Blog #61 - Snug As A Bug In A Rug

Saturday,  29 July 2017

Three years ago this month my mum passed away.

 

Our family had previously planned a weeks holiday together

but this had to be cancelled due to a funeral

and my being responsible for sorting out the family estate.

 

Somehow the family vacation never was rescheduled

and Keith and I had not taken a holiday together.

 

We finally made arrangements for a weeks vacation this month at Puka Park -

a secluded retreat amongst the bush at Pauanui Beach on the Coromandel Coast.



Pictured below is the resort restaurant, guests lounge, library, etc.

The day before we were due to leave for our holiday

bad weather affected the whole country - snow, wind and rain.

Woke on the day we were due to travel

to the Napier/Taupo highway still being closed with snow,

so too, the Desert Road with snow

and there had been a slip on the Gisborne/Whakatane highway

that closed that road.

 

All three quickest routes from the Hawkes Bay to our destination impassable

and no possibility of any of the routes being opened later in the day

and possibly not the next day either.

 

Late in the afternoon we decided to go the long way to our destination

and so travelled to Wanganui for a night

and the next day travelled from Wanganui to New Plymouth,

to Te Kuiti, to Hamilton, and then across to the Coromandel Coast.

 

A very LONG trip, finally arriving at our destination late afternoon.

 

But what a beautiful and peaceful location!

 

Our double chalet was nestled into the bush

and therefore very private and was very cosy.

When sitting in the lounge there was a view out to the beach/inlet.

Keith had a much needed rest - reading, sleeping and taking long walks

and I spent the days occasionally computer charting more alphabet letters

but mostly stitching.

We rearranged the furniture to accommodate me and my passion!

 

Here are a few pics of us -

me snuggled up in a blanket and doing what I love

 

and Keith resting.

I was tired of stitching alphabet letters

and so the piece I was working on was one of Gigi's designs.

A sampler reproduction.

Design Title:   Susie Pierce 1889

Designer:  GigiR

Design Code:  GR:SP

Design Price:   NZD 32.50

 One of the days Keith and I travelled to Whitianga for the day

to the home of Margaret - president of the local Embroidery Guild.

 

Margaret had arranged a special stitch day and luncheon

for myself and other ladies from Whitianga and Coromandel.

A lovely day.

Unfortunately I forgot to take photos.

 

It is a small world though.

 

Nearly 50 years earlier Margaret and I were bridesmaids together.

My lovely cousin, Kevin, married Margaret's equally lovely sister, Merrill.

Where have those years gone?!

Bride:  Merrill

Groom:  Kevin Pepperell

Bridesmaids:  Margaret Dawson & myself

Best Man:  Howard Martin

Groomsman:  Ken Stephenson

Junior Bridesmaid:  Sandrea Dulieu

Flowergirl:  Gillian Dulieu

 

Sandrea  &  Gillian  -  sisters

and cousins to Kevin and myself

 

Pepperell is a well-known Upper Hutt name.

 

Kevin is the son of Cliff & Vi Pepperell.

Cliff Pepperell Ltd  -  menswear store & later, womens too)

 

Sandrea & Gillian's parents owned and operated a sports shop in Upper Hutt

and my Mum & Dad owned and operated a taxi.
(Due to my Dad's war injuries he was not able to fulfil his dream of being a builder)

 

My mum was one of the first female taxi drivers in New Zealand.

I was seven years of age when she began driving.

Before doing this she used to do all the clothing alterations for Uncle Cliff's shop.

 

Today - Kevin & Merrill own and operate a fabulous café in Upper Hutt.

Café Blume  -  14 Main Street, Upper Hutt.

 

Kevin & Merrill do all the cooking and baking.

Food is delicious and café décor gorgeous!

 

One of my favourite roses

(and I have several in my garden)

is 'Margaret Merrill'.

 

I wonder why?!

 

 

 

 

Blog #60 - 'Sweet Adeline 1873' ... finished

Tuesday, 6 June 2017

When I arrive home from an overseas trip I am always very tired

and it takes me several days - often a week or so - to recover.

 

Preparations beforehand, setting up, exhibition days

and dismantling an exhibition site is really hard work.

 

Consequently, once I have unpacked my clothes suitcase,

I spend most of the time

for the next two weeks in my threadbare stitching chair -

relaxing to replenish my energy levels and, of course, stitching -

before I tackle replying to the hundreds of emails,

opening the mountain of mail correspondence,

unpacking the ordered stock that has arrived,

replying to all of the telephone messages,

restoring unsold stock to the Needlework Gallery,

unpacking & setting up the stitched needlework models throughout the house,

restoring and replenishing the 'set-up' supplies in readiness for the next exhibition

and attending to any needlework orders received.

 

Therefore, today I finished 'Sweet Adeline 1873'

 a dear little design by GigiR.

