Self Made Craft

Over the years I have mostly made my wall hangings with their own special and significant 'sayings'...but there are some I have been given that I love. One dear little' folksy-type' handpainted wooden depiction suggests it would have been smarter to be a grandmother first - it being so much easier and more fun than motherhood (oh yes!). Another is an ode to my home, and how I feel about it and its inhabitants, all embossed on the inside of a small brass 'frying pan'... sweet, and 'oh-h-h so true' sentiments in this small poem.

'My house is small...

No mansion for a millionaire

But there is room for love and friends.

That's all I care'

Then there is a cross-stitch one in Danish (my husband's birth nationality) that I found in an antique shop in a coastal town not far away, and recognised enough words to know it was Danish (yes...I DO know a little more than the obligatory 'swear words' in another language!). The recorded creation year of 1973, and its embroidered message made it irresistible to me. Of course, in Danish, it all rhymes and achieves the typically rhythmic lilt, but in English it says:-

'Come from the South, Come from the North,

Come to us, where we live...

Come to an everyday meal, Come to a Feast,

Come and be our Welcome Guest'

I love translating this to our visitors...and telling the story of my discovery of this 'treasure' - and the bemused expression of the shop-owner when she realized I was in fact, an Aussie recognizing this previously 'mystery' language. (There were not many Danes in Australia in those days). If only it could speak...I'll always believe it came to me from across the sea...slowly, but inexorably. Certainly, I have two cross-stitch treasures that I definitely know came from Denmark.

These are in the style of long, rectangular 'bell-pulls', with ornate brass fittings top and bottom, that once would have enabled the 'gentry' to summon their staff with a simple pull. They are an extremely popular addition to many homes these days, as pure ornamentation.

So I have one that was secretly ordered by my parents-in-law to be made especially for me by a talented needlewoman in Denmark. It was my gift for a special birthday, (maybe my 30th?) when we were Dairy farmers. What a wonderful surprise...what a deeply cherished ornament this has been...and whenever we have moved, always a joy to find its own best new 'home'.

All the cross-stitches here depict European animals - in tribute to my lifelong love of animals. In a long vertical row are -

A pair of Adult Deer grazing amongst fir trees

A Squirrel on a tree stump, eating an acorn

A Rabbit 'grazing' in a vegetable garden by a house

A pair of Ducks swimming in the reeds

A pair of Owls on a tree branch, peering down at...

A Hedgehog, sniffing mushrooms

A Fox spying on a house yard (maybe a chicken coop?

A pair of Young Deer - male alert while female grazes.

Each 'cameo' picture is amazingly detailed in an incredible range of hues. If anyone doubts the degree of 'Art' that exists in Craft, they should view works like these. I believe the needlewoman was far from young...but had been an amazing crafter for all of her life.

I have saved my ultimate favourite of these particular wall hangings until last. This was one I had admired from the first day I saw it and had it translated for me, some 40+ years ago. Inherited from my mother-in-law after she died, this beauty features small cross stitch sentences, each with its own appropriate picture...also in cross-stitch. Its words translate from Danish to say:-

'The Day has the Sun

The Night has Stars

The Town has Houses

The Paddock is Green

Take care of Nature

Be careful what you take away

So that the Earth can still be

Fruitful and Beautiful'

It has always seemed to me to celebrate and applaud the particular beliefs and love and treatment of our land and our animals, that we two generations shared...a respect and empathy bequeathed to this family for over 400 years in Denmark. A proud heritage...and a worthy thought expressed in this treasured wall hanging.

And then there are all the wall hangings I have hand-made myself...but that is another story.

© 2011 Christine Larsen All Rights Reserved Worldwide

I have written several articles about craftwork - if you are interested in reading more, check here -

My EzineArticles

and I am presently planning a Squidoo lens with photos of all of my wall hangings.