Some more eBay wins.

Look at this exquisite old centrepiece - what perfect work in both embroidery and crocheted edging. What a treasure!
I have a supper cloth with a similar design to this, as well as another doiley, but what caught my attention again with this centrepiece was the beautiful crocheted edge. That's not to say I am any less impressed by the detailed stitching of the Scottish piper!

Update on Assisi Mint Leaf

Here is where I am up to with my EGV project - a mint leaf in Assisi work. It's not taking long! Just as well, because I want to get going on the other two projects with timelines this year: Anniversary sampler for mid year, and 50th birthday sampler for November. Both have been started, but have a long way to go!

Two new additions to the Collection.

I was delighted to spot this doiley on eBay, because I have a UFO in the same design! Now I'll know which colours to use when finishing off the UFO :-) I am so lucky to have TWO friends who work in opportunity shops! This doiley came from my friend Pam in Hobart:

New stuff for the collection ex eBay.

Would you believe I bought all this for the paltry sum of $15 plus $8 postage?? Maybe it was because less people are checking eBay over the Christmas period. This first cloth is a stunning whitework on linen with gorgeous crocheted edge.
This item is unusual for me to keep, but I suspect it is very old, and the stitching on the net is exquisite. I would never attempt this kind of embroidery, but going by my reference books, it was something quite common way back when.
Cutwork is something else I don't keep a lot of, but this is such a nice example, I think I will keep this one.
Finally, yet another cloth in one of my favourite embroidery styles. I have about eight of these now - all different colours and patterns - lovely!

Request for help with an old Myart or Semco design.

I have received an email from a fellow-embroiderer, asking for some help with a project she is working on. Rather than me re-type it all, I am reproducing her email here, with one of the photos she attached, and if anybody reading this can offer suggestions, please do, by leaving a comment in the usual way. I am aware that many people who read blogs, cannot always respond by commenting, so if you are in that group, just email me direct, and I'll post your words here.
Hello Gina, I came across Patra's Place whilst looking for traced linen resources on the net. In Sydney there used to be a shop in George St that sold traced linens and threads. The lines were Semco, DMC and Myart. I bought a heap of them, runners and doilies and a few tablecloths. I've got all the charts (eg colours and stitch methods) for them all - except one of the tablecloths, which I've started... and now want to finish!!! This particular tablecloth is not pure linen - it must be some sort of poly/cotton mix because it doesn't crease and feels light and soft. I'm writing to you in case you or others of your stitching pals might know what this particular pattern is supposed to look like. For example, the blue daisies are inside a frame, and I don't know what colour this is supposed to be nor what stitch it should be done in. I've enclosed a coupla pictures of it in case you or your pals can help me!! I'd love to finish it!! If you'd like any pictures of other kits (Myart) that I've got just let me know!! Myart seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth, as does the embroidery shop in George St Sydney!
Many thanks in advance for any help you can give.
Deb

My last posting for 2007

Happy New Year to all my Blog friends!

Photos of 2008 projects.

These photos relate to the previous post...I did them in the wrong order, didn't I..
This is the picture of the Assisi project I am doing for the Guild Challenge.
And this is what I've done so far. One strand of DMC on green 32ct. Pam K, if you're reading this - this fabric is one of the pieces you sent me ages ago!

This is the picture provided with the kit I started for a friend. And this is all I achieved!

I forgot to mention this goal. It is a Semco supper cloth started by my M.I.L. 70+ years ago. She gave it to me to finish about 15 years ago...
And this is all I have done so far - one rose! It took me two weeks. There are 12 of these roses on this cloth, as well as assorted buds and daisies. I make no promises about finishing this by December 2008!!

What is on the drawing board for 2008?

It is such a great feeling to know that the Indian won't be glaring at me from the corner of my stash room! I found a notice with the last EGV magazine, giving details for entering the Challenge for their September show. It is to embroider a leaf. Yes, just a leaf. I thought: I can do that. After looking through about 200 books and charts, I decided on an Assisi pattern, and have made a start on it already. Tried to scan it, but that didn't work, so I'll take photos of my work so far as well as the book, and post them later.
I had a blue and white teacups cross stitch sampler on the go before Christmas, to give to a friend who turned 60 in December. Sadly, it wasn't finished in time (just as well she wasn't expecting anything!), so I'll just play with that during the year and perhaps have it ready for another birthday or even Christmas 2008.
Another friend turns 50 next December, and had hinted that she would love to have me stitch something for that occasion. We went through my books together, and she chose four designs, and left it to me to decide which one to do. One was a bunch of Aust. native flowers which would be stunning when finished, but the chart had heaps of those nasty little quarter and half cross stitches, so that went back on the shelf. Another design was a Japanese lady in a kimono, but I thought it wouldn't really suit my friend's home, even though she liked the design. The third choice was a lighthouse - fantastic picture which would look fabulous anywhere...and the fourth one was an English thatched cottage with hollyhocks etc. and a pussycat. I chose the cottage because these friends are Anglophiles - is that the word? They love everything British, and have been there several times.
Other than those projects, I have some UFO's (kitten doiley, peacock duchess set..) that I would really like to get finished instead of carrying them around with me to stitch when I'm in a waiting room somewhere!

