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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
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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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Early 19th century England
This sampler from Meriem Chauvet's collection is of English origin and features a typical band-like layout. We love the candid bird, looking at us cheekily, with a twig or flower in its beak. The chart comes with thorough explanations of all specialty stitches used, as well as easy cross stitch alternatives for the less expert.
More reproduction patterns with Birds
Girl in red dress, new reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle
Amazingly this little girl was only 7 year-old when she completed this sampler with a large pattern known as a Berlin motif. Back in mid 19th century France, this type of pattern was rare for young stitchers to complete, but certainly the child could easily identify with the subject. As always, the related research by the designer is particularly interesting, as is revealed in the information pages that come together with the cross stitch chart.
A church in a rural setting
In 1853, in rural Provence, a 9-year old sets out to stitch a new needlework project - she has most certainly already practiced cross stitching before. And what motif does she pick? a rural landscape with a lone pine, a pond, and a church spire surrounded by a couple of houses. Where the original motif originated from is still a mystery, but Meriem Chauvet, the collector and designer behind the works of Couleur Tourterelle has already come across the same motif in several other French and German works of the early 19th century. A proof that , while needlework models had only recently started being published, popular designs were already circulating far and wide.
A sampler with Mediterranean flavour
This reproduction sampler, dated August 1905, and signed Marie Moracchini, is part of the personal collection of Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle. It features a spirited goat, that looks like it wants to chew at anything it can reach. Marie lived in Piediquercio, a hamlet in the Mediterranean island of Corsica, famous for its « maquis » scrubland, where goats roam freely feeding on wildflowers, aromatic plants and prickly bushes growing among the stones. Marie Moracchini’s little red sampler immediately brings Corsica to our mind.
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Nuestra Señora del Pilar
This reproduction sampler takes us back to the very early years of Christianity, when the Virgin Mary made her first apparition to Apostle James, as he evangelized Roman Hispania, what was to become Spain. Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the focus of the work stitched in 1884, is still venerated in Catholic Spain and well beyond. If you know any friend with the name Pilar, it is derived from here.
A Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle.
Beautiful adaptations of antique samplers finished as cushions
Thanks to the painstaking work of Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle, many samplers stitched over a hundred years back, come back to life as reproduction samplers.
While many stitchers will make a point of scupulously reproducing the original work, other stitchers opt for a more creative approach. When we saw these pictures we could not resist sharing them with you. Featured left are the original designs and right the patterns adapted into cushions by Raphalissou. You can follow her account on Instagram here.
Thanks Raphalissou for accepting to share these images of your beautiful work!
| Original reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle | | Adaptation by Raphalissou |
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The cavalier King Charles spaniel, a popular 19th century pet
When Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle came across the original antique sampler, it triggered a whole range of emotions. Of course she knew that this particular dog was very popular in the 18th and 19th century among the English nobility - even with the King, hence its name. But she also recalled she had already spotted quite a lot of Dutch samplers with a similar layout, and the exact same dog. Her mind was set. The antique sampler joined her private collection and we can now delight in reproducing an exact replica of the dog (albeit with an adapted border) and reading through the historical research accompanying the chart.
 | | BRS 1883 | | Reproduction sampler (adapted), by Couleur Tourterelle |
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Antique Samplers and context
It's always fascinating to follow the footsteps of stitchers of yore, recreating their work stitch by stitch. In the case of the antique samplers carefully chosen for her private collection, Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle goes beyond simply reproducing the sampler - though she does it with remarkable precision - she unravels a story for us, researching similar samplers and bringing to life the possible decisions the stitcher made. A fascinating story.
Here are the latest 3 samplers researched and reproduced by Couleur Tourterelle. Photos show the reproduction left and the original right.
A remarkable sampler by an 11-year old
It must have taken many hours to young Clémence to complete her sampler, under the guidance of the nuns teaching at her rural catholic school, near Chartres in France. With wonderful colors perfectly matched with the original, the design features numerous birds, remarkably this pair of nesting ones among foliage and wild flowers. A cross stitch reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle.
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Vivacious Bird sampler
The vivacious bird featured on this reproduction sampler is showing off colorful feathers. Bright-eyed and full of life, it has its head turned as if on the lookout for food or danger. Stitchers of the time - late 19th century - would often pick motifs in various pattern booklets. They would however have to do with the yarn colors they had access to, and often adapt the motif. In this case, the stitcher did a wonderful job with colors. A reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle.
More reproduction patterns with Birds
Puzzling letter order
What is striking about this reproduction sampler by Couleur Tourterelle is the unusual order of the letters of the first alphabet. This is by design, to help young pupils of the needlework class learn and memorize those stitched letters. Letters were taught by type, first straight letters, then rounded letters (O P Q B R), and diagonal letters (K A, V, W, X, Y, Z). Similar letters were taught in pairs (U and J, M and N).