 

A reproduction of a sampler in the collection of my friend, Gigi,

who lives in Belgium.

 

The original of this design is stitched with a red thread but I chose a rust colour.

 

Actually, I have stitched this design twice.

 

Once over two fabric threads as per the original design

(as shown above)

and the other over one fabric thread and finished it as an ornamental.

Design Title:   Sweet Adeline 1873

Designer:  GigiR

Design Code:  GR:SA

Design Price:   NZD 29.50

 

Materials Used:

Fabric:   Belfast Linen  -  Dirty Linen

Thread  (Sampler):   Mulberry  -  Sampler Thread  by  The Gentle Art

Thread  (Ornamental):   DMC Stranded Cotton  -  918

 

When I was exhibiting at 'Celebration of Needlework'

I received many requests for designs that feature a single letter.

 

Consequently, in addition to relaxing and stitching,

I also spent many days hand-drawing letters of the alphabet designs.

 

There are a lot of letters in the alphabet!!

To date only done a few of the letters.

 

The process of designing is quite a long process.

After I have drawn a chart by hand

I then choose

the fabric count and colour

and the thread colours.

Once  these are chosen I then stitch little "test" samples

with the thread colours

to ascertain whether they suit the fabric colour and decide whether I like them or not.

 

 

 

Once these decisions

have been made

I stitch the design

and when completely finished

I then create the chart

in my computer charting programme,

draft the instructions

and layout of the design by hand

and when completely satisfied,

I then type up the hand written notes,

insert the charts,

photograph the stitched model

and add the image of it to the cover

and print out this copy and review it.

 

 

 

So often changes have to made

to the wording of instructions or correction of spelling mistakes,

tweaking/repositioning of charts and/or stitch diagrams,

adding a space here or there or taking one out, etc. etc.

 

Below is a photo of myself concentrating on charting one of the letters

into my charting programme.

 

Keith caught me unawares!

I was totally focused on what I was doing.

 

As you can see, I look pretty "worn out"

all snuggled up in my blanket in my threadbare stitching chair.

 

Also you can see how well my lovely man looks after me -

lunch had been provided by him!

(Empty luncheon plate and empty teacup of tea beside me)

I hadn't had to move - all brought to me.

 

And too - you can see all the other clutter around me -

pens & pencils, threads, stitching hoop,

a finished/stitched letter on the nearby couch cushion,

my daily reading books, another piece of needlework in progress,

and for when I got tired of charting, the TV remote in readiness

so that I could watch a programme that had been recorded whilst I had been away.

And finally, my pussy cat, Tabitha.

 

When I saw this photo I thought to myself, 

"Oh, my goodness, you look just like your mother!"

Look at the receding hairline, the thinning hair and the age spotted hand!

 

A bit scary!!  Mum was 20 years older than myself.

 

However, the older I get, the more I realise a lovely soul

is more important than being lovely in looks.

 

Here is a sneak peek at one of the alphabet letter charts

- the letter, "G" and one of two models stitched -

 

My plan is to stitch two models of each letter.

One model with the letter stitched with ecru coloured thread

and the other with the letter stitched with a coloured thread

(a shade lighter than the flowers and outlined with a darker shade).

 

I'm also going to finish the letters as ornamentals

so that they will be easy to take with me

whenever I am exhibiting overseas.

 

One side of the ornamental will be the plain thread letter,

the other side the coloured thread letter.

 

Lots of stitching to do  -  52 pieces!!

 

That's all for this time.

 

Hopefully I will have another one or two letters to show you next time.

 

Bye for now.

Blog #59 - Samplers, Samplers and more Samplers ...

Saturday, 27 May 2017

As promised in my last blog - more pics of amazing samplers

that adorn the walls at the beautiful home of Ellen & Tom Chester

and too, other exquisite needlework pieces.

 

This time all samplers and needlework pieces are in Ellen's office

and all are Ellen's creations,

published under her company name of

'With My Needle'

Almost all her designs are currently in stock

and therefore are available to be purchased from the Needlework Gallery.

 

To view designs -

www.barberryrow.com/wmn/wmn.html

 

 

 

Here are a few pics of 'With My Needle' designs that have been stitched

and are on display at the Needlework Gallery -

WMN:KIND  -  Kind and True

 WMN:BHPRIMER  -  Blue House Needle Primer

WMN:HUSWIF  -  Mrs. Waddelow's Huswif

WMN:QU  -  Quaker Samplings

(model stitched over one thread)

WMN:REM  -  Remember Me Sewing Pocket

(front view)

WMN:REM  -  Remember Me Sewing Pocket

(back view)

 

And finally, a work in progress -

WMN:FEMALE  -  Of Female Arts

 

In addition to all of Ellen's designed samplers

hanging on the walls of her office,

there was also an antique cabinet containing all other items she has designed -

needlebooks, huswifs, etui's, needlework boxes, scissor fobs

and more   ......

