On Saturday I was rummaging around a local junk shop when my
eyes landed on an old, crumpled plastic bag. I spied some embroidery floss
peeking through:
I purchased the contents of the bag for £1. At home I
emptied the bag and unfolded my new treasure:
A beautiful floral tablecloth kit, unfinished, complete with
instruction book and all the original floss. The woman who was working on this
piece wrapped her spare floss around an envelope. Have a closer look:
The date is 1940 – this is a nearly 75-year-old work in
progress!
The linen is a natural colour, still crisp yet soft; the floss
looks as fresh as summer blossom.
Stitches so neat
But a lot is unfinished
The original needle is still in the fabric
An antique WIP. My imagination takes me to the original
stitcher – was she young? New to embroidery and embarking on her first big
project? Was she elderly and making an heirloom?
What should I do with this beautiful find? Finish it? Salvage
the embroidered bits and use them for patchwork or other projects?
What would you do? Do you have an antique piece of embroidery? Please leave your comments and ideas below!
what an amazing find! I'd have been pleased with the antique envelope, let alone the table cloth. I'd definitely want to finish it. I think whoever started it would be gutted to know a charity shop had it for sale for £1. I wouldn't advise using that needle though! You also might want to check Mary Corbert's recent article on thread rot to see if the threads are any good
ReplyDeleteOh absolutely finish it Chrissie - then the WIP will have gone full circle. Such a wonderful find.
ReplyDeleteKate x
what a neat find! i think i would finish it...but if i decided not to, i would try and display the work somehow. your mystery stitcher had such neat stitches!
ReplyDeletei have a couple of older pieces...one i bought in an antique shop. the other is a piece of crewel embroidery my grandmother had done from a kit. and the frame it is in was made by my grandfather, from wood and glass from one of the turkey coops they used to have on their property. i love that this crewel embroidery embodies both of them so perfectly.
Oh my goodness Chrissie, what a wonderful treasure you found at the charity shop!
ReplyDeleteThe cloth is beautiful and not only did you get the cloth but the stamped and franked envelope dating it as well. What a novel way to store embroidery floss :)
If this were mine I would want to finish it as I don't think I could bear to cut it up although it looks as though there is a lot of work in it.
I'm glad you showed all those close ups as I have a stamped linen traycloth and had been wondering what stitches I should use.
Enjoy your lovely find whatever you decide to do with it.
Margaret
I vote finish it! I love vintage embroidery, I think it would be great to see this piece get a second life the way the original stitcher intended.
ReplyDeleteIf the linen is good, finish it and use it!
ReplyDeleteThat's incredible! With the limited time I have - I would be the one who would cut it up and repurpose it into a tote bag, or a banner, or pillow. But the embroidery is gorgeous, and floss is so expensive now! What a deal!
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ReplyDeleteOh my! What a great find! I would want to finish it but, it would no doubt end up half finished in another junk shop some day. Maybe you should document what you found and keep it with the WIP! :0)
ReplyDeleteWOW!! That is quite a find! Last year i acquired whole collection of vintage embroidery floss and tatting threads as well as a vintage sewing box with all the contents and hand written instructions and Japanese needles in their original needle case. It really does make think about who the women was.
ReplyDeleteAs for your project i would make some patchwork out it !
As for your find I would
Oh! I found this on ETSY! It's the catolog from 1940 with this pattern in it! https://www.etsy.com/listing/185401436/an-original-chelsea-traced-linens?ref=cat_gallery_3&ga_search_query=chelsea+linen&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all
ReplyDeleteOh wow Patti, this is awesome! I'm tempted to buy it just to have it with this kit...thank you so much for the comment! Cx
DeleteI think finish it too :) It would be lovely to be able to use that, but whatever you decide to do with it, I'm sure it'll be wonderful. Such a wonderful find and such a cheap price too!
ReplyDeletewow, it's great! I think I would finish it
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful treasure! I too will have to say finish it :-)! You could always traced the pattern from one of the areas that are not worked and use it for new embroidery projects.
ReplyDeleteNow that is a very clever idea, thank you so much! I do love those little violets...Cx
DeleteWhat a lucky find, it's beautiful! Even if you don't finish it you could take the stitched part and make a lovely pillow with it.
ReplyDeleteOh, please finish it. It is so lovely and charming.
ReplyDeleteWow! I love the unfinished chalk marks and stains! Is there a name or address to research the embroiderer? I would try to look into it and if nothing, I would make up a history. The piece could become an artwork between stitchers through time, though I would leave the original stitches as is and add new completely different images too. Enjoy whatever you decide:).
ReplyDeleteMichelle Kingdom
What a true treasure you are blessed with. I would suggest you honor the lady who began it by finishing it & displaying the envelope as it is wrapped in thread. It's a wonderful story to pass down through your family.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is such an amazing find!
ReplyDeleteOooo... it's so pretty <3 I love the colors. I would definitely try to finish it.
ReplyDeleteSmiles, DianeM
Oh chrissie this is such a lovely find!
ReplyDeleteFinish it and turn it into a lovely cushion, for sure.?
Whetstone is in north London, when i was 19 and got my first job in london i lived there for awhile? Northern line if i remember it correctly xxxx
What a wonderful find! It is such a lovely design too, so neat, and how evocative to see the the original threads wrapped around an envelope dated 1940!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a lovely idea to finish it, and somehow right and a tribute to the unknown lady and all the hard work already put into it, embroidered with what hopes and dreams and thoughts you will never know. Makes you wonder why it was never finished.
Gill xx
I too think you should finish it. The woman who started this was obviously skilled and it would be a wonderful tribute to her. You should frame the envelope with the thread wrapped around it. As someone else also suggested, check Mary Corbert's article about thread rot.
ReplyDeleteI think I would leave it as is.
ReplyDeleteOh I just love this-what a fantastic find! It reminds me so much of my mother's embroideries. Having the date on the envelope makes you stop and think what was going on at the time...finishing it now would be so poignant. I would then frame it along with the envelope-beautiful! xx
ReplyDeleteI'm not great at embroidery but I'd try to finish it, it's absolutely beautiful :-)
ReplyDeleteGood news Chrissie, you've won my giveaway! I can't find an email address for you but if you have mine please send me your address and any postage details I might need :-) x
That is amazing!!! The stitches are beautiful! I actually found some embroidery my mom was working on a few months ago... she passed away in 2004 and probably hadn't touched this embroidery since the 90's at least. I'm tempted to finish it, but another part of me wants to leave it exactly how she left it, you know? Hard decision, but whatever you do with it I'm sure it will turn out lovely!
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