Summer table settings!

I love nothing better than to play with colour and texture when setting a table in the garden. Our summers are so brief and unreliable that it is great to make an effort when the sun does shine!

Recently I have acquired a couple of lovely white cutwork table cloths and runners and have had fun playing with them to add a touch of freshness to a cerise Revived Damask tablecloth.

With the addition of some Wisteria coloured Rainbow Damask napkins I was ready to have a friend round for a cup of coffee in the sunshine. The good china mustn't linger in the cupboard so I mix some of Mum's collection of Royal Crown Derby with a couple of mugs from Zara!

A couple of days later a few friends popped in for a cool drink and some fresh summer berries on their way through London. I had just enough time to throw the cloth back on the table and hey presto, great clashing colours of orange and pink were ready to welcome them.

I heard there was going to be a prosecco shortage, so I am doing my bit to indulge while it is still available! Who needs an excuse to have some bubbles on a sunny Sunday evening?!

A lovely hand embroidered runner and some pretty whitework napkins complete the table. My neighbours must think I am very odd, running around with a camera when waiting for guests to arrive! But it's good to capture the moment and hopefully inspire you to use your linens, not leave them folded in the cupboard.

And if you'd like to buy these very pieces then they can be found on the website. Not the pink cloth tho', I've kept that for me!!

www.mcburneyandblack.com

An Inventory of Linen 1852

An amazing find this week. While working my way through auction catalogues, I stumbled on a wonderful leather-bound journal entitled "Inventory of Linen" and inside the handwritten inscription "Hawnes Park, Inventory of House Linen made in 1852 by A. C. Thynne". With Gold leaf tooling to the leather title label and hand marbled paper to the front and back end papers, this has been a beautiful item in its heyday. Now rather battered and dogeared, but the pages inside make for interesting reading.

I am no historian, but I do find the social history associated with this type of document quite fascinating. This journal gives the most interesting snapshot of life in a fine country house from the mid 1800s to 1929. The house later became known as Haynes Park and in 1929 became a girls' boarding school. 

Before that, however, it had been the country estate of the Barons Carteret. On the death of the childless 3rd Baron Carteret in 1849, the Barony became extinct and the estate passed to his nephew, Rev. Lord John Thynne, the Sub Dean of Westminster. (There is a monument to him to be seen in Westminster Abbey).

He had married Anna Constantia Beresford, and as was the custom, the household was run by the lady of the house, so it was she who compiled this record of the household linens up until her death in 1866. I imagine the records were kept updated by the housekeeper after that.

Each double page has columns showing the date, quantity, description, marks or monograms, size and number at a table. Lots of pencil written notes are added and items crossed out, so this document was kept regularly updated. Think of it as an 1800s spreadsheet!

An example from 1861 tells us there were 4 Irish linen cloths carrying the mark J T 1861 each 6 yards in length and 2.5 yards wide, which would be used for a party of 18. They had been purchased from Dickens and Jones at a cost of £6 and 6 shillings each!

Some of the entries in the "marks" column show a drawing of a coronet, denoting that these had belonged to the house when it was owned by the 3rd Baron. There are notes, such as "all worn out 1902" or "2 cut in half 1907". Nothing was wasted and cloths were cut and reused in smaller sizes until totally worn out.

The coronet motif can be seen to the top right. 

The variety of linens is remarkable. One page is devoted to napkins which are described as Fish and Pastry and Thumb napkins! Also waiting napkins, some cut from tablecloths in 1902. And Layovers, a term I had not come across before, but I presume them to be what we call table runners as they vary in length from 4.5 to 6 yards  and some have been cut into sideboard cloths. 

Then we move upstairs to the bedrooms - Sheets Fine, Sheets Coarse, Pillow Covers, Pillow Covers Coarse, Towels and Toilet Covers!

The list of Sheets Fine.

The Coarse sheets are noted as being for men, upper maids, footmen and servants, the Fine sheets of course were reserved for the family of the house and their guests. 

Of 6 fine pairs of 4 yard sheets with a blue coronet and dated 1843, set 6 is noted as being "very much scorched, the parts taken out and repaired with fine cloth, 1853." I do hope the laundry maid didn't get into too much trouble for her carelessness.

