so lovely to wake up to the wonderful threads of linen .. literally lying in bed reading this. I am a linen fan and have my own stash in my French atelier.. it is mesmerising and so comforting to capture a glimpse of the value of times gone by .. merci!
I'm slowly reading the newsletter that I hadn't time to read before, so my comment arrives a bit late. In this you speak about "jour d'Angle", with "jour" clearly not meaning "day". I would imagine someone told you by now, but just in case (as french is my main language): a "jour" is also a small hole (not necessarily in a textile or made purposefully), because through a small hole you can see light, and of course day light. I hope this is interesting to someone. It's amazing to imagine the work that went in each piece of textile with all that manual labor. Thanks for sharing and showing us!
Hello! Yes someone wrote to me on instagram to tell me that - any small hole letting in light was a jour. Which also explained to me 'abat-jour' for a lightshade. But I am glad you commented it here for any future readers xoxo
Astonishing. When I did my bachelor degree and subsequent masters in textiles history, I prepared some tiny samples showing the methods used to create garments and to decorate them, my needlework skills were not up to the job really, and it certainly made me appreciate the effort and ability of our female ancestors, working without the benefit of electric light and modern conveniences. Wonderful writing as always JoHanna, and I enjoyed the videos too
I’m very much enjoying your stories, Johanna. That last pattern is very similar to the Latvian “auseklis”, the morning star...and the sort of thing that my great-grandmother (who was Latvian) stitched into her home-grown, hand spun and handwoven linen sheets. Only one of her pieces, an embroidered nightgown made from one such well-worn sheet, survived the “displacement”, bombings and subsequent emigration to Australia of her descendants. I used to wear it as a dress, until it succumbed to the flames of the 1983 bushfires. Grandmama told me that all of the family sheets had a decorative pulled thread border and even as a teenager I wondered that someone could weave something so fine, and then “compromise” it in order to stitch into it.
I have pieces from Romania and Czech Republic with similar patterns, but I'm not sure if the threads were drawn or cut. I will have to stare harder. The closer you look, the more incredible it all becomes!
so lovely to wake up to the wonderful threads of linen .. literally lying in bed reading this. I am a linen fan and have my own stash in my French atelier.. it is mesmerising and so comforting to capture a glimpse of the value of times gone by .. merci!
You are so welcome!
I'm slowly reading the newsletter that I hadn't time to read before, so my comment arrives a bit late. In this you speak about "jour d'Angle", with "jour" clearly not meaning "day". I would imagine someone told you by now, but just in case (as french is my main language): a "jour" is also a small hole (not necessarily in a textile or made purposefully), because through a small hole you can see light, and of course day light. I hope this is interesting to someone. It's amazing to imagine the work that went in each piece of textile with all that manual labor. Thanks for sharing and showing us!
Hello! Yes someone wrote to me on instagram to tell me that - any small hole letting in light was a jour. Which also explained to me 'abat-jour' for a lightshade. But I am glad you commented it here for any future readers xoxo
Astonishing. When I did my bachelor degree and subsequent masters in textiles history, I prepared some tiny samples showing the methods used to create garments and to decorate them, my needlework skills were not up to the job really, and it certainly made me appreciate the effort and ability of our female ancestors, working without the benefit of electric light and modern conveniences. Wonderful writing as always JoHanna, and I enjoyed the videos too
Thank you!
Very interesting thank you Johanna
Hi Johanna, I did learn to do this ladder stitching at school in the 1950’s … but very rudimentary!! Xx
Thank you Johanna for showing us the stories and work behind the textiles. Each time you write I see something new to appreciate in my linen sheets.
I’m very much enjoying your stories, Johanna. That last pattern is very similar to the Latvian “auseklis”, the morning star...and the sort of thing that my great-grandmother (who was Latvian) stitched into her home-grown, hand spun and handwoven linen sheets. Only one of her pieces, an embroidered nightgown made from one such well-worn sheet, survived the “displacement”, bombings and subsequent emigration to Australia of her descendants. I used to wear it as a dress, until it succumbed to the flames of the 1983 bushfires. Grandmama told me that all of the family sheets had a decorative pulled thread border and even as a teenager I wondered that someone could weave something so fine, and then “compromise” it in order to stitch into it.
I have pieces from Romania and Czech Republic with similar patterns, but I'm not sure if the threads were drawn or cut. I will have to stare harder. The closer you look, the more incredible it all becomes!
This is why I have always been a fan of the rustic rather than the luxe!