Tapestry Guild of Victoria show

Last week I attended the Tapestry Guild annual show, which was fantastic as always. I've posted 10 photos on my 'Needlecraft Shows' blog, but for some reason, I can't get the rest of my photos on there. I'll try again in a few days, but in the meantime, do have a look at some of the best cross stitch and needlepoint I've ever seen.

Not much sewing going on here.

I've lost my mojo at the moment. My hands ache almost all the time, and stitching gets harder and slower. As does typing on the computer. I've taken up Tai Chi with a friend, as it is said to be good for people with arthritis, although I don't know if it will help my hands. The other thing that isn't helping is my old computer and ME operating system. I'm finding that I can't open up more and more websites, including some of my favourite blogs, because their upmarket systems don't recognise mine any more. So, for anyone on my sidebar here who thinks I have deserted them, I haven't. I see a bit of your blogs, then my pc just freezes, and I can't leave comments. I guess the day is coming when I'll have to give in and upgrade my computer. Sigh....So lately I've been spending more time reading than stitching or blogging. I've done a bit on the Sailing Ship commission, as that is only back stitch, and I've got it on a frame, so it isn't so hard on my hands.
We spent a couple of days in Sydney last week, and Ken's cousin looked after our house, so I stitched up a fridge magnet to say 'thank you'. Cousin doesn't tell anybody her age, so I'm hoping she'll appreciate the sentiments here!

Embroidered Doyley holder

I've mentioned my blog friend Sylvia here before. She collects Royal memorabilia, and I've added a few small pieces to her collection recently, for which she swaps some of her embroidered items. The Coronation hair pins I mentioned in the previous post attracted Sylvia's attention, and we arranged a swap. I think I got the better bargain, and she thinks she does, so it was another very satisfactory exchange. She sent me this gorgeous embroidered "Doyley" holder:

L'ucello's in Melbourne.

l'ucello is a vintage haberdashery store in Melbourne's CBD - I wrote a post about it earlier this year, although I hadn't been there myself. But last week on a visit to town with a friend, we made a quick detour there, and it was very worthwhile! I didn't have my camera with me, but I found another blog that has photos of l'ucello's interior, so go here for a peep. I'm sure any of you in Melbourne reading this, will dive in there as soon as you get the chance! I purchased a few little goodies in our quick visit:
A card with hairpins dating back to the Queen's coronation in 1953, and a section of very old woven band of fabric, possibly dating back to WW1. Kim at l'ucello said she intended to check this out at either the Shrine or Anzac House.
Half a metre of this darling fabric! My friend Julie asked what I was going to do with it. Julie is not a craft person, so she doesn't understand STASH!
****Note to Sylvia**** If you are interested in those hairpins, let me know!

Additions to the linen collection!

One of my old friends who sells on eBay, contacted me last week to tell me she had a couple of boxes of linens from estate auctions, and invited me to drop by for a look. I said I wasn't buying any more, but I'd love to look...I came home with some lovely goodies to think about, and have decided that my collection will be enhanced with these items:
Square centrepiece with darling crocheted edge of teacups and teapots.
I already have two of these scotty dog doilies, but done in different stitching.
I also have this peacock cloth in the same design, but a different colour scheme. Unfortunately this cloth is rather badly damaged around the edge, so it might end up cut up for a patchwork project.
Beautiful little cloth stitched in variegated thread, Lagertera design...I think.
I try to avoid adding whitework to my collection, as it opens up a whole new parameter in my range, but would you refuse this piece? Absolutely stunning pulled/drawn thread work.
This cloth is unspectacular to a layperson, but it is so perfectly embroidered, I cannot tell the difference between the back and front.
This is one of a pair of hand or tea towels, also in a Lagertera style design. At first I thought the fabric was huckabuck, but it is actually 14 ct. Aida.
I don't usually buy other people's cross stitched work, but this example is done on linen, and so finely worked, that I decided to include it.

