Turning something old into something new

It's always a sign that if there are no posts on the blog that it's unlikely that there has been any stitching going on at my house. Work and home commitments have been absorbing much of my time - poor Frieda is languishing with only two borders actually stitched on. I hope to get back to her soon.

In the meantime I've been filling the odd free moment with some hand stitching on what will become a collar for myself. It's a collar with family history. My mother tatted this collar when she was about 10 years old. Hard to imagine any 10 year old these days being able to whip something like this up!

She made the collar to be part of her school uniform in anticipation for when she performed in the school orchestra. It was a requirement of her school, the Catholic school in Timaru - imagine that! Unfortunately she never made it into the orchestra so the collar has sat for over 70 years waiting to be pressed into service.

I'm mounting it onto felted wool and am toying with the idea of adding a few beads onto it to highlight the design. Time will, as always, tell.

When I showed it to my daughter she told me I was very on trend as the shops are full of lace collars - it was almost enough to make me stop but mine will be a collar with provenance, rather than something mass manufactured in China.

And while considering felted wool I thought you'd also like to see this felt cushion cover I bought some time ago. I thought it was irresistible. It dates from around the 1930s or 40s when embroideries and home textiles often featured dutch motifs. I particularly enjoy the cigarette dangling from his lips, something it would be difficult to imagine being included in contemporary work - how times have changed.

Needle Still In Hand

I'm pleased to report that slow but steady progress is being made on the stitching front at my house - it's not world shattering but from where I stand it's better than nothing.

I have finished the bonnet and it will soon be heading off to Australia to join the Roses from the Heart project. The bonnets have been used in a variety of installations and some have even travelled to the regions that the women were originally deported from for commemorative services. If you are interested in how they are used, and I know Stitchbird was asking, you can find out more here. There are currently activities going on in Ireland with bonnets being taken there to remember the women who were departed from there to Tasmania.

You can't see too much of the rather nice cloth the bonnet is perched above (on a lamp - for some strange reason I couldn't find a ready volunteer to model the bonnet) so here's a better shot. The cloth is one of my more recent acquisitions and my first green cloth. I couldn't resist the cottages.

And today I started some experimentation for a new quilt. One of my dearest friends is having a milestone birthday early next year - I have never made her a quilt so now is the time. Part of the reason I never have is that deep down I know she would like something traditional, with applique - not my usual thing at all. I have humm-ed, haa-ed and generally prevaricated but finally been convinced by stitching friends that I can do this. So today I made a start - a bit of practice to perfect my machine applique and preferred stitching method before I get onto the real piece. Stay tuned - this will be a true test of friendship!

Moving on .... to the shiney, shiney

The label is on the quiltand the binding is looking great.

It's even been shown off at Guild, so it's time to pass this onto it's new owner and for me to move onto my next project.

In the meantime I have managed to very successfully distract myself with some lovely shiney things that I found on Trade Me. Today the parcel finally arrived in the letter box, revealling

many beautiful ribbons and belts,

adorned here and there with wonderful vintage buckles,

and lots of shiney, sparkly things. My friend's don't call me a magpie for nothing! My daughter is still to arrive home from school but I have a feeling something from this parcel could well end up adorning her new ball dress.... I'll keep you posted.

A Voice from the Past

I've had this sampler for a little while but this week was the first time I'd really started researching the background to it. As you can probably see it was made by Florence Shilling in 1895. It was made at Donaldson's Hospital - I've always wondered what this was but discovered this week that it was / is a school in Edinburgh. Founded in 1851 the school focused on the education of poor children in the city and specialised in education for deaf and mute children. Since 1938 the school, now called Donaldson's College, has been exclusively for deaf students. The building the school was originally in was just amazing, although ultimately unsuited to educating children. During WWII the school was used as a prisoner of war camp which housed German and Italian prisoners. The building was recently sold and in 2008 the school moved to a new purpose built facility.

The original building is now being developed into apartments - and to think my little sampler has found its way from this extraordinary place to the other side of the world, to a house where there is another principal of a special school (my husband) who has just been able to open a new facility for his students. Clearly serendipity at work here.

