EMBROIDERY SAMPLES

Yesterday I went and visited the Designmuseum in Copenhagen. It was the last day of
the exhibition Rococo Mania. I’m so glad I took the time to go, as it was a wonderful exhibition. It was put together by three women.
Old pieces from the collection of the Designmuseum and some of there own work.

I feel in love with some embroidered samples. Here in Denmark they are called a “Navneklud”.

Name of cloth, embroidered pattern collection, made ​​from 1500-t. in Europe. The motifs are alphabets and number sequences to use for marking linen and various kinds of borders and religious and secular symbols, which were copied from the printed pattern books. Name cloths were also learn cloths for young girls from the higher strata of society, they are often dated and bearing the girl's name or initials and her ancestors. The cloths are sewn with silk, wool or linen yarn in plain weave wool, linen or cotton.

The early examples show a variety of techniques; later cross stitch the most common stitches, and name cloths reflects current idiom.
In Denmark, they were especially made ​​from approx. 1700, from around 1800 as part of school needlework lessons. Letters and numbers were the predominant motives and about. 1850 took over mass-produced embroidery patterns navnekludens role as publisher. They performed a few more decades to learn rags and experience in the late 1900-s. a renaissance as genealogies for christening etc.

The pieces were stunning.

The photos I have taken is through glass and with not so good light, but I still hope it’s possible to get a feeling of the wonderful world
of the “Navneklud” here in Denmark, all these many years ago.

VINTAGE TEXTILES

As many already know I have a big passion for vintage and old textiles, mostly handwoven towels, white-in-white embroidery and bobbinlace.
Therefore I love the fleamarkets and the secondhand shops. So everywhere I go I have to visit. In Copenhagen I have a favorite shop; Decor and the owner Lone have been collecting old/vintage textiles, accessories and clothes for many years. I simple love popping in there and I never go out without buying something.
Last weekend I found these lovely items.

Two small pieces.
The one to the right is perhaps bobbinlace. In about one month I'm going to start a course in bobbinlace. My Grandmother taught me this technique when I was 14 years, so I almost can't wait to get started again.

A collar in bobbinlace.

A collar in Hedebo embroidery. I love this technique.

This textile is in metal, I'm not sure of the technique, perhaps bobbinlace. I like the difference in the thick and thin yarn used to make it.

FLEAMARKET FINDS

This Summer I have not been visiting many fleamarkets, eventhough I really enjoy it a lot. So when I finally deceide one Saterday morning, today is the day I bike to my favorite fleamarket in Copenhagen, located behind the cityhall of Frederiksberg.
That Saterday I'm so lucky. I have just went into the market, passing a couple of stalls and I saw a woman selling white in white embroidery. It was so amazing. Lots of finely made doilies, napkins with edges in bobbinlace, another napkin with different kinds of embroidery stitches. The woman told me her Grandmother had passed away and that she had made all these beautiful handmade items.

When I walked further on I were lucky again. On a table was a litlle box and inside it, it was full of bobbinlace samples. The woman here told me she was selling all these beauties for an old woman at the age of 85, who had been making bobinlace all her life. How lucky were I. It was like Christmas evning, but the weather was beautiful and sunny.

Later this year I have signed up for bobbinlace classes, which I look so much forward to.  Since I was a girl I have always loved working with my hands and my Grandmother taught me bobbinlace when I was 14 years, today I'm 40. So this class will be like going back in memory of the evenings when I was sitting with my Grandmother in her home. She helping me to make the spiders web, this I still remember so clearly.

Two beautiful bobbinlace samples. The one in the detail is really special, as there is an extra thick thread in the lace. I hope to be able to make this kind of bobbinlace one day.

Not sure if this is bobbinlace, but it's so beautiful, also with an extra thick thread to highlight the design.

 Another beauty. In the detail you can see the small leaves on top of the bobbinlace. Really special.

 Two very fine doilies in bobbinlace.

This doily is extra special. It seems to me like it's a combination of very fine bobbinlace and more thicker croche.

 Different edges on napkins.

A very fine bobbinlace.

I'm mostly into all these old vintage bobbinlace designs. Eventhough many people today experiment with different kinds of patterns, things to hang up, I like this kind of bobbinlace. Perhaps because it reminds me of me Grandmother.

TESTING TESTING

This is a little bit of playing around with sizes and scaling of images, as my blog is being redesigned a bit........

Jellyfish.

When visiting Berlin I went to the Aquarium and there I saw the most amazing jellyfish. The structures, colors, patterns ... everything was fantastic.

The way they were moving when swimming up was fantastic to look at. I'm so much in love with the lines.

These were amazing too. Like x-ray or ...

I share my studio with Marianne Johnstad-Møller, a knitdesigner who have been inspired by the jellyfish. She has knitted the most amazing light objects.

WALLS OF BERLIN.

My husband and I have just spend one week of holiday in Berlin, and it's such an amazing and fantastic city. So full of experimental art, history and diversity, all at the same place. We totally fell in love.

I like walking and discovering new things and we often just head to one of the areas of Berlin, quickly Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg became our favorites.
We just would walk around, going into a backyard, looking at walls.

It says it all: Love Ist Possible, Love Is Possible, Kærlighed Er Muligt.

One evning we went to Mitte and close to Hackescher Höfe, we went into a backyard. I fell in love with this little box on the wall with different things inside. It reminds me of a dollhouse. 

A poster with hearts.

Also in Mitte next to Hackescher Höfe. This grafitti, wall painting were so much full of details.

In Prenzlauer Berg the small balconies were full of flowers, just like my own in Copenhagen.

My husband got so excited every time we saw some of the old Berlin Mauer. I'm not even sure if this part above was the truth Berlin wall, and why people today have started putting chewing gum on it. But it gave the wall a fantastic texture.

Part of the Berlin Mauer, with contemporary graffiti.

One day we went and visit Sachsenhausen and in the basement of the kitchen, the former prisoners have made drawings on the walls. This one really touched my heart and I guess the priosiners were dreaming of the day when it was possible to have a real shower again.

On the Kollwitzstrasse in Prenzlauer Berg there were many beautiful walls like this.

It's not easy to be the postman in this neighborhood, but lovely is it.

Another wall painting, also in Mitte with bikes in the front.

Thank you to my dear husband for beeing part of this amazing trip to Berlin.