Heirlooms

My sister's mother-in-law recently passed away at the age of 93.  She was a wonderful lady and is surely missed.  MIL (as I'll refer to her - mother-in-law) was first generation Australian of Italian heritage, and her famiily made a tremendous mark on the history of this state.  She came from a large family, and family was the most important thing to her.  

Recently her daughter has come across embroideries that MIL hand stitched as a young woman, and I've been lucky enough to enjoy them and photograph them to share with you all. 

These embroideries are all approximaely 75 years old and are in brilliant condition and the stitching is exquisite.  MIL worked for a tailoress when she was young, and she would sit with her sister and they would spend  hours together stitching and chatting.

Even the back of the work was as neat as the front.  This one above is cross stitch worked on a damask tablecloth ... no fabric threads to count over.  Perhaps the design had been printed on the fabric, we don't know.

This table cloth is again worked in cross stitch and four sided stitch for the hemming.  It is soooooo neat!!!  Looking closely you can see that the stitches are all worked over the same fabric threads, yet the linen is very fine and it would've been hard on her eye sight.

Its nice to imagine the stories shared whilst stitching with her sister.  Many people dismiss embroideries such as this, but only those who have spent many hours doing it can appreciate the love and devotion that goes into such work, and the stories behind them.  Sometimes they are done whilst watching babies sleep, or waiting for a husband to return from work, or as gifts for people they love, or as items for a home when newly married - they are all intricately woven into our lives, and are as special as a photograph or a diary.

Again you can see how neat the back of the work is.  The one below is my favourite.  It's a tablecloth with rounded cutwork corners and crocheted edges, and is as crisp and fresh as the day it was made.

Having just worked my own cutwork design I can appreciate the work put into this, and marvel at the consistency of her stitching - the tension is all the same, the stitching is precise and neat.  It's just beautiful.

The colours are so fresh and still very white.  I believe it was only used on special occasions, and can understand why.  Can you imagine someone dropping beetroot on it !!!????

Some close up views for you.

Even the crocheted edges were done by MIL.  She was very much a woman who did things by hand, as that was the way in those days.  She made her children's clothes, was a wonderful cook who could provide a banquet at a moment's notice - enough to feed half a nation at each sitting.

And like many Italians of that era she and her family would gather to make tomato puree, this was something that would be a family affair and take all day to do, amidst laughter, eating and chatter.  Do you think we've lost something nowadays?  I do.  What wonderful times they were, and even though she will always be missed, how lucky are we to have such wonderful heirlooms to treasure, all made by her own hands and with an abundance of love woven into all of them.

In Remembrance of Archie

In Rememberance of wee Archie ... who brought so many smiles to so many of us ...

may he Rest in Peace.

Thoughts go out to his family

http://feltedhouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/heartbreaking-farewell-to-archie.html

With love x

Cutwork

It's funny how things turn out sometimes.  During the stitching process I really didn't like my embroidery on this cutwork sample.  I thought it was untidy and too lumpy and I got a bit fed up of it.

But once I cut out the negative spaces and washed and pressed it, I was pleasantly surprised and actually like it a lot now.  I have a feeling it'll be something I do again in the future.  The longest part was getting a design that would suit.  I searched for ages on the net and finally found two designs I liked and then fiddled around to make them work together, then added some scallops so that I could finish off the sample neatly and hey presto!   

The only thing I'd change in future is where I placed the cross bars ... some are too close to tight corners and don't work very well, making it difficult to cut away the fabric, and I'd adjust the pattern so that the two designs don't overlap in places .... this is where the stitching got a bit lumpy.

I used a white linen and DMC Perle 12 thread for this sample.  I started with cotton a'broder but it soon wore the thread and made it fluffy, so I unpicked and started again with the perle.  This worked well except I kept catching the thread underneath and it twisted a lot.  Trial and error, I suppose.

I'm glad its finished and now I can start on my experimental samples - haven't a clue what I'm going to do yet - need a couple of hours to sit quietly and have a think.  Better put the kettle on then and find those chocolate biscuits ......

Drawn, pulled and woven thread work

I thought I was making good progress lately - all I seem to do is sit and stitch at the moment, but I found out yesterday that the cut off date for this year is first week of May.  I have to finish Module 11 and complete all of 12 by then ... somehow I don't think I stand a chance of finishing this year.

I've finished the traditional pulled thread sample, drawn thread sample (above) and needleweaving sample (below) and I'm half way through the cutwork sample.  Then have the experimental samples and my set of accessories to do.  There just isn't enough hours in a day at the moment!!!!!

I went to the city last week to find a special birthday present for hubby and decided to pop into a technical book store (as you do) found Janet Edmond's book "From Print to Stitch" and Cas Holmes's "The Found Object" and JUST HAD TO HAVE THEM .....

 then a few days later happened upon a secondhand bookstore (honestly, it was by chance!!) and what did I find in there .... Gold!!! Yes, another Jan Messant book.  They are SO hard to find ... this one was in perfect condition, so I put it under my arm, then found "Inspired to Stitch" and put that under my arm ...

and then another find .... "Needlemade Laces".  By this stage I had to get to the cash counter before my hubby dragged me out of the shop.