Crinoline lady doiley.

This picture does not do the doiley justice. I should have ironed it first of course, but as usual, I was in a hurry to photograph it and show it off here! Isn't it a warm and fuzzy feeling to be given a gift that has been hand made just for you? The lady who stitched this knows my love of Crinoline Ladies, and bought the stamped linen doiley with me in mind for Christmas. Thank you very much, Anne, if you're reading this!

Christmas gifts of vintage linen..

I am very lucky to have not only a darling husband like Ken, but his equally darling sister as my SIL. She keeps an eye out for vintage linen for my birthday and Christmas, and these two cloths were found at an antique shop no less (I told her to go to op-shops, they are cheaper, but she ignored that!) This first cloth is a card table cloth, designed specifically for the purpose of one of those small square tables, with ties at each corner. Each corner design features one of the four card suites; I've photographed two closeup.
This gorgeous supper cloth is absolutely perfect in every detail. I think I have a similar one in my collection, but haven't checked it yet. Doesn't matter - I'm definitely keeping this one as well!

Merry Christmas to my Blogland Friends

This week's other goodies.

Ken did not believe me when I told him I found this beautifully embroidered bag in a Salvation Army thrift shop for $1. I replied "Well, I actually bought two bags for $1 each - this one and another suede bag - both in excellent condition!
This lovely table runner is my latest eBay win from one of my favourite sellers in Qld.
These were found in an opshop in Bulleen (not far from Eltham). I had one of my senior friends with me and we stopped for a coffee at this little shopping strip. The opshop was next door to the cafe, so we had a look before we went home. B. found some wineglasses for 20c each, which, she said, at that price, I don't care if they do get broken in the dishwasher! In the meantime I was fossicking around in a plastic box full of material scraps and found these napkins. Sadly there were only three, not four as one would have expected to find. But at $1, who's counting!!

Semco English Churches stamped linen.

My very dear friend LeeAnn included this set of vintage Semco stamped linen in her Christmas gift to me. She has some fantastic finds around the opportunity shops she haunts - I'm just so glad she doesn't collect it for herself, and I am VERY glad she collects it for me!!

As you can see, one of the six panels has been neatly stitched, so even though there are no instructions with the linen, it is easy to see the way it was intended they were to be embroidered. Will they (or one of them) be my next project? It is all straight stitch and stem stitch - very simple and quick sewing.

The Indian is framed and home!

I didn't wait for Ken's birthday or Christmas to give this to him. It was never intended for that purpose; I just kept stirring him up over the years by telling him he might get the Indian for his next birthday, etc. It is sitting on the floor in this pic because it was the only place I could get a photo without the flash reflecting off the glass (even though it is non-reflective glass). Ken has been busy since he got home from work, trying it out in different spots around the lounge room. I'm just glad it's all over!

What next? Is there life after an Indian?

There certainly is - a cupboard full! Two close friends of many years are turning 60 - one next month, and one this time next year. I have two cross stitch kits in a blue cups and teapots theme, slightly different from each other, but about the same size. I've got one on a frame and ready to go, but if I don't finish it by my friend's birthday (Xmas Eve), she won't know anything because I haven't told her about it. So it will keep for the other friend next year, for whom I have promised to stitch something. But if I do get it finished in time, I still have the other one to do next year.
Ken's Mum has given me several unfinished embroidered items over the years, and one is a Semco suppercloth, which I would love to finish off while she is still with us. It has roses and rosebuds scattered over it, and I have completed one rose, which took me two weeks. It is an intricate design, and I didn't want to hurry, because embroidery looks awful if it is rushed, doesn't it. So I may retrieve that one next year. I'd like to do a few Christmas cards for some good friends, but if I start the teacups project in earnest, I won't have time for the cards! Ahhh..decisions, decisions. But it is nice to be free of that Indian at last. And if I remain unemployed for another month or so, I may get some cards as well as the 60th gift done! (don't hold your breath)

Indian Chief front and back.

