embroidery exhibition

Today I went to nearby Gorinchem

to the "Gorcums Museum"

with a exhibition about embroidery :

the local sampler embroidery association exists 30 years.

So modern samplers (and some very old ones!)

and a choice of other embroidery works.

For me it was a combination with a short workshop

by my friend Sary Maas

Sary is an expert

in various traditional embroidery techniques

and she loves to teach them to keep the knowledge

about them alive !

The traditional costume of Marken

is one of her favorites

a corset for a Marken-bride made to scale

with all the original elements

(all made by Sary !)

(the back with seven roses)

I had hoped to learn the rose,

but in the two (!) hours we could only start

on the small bag with another flower motif

(lovely too !)

Sary used the rose-motif in her own way

on a scarf

I will try this one too some day !!!

After we had lunch

I came back for the exhibition

(and Sari gave another workshop

for a new group of embroiderers)

There was traditional work from different countries

Dutch fashion

Frank Govers   en  Jan Taminiau

My all time favorite :

Tilleke Schwarz

Karola Pezarro

Barbara Broekman

Malou Busser

A big work of some square meters

and look at the detail : all chain stitch by hand !

(sorry ... don't remember her name ...)

And some of the "Merkwaardig" association work

And some very old sampler in "queen stitch"
(rococosteek)

inspired Sary to make a "Elizabethan Sweet Bag":
a little purse to carry some sweet scent in
to mask the (probably) horrible odour
of unwashed bodies and clothes
in old times ...

Sary's work
(with needle lace eggs and little biscornu)

If you live in Holland

it's a nice visit.

blue moon . . .

When I was laying together all the green scraps

for another stitching piece

there suddenly was a blue moon on one of them ...

Well, clearly that was it :

"Blue Moon"

it should be.

(ahhhh ... and that old Blue Moon song from long ago, by Ella or by Billy )

The piece from scratch

(or should I say : from scraps ?)

halfway through ...

working from all sides

And then the finished piece

front                    and                     back

Some more details of the stitching.

Just very simple stitches :

running stitch (kantha or sometimes flat stitch)

and buttonhole stitch

in silk  and cotton or rayon embroidery floss.

Stitching I did outside in the garden,

but when it was too HOT ... I fled inside !

*

B.t.w. garden ...

THIS

is what I'm doing to my New Dawn rose right now :

a severe case of

black spot  !

(I think I'll have to spray, next year ...)

________

But other things are doing great !!!

Perovskia

Thalictrum delavayi

Phlox (Utopia)

a rose ... and a beginning

Since it's almost the end of the month

I had to make haste to finish 

the little felting-exchange piece.

Ha, just like last month

I made a serious mistake 

so I had to do it all over again

(that's learning ... is it ?)

I had to make something with flowers or leaves

and it just jumped into my mind :

a rose

is a rose

is a rose

(the first ánd second attempt)

Almost dry and waiting for a few stitches ...

it's on its way now to J.

*

Last Stitch'nBitch-Saturday I went to Rotterdam,

but if the weather had been as bad as it would turn out later

I probably would have stayed at home !!!

Snow and an icy wind :

not so nice when you're on your bike ! 

We were five, who defied the bad weather ...

and ofcourse it was fun 

as I showed my trumpet flowers of Loani Prior

I got an e-mail of the "Queen" 

about the pattern of her double-knitted scarf !

Though it took me quite some time looking at You-Tube 

to manage the double-knit

.....

I started a gauge swatch today

(with two skeins of Noro Kureyon Sock 

that were patiently waiting in my stash)

with the result 

a "positive" and "negative" side

.....

yeeeeaaaah !

Thanks Loani !

baby stitches

Our days (and nights !)

are still filled with "a lot of baby"

Though we worry about various things

he grows like cabbage

(that's all he has to do isn't it ?)

When I see and smell one of my fresh "New Dawn" roses

I think of our new little grandson

sweet !

And in between all the hassle and bustle

I find bits of time

to do some stitches on the little "lots of love" cloth

little bits of fire for the fireman

this one is for Mo Crow's interest

*

There was also time for some mending and washing

......

someone cut of the ribbons of this woolen baby shirt 

so I put on some new ones that I found in my stash

and ten year old "Maisy" clean again

but still dripping !!!