Well as you can see Betsy D is moving right along. I haven't quite finished
needleweaving behind the people on the right. The ones on the left hand side look
ok though. When I have finished this bit, I have another lot of Queen Stitch to do. I suppose they will look like either buds or acorns. Who can tell
lol. Then behind all this it will be black. I am still loving working on this sampler. As you know it is a sampler that I have wanted for many years.
It is really interesting with Betsy Davis as I have found another 2 samplers while researching the Mary
Balch school. One of them is called
Ruth Edd and the other is called
Betsy Wardwell. If I get these links right check out how much Betsy
Wardwell went for when she was auctioned a few years ago. All I can say is wow. It would be lovely if ours were worth that much. wouldn't it.
The other day I found this beautiful book and of course being a Jane Austen fan I had to buy it. What a beautiful book it is. It is called "Jane Austen's Sewing Box" - Craft Projects & Stories From Jane Austen's Novels by Jennifer Forest.
A lot of the craft projects are Regency Projects. But it is simply a beautiful book with small pieces from her books and small portions from her letters.
There are lots of photos like this one, which shows fashion in the Regency period.
There are also a few photos of
miniatures that I love. This one also shows how to tie a
cravat. Very useful
lol. You never know when you have to tie one. Do you think he looks like Mr Darcy.
Among the projects that you can make there is this
workbag. Very pretty.
Then there is this gentleman. Obviously an officer. I wonder who he could be
lol.
I think it is actually an Australian book as it is published by Murdoch Books. But I know that Amazon in the UK have it as does Amazon in the US. I found it quite interesting with
Amazon US as they have this book listed new at $39.21, but they have I used book from $98.88. Interesting.
I must tell you, that I have found an absolutely brilliant cleaning cloth that really works. Most women will have them in their house and they work like magic. It is "panty hose". You use your old pairs of them. You can also use "knee high" stockings". It is a really good cloth that is very gentle at removing things e.g. soap scum, on stainless steel and also works brilliantly with bi-carb and vinegar.
We have a combustion fire and every few days I clean the glass of it to remove the soot that has built up. It works fine on the hot glass and removes all the soot so that we can see the wood happily burning away. When I have finished I just give it a wash and it is ready for the next time. They are also brilliant at cleaning around taps. You put the panty hose around the back of the tap and grab hold of each end and run it backwards and forwards.
Also I am sorry if I haven't paid you a visit lately. I have been very busy with my box project and hopefully I will finish it next week. The ones that I am doing at the moment have taken me a long time to do as they are decoupaged and I have had to cut all the motifs out. All I can say is that the end is near, thank goodness. I will be glad to see the end of them.
What amazing weather we are getting at the moment. I think Spring has come early, although my fire is still burning happily to keep the house warm. On Sunday, I went to visit my Dad in Sydney and it was definitely a "light and frilly" day.
I hope you all have a lovely week and thank you for stopping by. I really enjoy meeting all of you.
Here is an update on Betsy. I finished working the strawberries (I think they are strawberries lol) along the bottom and the black background. I think she is such a stunning sampler.
I have decided for a change of pace to go back up the top and finish that section. When I have finished doing this I might start doing some more of the black background. Hopefully Betsy has only a few more weeks work in her. I also have to put her name down on the bottom. But she is looking good
Every time, I go to my friend Karen's needlework store I keep falling in love with Larry the Lamb. So of course I had to buy him and make him didn't I. Larry is made from wool felt and is filled with crushed walnuts. I have him in a tray that I use which contains my threads, scissors etc. He is very handy when I am using a few different needles at one time.
Before taking the photos for this blog, I picked my self a little bunch of Parma white violets. Aren't they beautiful. Violets are one of my favourite flowers. I love the perfume they have, although many years ago when I first started working I bought myself a bottle of Yardley April Violets. I found that stuff quite strong and every time I wore it which wasn't often, the smell would give me headaches. Funny I only ever bought one bottle of it lol.
Well, I have finally finished doing the boxes that I was doing. These ones took forever to do as they all had to been cut out. They actually look a lot better than they do in photos.