Now I just need the time to sit and read them.  I have the new glasses ... just need the spare time. 

I found the hand sewing quite a strain on my eyes, after not doing fine work for a long time, so went to the optician for a checkup.  Two new pairs of glasses later ... I now have 5 pairs of glasses.  One for long distance, one for the computer, one pair of bifocals, one pair for sewing, and a pair of multifocals which my 2 year old grandson mangled and can only be worn if I develop a head like an alien.

I'm hoping out of all these pairs of specs I should be able to finish my needlework and be able to read my new books without getting mega headaches and boz-eyes ... just got to find where I put the damn things now. 

Website update March 2011

Another 18 colours of Au Ver a Soie, Soie D'Alger threads have been added to my product list on my website - including those colours required to stitch "True Love" by Susan O'Connor as shown in Issue 68 of Inspirations magazine.

Drawn thread work

Suffering through the hottest summer on record isn't conducive to fine hand work ... I'm either wet through with sweat, irritable and bad tempered, or just plain lethargic and can't be bothered.  But, I have made an attempt on my drawn thread work for Module 11.

It's been a long time since I did such fine work and I'm finding it difficult on my eyes, despite using a magnifier, but I do love this type of needlework.  So far I've managed to hem stitch a piece of linen with mitred corners, and do one band of drawn thread work.

This one is four sided stitch and easy to do once you've done the labour intensive removal of threads.  Weaving the drawn threads into the remaining fabric is tedious, but gives a lovely finished edge and is very secure.  I've got 3 more bands to do and 2 corner bands ... if only the weather would cool down.

Just to let you know the latest on Sammy - he's doing okay.  He's not a happy-chappy having to have 3 lots of medicine rammed down his throat twice a day, but it's keeping him going and he seems happy enough.  I have found my own home remedy to assist him - dried cuttlefish from the Asian supermarket.  Not the white stuff you find on beaches and feed to your budgie - proper dried fish for eating.  I rehydrate it for him and it seems to work wonders.  The vet told me they're going to try it on other cats with megacolon and from now on will name it "Sammy's Cure".  Fame at last!

Not enough hours

I've decided not to bore you silly with any more posts about my Singapore holiday, other than to share this lotus flower with you.  It was next to the pool and I could see it from my apartment window, so each day I would go down and photograph its progress, from bud ... 

to starting to open ....

... to revealing its beauty ...

... to fully opening for the world to see.

Then no sooner had it done this, than it was chopped off by the gardener and disappeared! 

Since being back, life has been hectic.  We have the house on the market, so its busy, busy, busy keeping on top of chores to keep the house/garden clean and tidy, as well as starting to pack up boxes to declutter.  Then of course there's been the days where we've sat glued to the tv, crying silently, watching the devastation we've suffered in the first 6 weeks of the year, from floods to bushfires.  Queensland is a place I've fallen in love with and its been hard to comprehend what its gone through recently, I just hope it bounces back to its former glory.  Then locally we've had too many bushfires, destroying homes and peoples lives.  The latest at Kelmscott/Roleystone took 72 homes.  Yesterday me and my parents went to the Wacky Witch, Kelmscott and donated clothes and kitchen ware, tv's and food for the people who have lost everything.  The people at Wacky Witch are doing an amazing job, so if you want to help, please visit their facebook page for details:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Support-the-victims-of-KelmscottRoleystone-Fires-WA-6211/192817427402618

In January I was invited to do another talk on my Chinese textiles, this time at the South Perth Collectors Club ... thank you to everyone there for making me feel so welcome, I thoroughly enjoyed the night and meeting you all.

I've also been running private classes for Linda, who wanted to learn my stumpwork Viola.

We had two lovely Saturday mornings together, chatting and becoming friends, here's Linda trying to focus her eyesight on cutting out the tiny stumpwork flowers.

Two days ago I got an email from School of Stitched Textiles to say they'd received my CD of Module 10, so now I sit patiently waiting for the feedback.  Always a nervous time.  I seem to have spent months just getting the documentation together and there's never much to blog about when I'm putting that together.

Now it's full steam ahead on Module 11.  I've managed to do Sample 1 which is 6 blocks of pulled thread work in traditional style ... hell on the eyesight!!!!!  Next is an experimental sample.

 

And yesterday my latest ebay purchase arrived in the post .... a Constance Howard book, and one which I would've been better off purchasing PRIOR to starting  my City and Guilds .... this covers everything, and is brilliant for inspiration.  Just got to find the time to sit and read it in peace.

I've also been inspired by Carol's zentangles at http://postcards-and-stuff.blogspot.com/, so decided to have a go myself.  Great fun and I can see me doing more of this.  Give it a go!

Once you start it you can't stop and time flies by.  Great relaxation. 

And of course I've also been spending time with my grandchildren.  Here's my little granddaughter helping me water my pot plants, so cute, so pretty and yet ....

... you wouldn't think this was the same child.

This is sometimes how I feel after a busy day!