And by way of warning - see if you can spot the image of part of the sampler in the photo below. It's the cardboard that the sampler has been sitting on for an unknown number of years. If you look closely you can see how the acid in the board has leached colour out of the sampler leaving an image on it.

Needless to say now that I know more of its history and condition I'm on the case so it can be framed in an acid-free environment. Hopefully it will then last another 116 years and Florence's creative voice will continue to be seen and heard.

Treasures, Treasures, Treasures

Confession time.... When you are a collector there are few things more enjoyable than finding treasures that you just have to have - especially when they are actually within your budget! I must admit that I didn't actually set out to look for any of these items - somehow they found me... Given that first up is a pair of Edwardian women's bloomers, I thought you needed to know that!

I saw these and was just drawn to them. They are of the softest cotton and the lace on them is fantastic
including these medallions on the side of each leg. I think what really drew me to them is that I had recently being doing some research on early Wellington and had been reading about a ball that was held at Government House in 1901 to mark the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York. It was just a few months after the death of Queen Victoria, decolletage was all the rage and strict dress rules were in place for those attending. One woman who attended the reception wrote this to her sister -

At the evening reception a chamberlain stands at the end of the corridor and turns back all ladies whose low dresses are kept from falling off by more than one little strap! Invalids and elderly ladies may get a doctor's certificate to keep them more dressed. It sounds tom foolery and I wish a prince would arise with enough originality and commonsense to make a new departure, at least in the colonies.

What an incredible thing - going to the doctor to get an exception from having to wear a low cut dress - and all the time you are wearing bloomers like these underneath! And to think this is almost 10 years after women in New Zeland got the vote. It just amazes me - suffice to say the bloomers had to come home....


Then last week I found this, in amongst a group of doilies (I needed to restock after making my daughter the blanket!) This is filet crochet - made to mark the Anzac's in WWI. I couldn't believe it. Such a thrill to have
increased only by the discovery last night of an almost identical piece in Jennifer Isaacs' book The Gentle Arts: 200 Years of Australian Women's Domestic & Decorative Arts, which Gina put me onto. Isaacs comments that many of these pieces were made with patriotic motifs and that they remain a legacy of the women who were forced to stay at home and worry about their sons who were far away fighting. You probably can't clearly see the text from the book - it says that the piece was made by Mary Ann Bridge who lived in Scone, New South Wales. She had 13 children (13!!) and her three youngest sons served in WWI. I hope they all came home to their mother.

And lastly, something that clearly called to me because of the time I am spending with kimono at the moment - a wonderful apron from the 1930's. After all the work in the embroidery it was never finished and hasn't had the ties put onto it.

She is far too beautiful to confine to a cupboard or drawer after 80 years of waiting. Rest assured I will be putting ties on it and wearing it with delight - when serving something small, dainty and non-staining to guests! Maybe over gin and tonics on the deck.... can't get into too much trouble with that!

All's Well That Ends Well

I seem to have had an unusually busy run up to Christmas this year - probably had something to do with my getting not one, but two contracts for work, which started in the weeks before Christmas and needed some urgent attention. After several months of not working at all it meant that the inevitable last minute preparations were somewhat squeezed. I found myself promising that next year would be different.... where have I heard that before?

However all seemed to get completed in time, even if there was a fair bit of stitching completed on Christmas Eve, once I had our daughter safely out of the house. So, the kimono wedding quilt is fully quilted and bound and just waiting for a label.... I'm very pleased with it and am sure there will be a few more of these to be made. I had an idea a few days out from Christmas that I could do something with blankets and doilies to create a picnic blanket for an extended family member. However, my daughter found me in the sewing room as I was in the early stages and declared that it was far too good to leave the house as she loved it and wanted it for her room.... What can you say? The next day she was asking what I was doing with the blankets and I told her that I had put them away as I had no time to work on it. In reality I was frantically stitching every time I could get her off the property or into bed.

The result was this blanket which is now on her bed - she was delighted, so it was an effort well worthwhile.

I joked to one of my friends that I am planning a book to be published next your - 101 Things to do with Old Doilies.