Quilts From All Over

The Rotary Club of Hawthorn put on a stunning show of quilts at the Hawthorn Town Hall last weekend, and of course Sharon and I weren't going to miss that! It was the first show the Rotary Club have staged, but the ladies we spoke to said they hoped to make it an annual event. The selection was unusual in that it included not only modern quilts, but some very old ones that are in private collections, and had been brought out for this show. Very worth while seeing.
Unfortunately I didn't take my camera, so I can't show you any pics of the quilts, but in a side room there were a dozen or so stall holders with plenty of delicious fabrics, books, etc. to tempt us. I refused to let myself buy any more fabrics, but I couldn't go home without this cute 1950's retro stitchery, and some buttons!

Two small UFO finishes.

I've had a couple of stints of Volunteer duty at the Guild's exhibition, and taken the opportunity to finish off a couple of small UFOs that have been lying around forever. Most of the members on duty bring something to stitch, because we just sit there most of the time, answering questions and taking money for sales or entrance fees. These two are odd bits that I've picked up in opshops, or been given, and they were a handy size to put in my shoulder bag for the day.

A gift and a nearly-finish.

My colleagues at the Embroiderers Guild know my love of vintage linens, so they often present me with an item that they've been given, but which they have no use for. R. gave me this uncut Fautleys Duchess set on Tuesday, with four skeins of Anchor floss that are required for the pattern. R. says she realises that it will probably never be embroidered, but she would rather it be loved as it is, instead of being thrown into an op shop.
Jane over at Loopy loo's adventures, talked me into joining a swap she is in...THAT is a huge lie. I actually asked her if I could join the swap, once I'd seen what she was doing! They are called 'siggie(signature) blocks, and everbody makes one the same size (6" square) and swaps with a partner. I don't yet know where this will lead to, but while I'm waiting to find out, I'm already planning my second block. They only take a few minutes to construct, and you can put whatever you want in the centre block. I chose to stitch a simple design which I'd traced from an old transfer book. It is nearly finished, just a few more stitches which will take about 10 minutes, then it will be on the way to Jane. t

Embroiderers Guild Annual Exhibition.

The first Tuesday of each month is when I spend the day at the Embroiderers' Guild of Vic. As a volunteer Gallery Hostess, my role is to be present in the exhibition gallery to welcome any visitors that might pop in. I also wash the teacups used by the other volunteers present, make sure there is enough milk and supplies, loo paper, etc. A different volunteer does this every day, so usually there isn't a lot to do, and we bring some stitching with us and spend much of our time doing that. But yesterday, the exhibition committee ladies were gearing up for our annual Exhibition. There are I believe, over 60 exhibits supplied by Guild members - framed pictures, quilts, and so on. I helped out by ironing whatever needed to be pressed, and sorting out huge bags of fabrics that had been donated to the Guild. What fun! The ladies who were in and out of the gallery on their various errands would stop by and check out what I had carefully folded up in piles to be put in the remnant drawer. There was a large pile of scraps on the floor destined for the rubbish bin, and people were diving into that as well. Being the person sorting it all out, I had the first pick of the fabrics though, and came home with a nice bag of goodies to add to my stash!
If you are in or around Melbourne this month, try to make time to visit the Guild Exhibition - it will be well worth while, as this year being their 50th anniversary, they are putting on a superb display. We are also having a raffle to raise funds, and the prizes are fabulous as always!
EGV Annual Exhibition, 11 - 26th September. 10 am to 4 pm each day.
Entry $6 (no concession). Enquiries (03)9509 2222.
Embroidery House, 170 Wattletree Road, Malvern. (Melway 59 C9)

This is where I keep some of my linens.