This is the front, finished ready to frame. If you go close up, you may notice the difference in the beads. These are closer to the real turquoise colour. The first ones I had were just blue glass.
And this is his behind..er..back.

A few Indian hiccups.

I took two more photos when I'd completed my Indian, and am going to go back on my word and publish them here shortly. But in the meantime, I have two little stories to finish off the saga of the Indian. I always hand wash my finished stitching projects in luke warm water, with a little wool-wash liquid added. I've never had any problem until now...this time, the colour ran from one of the red threads used in the design. Fortunately there are only a couple of small areas where this particular red was used, so the damage was not extensive. About 1 cm of very pale pink can just be seen on the aida, at the edge of the design. I'm not worried about it. If it was to be judged in a competition, I guess it would be important, but anyone else who sees it wouldn't be so RUDE as to point it out....would they? (Ken did, lol)
The other thing that happened as I was tidying up my craft room (polite word for the mess I make when working on half a dozen things at once!), was that I picked up the jar of beads I had been using, and dropped it. It would have been fine if the lid had been screwed on tightly but....no. So thousands of tiny turquoise beads were scattered all over the carpet... ugh...I had to pick them all up because I didn't want the cat to come and lick any up. So I called on Ken to help me and he did, with a suggestion that we use sticky tape or Blue Tak to pick up a number of beads at once. Great idea! I cut two lengths of wide sticky tape and we both set to...until we started peeling the beads from the tape into the jar and realised the colour was being left behind on the tape - EEEEKKK!!!! OMG, what about the Indian? I've just washed it...beads and all! I raced into the bathroom where it was laid out on a towel to dry, and examined the beads. Phew - they still had their colour!
It is with the framer now, and he has promised it will be ready in time for Ken's birthday, a week before Christmas. Please God, don't let anything else go wrong!

Final update on my Indian Chief.

You read it right the first time - FINAL update. I have 168 more stitches to go (about three hours work) where the needle and cotton is hanging down in the photos. Apart from replacing the beads with some better ones I found last week, I will have FINISHED THE INDIAN! Here is where he is at tonight (Thursday 22nd November). Next time you see this old man, he will be mounted and framed (I mean that in the nicest way).
An interesting sideline about this project. The title on the kit is simply 'Indian Chief'. I emailed a friend who I met through a Native American website some years ago, and asked her if she could identify which tribe this design might be from. She responded immediately - here is her reply:
Whoever designed this artwork did a poor job of following traditions of just one tribe. The head dress has ermine skins hanging down on the side which was traditional of Blackfoot and Nez Perce. However, then he is wearing a necklace of turquoise which is entirely a Southwest tribe adornment usually. The pattern on the headband is so often used by many tribes that it cannot safely identify which Nation this would be. Hate to tell your friend, but this is simply a "generic" Chief. hugs to you, Wahela Bluejay
When I read this out to Ken, he was a tad disappointed, and wanted to know if there were any embroidery or cross stitch patterns of 'real' Indians. I have no doubt there are, but if he thinks I'm going to spend another 20 year stitching Indians, he's got another 'think' coming!!

I have a new apron!

If you want to check it out, you will have to go here.

Jesurum Lace from Venice.

A friend recently sent me this link about Jerurum Lace, which I had never heard of, but now that I've read about it, I want to share it with the readers of this blog. This is the first part, but the link has a lot more, including many photos.
Venice, since 1870 Lace, a precious and coveted ornament from the sea. You cannot describe Jesurum without referring to the history of lace, just as you cannot talk about the history of lace without referring to Jesurum. In the 16th century, Venetian lace was known and appreciated throughout Europe, thanks to astute Venetian merchants, ably assisted by famous artists who willingly provided designs and inspiration for this noble art. Lace originated from the need for suitably trimmed and decorated household linen. According to a popular legend, a sailor returning from a long voyage brought a piece of strange seaweed, Halymedia opuntia, known by seafaring folk as "mermaids' lace", as a gift for his sweetheart. The sailor soon returned to sea and to console herself, the girl copied the beauty of the seaweed in her lace. In Venice, lace had been used since ancient times in clerical vestments and it soon became appreciated as ornamentation for rich medieval and renaissance garments. When it was adopted for use on everyday articles, it rapidly gained popularity and commercial production began to satisfy the numerous orders reaching Venice from all parts of Italy and elsewhere. According to official documents, the monarchs, aristocracy and churchmen of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries spent fabulous sums on fine lace to decorate fans, sheets and curtains, men's and women's garments and even shoes. The lace industry reached its peak of excellence in Venice in the 18th century and was so greatly appreciated that not only working class women and nuns, but also aristocratic ladies devoted themselves to its production.