Xmas is over for another year!

 We have had snow on the ground now for around 4 weeks - to begin with it is exciting......now it is just very tiresome!

The freezing temperatures also caused problems and some of the auctions were cancelled during December which means that some of my stocks of linens and textiles are running low.

So we did have a sort of White Xmas even though it didn't actually snow on Xmas day!

I found this vintage box in the bottom of a sewing box bought at auction - wouldn't this have been a great find in your Xmas stocking in the early 1900's!  The packaging was so much nicer then! (It didn't have any chocolate in it when I found it - just skeins of embroidery thread!)

So I have used the time being snowbound in the house to make these cheeky cushions - Scottie Dogs in cream wool on a tartan background and the opposite colourway. One of my daughters is into knitting hence the basket of wool to the side.

And I have kept the antique 19th century hand stitched patchwork quilt below for some time with the intention of replacing the worn patches but have decided that I may never get round to it so someone else should have it, use it and love it. It is currently for sale on eBay.

Patchwork and Queen Victoria!

This week I have been down to Yorkshire and back to the North East buying lots of lovely linens and textiles - Irish linen sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths are always in the lots that I look for but this week I have also come across some more unusual, even quirky, items.  The photo above shows a hand stitched patchwork quilt top that I found in the bottom of a box. 

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Queen Victoria at the time of her Jubilee - 1887 - so presumably this fabric was made around that time to comemmorate the event.

Then these fabrics have Chinamen on donkeys and dogs and hens and roosters.

I also came across a great example of 1950's - 60's kitsch.

A collection of soft dusters with a dishcloth folded to look like the body of a cat and the motto underneath

And finally, for today at least, some tapestry work - some completed but never used and some obviously used but treasured and put away to "do something with later" ( I have boxes and boxes of textiles waiting for "later" too!)

All the items featured are going onto eBay this weekend.

Hand embroidery linens at the Linen Cupboard

I've been to a local auction today and came across a box of lovely hand embroidered linens. This tablecloth with Madeira embroidery of Calla Lilies is superb - very long and with matching napkins. Ideal special occasion cloth - this would look fabulous on a wedding table!

This photo shows the cloth on a bed - I haven't got a table long enough to show it off well!

The same box had several other large cloths - all beautifully embroidered.

I think again that this is really a tablecloth but doesn't it look good on the bed?

And this one really is a bedspread - white lace with figural motifs.

The motifs are all of hunters

When I find linens like these I wonder about the household that they came from and how many celebration meals and family get-togethers that they have seen. They are all on sale on my eBay site from tonight - maybe they could preside over your next family occasion!

Summer linens and lace

I have had a hectic time lately...hence the long time since posting anything on the blog! Last week I was at Carlisle in the Lake District where I came across some nice old and interesting linens some of which will be listed on eBay today. Amongst the treasures was a very unusual tablecloth with Maltese lace edge and teatme motifs.

This is a close up of the centre motif

I also came across a tablecloth with lovely needlelace - each square panel completed in a different needlelalce design

Close up of a couple of the panels below

After Carlisle on Monday, I went to Scotland, then Northumberland and then on to Yorkshire at the end of the week. So linens from all over the north of England and into Scotland. More to come later.

Set the table for Spring

This week I have bought a quantity of linens from the estate of a large house in Northumberland. Not a big country house but a home that enjoyed entertaining and the lady of the house liked to present a well-dressed table for dinner or lunch. So I have acquired a number of sets of table napkins and mats.  The reticella lace napkins above are unused and an ideal size for lunch or supper.

 

These unused Irish linen damask napkins above are a more appropriate size for dinner.

These three pretty sets wopuld set off a spring lunch table very well.

This collection of linen did not include any dining table cloths but did have many place mats and table settings in a variety of styles. So perhaps the family had a beautiful table that they didn't want to hide under a cloth. In that case table mats are a great alternative to a cloth - and they are easier to launder, iron and store!

This Reticella needlelace place mat is one of six and matches the napkins.

                                                                  

These green linen place mats with hand embroidery also have a matching large centre mat and could be used with plain green  or white napkins.

The crochet lace mat above left is one from a setting for twelve and the Maltese lace mat to the right is from a setting for six.