Just as well I have so many of them waiting to be played with and made into something new...

And I've also been hard at it with the angels - I think I've made around a dozen of these this year. There's not too much left of my baby blanket, which they were all made from - I will have to make sure I make one each for the children before it is all used up.

We had a lovely Christmas - lunch for 12 was a smaller affair than we have had in recent years, but a good time was had by all.

Best wishes for a restful holiday season to you all.

Springing Into Action

Mentioning the quilt for my sister-in-law's 40th birthday in my last post has made me finally spring into action and actually do something about getting it finished. Kay had her birthday in May (a mere six months ago!) and she has been patiently waiting for me to get on with it. It's partly the patience which has spurred me on and partly the observation by my ever observant daughter that I should really try to get it to her before my mother-in-law arrives for Christmas.....

The idea for this quilt came several years ago when my mother-in-law sent me a package with several pieces of family embroidery. I was (and still am) collecting them up for a quilt I plan for my daughter. It is still several years away - maybe for her 21st. Anyway I showed the pieces to Kay and she said that the piece below had been on her dressing table when she was a child. It was stitched by her mother's cousin, Mavis Grey, who died last year. This of course gave me the idea for a quilt for her and given she was 40 this year, it seemed the perfect occasion. In the interim I collected a number of similar embroidered sets in the fan shape to add to the quilt.

The other significant family pieces I put into the quilt is the small piece below. This is one of two which are on each side of the main fan. These were stitched by another sister-in-law of mine, who died in 1985. I had met Jill a couple of times but didn't really know her well when she died unexpected. She was the eldest sibling in the family, while Kay is the youngest. Jill's embroidery is lovely - I think we would have got on very well together.

The quilt top has been finished for a while - actually within a couple of weeks of the actual birthday. I never normally show a quilt in progress to the recipient as they change so much through the quilting process. However I felt so bad about not having this finished in time that I did show it to her. I was also worried that my mother-in-law would mention it to her as I had told her that I was putting these special pieces into the quilt for Kay. She was delighted with it and moved to tears as I told her about the providence of these pieces. Can't ask for more than that!

So two days ago I decided that she had waited long enough and started the quilting. Its a big quilt so it be a quick finish, but finished it will be!I think this will be the last of these type of quilts for a while - I would hate to be too predictable. It's my third and I think its time to develop some ideas that have been brewing in my brain for while. But first this needs to be finished. I'm putting a grid onto it, with variable distances of 3/4inch and 1inch gaps, which will result in an irregular grid pattern. It's being quilted with a variegated cotton thread in pale pastel tones - and its starting to look different already, as they do.... I'll keep you posted on progress.

Monthly Miscellany

Well it seems such a long time between posts that a monthly round up is most appropriate. I'm pleased to say that I have finally properly finished my stones quilt - that is properly in terms of it now having a hanging sleeve and label, it has had a trip to show and tell at Guild and, today it moved to its new home. I gave this quilt to my friend Carol as it reminded her so strongly of the colours in the landscape from her childhood home in the Ohakune in the volcanic plateau. It's turned out to be the perfect gift for her as in the last week one of her sisters has died and I hope that this will be a reminder of the memories she holds of their childhood.
I find it a little strange that I intended the quilt to be about one thing and it so appropriately was really meant to be about something else altogether. Such is the nature of life sometimes. On the back of the quilt I have written:

Rarangi maunga, tu tonu, tu tonu.

Rarangi tangata, ngaro noa, ngaro noa.

You have gone, but your mountain is everlasting.

Haere ra Jan.

I've been doing a bit of tripping around the North Island over the last couple of weeks, since its been school holidays here. The prize textile find of the holidays was this wonderful tray cloth which has been exquisitely stitched to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Of course I immediately thought it would make a great cushion for my daughter's friend who we recently made the quilt for, given she refers to herself as Queen Elizabeth III.
I really loved the detail in it - you might just be able to make out the Queen in her carriage below.