An amazing collection - and of course - all so beautiful.

 

Ellen has been given a wonderful gift.

 

We are so fortunate that she has shared her awesome talent with us all

so that we can recreate the wonderful pieces she has designed.

 

And finally, up against the last wall in her office is a bookcase

on which are the most fantastic needlework books.

A wonderful library.

 

And - all so neatly stacked and catagorised.

As per my previous blog - I really cannot find the words to adequately describe

all the beautiful needlework on display

and the gracious, elegant home in which they are housed.

 

Only one more day in Cincinnati with Ellen & Tom

-  Thursday, the 11th of May  -

 

In the morning Ellen and I spent some time together - stitching, chatting and enjoying

one another's company and in the afternoon whilst Ellen caught up on some tasks

I went for a walk around the area in which they live.

 

A beautiful place.

 

All homes are surrounded by a golf course,

huge trees, streets fenced with white railings.

 

So peaceful.

 

That evening Ellen, Tom and myself went to the golf clubhouse for dinner.

 

Very nice dinner and very nice surroundings.

 

Next day (Friday), hugs and kisses again as we said our farewells

and I flew from Cincinnati to Houston, to Auckland, to Napier,

arriving at home the following Sunday

-  Mothers' Day and my birthday   -

to more kisses and hugs

(this time from Keith).

 

What a wonderful time I had experienced in the USA

and what a wonderful welcome home.

 

I am truly blessed.

 

Bye for now.

 

 

Blog #58 - A Visit With Awesome Friends

Tuesday,  23 May 2017

 

 Tuesday, the 9th of May, time to leave Nashua.
In the morning travelled by car back to the Boston airport to fly to Cincinnati, Ohio,
as I had been invited by Ellen & Tom Chester (of ‘With My Needle’ fame)

to stay with them for a few days.

 

Arrived there late that afternoon to be met with huge smiles and hugs

from both of these lovely people. 

 

Together we drove to their golf course community subdivision,

 along the peaceful tree-lined streets to their street  -  Shaker Run

 

 past the golf clubhouse

 

to their beautiful home

 and was taken to my gorgeous bedroom!

 

Antiques and samplers everywhere!!

 

 

I felt like royalty!!

 

That evening - and the next - enjoyed a delicious dinner

at their gorgeous antique table

in their elegant dining room

with antique samplers adorning the walls.

 

Every morning Ellen wakes early and settles down
on her favourite couch in the family room

to stitch for a few hours before beginning her daily chores.

Isn't this an awesome spot?!

The arms of the chair are not threadbare like my stitching chair!

 

Later in the morning Ellen and I went "antiquing" and at lunchtime Tom joined us

at the Golden Lamb Inn which was built in 1803.

Since being built this inn has hosted many USA presidents for a night

and so most of the rooms were named after those who had stayed.

Unoccupied rooms were 'roped off' but open for viewing

and the décor in each room was fabulous.

 

Rooms on the top floor were "mini" museums showing the articles and lifestyle

of the original Shaker owners/family.

 

On the walls of the dining area hung antique cross stitch piece after cross stitch piece -

each piece worked on perforated paper.  Just wonderful!

Back home at Ellen's I wandered from room to room to room

in absolute awe of Ellen's handiwork.

 

On every available space on every available wall

(front lobby, lounge, dining room, family room, hallways, landings, bedrooms, etc.)

sampler after sampler after sampler hung.

 

I can't possibly show you all but to follow are a few pictures of them -

the first being the picture Ellen posted on her blog when she and Tom

first moved into this lovely home.

And here are a few more - but only a very, very, very few of the many.

One of my favourite areas was what Ellen called, "Quaker Alley".

It was the walkway between the hall/dining room and the kitchen.

 

On both sides of the walkway there were Quaker sampler designs -

all reproductions of samplers created by girls in the late 1700's and early 1800's

at the Ackworth School, England - the boarding school for children of Quaker families.

 

One wall -

and the other wall

 

As for the samplers on the walls in Ellen's office - I will have to show these in my next blog.

 

In addition to the wonderful array of samplers hanging on the walls,

there were cabinets and baskets throughout the house

overflowing with needlework pieces -

huswifs, pincushions, scissor fobs, needlebooks, etc., etc.

 

The cabinet pictured below is filled with antique needlework pieces.

 

On top of this cabinet were baskets

 

and just look at the contents of just this one basket!

 

All pieces stitched by Ellen!!

 

I cannot find the words to adequately describe the feast for the eyes

and peace for the soul.

 

As mentioned above  ....  more in my next blog.

 

Till then  .....  enjoy stitching your current project.