Hand stitched cushions & quilts

Last week I bought a number of lovely hand worked tapestry cushions from auction along with a number of hand stitched Durham and patchwork quilts. The work involved in both types of textiles is amazing...reflecting a time when we had no T.V., internet or other distractions to take up our time!

This cushion cover has the addition of lots of tiny beads in the black and white sections of the design.

This is a Tree of Life design cushion - this popular style of design is one that I always find attractive and I have several in my house - as embroidered pictures on the wall.,  as a fire screen and as cushion covers and yet each one is different!

Another needlework skill is that of the quilter. I have bought a number of quilts recently.

This is a very typical Durham quilt. Called a "Strippy" as it is made up of contrasting stripes of pink and white cotton. The quilting patterns follow the stripes and are the identifying feature of a Durham quilt.

This quilt combines patchwork and elaborate quilting designs.  The flower baskets are very striking and the colours are stunning....again think of the work involved - all that hand stitching of the patchwork pieces and then the quilting!

Finally, an antique patchwork quilt.

This one shows the use of several fabrics - maybe all the fabrics from the remnants of dressmaking for a family. Fabrics would not have been bought specially to make a quilt as they are today... they were the "left-overs" from the everyday dressmaking that women did in times gone by

Garden parties & evening wear

One of the auction sales that I attended last week had a collection of shawls and other vintage clothing that I just had to buy. The silky embroidered shawls are perfect for either a casual garden party - keep your shoulders warm in the cooler evenings - or to set off  more smart evening wear. 

The shawl below is very striking and would be perfect with a plain dress

Whilst this black one could be used with a more patterned or multi-coloured outfit.

Finally to complete the look why not add a pair of extra soft kid leather evening elbow length gloves. Actually, you would need to have quite small hands to fit into these gloves. Women were much smaller in Victorian times and they were meant to be worn very close fitting.  These gloves are probably a size 6 or a 6.5 but even if they don't fit your hands they do add the look when draped over a dressing table or bedside table

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.

Lake District Country House Linens & Treasures!

I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to keep the blog updated. Lots of auctions to attend and lots of internet sales .....not much evidence of a recession in the world of antique and vintage linens. Yesterday I went to a very interesting auction sale of the entire contents of a large country house in the Lake District - Holywath.

This sale followed the death last year of  Major John Wilfred Barratt Hext M.B.E. who died at the age of 92.  Holywath in Coniston, Lake District Cumbria has been the home of the Barratt Hext family since 1830 and was a time capsule as the family had never thrown anything away! The family had connections with Ruskin, Kate Greenaway and Beatrix Potter amongst others.

The auction house took photos of the interiors as they found them before taking the entire contents (including everything from  the cellars and the attics) to auction.

The sale included such diverse items as a tiger skin (seen on the wall above the staircase) to old fire hydrants and hoses. The linens and textiles that I bought were equally eclectic.. a large wicker hamper with dressing up clothes ranging from a barristers gown to a scuba diving suit!  I bought the usual linens that you would expect from a country house - bedspreads, sheets, pillowcases and lots of huge damask tablecloths - and also many vintage items of clothing. From ladies vintage hats and coats to mens vintage shooting apparel (plus fours and other breeks) and bowler and top hats.

Now I just have the task of sorting through everything and photgraphing them for sale! So it maybe another few weeks before I get the chance to blog again!

Floral & Paisley Eiderdown Quilts

Last week I was looking through my stock for interesting items to list for sale and found some eiderdown quilts. The one above is very pretty... very summery.

These cotton fabrics are so evocative of an earlier age but they can be used very sucessfully in a contemporary interior too.

This one has a more of a paisley design with a lovely duck-egg blue background.

This one I have described on Ebay as pistachio green with pink/red flowers. It is actually prettier in "real life" than it appears in the photo! Cath Kidston has taken many of these old designs and reproduced them in her fabrics but I think that the vintage designs are just that little bit better!

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.

Patchwork & Durham Quilts

I have been buying a lot of quilts over the past month. There were several good examples at a textiles auction down in North Yorkshire recently - from Durham wholecloth and strippy quilts to English log cabin patchwork and American patchwork.

Whilst the tradition of patchwork quilts is well known across both the UK and USA, the Durham quilt is perhaps less well known and I am often asked about what "makes" a Durham quilt.

Durham is a town and a county in the North of England and the Durham style of quilts originates from the Northern Counties of England. However "Durham" quilt is now used to describe a quilt made in a specific manner rather than one that originates from Durham. The basic construction of a Durham quilt does not differ from those made elsewhere - they have a top and bottom layer and  a layer of padding in-between. The three layers are then stitched together - usually by hand. However the feature that makes a "Durham" is the quilting pattern which is used to give a sculptural quality to the surface of the quilt. These patterns can involve a number of different named designs - Running Feather, Cable, Rose Motif and very often a central circular deisgn thought by many to represent the Pit Wheel that would so dominate the skyline in the North-East coal mining communities during the 19th century however "strippy" quilts are a paticular feature of North Country quilts. The quilt top was formed by alternating strips of plain fabrics - usually white alternating with red, blue, pink  or yellow and then the quilting was carried out up the stripes.

                                I will be selling some of the Durham quilts that I bought over the next few weeks on Ebay - I just have the task of washing them first!