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Monday 31 March 2014

Free Draw Giveaway * Simple Embroidery * Elsie Mochrie

This week's give away is a little vintage book produced in 1947 which was previously owned by E Marsh who apparently paid 2/- (2 shillings) for it. So, it has been loved, but it is in good condition considering it is older than me.
It is well illustrated with 12 pattern pages and 5 whole pages of photographs - very lavish considering the still war-stricken times.
How wonderful that at that time, women could sit once more by the fire with their stitching and make not necessities, but embroidered breakfast tray sets, tea cosies, pochettes and, luxury of luxury, nightdress cases - for those blessed with a husband safely returned from the war.
There was such a resurgence of embroidery at this time - I wonder if anyone has ever researched the connectedness of post war years with the uptake of homely skills? So this is this week's giveaway - just click on the flying angel below if you would like to enter and I'll announce a winner next week on 7 April 2014.

Last night of our anniversary offer.
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Sunday 30 March 2014

Cesare Vecello * De gli Habiti Antichi e Modérni di Diversi Parti di Mondo

I don't know if anyone has visited the Bodleian Library in Oxford? If not, do pay a visit while you are in Oxford to enjoy the Micheal and Elizabeth Feller early needlework exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum (1 August 2014 - 12 October 2014) click here for details.
While I was in the library I saw that early books were stored on the shelves with the cut leaves facing out and the spines to the wall. I asked the curator why this was the case. The answer was simple: that was the way they were traditionally shelved - to preserve the spines, which would otherwise be damaged by people pulling down on them when taking from the shelf. The problem then is, with just the cut leaves facing you, how do you know which book is which? The answer to that question is also simple. You decorate them or have someone decorate them for you. And just to illustrate this point, here are some early books on a shelf which belonged to Odorico Pilone (not in the Bodleian). The decorator in this instance is Cesare Vecellio. Like his more famous cousin, Tiziano Vecellio (Titian), Cesare was from the Veneto and lived about 1530 - 1601.
Cesare is most famous for the book he published in 1590: De gli Habiti Antichi e Modérni di Diversi Parti di Mondo with illustrations of costume of peoples from all over the world. Though apparently his own work, it is now thought the woodcuts were by Christopher Krieger from Nuremberg. Below you can see some example pages from this book.
Only 2 more nights of our anniversary offer.
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Saturday 29 March 2014

Hand-Embroidered Tapestry Cushion Covers @ Niki Jones, Glasgow

As a good friend would joke with me - I have been playing with those buttons again (using my computer to randomly search the Universe). And this is what the buttons brought forth this time - some rather stylish ethnic tapestry cushion covers in contemporary colour ways.
The motifs are inspired by traditional Uzbekistan suzani designs. The face of the cushion is covered by hand embroidered crewel embroidery in 100% wool - a technique that is a specialism in Kashmir, North India, where Niki Jones and her company work with teams of skilled craftsmen to produce all their crewel-work collections. The covers are on sale at the moment and you can find out more by clicking here.

Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Friday 28 March 2014

The Shetlanders - Could They Knit!


We have much to thank royalty for - not least their sponsorship of traditional textile industries. By being icons of fashion, they could do more than any amount of financial aid to stimulate lace-making and knitting in the UK. Indeed, it was the Prince of Wales in the 1920s who set the vogue for Fairisle knitwear and what the Prince de Galles wore today became de rigeur for anyone who was anybody the day following.
And the Highland crofters seized the opportunity with needles in both hands to create the knitwear we know and love for its soft natural patterns and double layer of warmth. To see how those old needles could move, there is a wonderful 3 minute BBC4 clip for you to enjoy - just click here.

Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Thursday 27 March 2014

Richard Brought Home Mouchoirs Cholets

Richard has been struggling with a cold ever since the floods broke out in winter, in sympathy one might say - so the other day he went out in search of new handkerchiefs. Usually it is me who comes home with desirable textiles no-one else seems to want, but when Richard came home, it was with a surprise. For £1 he had found 6 beautiful vintage handkerchiefs in an unopened box. What do you think? he asked, nonchalantly, in passing. I nearly fell off my chair! Richard had somehow acquired the Holy Grail of pocket handkerchiefs - they were clearly labelled Cholet. Now I could understand why they were unopened - probably a gift, the receiver would never have wanted to spoil them through use.
Cholet is a town about 40 kilometres south east of Nantes, France. Before the revolution it seems there were some 24,000 weavers there. In 1848, Cholet had 2 spinning mills, 3 embroidery workshops, 15 bleaching works, 15 dye houses and 25 weaving mills. In 1925 out of 20,000 inhabitants there were still 3,200 machine weavers, 1,100 bleachers, dyers and apprentices and 2,500 needle-workers. In fact, textile manufacturing accounted for a quarter of all employment in the region of Maine-et-Loire and Anjou combined. Now there is a single weaving mill which requires support. You can see more by clicking here. So, as you can see from the photo below Richard is now rubbing noses (did I really say that?) with the highest in France - none other than M Sarkozy!
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we shall be offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can preview and take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Wednesday 26 March 2014

Winterthur Sampler Collection On Line


A trip to Winthertur was amongst the many highlights of a visit to the USA some years ago - it took me a while to get there, but when I did it was worth all the effort. There were very few samplers on display at the time but I am now delighted to see the collection on line. I really love New York story-book samplers like the one above.

