treasure diggers

we were in madrid organizing  my late mil's stuff to start the renos at last! it was an intense month to say the least. thank goodness for long walks and wine. however, in two weeks i'm foreseeing other sort of headaches with the renos.

among  my mil's own possessions she also kept some of her mother's linens.

drawers and drawers full of old linens; i gave quite a few  because i cannot bear to throw them away and i kept many. 

 among the keepers; this beautiful hand embroidered linen damask tablecloth with tableware that goes with it. it is for a huge table and after it gets tuned i think i'll have some left over fabric for a skirt.

it needs a bit of a treatment,but as it had been kept a dry climate nothing sunlight can't remedy.

this is silk for sheets, hand embroidered monogram and the cut threads for the fagotting border, never done..

here is another linen damask tablecloth.How many huge tablecloths does one need? thinking about keeping the exquisite embroidery  and use it as the center panel for a tablecloth i have. the rest, meters and meters, for a dress. it is ironic that at a point in life that i should be downsizing i am collecting these.

there's going to be lots of sewing around here.

and dyeing as well.

i'll post a few more along this month for the enjoyment of stitcher friends.

feels good to be back .




neki desu
 

thinking of others

as i shift gears. here'a another long due embroidery chart. you can adapt it to suit your fancy.
download from here




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fashion history

i met my long standing boyfriend who eventually became husband-san wearing this shirt. it's a dee cee cotton chambray shirt with regimental pearl snap closures.

he wore it until the cuffs frayed and fell apart and the romantic in me refused  to throw it away. so over the years it has been  shuffled  from place to place.

i was looking on line for a replacement and all i was getting was vintage places and e bay, apparently they aren't manufactured anymore. anyone knows for sure?

given the current options of paying for vintage and refurbishing my vintage the choice is a piece of cake.

the project however will have to go on the proverbial back burner as i have a more pressing project in my hands.

 the question again :does anyone know if dee cees are still manufactured?

neki desu

work to do

another hand embroidered linen tablecloth from my mother in law. this one is casual and festive, sort of every day use. needs work because it has stains from being in storage. luckily i have old faithful savon de marseille and there's lots of sunlight now!

the linen is rougher than the white one  full of lovely slubs

 a closeup of the big motifs





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set and match point!

tablecloth and napkins on the drying line.only two tiny specks ,which i surely can live with, in sight.

i was informed that even uv radiation could bleach.let's see if the radiation in my terrace  is enough .

this city  is so sickeningly self appointed hip and cool that anything that smells old fashioned is totally banished.hence my issues trying to find savon de marseille in bars. gel is  cool  and modern contemporary, but soap bars that have this hand-wash - like- in- the- old- days connotation? no way! will have to take the train to a small town in the vicinity and try my luck.

neki desu

update on linen and life

thank you all for the tips and advice re the tablecloth.

 we're living a crazy week this one. there are 2 holidays in between week so that makes the whole week a week long holiday in most cases. shops vary depending on the will to take off or the crisis, but my usual suspects are gone. 

this is to say that i had to make do and use baking soda that i had in store.

boiled softly the whole ensemble for over 3 hours and you would not believe the color of that water.

rinsed thoroughly and put them back in the pot with clean water and more baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) for a long soak. the outcome is very, very good  stains are almost gone. 

my mother in law, as all ladies in the past, kept her linens in drawers with a bar of perfumed soap bars to freshen and scent them and also to keep moths away.the scent was so ingrained in the fabric that even after boiling with baking soda, the well known odor fighter,the fabric is still perfumed.and no traces of moth damage.
note to self: buy perfumed soap bars for linens!

tomorrow i'll rinse and hand to dry.the not so good news is that i don't get direct sunlight  in the terrace until february. no sunbleaching therefore. rent anyone?

neki desu

collective wisdom transfer please!!

 

from my mother in law, a beautiful hand embroidered linen tablecloth with pulled thread work. it also includes 6 napkins and 6 tea napkins so that makes me think it belonged to her mother.

i want to use it this christmas, but it is stained, most likely from being stored. although the round stain suggests a coffee cup.

the linen is somewhat soft so i am a bit concerned that if i use the classical remedy of boiling it in soda ash the fabric might deteriorate. of course, bleach is out of the question, no, no ,no.

my question: does anyone know what to do? suggestions and ideas are most welcomed.thanks!

neki desu

raining here too

but not with so much style.an anthology of movie rain moments by arte, the european cultural t.v. channel

have a good dry weekend!



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vintage embroidery chart

have not posted a chart for a long time. here's one to help you stitch away the weekend.
as ever go here to download.


have a good weekend.we'll be celebrating the diada on sunday!




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at the fair

period embroidered velvet curtain used as a table cover at a street fair stall. the stall traded in antique books, so it was not totally irreverent.

the stitching was a very tight chainstitch worked in a chenille yarn and as you can see in some points it looks like cut  velvet.

the velvet was green and in some parts had faded to a grayish olive  green.
the photos are not my best because they were taken with my cell phone.

neki desu

spring is here and do yourself a favor

more vintage charts to celebrate, it was about time, the arrival of spring.link for  the  small wreaths below.
and the medium wreaths above. click on the links and they will take you to download page.

and now the self favor. beware of  anything beta.
beta means problems. big time. how do  i know? downloaded the new firefox 4. no delicious app. crashes like there's no after life,occupies the space of an aircraft carrier. and i'm stopping here although there's more to be said.




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embroidered buttons

 maybe. you could use the motifs in placemats, napkins or clothes. or use your creativity.
download the chart here



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vintage embroidery chart series

 latest scan  for your enjoyment. the legend says it is the embellishment for a ladies purse or bag. i can see it in silk with a tassel dangling from the bottom, very art nouveau! the motif can be used isolated or grouped in any way you fancy. the scan is half of the chart so you can resize to your taste.

go here to download the chart.
hope you find this useful.

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flowers vintage embroidery chart

 

charming matchstick flowers. if you use it please link and leave a message. would love to see what you've done.to download the chart go here .enjoy!

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another vintage embrodery chart

i found this chart very interesting. although  i think it's a lace pattern it can be embroidered in a contemporary fashion with pleasing results. it can also be interpreted in many  other ways, so have fun.

i decided  to get  a file service so that  i can also share weaving files in the near future and leave flickr for just storing images.

the chart can be downloaded in small med. and large files  here

please comment  if you like the option of having a separate download place.

neki desu

another vintage chart

short short post here. the resident architect is puffing and huffing trying to get an ikea chest together.

and calling for help every  five seconds.

here is another chart for your enjoyment. clicking on the image will take you to my flickr where you can download it in actual size.

neki desu