Visting Mary Lloyd

Last Wednesday I had the pleasure of examining this wonderful Welsh quilt which is in the collection of the Welsh National History Museum at St. Fagans near Cardiff.  It isn't on display so I viewed it in the storage area and here I must thank Elen Philips, the curator in charge of textiles there, for all her help and enthusiasm when we quilters get into the investigation groove.

I don't really know where to start as I took lots of pictures of this very large bed quilt, both of the top, which is a mixture of broderie perse applique and pieced patchwork and the reverse of the quilt which is very densely quilted with very typical Welsh patterning.  So I will divide this post into two parts and talk again about the quilting and hopefully some of the history once I have had a chance to study the pictures more carefully!

The quilt is in good condition, but is water stained in the central area which is a shame.  Otherwise the fabrics, which are mainly chintz are still vibrant, many still holding their glaze!  The broderie perse applique is very neat, but not invisible and turned under and not attached with herringbone stitch, which was the other way with this technique in the early part of the 19th century!

In this last picture the basket is a little out of focus but I have included it as you can see some of the wonderful Welsh patterning about which I will talk again.

I do hope that all you ladies who are working hard at the Rowdy Flat Library Quilt and Susan Smith its designer, who was inspired by our Welsh Mary Lloyd quilt to create it, will find these pictures interesting! 

What have I been doing?

It's been a long time and though I do drop in and look at blogs now and again, I seem to have no urge to write!  Blame it on Facebook and Instagram, as they seem to have completely taken over my online life.

As you all know, though patchwork and quilting will always be my first love, I have become rather obsessed with collecting Emma Bridgewater spongeware and belong to several groups on Facebook that discuss, swop and sell her products.  I also go on trips to the factory in Stoke, which remind me of the buzz I used to get going on quilting and embroidery trips, which now are very much a thing of the past for me! 

So what have I been doing?   Where to start?  Well I have joined Instagram and really love it.  I have always enjoyed taking the pictures for this blog but now I seem to be doing it all the time and getting much more immediate feedback?  One of the downsides of blogging is that you get so few comments and as we bloggers thrive on feedback after a while one gets the feeling that no one is listening.  I know this isn't the case and that many people have difficulty either expressing themselves or actually getting through the technical difficulties, but lack of comments is definitely a downer for me.  With FB and IG this is not a problem, there is plenty of inter action!

I have been working on some projects, mostly using Liberty fabric.  Liberty has always been a great favourite of mine and now through Instagram (IG) I have discovered that there are groups all over the world absolutely obsessed with it and also that it is manufactured in different colours for Japan and Australia!  I had no idea of this?  Many years ago I was going to do a quilting book with Liberty, but after working at it quite intensively, the publishers pulled out because they didn't think the fabric would be available worldwide.  How wrong they were?

I am in the middle of quite a few things! In fact I'm feeling rather frustrated because I have so many ideas but not enough time to actually sew them, especially as everything is being done by hand.  Many are using my current favourite technique of broiderie perse, but on a smaller scale!

Here I have been cutting out some of the flowers from Liberty Tana Lawn and putting them together to form a bouquet -

A couple of finished projects - these are two small quilts.

Here's the bouquet in the first picture set within a little quilt -

and another in progress -

Here is another cut out and ready to go -

Some little houses and gardens which will be made into a quilt -

As well as the above, I have been quilting my Cottage Orne quilt, so though not posting here, I am not rusting away!

Here is the link to my Instagram pictures as I can't seem to find an official link button for this blog!

Here I am again!

Well it's been quite a time since I last posted, so what have I been up to?  Not much sewing that's for sure!  I suppose I'm having a bit of a creative block?  It's never happened to me before and I am quite worried about it.  Being creative in one way or another has been a great comfort over the years and has sustained me through difficult times.  I have had short periods, usually after a bereavement, when my creative juices have been absent but they always come back, however, at the moment they are eluding me.

