18th & 19th Century Vestments, Exquisite Silks, Trims & Embroidery

I always look for 18th & 19th century vestments when I am on buying trips, the quality of the fabric & trims used is always of the finest, the garments and accessories have been made with love & care, and have invariably been carefully mended and darned to keep them in the best of repair for as long as possible.

Here are two 18th century silk chasubles, a 19th century cloth of gold humeral veil, a small silk brocade runner or chalice veil dating to about 1750 and a maniple of about the same date. The detail is wonderful, an outward expression of inward devotion. Even though I am an atheist myself, I am still fascinated and awed by religeous artifacts and the cultural history expressed through them.

Hi, I'm back after a wee break!

I have been away from my blog for a while now, and have missed it and you all tremendously, but things have been a bit hectic here for one reason or another, and I just haven't found the time to blog, and when I have had the time, haven't had the inspiration!

My daughter (and I) has made a very succcessful transition from home to University life, I know I must have done something right, as she is now building a solid reputation for her delicious home-cooking among her friends, something a lot of the other youngsters don't seem to be able to do unless its heating a ready meal or using the microwave... Her room looks like a mini version of a shabby chic 'Country Living' style photospread with her vintage eiderdown, bedspread & cushions, her quirky selection of books and vintage nick-nacks, and of course, her antique typewriter - she is studying English with Creative writing.

I find it a bit quiet at home without her, but we speak on the phone almost everyday, and she is coming home at the weekend for her 'Reading Week', so I shall look forward to spoiling her rotten!

I shall finish my blog about Charleston in the next day or two - sorry for the wait Phyllis - but in the meantime, just to get me started again, here are some pictures of a beautiful French Beauvais tapestry chair cover dating to about 1750. It has quite a lot of damage, but you can still see & appreciate the quality of the design and workmanship. More regular textile ruminations in the near future, please watch this space! Lois xxx

A Gratuitous Sunday Treat

This isn't entirely unrelated to textiles, as the costume is obviously meticulously researched for the Napoleonic period, just look at those tassels! But to be honest, I am just making feeble excuses, I just like this photo of Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, so thought I would share it with all you lovely ladies as a Sunday afternoon treat... Sigh...

A pretty little antique Normandy Lace baby's patchwork coverlet

I came across this pretty little patchwork lace coverlet a while ago, and using the wonderful internet site lacefairy found out that it is a piece of Normandy lace, a type of lace from northern France made in the early 20th century from pieces of lace and embroidery patched together. Normandy lace was usually made from little treasured pieces, often salvaged from damaged items, in order to give them a new life! What a beautiful and brilliant idea, so eco friendly!

This one has been made from a mixture of early whitework embroidery dating to the late 1700s - early 1800s, Victorian chemical lace and machine laces, some 19th century Valenciennes lace, prettily darned net and more. The little panel has been stitched onto a fleece-filled pink silk panel, with one end shaped to look like a turned-over top sheet, so I assume it was intended to be a coverlet for a baby's or doll's crib, as it is very small.

I can always find so much inspiration from the past, especially where textiles are concerned, nothing was ever wasted, if it could be re-used, it was, an ethos we could well learn from in our 'throw away' culture.

Interesting bits and bobs, antique curtain rings & haberdashery

I am currently sorting through my boxes of antique and vintage haberdashery, as the collection is rapidly getting out of control... I discovered a wealth of different antique French brass curtain rings, they both look and feel like pirates treasure! I had completely forgotten about a bag filled with early French bakerlite hunting buttons with dogs, boars, deer etc in relief on the fronts. I found a large bundle of deep green vintage French embroidery cotton, and have split the bundle into individual skeins to sell in my ebay shop. Chya came and joined me half way through taking these photos, he loves to get involved with whatever is going on!

I think I will sell quite a lot of haberdashery over the next few weeks, I need to make room for more, as I have a few large buying trips coming up in the next few weeks! I love being in the textile business, it gives me permission to shop till I drop for textiles several times a year. Textile heaven...

Patchwork Paradise - scrips & scraps of printed cottons from Breton Peasant Dresses

One of my favourite French dealers has tastes very similar to mine, and when she mentioned she had a bundle of French peasant scraps that I may like, my reply was: Yes Please!!!

She has been saving up these scrips & scraps of fabric for a while now with the intention of using them to repair peasant dresses that she often comes across on her travels, but has finally realised she doesn't have the time for this worthy activity. Most date to around 1930, some later, some earlier, and are of various weights, some wool, most cotton, all printed in stripes, spots, florals and geometric patterms, at once simple, yet elegant. I am told it all comes from Brittany, and was used to make cheap and cheerful, but hardwearing peasant clothing and some household textiles in the Breton region of France. How contemporary the patterns look! I think these pieces would be a quilters paradise, all of the patterns and shades are beautifully sympathetic.

I have photographed a selection of the wonderful scraps, a detail of a very faded peasant skirt from my collection, the backing of a hand embroidered rug from the region, also from my collection, and some wonderful images found courtesy of Google. Please click on each photo to see the detail.