The first alphabet is notably a variation linenmaid's alphabet, the letters used for "marking" household linen with ones initials (and a number), for the sake of identifying each piece. It was still in vogue at the dawn of the 20th century in France and we can presume the students of the school were expected to know how to stitch them...
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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 are all aligned at 7 stitches high.
French compliment sampler
While 18th and early 19th century French samplers mainly featured religious themes, as charted motifs stared to be published, sampler layout and style changed altogether, with ornament becoming the main focus.
Among these samplers a unique category of "compliment samplers" became popular. These featured a short poem expressing gratitude and paying tribute to a loved one. This sampler dated 1893 is a fine illustration of the genre, with the text elegantly nested among colorful motifs.
 | AG 1893 | | Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle |
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An intriguing sampler and a fascinating story
When Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle first saw the intriguing original sampler, with its palace and air of Arabian night fairy tales, only signed Maria Lhomme, and not even dated, she could not resist investigating further. Pouring through masses of documents, she identified the actual building which, it turned out, was as sumptuous inside as it was outside. A large pool of water with fountains, surrounded by exotic plants, occupied the interior. If you look closely through the arches you can indeed guess the presence of the basin. We will not disclose the full story here, but it will be revealed to you in detail in the introductory pages of the chart, supported by beautiful period illustrations.
Travels with a donkey
This turn of the century French sampler, part of Meriem Chauvet's private collection, features a very attractive alphabet with ornate letters and a donkey motif, actually from an existing Sajou chart published decades earlier. Of particular interest is the use of double running stitch outlining some motifs in a contrasting color, in order to provide extra emphasis. A cross stitch reproduction sampler from Couleur Tourterelle.
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Getting ready for marriage
Well over 150 years ago, two young girls, one living in rural France, the other in Flanders, complete their sampler.
Marie Joséphine, no doubt the youngest of the two, carefully reproduces the letters her elders have taught her. The letters are from the linenmaid's alphabet used for "marking" household linen. Using the exact same letters she practiced stitching in the sampler, she will later cross stitch her own initials on each piece of household linen, as she builds her trousseau in anticipation of the day she gets married.
By contrast, Catherine Elisabeth is already 16 years old. The central motif of her work is the biblical scene of Adam & Eve. Most interesting however is the bird cage on the right, a symbol of marriage (see detail on pattern page). Other motifs include a cradle and more domestic items. No doubt the young stitcher already had marriage in mind.
Both patterns are from Meriem Chauvet's private collection of antique samplers and the Couleur Tourterelle reproduction charts are exact replicas of the originals.
Turn of the 19th century reproduction samplers by Couleur Tourterelle
From Meriem Chauvet's private collection here are two antique works reproduced in perfectly identical cross stitch charts. The antique samplers are still in their original frame. The first one stitched in woolen threads - bright wool colors having just been introduced thanks to innovations in dyes, and both are stitched on canvas, also an innovation of the time making it easier to stitch than linen, an ancestor of sorts of Aida fabric.
Tracing back the origins of the motifs
What makes both these designs particularly interesting is that Meriem Chauvet has been able to trace back the origins of some of the motifs used by the stitchers.
In the case of Zélie, the stitcher picked four of her motifs from the 1852 issue of a women's fashion magazine of the time, "Le magasin des familles". The magazine was in black and white but included some extra sheets, one of them a color cross stitch chart, quite innovative too for the times. No doubt each issue of the magazine was preciously preserved in each household as this sampler was only stitched 20 years later.
In the case of B. Marsallat, two of the motifs, the running dog and the beehive were picked in separate Sajou catalogues. Those charts were monochrome.
Symmetry & Asymmetry
How do you achieve balance in a sampler? Here is a wonderful example - an amazing late 19th century French sampler, that has newly joined Meriem Chauvet's private collection - where most of the sampler is laid out symmetrically, motifs mirroring each other, yet the large asymmetrical flower in the basin provides life and movement. Each of the elements of this sampler are lovely for themselves, the elaborate alphabets, the carnation border, the delicate birds, but it is the whole, as it was no doubt carefully put together, that provides this stunning visual impact.
This Reproduction Sampler is brought to you by Meriem Chauvet of Couleur Tourterelle.
Travelling through time and color
Meriem Chauvet, the designer of Couleur Tourterelle collects old samplers, looking for the smallest detail that tells its story, analyzing the slightest traces of fibers on the wrong side - those that have resisted light and hungry moths - bringing colors back to life, identifying every single cross stitch, even when it is shifted by a single thread of fabric.
Thanks to her painstaking efforts, samplers regain the splendor of their youth, such as this trio of works of French origin and dating from mid 19th century onwards. Stitchers have always loved color and when colorful woollen yarns became available, they certainly knew how to make good use of them!
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 | | J st A | | Reproduction Sampler by Couleur Tourterelle |
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