I was totally surprised to see the variety of Quaker samplers from a number of different schools, Rebecca Way's sampler stitched at the Brandywine Boarding School is very simple and elegant and like Westtown samplers.

I wonder if Amy Pim was a relative of Elizabeth Pim who stitched the earliest known Quaker sampler in Ireland. Amy was a scholar at Plymouth School.

And here is one of those fabulous stitched globes which were all the vogue at Westtown at the time.

This work by Ruth Bowyers was stitched at the Southern Boarding School at Duck Creek in 1802 and has many points of similarity with Westtown samplers again, though there are several cartouches there which would not look out of place on an English Ackworth School sampler.

One of my personal favourites is this sampler by Ingeber B Vandever - it has such lovely detailing. To enjoy this samplers for yourself - and many more, just click here. Thank you so much Winterthur!.

Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Kaffe Fassett Celebrates 50 Colourful Years @ The American Museum, Bath * Until 22 November 2014

National Treasure Kaffe Fassett is enjoying a wonderful tribute exhibition at the American Museum in Bath at the moment.
Hard to believe that this sprightly young man has been designing and inspiring needle workers for 50 years. Let's all look forward to his next 50. Keep shining Kaffe! Click here for more details of this not-to-be-missed special exhibition.

Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Monday 24 March 2014

Meetings With Remarkable Women * Christine Binroth - Curator Museum of European Culture in Berlin

I love these happenstance moments when you meet special people. Just recently an email from Christine Binroth appeared in the Needleprint In-box and I am delighted to tell you more about her. Since 1989 Christine has been working as a conservator for textiles in the Museum of European Culture in Berlin.
During her watch, she has had to oversee two moves of the textile collection and the merger of the collections of East and West Berlin. Now the Museum of European Culture is part of the big institution of the State Museums Berlin, which conserves important culture heritage like the fabulous Pergamon Altar and the Gate of Babylon. Together with a colleague, Christine has the care of more than 30000 textiles from Germany and several regions of Europe. The pair are jointly responsible for conservation, documentation, representation and storing of these objects. The basis of their work is preventive conservation.
You might just be a little over-excited to learn that in the collection are conserved more than 1000 samplers, most from different regions of Germany, but also including a selection of samplers with English language. And above you can see a very interesting example which is the only one I know of from the Blue Coat School of Christ's Hospital Hertford, which has now relocated to Horsham.
I'm looking forward to autumn of this year when Christine will have a publication about textile diversity in the museum. Christine tells me: I wrote a little article about English samplers and the beautiful books of Needleprint helped me to know more about these great samplers. That is so nice to know! Just recently the European Museum of Culture has been nominated for the European Museum of the year Award 2014 .  Many congratulations! Below you can see an example of other charming textile items from the museum - these charming cross-stitched children's shoes. Click here to visit the Museum's Facebook Page.
And every first Saturday in the month there is a meeting at the museum of a textile group - you can see them above. Do you have a textile group active in your museum - we'd love to hear.
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Sunday 23 March 2014

Free Jigsaw Download * Abraham's Sacrifice * Cordoba


There was so much to see in Cordoba. In the Cathedral built in the centre of the old Mezquita I saw not one but two 17th century tiled altars depicting the Sacrifice of Abraham that were so evocative of the same theme stitched on Stuart panels, so I thought it might be a nice subject for a jigsaw for you. This jigsaw doesn't have a great many pieces and so you should be able to finish it in record time! To download the jigsaw - Click here next Click Open, then click the .EXE file name and click Run, when you see the jigsaw puzzle, click Play Too many pieces? Try clicking on Trays on the top tool bar to create any number of resizeable trays to sort your pieces ........ you can also click the Cheat button and watch the puzzle solve itself! The software is by David Gray designer of Jigsaws Galore - the powerful jigsaw player and creator for Windows.
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.

Saturday 22 March 2014

Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum - Some Samplers On-Line

Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum have listed their sampler collection on-line now, though not all entries have an image. This is the link for you - just click here - then enter Sampler in the top right search box.
Needleprint 10th Anniversary - Save $95.


To share our 10th anniversary celebrations with you, we are offering throughout the month of March 2014 a Free Goodhart Samplers Book or a Free Feller Needlework Collection Volume 1 with every copy of The Feller Needlework Collection Volume 2. You can take advantage of this special offer today. It comes with all our kindest wishes in this our last year before retirement.