quiltersmuse.com Blog

Generally speaking, my husband is fun to take along on visits to stores that sell antiques. More often than not, he will spot items that I have overlooked. One fine example are Victorian tradecards that can be stuck in the most unlikely places.

We used to have a ready-made place to buy them, until the Laconia antiques store burnt to the ground on one winter’s night. I could go on and on about those special little cards, but have already written a large file about them for our website, so you can learn more there.

No, the purpose of this column today is to talk about antique needlework. For me, it is often “love at first sight.” For example, this past week, I spotted a gorgeous “runner” done in Cutwork, with green thread, a stunning piece to freshen up and use on a bureau.

On one particular summer’s day, Jim and I spent quite a lot of time looking around a shop that has an upstairs and a downstairs. After going down the stairs and turning a corner, my heart beat a little faster when I saw this item:

Fire screen rendered in Crewel Embroidery, with the typical, stylistic, swirling motifs of Jacobean Era embroidery

The tag on the framed, free-standing object had no provenance information, just the words, “Cruel Embroidery.” I figured this must have come out of an estate sale, but no one knew much about it, least of all how to spell “Crewel” correctly. I suppose the embroidery technique could be considered “cruel,” depending on how many times the needleworker stabbed his or her fingers while making it.

I stopped dead in my tracks and proclaimed, “I want that!” I don’t believe that Jim took me seriously. We picked up a few other small items of interest and then he said, “Ready to go?” I replied, “Yes, except for one thing … will you please carry the fire screen up the stairs? It’s a little too heavy for me to manage.” Then he knew I meant business. Still resistant, he retorted, “And where do you think you will put that?” I said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find a spot.”

I love this piece! The stitches are impeccably executed and the framing is exquisite. Its latest “provenance” (our purchase of it) brings a smile to my face because every time I look at it, I recall what Doreen Speckmann once told a worker in a quilt shop who quizzed her about what she wanted to do with the fabric she’d lined up to buy.

She reportedly said, “I’ll take it home, I’ll pet it, and I’ll love it.” Doreen, rest in peace, you made all of us laugh more than once. For me, I am visually-stroking this piece and am enjoying it so very much. If anyone happens to know more about who made it, or where the design originated, I’d love to hear from you! e-mail: pat@quiltersmuse.com

Click on the link below my name which will take you to the front page of our website, where, at the moment, there is a close-up view of the needlework of the fire screen.

Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications