Monday, March 07, 2011

SBQ: Luck o' the Irish

Do you have a favorite Irish or Celtic stitched piece?  If you don't, what about a piece that represents your heritage?  Or maybe a family tree style sampler?  Think about it, then tell us the story of your piece and show us your photos, if you have them.





The only Celtic pieces I have done are the ones I stitched for Dani for her birthday. Both are Ink Circles freebies (June and July 2007). Our tastes are so different, for some reason, I thought this is where they overlapped. So it has nothing to do with being Irish.


In fact, if you've been to see my 101 Things in 1001 Days, you will see that I am 3/4 French Canadian and 1/4 Polish*. I guess, then, we could call the marquoir a heritage piece, except that my 2/3** of my Canadian ancestors have been in Canada so long (since the French began settling Canada) it really seems I can't call myself French in any meaningful way.  


The only other piece I have done that marks my family's heritage would be the Souvenir Sampler I stitched for my parents' 40th anniversary. (Sorry that photo is not of the absolutely finished piece. I can't find one.)


*That's debatable since my people are from Vilni--we'll go with their self-definition instead of trying to figure out who owned that bit of real estate when various ancestors were born.
**I'm still working the other Canadian line. Who knows when they came over? So far we're up to 1743, but if some other Ancestry users are related to me, and they have it right, we're looking at relatives born in Canada as early as 1670. But I still don't know when they arrived from France.

3 comments:

doahleigh said...

Hey! I've gotten awfully behind on blog reading, but just popped in for a minute today and wanted to say hello and see how you were doing.

MelissaD said...

I'm half Irish and have a few small stitched pieces - all green and with shamrocks. They look nice with my pale green and white shamrock tablecloth and Beleek shamrock vase! My favorite piece is Very Victorian Shamrock Sampler by the Sampler House. It's a small band sampler with some pulled thread and over one stitching that's muted and elegant looking.
Interesting you are discussing Canadian ancestors. My Dad's family had someone who researched back to a relative born in France in 1634 who died at Point aux Trembles, Quebec in 1695. A few generations later a marriage is noted in 1769 and a comment that this was the generation of Acadians who were deported by the English. I believe some of my Dad's family went back to Canada but many stayed in the U.S.,
settling in Kansas (!)
My mother's family is the Irish one - McMartin and Doherty - but I don't have much family history at all as my grandfather was raised in an orphanage after the 1906 earthquake...not sure if any records survived.
Sorry for the long remarks - just enjoying being Irish this time of year :)

Thinking good thoughts for you on the job front - having interviews and 2nd interviews is good news.

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri Malinovich) said...

I've got a Scottish ancestry (with a bit of Irish, too) but have yet to stitch anything relating. Maybe one of these days...