Yesterday I went out to visit the Craft Fair at Pataka Museum and the Maori Art Market which was also being held out there. Lots of wonderful creativity on show at both events and it was particularly lovely to meet Rochelle there and her friend Cleo. They both have me very inspired to try the organic dying techniques of India Flint - I'm thinking it will be a perfect activity for post Christmas when I have three weeks at the beach with lots of time for experimentation and access to the materials needed. I have resisted getting into fabric dying and printing for a long time as it all felt so messy and difficult, but this feels different - like an adventure that I am on the edge of. At the same time I have a few ideas for discharge dying that I want to try and which will be a great partner to this new activity. It's always so good to have something to look forward to - I feel a trip to Minerva for India's book coming on... Roll on summer!

The Best of Intentions

You might have thought from my last post that I swearing off bringing more things into my already crowded sewing room, but of course that isn't quite the way it tends to work. A couple of weeks ago I got a call from my sister in law to say that there was a garage sale close by that I needed to call into as there was lots of embroideries and linen there. I mean to say - what are you supposed to do when you get a call like that?

I must say I have never seen anything quite like it. The house was literally full up with treasures being sold and when I spoke to one of the men selling I heard more of the story - his mother-in-law had died 18 months ago and it has taken them that long to get to the stage they had. There were a number of rooms in the house at the time she died that couldn't even be entered as there was so much put into them - china, ornaments, dolls, records, books, toys, kitchen items, furniture, infact just about anything you can think of. He said that his mother-in-law had for many, many years visited all the local garage sales and without fail bought things that she then squeezed into her house until she could scarcely move around it.

I feel deeply for the family - what a burden to have to devote yourself to working through it all. And inspite of our recent experiences, which were nothing compared to this, I did the only thing I could and took some of the textiles off his hands and into my welcoming arms.

I have a real soft spot for breakfast tray clothes and was delighted to find this one. The woman carrying the coffee pot is so jaunty.
This lovely lady joins others that were already in my collection including this rooster, who is crowing - If you be wise 'tis time to rise. How irresistible!
And this dog who is ready to face the day.

Next time someone makes me breakfast in bed (or should that be next time I do it for myself) I really will have to use one of these. They bring such a smile to my face they would be a great addition to the pleasure of coffee and the paper in bed. And honestly - what more can we ask for at the start of the day?

Searching for Jewels in the Junk

A few months ago an elderly family friend passed away and my parents (who are almost 80, so hardly young themselves) were left as advisory trustees to her estate. Since Nola had no relatives what this meant in practice was that my parents and a few other friends were left with the task of largely cleaning out her house. This has had a big impact on all involved - we all now know where hoarding leads to and frankly it isn't pretty.

We all had some good laughs along the way (Why would anyone need to have 26 black skirts in her wardrobe? Is there any good reason to hold onto hats that have not been worn since WWII?) but without exception all of us who have worked on her home have come to look at our own with fresh eyes. There has been much intensive cleaning in my own home and many, many loads of things we no longer needed have been moved onto local charities in the hope that these items will be of use elsewhere.

For my parents they have taken to their lifetime of possessions and collections with unexpected vigour. I have long thought that I would have quite a job on my hands, in due course, but they have taken it as a challenge to deal to as much of it as they can now rather than leaving it for me. I have lost count of the number of times my mother has told me that she is determined not to leave me a mess like we were faced with earlier this year. We will see.

There has been a small downside to their activities - they seem to weekly turn up at my door with another box of "treasures" that they are planning to relocate from their house to mine. It's like a giant merry-go-round of "stuff". Many things I would have been happy to have never seen again. However there have also been some real treasures which I have been delighted to welcome into my life and home. I'm not sure my husband feels quite the same, but this is the real nub of the issue - one man's trash is truly anothers treasure.

One of the jewels I am delighted to be reunited with is the blanket that was knitted for me as a newborn my one of my aunts. It was knitted into squares so in no time at all I've been able to transform it into a new scarf for myself - aforementioned husband rolled his eyes, but my more textile inclined friends have been more impressed and not a little envious. I can still feel the love knitted into every stitch.
Having mentioned in my last post that the crocheted doilies appear to be breeding in my sewing room I can now offer potitive evidence, as this week my mother gave me every piece of crochet that her father had made. As you can see from the photo, he was reasonably prolific.

