Isotta’s Strawberry Pincushion & Scissors Fob

The designs, as well as the other Isotta’s pieces (Isotta’s Sampler Pillow, Isotta’s Sweet Bag, Isotta’s Biscornu) were created for the International Show of Lace and Embroidery 2007, held in Rimini, Italy.

To honour the town and the show, I studied Rimini’s history and traditions.

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta was the Seignior of Rimini from 1432.
He was not only a bold warrior, but also a poet and patron of arts.
He was in love with his third wife, Isotta degli Atti, whom he met when she was only thirteen.

Sigismondo chose many symbols and colors to represent himself: most of all the four-petal and four-sepal rose, called Rosa Quadripetala or Malatestiana or Fiore Pandolfesco, to claim the descent from the Scipioni family, a famous Latin family, whose symbol was a rose. Inside the Isotta’s Scissors Fob there is a four-petal rose. To remember the Riminese tradition of deying fabrics with rust, and also the colours of Malatesta, the scissor fob and pincushion are tuned on shades of rust, pearl, pale rose and green.

Fabric	5x10 in (13x25 cm) Cream 28 ct Emiane linen by Fratelli Graziano (for pincushion); 5.5x5.5 in (14x14 cm) Cream 28 ct Emiane linen by Fratelli Graziano (for scissor fob)
Threads	hand dyed Silk’n'Colors silk threads by The Thread Gatherer: 038 Rusty Amber, 100 Rose Blush, 165 Cypress Umber, 9712 Summer Glow ; Waterlilies by The Caron Collection: 106 Olive
Stitches	cross stitch over two, back stitch over two, satin stitch, Norwich stitch
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