When I wrote about how I'd organised my linen collection, some readers expressed interest in seeing photos of what I've done, so I took some pics of the tallboy/chest of drawers where I have most of the smaller items.
On top of the tallboy are small framed items, some of them were worked by friends as gifts for me, and others are my own work. In one of the small drawers are small items that I've stitched, as well as some older bits and pieces sewn by MIL. In the other small drawer are items that been stitched for me in exchanges, as well as my embroidered handkies collection. In the larger drawers are the larger items. In this one are napkins and traycloths. In the second drawer are large doilies/centrepieces, and sandwich tray (oblong) doilies. In the third drawer are more large doilies and a pile of smaller round doilies. In the bottom drawer are my duchess sets and more smaller doilies. In this suitcase I have laid out the table runners and other larger items that didn't fit in the tall boy. I've also put my vintage doiley holders in here as you can see. The wall in this photo shows the stuff I've done which has been framed. On the opposite wall are framed embroideries that have been given to me, or that I've found in opshops, or bought on eBay.

Aussie sampler finished.

There you are, Jane and Joanne - thank you both for your encouraging comments! This is not a very good photo; the colour in the previous pic. was closer to the colour of the aida fabric, which is an 'ice green' shade. Also, I hadn't removed the pins from the bottom when I took this pic - oops! I wonder if any of the girls who shared this round robin back in 2003 are still around on the internet? Susan in Vermont is my niece, so I know where she is, but I haven't heard from any of the others since the original MSN group closed. Are any of you reading this? Betina in Princeton, N.J., USA, Louise in Wynnum, Qld, Bronwyn in Kyabram, Vic. and Lynn in Vermont, Vic.

Two UFO finishes.

"Finished" is not strictly correct, as these two items still have to have some kind of border and backing on them, but at least the cross stitching is complete. This round robin sampler has been hanging around since 2003, and I am so pleased to see it out of my WIP basket! This is the sampler that will have a border of Aboriginal design fabric. I've got that out on my desk, ready to go, so hopefully I'll get it done this weekend.
I started these chooks on a whim a year or so ago, because I just love the design. I don't know what I'll do with it yet. Once I attach a border it could be a placemat, or maybe part of a larger wall hanging with other patchwork and stitchery projects using chooks and roosters. Time will tell.

Another project from "Fabric Art Journals".

I borrowed this book from our local library about 3 months ago, and bookmarked half a dozen projects I wanted to do. Luckily for me, our library has been closed for renovations, and all the books out on loan keep getting extended automatically, because the renovations are taking longer than expected! But I had better buy a copy of the book for myself, as the more I look at it, the more I want to do, and it is getting in the way of my cross stitching and patchwork WIPs and UFOs.
This little project is based on a photo in the book, which actually illustrates the tea-dyeing fabrics technique, but I wasn't interested in that; I just liked the way they used layers of fabric and embellishments, to make a picture. I pulled out some scraps of fabric, buttons, laces and ric rac, and laid them out in a preliminary order. The two smallest printed fabrics are from ties that I cut up ages ago. Starting on the blue version, I tacked lace around the border of the dark blue fabric. Then I placed all the fabrics on top of each other to see how it would look. Tacked the lighter blue piece on top of the dark blue, so the lace just peeped over the edge, then tacked the white piece over that. Decided the blue in the dog pattern clashed with the blue background, so swapped it for this teacup, where the pale blue background stripe was a better match for the background fabric. That meant I had to change the red buttons I'd picked out, for pink buttons. No problems, I've got plenty of buttons. Used Herringbone stitch to attach the teacup, added the buttons and ric rac, and Voila! Isn't that sweet? What am I going to do with it? I have no idea. But I'm happy now that I've done one, and will no longer keep looking at that particular page in my library book!

Quick cross stitch gift

Lately I'm discovering that some of my friends have a thing about dragon flies. I think Val is one of them, so I stitched a little fridge magnet for her this week, for her birthday. The design is from a book of Oriental Cross Stitch designs, and the Chinese characters are supposed to represent 'gentleness'.

My Linen collection is all sorted out!