The variety of Coarse Cloths for the house and kitchen is fascinating. Obvious things such as glass cloths, dusters etc but also Stable cloths, Cook's cloths, Slop Pail cloths, Hearth cloths, Knife cloths and China cloths, the list goes on! I wonder how on earth they could tell the difference. It is noted that many of these were taken to London in 1888, which I presume to be 67 Eaton Place, the London home of Francis John Thynne, who inherited the estate on the death of his father.

From 1897 onwards the record keeping is much more scant and it appears to stop in 1907. The very last entry is in 1929 with just 2 pages. So life in this beautiful house was about to change and the copious quantities of Irish and Scottish linen fall of our radar. I wonder what became of it all??

More tales from the laundry!

Been absent for too long - apologies! There's been lots going on including my giving a talk to an embroidery workshop in Diss in Norfolk last week. A really interesting couple of days with a delightful group of creative ladies.

Whilst there we popped into the local auction house and of course there was a box of linens to be bid on and I was pleased to win the lot and bring it back to London with me!

Well at least I was pleased until I began to unpack the box!! The condition of some of the pieces was pretty bad, lots of pale brown mould and I honestly didn't think I could remove it.

I hadn't seen this type of marking before but lo and behold a good overnight soak and several cloths and a wonderful petticoat flounce were sparkling white again, plus lots of beautiful sets of Madeira stitched coasters. 

One of the worst pieces was a gorgeous cutwork cloth. I was so keen to get working on it that I forgot to take a "Before" pic, but it was covered in the same brown mould as shown above. A friend dropped in that day and insisted on taking a picture of me admiring my handiwork!! I must say I was pleased with the final result!

What the postman brought.......finally!

Yesterday had to be the most frustrating day in weeks. Having been told a parcel I was expecting on Monday had indeed been delivered, I had to start playing my version of Pass the Parcel! Only in this case to find out where on earth said parcel had been passed to! No "we called when you were out" card through my door, no help from the courier company and the sender was getting no better information.

Hallelujah, after about 4 hours of annoyance, knocking on neighbours' doors and generally pestering anyone I thought might be able to help me locate the box, my next door neighbour returned from work and had had the parcel all along!

Now to the contents.......

I've had lots more requests for the big cream lace bobbins and was able to acquire the last remaining lot so they will be on their way to new homes soon. The gold coloured ones will have their outer layers of thread removed and soon be on the website refreshed and clean (almost)!

But the box didn't just contain the bobbins, there were 5 wonderful documents also included. Before a jacquard loom can produce a design, whether on cloth or as lace, a series of punched cards has to be made. To do this the original drawing has to be transferred to graph paper. This is known as a point chart with each point or square on the paper corresponding to the raising or lowering of a weft or warp thread.

The guys clearing out the contents of the Scottish lace mill came across a box of these point charts and I just couldn't resist!

Hard to determine the date of these, but they are probably from the 1930s or thereabouts. One in particular caught my eye - with an elephant depicted in the design.

Most likely this would have been a pattern for a lace intended for curtain panels, the handwritten notes tell us this design is called Klambo Lace. Klambo is a village in Malaysia, obviously the inspiration for this unusual pattern. I'd love to have seen the actual woven piece.

All shapes and sizes of charts as some would have been for narrow lace borders, others for more intricate piece goods.

This is some of the lace edging produced in the factory, probably in the 50 or 60s, so it gives an idea of how the chart drawings were interpreted to be woven into finished products.

Instead of just adding these to my bookshelves as interesting documents, I am planning to have some of them framed. I think the elephant one in particular will look fabulous on the wall.

I am so so glad I finally found my parcel........!

Spools and skeins! Fabulous vintage threads......

This past week has been one of threads and spools, skeins and yarn, reels and floss.....some from the late 1800s, some from the 1920s and lots from the 1960s. 

First came a complete box of Barbour's Linen thread, 10 untouched spools still in their glassine paper wrappers. The label describes them as suture thread and surgeons all over the world extolled the virtues of this particular product! 

This lovely warm cream colour could be used for all sorts of wonderful projects, not just for medical purposes!!

Then the postman delivered a wonderful cardboard box laden with more fabulous linen thread, this time embroidery floss in all manner of beautiful colours. Some from W & J Knox of Kilbernie in Ayrshire and most from a long closed warehouse in Sweden.

