Mother's smile

”Only God knows the secret of a mother’s smile”
Author unknown.

This cross stitch design was inspired by

the famous painting

Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci.

I think that the great painter was able to capture mother's smile in such a way that there is no need to see a child to feel her maternal love just by looking at her face.

Madonna Litta was painted in 1480s for the Visconti rulers of Milan. Then it was passed to Litta family. Alexander II acquireed the painting in 1865 from Count Litta and deposited it in the Hermitage Museum in Saint-Petersburg.

Leonardo's preliminary sketch of Madonna's head could be seen in the Louvre.

The Rooster from Barcelos - O Galo de Barcelos

One of my cross stitch patterns was inspired by the Rooster from Barcelos, the ceramic statuette from Portugal.

According to the legend, in the small town of Barcelos of the Costa Verde region of Portugal, at a banquet a valuable piece of silver was stolen, and one of the guests, a pilgrim from Galicia, was accused of the theft. He was tried by the court and found guilty. But the pilgrim still swore his innocence, so the magistrate granted him the last chance. Seeing a cock in a basket, the Galician said “If I am innocent, the cock will crow.” The cock crowed and the pilgrim was immediately released.

Nowadays, the Portuguese Rooster symbolises honesty, trust and honour, and, as any national symbols, is said to bring good luck. The rooster is coloured with red, yellow, blue, and green, the colours associated with the Portuguese flag. Traditionally, there is a heart drawn in the centre of the wing and tail. In Portugal, the Rooster is produced not only as a ceramic statuette, but also it is encountered as an embroidery motif.

Mini Matryoshka III

Mini Matreshka II

Mini Matreshka project I

Dala horse project II part

Dala horse project

Here are some photos about working on Dala Horse cross stitching project