It has taken me nearly a month, but I have finished sorting out my linens, and now I know where everything is, and have weeded out items that I no longer wish to keep, as well as a few pieces that I have doubled up on over time. A new antiques and collectables store has opened locally, and the owner has already bought some of my linens, and wants to buy more, which is a real bonus, as I was just going to give them away! But she won't take everything, so I will still have a few left for the giveaway I promised on this blog last week.
A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of the cupboard where I keep my embroidered tablecloths. I hang them on plastic hangers instead of stacking them on top of each other on shelves or in boxes. But my collection also includes aprons, teacosies, pillow and cushion covers, and doilies in a large variety of shapes and sizes. I have an ongoing problem with storage, and would welcome feedback from anyone reading this, who also collects linens. How do you manage your collection?
I am lucky that I have a spare bedroom dedicated to keeping my collection, but apart from the wardrobe, there are no cupboards, so a lot of it is still in boxes. My own embroidered work is framed and hanging on the walls. As well as the cloths hanging in the wardrobe, I have pillow shams and pillow cases hanging up. The embroidered aprons are folded up and kept in a large cardboard box. The unworked aprons are in another box. The teacosies are laid out flat in a large cardboard box, with the smaller cushion covers with them. Large table runners and panels of embroidery are either laid flat or rolled up on cardboard tubes, and in a suitcase, lined with acid free tissue paper. Hand towels are folded on a cane shelf unit where I have other ornaments. The Tallboy/dresser has four large drawers and two small drawers, all lined with acid free tissue paper. The small drawers hold handkies and other small items. The first large drawer holds teatowels, tray cloths and napkins. The second large drawer holds large centrepiece doilies and sandwich tray doilies, all lying flat. The third large drawer holds more large centrepieces and small round and square doilies. The bottom large drawer holds the Duchess/dressing table sets consisting of a larger doiley with matching small doilies. I have a large collection of all kinds of items with peacocks embroidered on them. Regrettably at the moment I have nowhere to store them, so they are rolled up/stuffed into a large plastic bag. I was going to photograph each collection as I have described it, but haven't had time to do that, so if anyone is interested, post a comment and I'll get around to taking some pictures.

Vintage bedspread and Mystery item.

In the final days of clearing MIL's house, I found a few more bits and pieces in the laundry, that I thought were worth rescuing. One was an ivory brocade bedspread which at first glance looked unsalvagable, it was so badly stained. But I left it soaking in the bathtub (it was too big for the laundry tub) in a strong Napisan solution for a few days, and it cleaned up very well indeed. I hung it on the clothesline, but after a day of heavy rain, I had to bring it in and put it through a spin cycle again, because the weight was threatening to bring down the clothesline! I have had it draped over the clotheshorse for two days to dry out, and last night we lay it on our bed to see how it looked. I asked MIL about it when we were talking to her on the phone, and she said she remembers it on her mother's bed, and that it was in her mother's trousseau (gosh you don't hear that word much any more!). Now MIL's poor mind these days is apt to be confused, so we don't know for sure just how old this is. If you click on the photo, it will bring it up closer so you can see the embossed design on the material. Do any of my readers know something about this style of bedspread?


As well as that, I found this mystery item. It is made of calico, hand stitched, and bound with bias binding. It measures 37 inches across by 21 inches down. It appears to be a kind of storage wall hanging with pockets, as there are loops at each end and in the centre, to indicate where a rod would go through to hang it. Ken wondered if it might be a Masonic apron belonging to his father, but I didn't think so. Not that I know anything about those things! Again looking for clues from my blogging friends!!

Here they are!

With the trimmings (ric rac, lace, ribbons) machined on: Rough edges trimmed: (Hey! Where did that rubber band come from?) OK Annie and Jane - you are two of my most imaginative and creative cyberspace buddies - what would you do with these priceless objects d'art? In the book where I found this idea, it suggests making a journal using these to decorate the front cover. I'm not into journal making...I've got enough journal-type books to write and draw in to last me for many years. The other idea was to decorate a tote bag. Yep. Got heaps of them too. But I have a few denim and calico bags that could be prettied up. Hmmm....food for thought. It was a fun process though, whatever I end up doing with them. Now back to those cross stitch UFOs...