I am on Facebook regularly, but so many of you say that you don't do Facebook, that I switched my page from public to just for friends.  I have also just joined Instagram and find that good fun too and am enjoying taking pictures with my iPhone and posting them!  So I suppose I'm being a creative albeit in a different way?

Slowly, very slowly, I have been working on this little quilt which is using many of the patterns I drafted for my Cottage Orne quilt, which I am also struggling to quilt - it's not going well at all and I will post some pictures on its own blog as soon as I can.

I attached a much larger border because I couldn't make up my mind how wide it should be - it will be considerably narrower when finished.

 

If you follow my Cottage Orne Blog you will see that I have changed the centre of the design.  The house and border I made originally, just didn't look right, so I used this broderie perse panel instead.  Sometimes even the best laid plans simply don't work out and it was fortunate that I had this unfinished piece looking for a border?

I've named the quilt "Miss Austen's House",  as in my imagination it is just the sort of place in which Jane would have lived had she not died comparatively young?  For after the great success of her novels,  she would surely have had enough money to leave Chawton Cottage and build a house of her own surrounded by a lovely garden and of course she would have had cats?

St David's Day Greetings

St. David's Day!

It is a beautiful day here in Wales, sunny but with rather a cool breeze.  The earth is responding and I have snowdrops, crocus and the tiny Tête-á-Tête daffodils blooming in my garden and my Purple Prunus tree is in bud and read to pop!  It's a little bit late this year but when it does come it delights not only me but my neighbours too!  As it is in front of my bedroom window, for a couple of weeks I can lie in bed and look out into a mass of pale pink blossom!

I have just nipped outside to take this picture but didn't stay long as it hasn't warmed up yet!

Some of you have noticed that I having been posting for a while, all I can say is that I have just not been in the mood!  Also I was beginning to get dispirited by the lack of response! I know by my stats that lots read this blog, but so very few people leave comments, so I decided to do more on my Facebook page.  I will continue to write here and on my other blogs from time to time, but if you want to keep up with me I am on Facebook.  Do come over and take a look!

I am working on a link to my page but not having much luck so far but will keep trying!

Christmas Greetings

I have been a very dilatory blogger this past year so one of my resolutions will be to do better in the coming year!  However, you can only write when the spirit moves and I'm afraid that it hasn't lately!

I have just taken this  shot of my mantel.  It's of my Christmas Toby jug filled with rather dried out berries from the garden, but I am hanging on to them because I love the colour!  The robins I bought on Etsy and they are gorgeous.  Definite heirlooms and will come out every Christmas.

May all your Christmases be merry and bright but forget the white stuff! 

From a delightfully sunny Wales

Merry Christmas to you All

Thanksgiving Greetings

I usually try and find a beautiful American quilt to greet you on this day!  However, because I'm under the influence of my visit to Stoke on Trent, which I have yet to tell you about, I am sending you instead, a Turkey platter made in that city!

This beauty was made by Spode who manufactured in it's vast factory in Stoke from 1774 to 2008, when it finally closed.  The brand was subsequently purchased by Portmeirion, who continue to make Spode branded wares at their own factory in Stoke.

A sad and familiar tale, but at least the name continues albeit in a somewhat diminished form!

 

Greetings from Wales to all 

Across the Pond on this 

Thanksgiving Day!

Big Day for EB!

I am still preparing the next Stoke on Trent post, but in the meantime I have to share with you these pictures of Emma with the Duchess!  Better publicity you could not buy?

No prizes for guessing what the Duchess is asking in the last picture?

It's all in aid of charity of course!  Here is the link to the story if you would like to follow it?

Of course the EB potty people are very eager to get their hands on some of these, but they won't be out until next March. With Christmas coming, followed by the special sale runs, the factory will be working at full capacity now.  So everyone will have to be patient, but it really is the thrill of the chase.  Once they have them it won't be long before they will be selling them on eBay - I have seen it all before.

I love this pattern -

I would choose a six pint jug!  However, I am pretty sure that this won't be going into general production - the big teapots are probably either gifts or raffle prizes?  Indeed, the Duchess might be taking one home with her?