Beautiful colours of pure linen with a lovely soft lustre and in a fabulous choice of shades. It makes me wish I was an embroiderer! 

And finally three paper wrapped packages each containing 12 spools made by J & P Coats in the late 1800s, still tied up with string and containing beautiful wooden reels of thread, 2 lots have the most amazing glacé finish to them and the label describes them as glove thread. They are so tiny, just a bit bigger than a thimble!

On their website timeline Coats show a packet almost the same as this which dates from the 1830s! These ones are definitely later as the advertising medallions on the front make mention of prizes won at exhibitions in Paris in 1855 and London in 1862! Quite remarkable that these packages have survived so well and they will make a fabulous addition to an antique haberdashery collection.

So that has been the "thread" of my week, if you'll pardon the pun!

I am hoping that these will all find good homes in the coming weeks as they make their way onto the shop shelves. Some are there already, so have a look if you'd like to see more images.

 

Latest Madeira linen finds!

Recent acquisitions have included some really stunning pieces, mainly Madeira work. I never cease to be amazed by the needlework skills of the ladies who produced the cloths and mats.

One really unusual set of mats had me full of admiration. A 13 piece luncheon set of round Irish Linen mats, a large centre piece and then 6 mats and 6 coasters with the most wonderful scalloped embroidery pattern to the outer edges, almost resembling fish scales.

The cutwork was done with such precision and there was no damage at all, even after all these years. In an inner row to the edge of the linen were tiny works of art. The tiniest of flower heads worked in French Knots in gorgeous shades of blue, purple, yellow and pink, with teeny green leaves to each side.

I really want to bring these right up to date by teaming them with freshly dyed Rainbow Damask napkins - it would make for such a colourful table.

I am often asked how I can bear to part with the linens I find and I have to admit on one or 2 occasions recently I have succumbed and decided not to sell some pieces. The set of Madeira napkins below is one of those! I washed and ironed them, photographed them and even got around to putting them on the website - but the following morning I saw them sitting on the shelf in my office and I knew I couldn't let them go! 

Aren't they just fabulous?! So unusual and quite irresistible! I am hoping to set a table mixing cranberry and peridot glasses on a plain cream cloth and then let these beauties speak for themselves!

And finally a quite breathtaking piece of Madeira work - a huge square tablecloth with the most stunning embroidery and cutwork. Quite a masterpiece!

Some say that Madeira work is not fashionable at the moment, but I disagree. With a little clever mixing and matching I think it can be just fabulous. Whether by mixing with brightly coloured accessories or layering a masterpiece  such as this over a darker cloth, I believe they can be brought right up to date and be enjoyed and admired.

Who said doilies were boring?!

Oh dear, March went by and April is almost done and I have been ignoring the blog!

Partly because I have been busy acquiring new stock for the website and much washing and ironing has been required. Just as well I have a steam generator iron which can help me whizz through the piles of damask at speed.

However, it has not all been linen and damask - lurking in the bottom of one huge box obtained from an auction in Ballycastle was a group of the most gorgeous doilies.

The doily is a strange item, it comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, made from many different types of thread. Mostly they are cream or beige but this latest find was a riot of Neopolitan ice cream colours.

I have seen the green ones before, in fact I seem to remember Granny having some just that colour, but the pink are so pretty too. I suspect these are from the 1950s, the colour palette is a bit of a pointer in that direction.

Then there was a lacy silky one in shades of peach and green - a very open style of crochet and so dainty. Perfect for a dressing table. I think Granny used to keep these under a glass top to a side table.

The last one to emerge from the box is an absolute beauty and I will not be parting with it. Maybe you will see why........!

So often Irish crochet lace comes in pure white, or I have some on the website at the moment in a warm ecru colour, but this piece brings the exquisite art to life in a very different way.

The Clones knots are worked skilfully in a champagne coloured thread and the frilled flower heads in bubble gum and calamine pink are just gorgeous. The chevron motifs in apple green just pop from the centre making this the prettiest of mats.

To be honest I am not a huge fan of lilac as a colour, but somehow these neatly worked roundels may just have won me over.

So, whilst the peach,  pink and green doilies will be making their way onto the website, this little beauty is staying well and truly with me.