A Rabbit Story

Once upon a time, in the early 1930's, a dear little boy was born. He was the first child of an eldest daughter, and the first grandchild of a very interesting lady. Like many another much-wanted child born into a large family, there was no shortage of presents.

One present, sewn by a friend of the Grandmother, was a linen bib:

It was made with cream linen with a peach coloured cotton binding and a cute embroidered brown rabbit.

The baby boy grew up, as baby boys do, had a sister and a brother and the bib was passed down. After that it was put away safely by the mother until one day her daughter came to visit with her own first daughter. Out came the rabbit bib from its place of storage and back into use it went.

By the time the bib took its next holiday, it had been used by all nine of the lady's grandchildren whenever they visited her. She even had a china rabbit bowl to match it, which was with difficulty relinquished each time a new baby arrived. Both rabbit bib and bowl were treats connected with visiting Granny.

Some years later the daughter's first daughter came to visit from East Africa with her own roly poly baby girl, so once more out came the rabbit bib...and the rabbit bowl. The Granny passed away soon after her second granddaughter was born, but the rabbit bib was sent to the daughter and used for all three of the daughter's grandchildren.

By now the rabbit bit was looking rather tatty and the binding was parting company where the linen had frayed. The granddaughter considered how to keep it and decided not to repair it. Instead, she traced around the shape and then traced the pattern of the rabbit onto paper:

Its such a darling little rabbit!

This January another granddaughter of the original mother in this story had twin girls, so exciting!

Presents needed....hmmmm....the new fabric has been chosen, the rabbit pattern transferred ready to be embroidered and behold! the rabbit bib will start a new chapter of children!

All this from the kindness of my Great-Granny's friend who wanted to celebrate a new baby...who'd have thought it would become a baby heirloom?

And the baby who originally received the rabbit bib? Well he's heading for his 80th birthday and available for a game of tennis or golf whenever the weather permits!

Blue-Work Tea Cosy

I was reading a new Quiltmania magazine which a friend kindly brought back for me from London, and found something which truly tickled my fancy: in French, the name for a 'tea-cosy' is 'cache-théieres', which translated means 'hide-tea-pot'!! Isn't that brill? I love translations which come out slightly off kilter...for instance, in Kiswahili, the phrase 'trying to get blood from a stone' translates along the lines of 'making the stone live'!
Anyhow, I've been working on making a birthday present for a friend and decided to try out one with blue-work panels which I've been working on in my head recently. (does blue-work have a hyphen, no hyphen, or all one word?)

These are the four panels, designed by moi-meme:

Here's the quilted cosy front, back and wadding (re-cycled fleece edging from a previous quilt):

...inside...



And the finished cosy:

Apart from the fleece making the cosy too stiff, I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. Its actually blue fabric too, the unused belt off an old skirt- you'd be amazed how much fabric a belt yields when you unpick the seams!!

Hungarian Rhapsody

Have you visited Postcards from Wildwood and seen this A.MA.ZING embroidery? It is done on a duvet cover... Isn't it just fubulouso?

I asked Lady Wildwood if I could use her embroidery as the basis for appliqué and she graciously gave me permission to use her flowers. It took her 10 years to embroider- a huge project! Imagine!

So I started by breaking up the length and dividing the border into sections to work on.

I've been wanting to try an intricate appliqué for ages, I like the Baltimore Album quilts but there is no way I'd stick to something so huge. I thought this lovely border would make a good start for a strippy quilt, or the center strip in a hanging.

Not that I intend to work on it for ten years....!

My thanks to Lady Wildwood for letting me play with her work and photos!
(I sound like Oscar Wilde, don't I! 'Ah, Lady Windermere, your fan!')

Interesting News on V&A Textiles Dept

I've been web-wandering (sounds more genteel than 'surfing, don't you think? or less hobo-ish?) this morning looking for embroidered floral images on Chinese Imperial Robes, and in 17C or earlier clothing. That's what happens when you lie awake in the early hours designing things in your head!!

I'll give you some fabulous links in a mo, but if anyone is in the habit of visiting the V&A Museum to see their textiles (one of my favourite places in London for the last thirty years, irregular, but wonderful!), you really should have a look at this post which I happened across at Thistle-Threads. If you knew it already I still think you should pass it on, as out-of-towners would never find out otherwise?

And here's some Su Embroidery eye-candy for you- if you want more go through the Categories sections at the top left of this page, if you go straight to the e-shop you just get titles with no thumbnails...

and also some Elizabethan embroidery. Have a wander on the Elizabethan site, lots to see.


And for why was I web-wandering in the first place?

I'm designing an evening bag with beads and embroidery, well, I think I am...things don't always turn out as envisaged...as I found a lovely crimson table runner in the Charity shop which I want to reuse. I think its a table runner, could be anything actually, but its definitely crying out for re-use!!

Doggerel (I mean Poetry) Challenge and Flowers

Ok you chaps here's a Doggerel (whoops! I mean Poetry) Challenge for you: Write a rhyme starting with-

Five little jelly babies standing in a row...

As long or short or corney or daft as you like! Post it in the comments, and if you're REALLY good I'll find a prize!

Now here's the middle section of appliqué from the pink yoke of a quilt, if you can see it:-

I think I need to do similar on the two sides, yes?

And should I add a few leaves or something on the bare bends of the stem?

I'm doing a few embroidery bits to accent the flowers but they're not visible from a distance:

Opinions? Please?