Storyteller, part 2

I thought you might like to see my progress at about the half-way point with the "Storyteller" stitching.


I did a little research on the Storyteller and learned that storyteller dolls were fashioned after the traditional clay figurines made by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. These figures represent the honored tradition of story telling among Native Americans.

The first contemporary storyteller doll (1964) was made by Helen Cordero of the Cochiti Pueblo in honor of her grandfather Santiago Quintana, a storyteller. The clay figurine showed a man with five children on his lap and shoulders. This doll was patterned after an existing "singing mother" figurine.

So it's even more interesting working on my cross stitch piece and honoring the storytellers of old. Since I like to read and tell stories to my little granddaughters, I fancy myself a storyteller also. But perhaps I will tell more stories to them now instead of reading from a book.

Either way, storytelling is a good way to bond, don't you agree?

Storyteller

When I travel, I'm known to carry my obsessions with me and hit every bookstore, knitting and stitching shop the area has to offer.

It was no different when my husband and I stayed in Tucson for a month last winter. I fell in love with all forms of southwestern art: Navajo rugs, Mata Ortiz pottery, turquoise jewelry, Native American designs and colors - and the storyteller. We saw story teller dolls for sale at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, but they were way too expensive for my meager retirement funds.

So when I found this cross stitch pattern at The Busy Needle in Tucson, I was thrilled.

Now at least I could stitch the storyteller, and get many hours of enjoyment. Cool!

So I started it a couple days ago. Starting is always the hard part as you need to carefully measure and center and then I stitch it onto a frame to keep it taut. I never use hoops.

So here is what it looks like now. You know what I'll be doing in my spare time...in between knitting and reading!