We have autumn break in Sweden so finally I have time and energy to write a blog post. I have been planning to write for weeks but life has been hectic. Not to mention that my back has been causing me so much pain that I couldn't do much. I am still in pain but it is getting a bit better. Fingers crossed, please, everyone. :)
So, I have been planning to show all the beautiful books I have bought or received recently. Sweden is full of treasures, as I have told you a few times. Not only can you buy lovely old fabric, weaving, lace and embroidery in every second-hand shop but they also have bookshelves in those shops, there are lovely used book-shops and you can find books in he "loppis" which is something in between a garage sale and a second-hand shop.
Here are my latest finds: embroidery, textile art and sewing patterns. They are not the latest fashion, but I just love them, it is so much fun looking at old patterns - and if I ever get to that level in sewing, I might be able to adjust them a bit. And the embroidery patterns don't age, right? :)
I found the first book in this Encyclopedia of Home Needlework (or something like that) at a loppis, then bought the second one from the internet. I am looking for the rest (20 volumes altogether) but they are not easy to find. No wonder: this is a fantastic book, with basically everything you can think of and some more. It is in Swedish but that is not so much a problem any more :D
Here is another lovely book and a page with some beautiful old weaving. I wonder what the three-legged figure means - it appears more than once on woven clothes.
This one I bought on the internet. It is not only textiles but all kinds of crafts, e.g. woodcarving, basket weaving etc.
These two folders I found at a Red Cross shop. One is needlework (weaving and embroidery), the other is sewing patterns.
This is the perfect example of the sewing patterns from the 70s. I think it is hilarious! I have threatened Stephen to make him something like this if he doesn't behave LOL.
And there is one more folder with tons of sewing patterns and very useful instructions. I think I will use it in school.
These two little pattern booklets I received as a gift from Stephen. He found them on Tradera (the Swedish e-bay) and bought them for me. Can you see the name and year? 1962! They are lovely. You can look forward to some more Swedish inspiration in my patterns.
Let's go over to what I have been stitching lately. Not much (hanging head in shame). But some. I found this Christmas card pattern in my UFO bag. I think I started it 3 years ago but when I saw I won't finish it before Christmas, put it down. Then repeated the same the next year. Last year I didn't even take it out. But now I managed to finish it. It is a DMC kit that I received from a friend on crossstitchforum.com and it uses lots of metallic thread. I actually loved stitching it. So many people complain about metallics, especially DMC but I had no trouble at all. And I love the overall effect. You just can't have too much bling, can you? :D The colours are so unusual and still so great. (I lost one of the buttons - but have since found it.)
I have made some small felt ornaments too: Swedish hearts and Hungarian tulips. I have been trying to teach myself how to draw Hungarian folk patterns (and other patterns - I have discovered Zentangle!) On the gray fabric you can see my embroidered doodling, the traditional tulip with French knots and rice stitch - makes it very modern, don't you think so? I made that without drawing the pattern on the fabric, just improvised. Will use this piece of fabric for other experiments.
This is another gift. Stephen's parents visited us a few weeks ago. After they went home, his mum sent me this. It is an Eva Rosenstrand kit, a tablecloth, that she started long ago but as her eyes are not good enough to stitch, she sent it to me to finish. Isn't that really kind of her? I love this, I will surely stitch it.
Perhaps you want to have a look at my weaving experiment? I couldn't do much on it, it doesn't go well with backache. :( So I have done this much:
Two small butterflies that I stitched for a charity organisation for quilts.
I took out another UFO, my Celtic afghan and started a Celtic knot pattern, this is what I am working on right now. I love it but I am so sad because I cannot keep the back of the stitching neat. Too many colour changes. :(
Sorry that it has become such a long post with so many pictures. I hope you still find it interesting.
Finally, another free cross stitch pattern. This is a dove, it has a bit of a folk art feeling to it but still modern. At least that was the intention :) I hope y ou like it. Enjoy stitching it.
