of Manuscripts: Mine and Yours

A quick post before I head off to Baltimore for the trade show and for a special visit/detour I've set up to see some folks about particular manuscript at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. It seems a portion of my reproduction sampler includes a script very like that on a certain antique document. The document was found in 1921 by Wilfrid Voynich, but it dates back centuries before that. Voynich found it *probably* in Parma, Italy, but there is much mystery surrounding the whole thing. Nobody has been able to figure out the document - read it, or guess it's origins, as it is all in this wacky script. Voynich thought perhaps it was written by Roger Bacon in some code, but again many varying theories exist. It's simply referred to as the Voynich Manuscript - you can read more about it here or on Wikipedia.

Little Alien Schoolgirl. Note the circled area.

Here is a snip of the Voynich manuscript.

Speaking of Manuscripts, A few years back I put out a chart for an illustrated manuscript called the Book of Ink Circles, which some stitchers coined the title BoInk.  Admittedly, this one I totally made up, although I encouraged folks to select colors on their own and to personalize the initials block.

Here is Julia's (@mizzelle)  version, made with HDF silks. She's been working on it off and on for a long time, so this happy dance has been long and coming. Congrats, Julia!

Julia's BoInk

And another version with a special story behind it.  John sent me this photo of his Book of Ink Circles. He started it around the beginning of the year when he started undergoing radiation treatments for cancer.  He commented that each small block was a mini victory and he loved how bright and cheery the colors were. I think this adds up to a very special major victory for John.  I'm wishing him good health and continued stitching success.

John's BoInk

A Quackin' and a BoINKin'

Tara's just gotten this one back from the framers.  Quackworth is a Quaker sampler with a little play on the Ackworth School samplers that we hear so much about.  The Quackworth School is a school for local waterfowl.  There is a companion piece from the Croakworth School available. If you biggefy the picture, you can see the fun color of floss she used - it was a limited edition silk Pumpkins and Black Cats.  The mat colors really make this piece lovely.  I understand her folks in Ontario are the lucky recipients.

Tara's other finish is the Book of Ink Circles (BoINK).  I'll be lucky enough to see Tara and the finished BoINK in person in a week (gosh, only one week away now!!!) and I can't wait.  BoINK was a free multi-part mystery that we did a while back. The chart is still posted on my site, if you are interested in stitching the piece.  Tara said she may even frame this one for herself, rather than put it in the trunk with the other finishes she has kept. 

So, for how many else of you does this hold true: The pieces that you give away get framed and your own keepers sit unframed?  I'm guilty of that too, and how I interpret it is thus.  Stitching makes us happy.  Sometimes the focus is about having that finished item to give as a gift, but often it is just the process of making something that we really enjoy. 

Thanks for sharing these, Tara!  May you all enjoy your stitching.  BTW -You might be happy to hear I am working on a new free mystery project.  The Portland GTG crew may even get a sneak peek. 

For those who have yet to BoInk

..Don't worry that the mystery is over.  Many folks are just starting.  Some did finish within hours of the final mystery piece being posted, but people everywhere are working things through at their own pace and some haven't even heard of it yet.

Liz shares her finished Book of Ink Circles, a free mystery project I offered last year which became affectionately known as BoInk.  Like many stitchers, she's changed things around a bit to really make it her own piece.  This was a great solution for those who didn't really care for the four cats in the corners, despite their authentic Celtic heritage :o)  Once the jokes made the rounds about the cats "barfing" out the ribbons, I think they lost a few fans.  (But gained a few nicknames: Barfy, Spewey, Ralph, and Chuck)

In addition to the corner knots, Liz chose a unique palette of aquas, browns, and overdyed threads on her own handpainted 18 ct. eggshell canvas.  And it's done in needlepoint - you can see that better if you click to biggify.  (Did you know that nearly all of the Ink Circles designs convert well to needlepoint?  I'm just not big into the specialty and fractional stitches.)

Beautiful job, Liz! Thanks for sharing.