I finished another red row on the quilt today and a small border around 3 embroidered squares purchased on Ebay this past month. At first I took them to be very bad embroideries, but the problem was they looked too "perfect" and a bit skewed. What I missed was the ultra-fine workmanship I noticed while sewing borders on, plus a distinctive geometric quality that told me these were one-of-a-kind articles by a very gifted and talented embroiderer. I really should run back into the sewing room and bring them forward. It takes 2 hours to answer mail, and I'm not half through it yet. *sigh* Well, to the advanced screen from quick reply while I run and find the bordered floral items!
I'm guessing these were embroidered before my mother was born, which means they could be a century old. The stitches are ultra fine, and not as I first perceived, which is likely why I got them for a song on ebay. The color of the muslin prior to my little hand wash was a very dark color of beige. When I washed them, they brightened considerably, but the threads were totally colorfast. I'm just stumped as to their age, though, and I'm glad I washed them before aging deteriorated the fabric, which it would have in another 45 or 50 years, which would be a loss. I hope I can do them justice. I really didn't think much of them when I first saw them on ebay, and thought they could be combined with other older things I found. It's just that they're designed by the same person for one thing, and for another, they are the hand of one person with their teensy tiny stitches.
Some things are mysteries to me, and I realize how limited we are when one generation passes and then another, then someone finds a few completed squares in the bottom of an old box or sewing basket. No name, no date, nothing. The kicker of this one is that it just looks like long stitch due to the designer's bent. I've never seen it before, either. It's possible a set is catalogued somewhere in an old newspaper or ladies magazine of yesteryear, or just was sketched out by someone who was fascinated by what she saw in a summer garden or on a trip to another country. I only know what I at first didn't quite understand grew on me till I love it now, after working an hour on it this morning.
Oh, and I did finish all 20 blocks, including one in which I had to turn a fabric upside down to use in the center which looks enough like the color of the other squares' centers, but lacks the quality of that Kona solid in the other 19 squares, all done. I pinned the two rows together before we left for lunch, and then drove to a nearby Walmart for more embroidery floss and orange juice to help us ward off colds and the flu.
I fight back with nutrition! Don't mind me!
Hugs everyone. It's ten o'clock, and I'm just too tired to read any more mail. Manana! are the mysterious little floral blocks, combined with the best contemporary florals I could find in my stashes of reds and pinks--and don't be fooled. There's not a stitch anywhere on this work that is larger than 20 to the inch:
So much for the pastoral request! I decided I'd have to dedicate the rest of my years to sewing for the Lord. I almost wish I had left the stuff, because by the time I got there other church quilters had taken most of the cotton fabrics and left poly cottons which are no fun city to work with if you are a professional quilter and demand a good outcome for your time. However, there are ways to get around that... if you don't mind spending extra time doing quilting and using purchased products to stabilize the stuff. blech.
