Trying to date a Marty Bell (Mabry Mill, Virginia)?

[Angela Ross]

Hello, I found your forum and thought perhap someone may be familiar with some beautiful pieces I found. I purchased two nice older oak frames, thinking the "pictures" would be tossed and I would make good use of the frames. Upon putting my glasses on and taking the backs off the frames, I discoverd the pictures were cross stitching. One says "Mabry Mill" and "Blue Ridge Parkway" lower left, and the initials "MB" lower right. I did enough google to determine the MB was most likely Marty Bell, but the patterns today are so different from the one I have here. In addition, the matching pattern is a barn with silo, saying "Off I64, Near Charlottesville, Virginia" lowere left, nothing else noted. As I am not talented enough for this art (arthritis) I know nothing about patterns. I wonder:

Do Marty Bell patterns inculde the initials in the corner?
Would a pattern change over the years? A different view of the structure, more colors, more detail, etc? These are rather plain compared to some photos of current patterns available online.
Would anyone have use of these? I hate to toss if someone may want them....

Thank you! Angela.

[Rose]

The MB might very well be the initials of the person that did the actual stitching and not the designer. Some of us tend to put our initials in the work somewhere.

For your second question, yes it is possible that the designer may have taken and old pattern and reworked it. It is had to tell if this is the case with your work not having more to go on it will be hard to figuge out what the original patttern may have been named or who really did it.

[Midge]

Hi Angela, I'm a Marty Bell fan - Miss Hathaway's garden.
Please don't toss them away, I would love them. If you are prepared to post them to the UK please let me know and I can arrange something with you.

[Angela Ross]

Thank you, Rose and Midge! I wasn't quite ready to see answers upon waking...Rose, you may be correct, and I first thought that as well, but seeing no initials whatsoever on the "matching" piece makes me wonder. Midge, I visited your blog site and just adored your talk and photos, especially the garden. My aunt is in Ipswich nd I have visited a few times, but not since mum is now too ill to travel or be left here (mum and auntie are knitters.) The personal gardens of England are so common, and done with such ease...over here, especially in the desert area I live in, it is possible to garden but difficult and not many have a touch for that. I myself have a tremendous yard that I am landscaping (trees, bushes, flowers vs: the edible). The front I planted perhaps 40, with irrigation, and the back over 80 so far and still looks bare! I am trying to avoid grass as it takes too much water...I really have to pull out the creativity. I would love to share some photos, and work out the old cross stitch work I found, but I do not know how best to go about that.


Kindest Regards, Angela.