères", or linenmaids.
In order not to confuse items, and return them to their rightful owners after cleaning, most pieces of linen used to be marked in red letters, using the "linenmaid's alphabet" passed over generations. Letters were quite small as they were crossed stitched - over 2 threads - on densely woven fabric used for clothes, sheets or towels. Quite a challenge compared with the fabrics we stitch on today, even the finer linens.
So it must have been quite a challenge too, for this 8-year-old daughter of a linenmaid, probably just freshly having learned her letters and to read and write, to complete this sampler, with text and borders error-free!
A reproduction sampler brought to you by Couleur Tourterelle.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
More patterns featuring the Linenmaid's alphabet
Almost a hundred years apart, these 19th and early 20th century French samplers all use the linenmaid's alphabet, albeit slightly modified for the later ones, where letters became aligned at 7 stitches high.
>> see all patterns featuring the Linenmaid's alphabet
Information section:
>> a little history of cross stitch
Winds of Provence
In wind-beaten Provence, in the South of France, the compass rose has long been a popular way to represent the various winds affecting the region from different direction. A young stitcher, in her newly secular state school, and whose father owned a windmill, would pick this unique motif for her sampler. A few years later, Van Gogh would follow her footsteps, painting the beautiful and austere landscapes of the "Pays de Crau".
This reproduction sampler tells quite a story, a story told with great talent by Meriem Chauvet, the passionate collector behind Couleur Tourterelle.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
An original Sajou design, a vintage stitched work and a modern reproduction sampler
We love it when a design moves through generations of stitchers. Designer Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle came across an antique stitched work and loved it so much, she decided to name it after her cat, which bears some resemblance with the one she found stitched. After some research she found the original design was from maison Sajou (pictured right), and published in the mid 19th century. It is probable that the original work, maybe executed in the late 19th or early 20th century, was a copy of a another stitched one as there are many fine variations in thread color when compared with the original. The reproduction sampler is after the antique stitched design.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
More vintage patterns with motifs picked from catalogues
By the mid 19th century, catalogs with motifs became popular with stitchers in France. Here are some interesting examples, identified by Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle when researching vintage samplers, where some individual motifs could be directly identified from original pattern sheets.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
An early 20th century Spanish Reproduction Sampler
Beautifully signed over two lines "Lo hizo Josefa Gras y Garcia, Año 1901", here is a typical Spanish school sampler that little girls would complete, under the attentive eye of their needlework teacher. Nonetheless, minor errors, such as the one in the border, would not be spotted, and this is what makes their charm.
More Spanish Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
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A remarkable Reproduction Sampler of a Dutch 18th century work
This exceptional sampler featuring a prominent ship motif, is a reproduction of an original sampler that dates back to 1721, over 300 years ago. The original sampler is part of the personal collection of Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle. You can now restore this sampler to its former glory thanks to her excellent recharting work.
 | ED 1721 | | Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle |
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>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
A tale of two twin samplers
You may know that Meriem Chauvet, the designer behind the Couleur Tourterelle series, is a passionate collector of antique samplers. Imagine her surprise when she realised, after acquiring the sampler below, that a twin sampler existed. It immediately joined her collection too. Read the stories of two little girls, living literally next to each other, and stitching side by side two samplers completely similar in structure, yet with different picks of motifs.
You can pick your preferred one, or why not stitch both and reunite the two little girls...
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
A playful explosion of colors
Here's a French sampler dated 1868, showing the traditional Linen-maid's alphabet, but with a special twist: in no fewer than 17 silk colors!
The original sampler is part of Meriem Chauvet's collection (the designer behind Couleur Tourterelle), and she loves to painstakingly reproduce and rechart antique samplers restoring them to their former glory. This one is a real treat to stitch!
More samplers featuring the Linenmaid's alphabet
The alphabet passed through generations of women over several centuries, was used for marking household linen.
>> see all Samplers featuring the Linenmaid's alphabet (all designers)
An early 19th century English sampler, and a early 20th century French one
Thanks to Meriem Chauvet, the collector and designer behind Couleur Tourterelle, here are two charming reproduction samplers, that will let you reproduce the work of stitchers of yesteryears, and restitute the samplers to their former glory.