I'm trying to come up with a project to keep these all together so I know exactly which were his - perhaps stitched together to form a long table runner or maybe stitched onto a blanket. This would probably result in open rebellion from certain family members! But for me, it's lovely to have these links to my past - truly jewels to be treasured, hopefully for many years to come.

A Red Letter Day

I have been so looking forward to it - and today it finally happened. I arrived home this afternoon, after finshing my paid work for the week, and there it was in the letter box. The new edition of Selvedge. It's been a long wait as they moved offices a couple of months ago and the edition was delayed so they could produce it up to their usual high standards. It has seemed like a particularly long wait, which reinforced for me that this magazine was something that I really wouldn't want to have to do without. Other things may have to be sacrificed in these times, but for me Selvedge won't be one of them.

There was nothing else for it. I immediatley abandoned thoughts of sorting out the sewing room, made myself a pot of feijoa tea, got out my favourite tea cup and one of my gransfather's embroidered cloths, put my feet up and lost myself in its pages.And it was wonderful. Each page better than the last, full of colour, georgeous textiles and inspiration.

I mean just look at these pages of 18th and 19th century samples of French mattress tickings. They are just begging for a quilt to be made based on the colours and stripes....

I think this may have to go onto the list of quilts to be made - someday...

Another fascinating article was about the tradition in parts of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina for women to prepare clothes that they wish to be buried in. Margareta Kern, an artist, undertook a photographic and video study of some of these women for an exhibition called Clothes for Living and Dying. The photos are moving and I was so swept away reading about them that I was late to pick the boys up from school.

Thank you Selvedge - you enrich my life.

The Pleasures of the Post

Much excitement in my house today as we arrived home to find a package from my latest textile purchases from Trade Me. I just ask you - who could resist this...

or this...

or this...

or, my pride and joy, this.... I think I will have to make a special inner to fit this tea cosy so it can pressed into service sooner rather than later.

Of course the answer to my question is regretfully clear to me, if the rolling eyes of my family are anything to go by! Such is life - it would be so tedious if we were all the same, and the competition for these would be too much to contemplate!

O' Peppermint Tea

I feel like I am onto a bit of a roll with making tea cosies. Last week I went hunting for quotes about tea (ain't the Internet a wonderful thing!) and found some absolute beauties, including one about peppermint tea and before I knew it a new tea cosy was born. One of my stitching friends had a birthday looming and she is a peppermint tea devotee - so there was really only one possible result... The Japanese fabric was an obvious choice as she has lived in Japan, has made numerous wonderful Japanese quilts as well as having kindly given me some great textile treasures from her time well spent hunting out the temple sales.

I couldn't resist using an old piece of indigo that has mending on it from its previous life - I love the thought that someone else has so valued the textile that they have spent time mending it for further use. It also brings to mind the wonderful textiles from Sri Threads that I just love browsing.

The back was made from a Japanese Noran, or door covering, which was the perfect base for the quote from Astrid Alauda -

O' peppermint tea -

two delights per sip

as steamy hot as passion

cool as a wintry lake dip

Happy birthday Jill!

Picking up the Casualties

I've been as shocked as everyone else about the terrible bushfires in Victoria, and generally not feeling that I had anything of substance to contribute on this blog. On the weekend however I had a few hours to spare up in the sewing room and, having reflected so much on the need for aid and compassion, found myself drawn once again to the tea cosy. There is something comforting about them I've decided - the sharing of tea in times of distress, taking the time to talk and listen.

So here is the tea cosy as a form of first aid - There is a famous quote from one of our ex-Prime Minister's, made in different times and different circumstances, but they seemed the perfect words for the back. Incase you can't read them easily, the back panel is inscribed with the following -

"But what say we have a little breather and then we set off on the road again after

we have picked up the casualties and had a cuppa...."

David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand, 1984 - 1989.

It all came together quickly and is just the beginning of what may, I suspect, become something of a regular feature in my creative life. In the meantime my thoughts continue to be with those in Victoria who are so in need of our compassion and assistance.