Hand Embroidery
Hand Embroidery
Hand Embroidery
A lot of my hobbies have come and gone or have changed and evolved over the years. There is only one of those hobbies for which my love has only deepened and has stayed with me ever since I was 5 years old and my 'Nagy-mama' (grandma) showed me my first basic embroidery stitches. I come by this passion justly as she (Nagy-mama), was totally obsessed with and covered every possible fabric with embroidery. From cushions, tablecloths,table runners, bed linens, towels to curtains. Everything eventually got a special decorating design worked onto it.
I remember her bedroom curtains were the most exquisitely made window coverings I have ever seen. They were ivory stitching's onto ivory breath-thin batiste with a 10" wide embroidered and cut work border from ceiling to floor and along the whole hem line.A fabulous piece of art if I've ever seen any at all. Her kitchen had three large windows on which she had white full Priscilla's and again the flounce was embroidered with the traditional cut-work border in the Kalocsa embroidery style. (Kalocsa is a region in Hungary and each region there has its own different style of embroidery).
Unfortunately because Nagy-mama had severe varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis she had to spend a lot of time with her legs and feet elevated. She used a lot of this time embroidering for her household, as gifts for the whole family and she also sold enough to keep herself in pocket money,embroidery floss in hundreds of colors, shades, hues, types, thicknesses and naturally bolts and bolts of different fabrics too.
The times I was given to spend with her are some of my favorite memories that I will cherish forever. As a little one I was never prouder then when she would let me choose the color of thread for the next flower or bud. She laid the roots for the love of handwork really deep into me.
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As I never do things in parts and have a mind that needs to know what,where, how and why I researched years ago all there is to know about Hungarian patterns in embroidery and painting throughout the ages. As a matter of fact my thesis for my design arts was a 138 pages essay based on Hungarian folk-art. I believe this is when my hobby that had become a passion morphed into an obsession.
While I was trying to find 'my style' I experimented with most of the techniques and types of handiwork. However the pride in my roots always brings me back to the style Grandma was so fond of.
This is the first major piece I made for my own 'hope-chest' which took almost a year to finish. It follows the Hungarian Matyo region's style of embroidery. The 36x36 inch table cover is worked onto black background with just about every square inch covered by floral motifs worked in rayon embroidery thread. The table cover also has a 6 inch wide pin-weave fringe around the edge (used to be 8 inches wide but over the 40 years that it's been used it needed a trim or two as it gets tangled up a bit).
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I only use it for special holidays and woe be to anyone who touches it. And heaven forbid anyone placing a glass on it as that would be punishable by the loss of limb or worse.
This was my first big project and I started it shortly after we came to Canada in 1969. Nagy-mama was my guide throughout the whole project. She was more proud of my accomplishment then I was and kept teasing that her work here was done because I could take over for her. Little did we know at the time when we were happily stitching together, she on baby outfits for my cousin and I on my table cloth, that bone cancer would steal her away from us within the next 18 months.
I bet you understand why this piece of embroidery means more to me then just an actual tablecloth. It is more of a tribute to the calm little lady who was in pain most of her life. It stands for her patience to teach and instill a deep rooted love for cloth art to a teenager who would just as soon have been out climbing trees or digging worms for fishing then sitting still and stitching away.
Stitches used!
The stitches used are a very simple staggered satin stitch, the outline or stem stitch the french knots and back-stitch. All of these stitches are very easy and quick to do.
Floss used!
The embroidery floss that I used is the DMC 100% cotton pearl embroidery thread. This name brand is possibly the best color fast type of floss that I have ever used. (Not to say that the others aren't just as good. Nagy-mama used DMC and the Anchor kind so I just kept on using it too. Mainly for colorfastness and it also doesn't twist together as some of the cheaper types.)
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