The samplers could not be more different, like the people of each country. But what they both have in common is their irresistible charm.
More English reproduction samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
More French reproduction samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
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Two antique samplers in contrasting colors and shapes
These two reproduction samplers brought to you by Couleur tourterelle could not be more different.
One is a classic needlework practice worked by a young girl, learning to stitch letters of the alphabet, line after line, on canvas, and proudly lined and framed for display.
The other is a personal collection of motifs, saved by a dedicated stitcher for future personal use. And while the placement of motifs is random, priority being given to fitting as many motifs as possible, it turned out to be really colorful and decorative.
Both reproductions are carefully recharted to best reflect colours and stitches of the original works.
A rare early 19th century french Sampler
Unlike English and North European samplers, and their American counterparts, its is quite rare in France to come across sampler dating back to the early 19th century or before. Meriem Chauvet, the collector and designer behind Couleur Tourterelle, was delighted by this find that dates back to the early years of the Napoleon reign.
Catholic faith remained dominant in France, and sampler of the times featured a religious theme, following strict rules where every item was coded. This is a beautiful and attractive sampler, with a long interesting text above and, in the lower part, flowers and trees of paradise that would naturally appeal to our young stitcher.
More early french samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
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Not one, but two twin samplers. Who were they for?
Searching for unique antique cross stitch samplers, Meriem Chauvet struck luck when she came upon this pair of rare twin works, dating back to 1823. A collector of antique samplers (who creates the Couleur Tourterelle Reproduction Samplers) this is the first time she was confronted with two samplers of almost identical layout and signature. Only the inscription differs, one offering her heart (coeur), the other a bouquet.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
From early childhood on, preparing for marriage
Even as late as the earlly 20th century, young French girls would practice cross stitching initials and numbers, using the "'linenmaid's alphabet". These were used for marking linen, a practice usually done just before marriage, as the bride-to-be prepared her set of household linen, the “trousseau”. Interestingly it includes a "croix de par Dieu", a little cross preceding the letters of the alphabet, a tradition that goes back centuries earlier, to remind children to make a sign of the cross before reciting the alphabet.
A cross stitch reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
Stitched by a seven-year old for her grandmother
In catholic France in those days, a person was feted, not on their birthday but on the day celebrating the saint theiy were named after. In 1851, a seven-year-old girl, struggles with letters but all the same delivers a charming piece of needlework dedicated to her beloved "bonne maman". A cross stitch reproduction Sampler brought to you by Couleur Tourterelle.
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
The Norfolk verse
How much decision power does a young stitcher have when creating her sampler, no doubt under a teacher's guidance? This is a question that naturally comes to mind when one comes across such a rich and striking sampler like this one.
No doubt traditional influence played a role, the specific layout, the choice of verse - frequent in Norkolk samplers of the time, the shape of the chain of cartouches. But it is clear our stitcher insuflated her own personality too, placing her favorite motif, the lying stag, right in the center of her work.
As with all Couleur Tourterelle reproduction samplers, together with the chart, there is a most interesting and captivating analysis of all the elements included in the design.
A miniature sampler
Surprisingly for its time, this sampler - a school assignment - is stitched over extremely fine and tight linen fabric which results in its miniature size. This must have been quite a challenge for our young stitcher. Motifs were picked from different pages of the first series of DMC Booklets titled "Point de croix - Nouveaux dessins".
A reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle.
 | | M.R. 1919 | | Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle |
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What are these mysterious letters and numbers?
Look close. This is not your average school assignment sampler. Why the numbers? How do they combine with the initials? Faithfully recharted from the original held in her private collection, the reproduction sampler by Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle holds the key to the riddle.
A greedy fox
While this little school sampler looks just like many other practice works of the time, it includes a fun motif that refers to a fable by Jean de la Fontaine. It's morality: "don't look for bad excuses". Check out the pattern by Couleur Tourterelle to learn more.
More Reproduction Sampler with Alphabets by Couleur Tourterelle
>> see all Reproduction Samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
>> see previous pattern releases by Couleur Tourterelle
Samantha Purdy Textile
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