It's stormy and raining outside, the weather invites you to embroider comfortably, but spring and summer are not far away. We would therefore like to present you with a summery sampler that fits into our series "The Colors of Venice" and "The Colors of Copenhagen": "The Colors of Siena". When designing the sampler, I had a warm summer day in Tuscany in mind. The blue of the sky is captured by the bright blue squares of the fabric, the ocher and rust tones reflect the colors of the sun-drenched Tuscan towns and villages. I placed old, traditional embroidery patterns from the Baroque period over the squares, or floral elements in the form of flower wreaths that represent summer.

I embroidered this sampler on the 14-thread Edinburgh Vintage linen from Zweigart. This linen is excellent for embroidery. The surface almost looks stained with tea, which gives the whole thing an antique look. The color of the surface changes slightly, it looks hand-dyed. This linen color blends beautifully with the pattern.

Of course, "The Colors of Siena" can also be embroidered on white linen. Colors always come out best on white. Which linen you choose depends on the individual taste of the embroiderer or on the place that the framed sampler should later occupy.

My "Colours of Siena" are currently being framed by the Steinacker company. I'm really excited to see how the sampler looks in the appropriate frame. The frame underscores the embroidered work and emphasizes the beauty of the pattern.