Friday 24 August 2012

Embroideries...

Thank you all as always for kind words and encouragement - admiration as always for those who  pursue ambitions and aspirations.  I will plough my furrow and see what direction it goes! Need to stop moaning and do a bit more doing I think.
Anyway - 
I like a nice bit of embroidery...



The bag above is my 'new' favourite bag - I have finished it with a nice buckle on the handle, lined it with    the finest Irish double damask and fastened with a little vintage hand painted button - I wore it (worn - rather than used - as an adornment!!)  on my first day in my new job yesterday.  Chuffed that in the staff room a woman asked me where I got my bag from as a group had been admiring it from afar. So a new job and compliments too!!
Big headedness is not an endearing trait Jenny...

I am very fond of the 'background' fabric and I have made many bags and purses from it - the fabric dates from the late 1940s and is an unused bolt with that smell of new cotton. The colours of the flowers in the design always seem to perfectly match the colours in the embroidery - it will be a sad day when I use the last little piece

The one of the left (corner showing) is one of a framed pair that I bought at the car boot recently - the other one of the pair is a very pretty cottage (£5 the pair so thought that was ok)


Most/all of these embroideries were kits - dating mainly from the late 1930s/1940s - so the same patterns often appear again and again.  Each one is appealing in its infinite variety













Jenny - do you think that you possibly might have enough bags......

Had a pleasant tax refund recently - for the second year running (must check my tax code I think).  Decided that it is a nice way to save money without realising it so have bought some vintage treats as an indulgence....Also have 'twinned' our toilet - it is good to share unexpected windfalls if possible - http://www.toilettwinning.org/serious-stuff/the-need/ 

Also decided that as there are 24 hours in each day there should be ample time to cram everything in! I will stop moaning!

Looking forward to the Paralympics starting  - hurrah!




21 comments:

  1. Such stunning embroidery! Absolutely beautiful.

    Anna

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    1. Thank you Anna - embroidery is a skill that I greatly admire

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  2. Dear SunnyJenny!

    I now take time to watch those embroideries carefully and always think of the ladies who worked on them...
    I think there's something very precious about looking for them, buying them, keeping them, admiring them, and then giving them a second life (or not!). Or even a third life!
    As a cross-stitcher and a "very crazy embroiderer" (you know, when you decide to "re-embroider" a postcard transfer on linen, with metallic threads, sequins and seed beeds, just as you feel, without any pattern... I call it "my wild embroideries"!) I really know the time you need to achieve such an embroidery...

    As long as you can do a little of what you want, every day, life is good! We learn to really appreciate those simple but precious little pleasures of an everyday life. And watching beautiful things on the net is one of those pleasures!

    Take care and big hugs!
    And enjoy your weekend!

    Anne-Sophie

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    1. Good morning Anne-Sophie
      Very interested in your embroidered postcards - that is something that I have thought about giving a try in the past but always feel that I could not 'improve' the existing image. Using beads sounds a lovely idea
      I agree with you also about caring for these embroideries - the thought of them being thrown away sends me into a mini panic!
      Have a lovely day
      Jenny

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    2. There are textile artists - or just plain artists - out there who are doing the most awesome embroidery things to postcards - they take my breath away with their chutzpah. They are so incredibly inspiring and I want to try it too. In my own small way, of course. :)

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  3. I LOVE those old embroideries. They ooze nostalgia and coziness and the 'good old days'. It's funny - back then that must have been THE trendy thing to do. I wonder if those olden days ladies secretly compared their embroideries and either felt good about their own, or seriously inferior and wanting to hide it at the back of the cupboard before anyone could see it.

    I have two of the ones you have - the first cottage photo and the crinoline lady. Mine are framed - I don't think I could cut them up. I enjoy looking at them. But, your bag is fab and you obviously have more courage with your scissors than I.

    You've brightened up a very dreary morning and glum mood with those photos - thanks.

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    1. Good morning wendz - I am sure that secret comparisons were carried out and I certainly know where my own embroidery would have come in the ranks! Added a bit in my newest post about scissor usage!
      Unexpectedly sunny Bank Holiday due here I think....hope!
      Have a lovely day
      Jenny

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  4. Wow, I'm lost for words really, and that doesn't happen that often! These embroideries are unbelievable! The love that's gone into making each one.....and the fact that you've given them a new lease of life. Bet the ladies who made them would be so pleased! Ada :)

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    1. Morning Ada it is very, very difficult to pass up a nice embroidery, some I have had since I was a child and some were given to me by my mum and sisters as presents when a teenager...so a few years worth of collecting going on there....oh dear...oh dear...worse habit to have I think...

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  5. Those bags are wonderful, I just love the vintage embroidery. I have the original transfers, but somehow I don't think I would do the embroidery justice!
    Julie xxxxxx

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    1. Good morning - those transfers are very tempting aren't they - sort of 'those look lovely and I could rattle one of those off in an evening' type of thing and then reality sets in!!! Maybe one day...

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  6. Mesmerising embroideries. I've only ever come across a few like this in my travels, you seem to attract them! I think it is good to use them on a bag, a bit like a travelling exhibition.

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    1. Many thanks - I am planning/plotting a weekend bag made from tapestries so I have something to look at when I am on the move!

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  7. Lovely embroideries Jenny... I wish I could find just one as big and good! All those different stitches for the flowers! If I am forced to make one myself I will definitely have to replace my glasses... But I'd love to have a framed pretty garden embroidery on my wall to see me through the winter.

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    1. Good morning dearie - over the years I have bought several of these from a charity shop in Havant (near to your good self) and the ladies in their always admire my bags and we chat about lost skills. Sometimes they have been known to have a forage in the back room and return with a nice little embroidery for me. What about those embroidered brooches (yet another weakness) one of those would be nice as you can wear those year round!
      Have a nice BH

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  8. I'd never heard of 'toilet twinning' before...Jenny you have the largest heart that I have come across yet.
    Nicky
    x

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    1. I cannot remember how I came across it now (as I am a fact finder it might have been trying to find out about global sanitation...odd but true!). The fact that hit home on that web site was how many women and children are assaulted when having to seek privacy - what a terrible situation to be in. We are lucky with our sanitation
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  9. Hi Jenny,the embroideries are just wonderful,the one with the steps and topiary is my favourite,wish I could do those things,those ladies of a bygone age certainly had talent!!Kind Regards Pam.

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    1. Morning Pam - thank you for kind words. I think that the secret must be starting to learn at an early age - though my attempts at cross stitch on the ubiquitous needle case at the age of 8 or so are shocking (I still have it!)
      Have a lovely day Pam

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  10. "Absolutely beautiful" each and every tiny stitch lovingly embroidered to be treasured forever. How very kind to donate some of your good fortune with people less fortunate, wish there were more people out there like you, Lucey xx

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    1. Good morning Lucy
      I too boggle at those stitches - some embroideries are staggering and defy belief that they haven't been made by a machine! In our travels years gone by Dom and I certainly visited less choice toilets in the world but at least they had walls of some description...

      Have a lovely Bank Holiday

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