Antique Cross Stitch Embroidery

This is a finely cross stitched antique wall hanging.  I took it to the restorer as there were some small holes. She said that they used to spin paper into the cotton thread to save money. She also recognizes this as an embroidery made by ethnic Hungarians in the Ukraine who used to bring embroidery to Hungary in exchange for flour and bread which were hard to come by in the Ukraine at the time.  However I am more inclined to think that this was made by ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania... anyone any thoughts? I have included an image of the back  of the piece

A Lovely Piece of Matyo Embroidery

Beautiful piece of antique Matyo embroidery in unusual muted colours. Matyo refers to a community consisitng of a few small  villages in a small area of northern Hunary. Matyo embroidery is on the Unesco list of  cultural heritage. Heavily embroidered in silk usually on a black or white cloth.

Cloth

.Cloth by Cassandra Ellis will be published in the Autumn. Our indigo dyed linen ( sheets and a resist dyed vintage linen cushion) are featured on the cover 

Chamber Maids Apron

  We have just had this restored. It is Hungarian chamber maids apron  from around the 1930's. The pocket was for tips!

www.parna.co.uk

Vintage Linen Rolls

We have some wonderful rolls of vintage linen just in.

These vintage linen fabrics are wonderfully characterful, versatile and durable.  They were woven, mainly in peoples homes,  before the second world war on narrow home looms. The linen  and hemp was often home grown and processed.  The home spinning resulted in threads that were not uniform- this is in part what gives these fabrics such wonderful character.

Embroidered "Matyo" Bolero

 We have just had this Hungarian bolero waistcoat restored, there were a couple of holes in the embroidery which  have been meticulously repaired and embroidered and lots of old storage marks.  The shapes of the flowers are Matyo but the colours are colder ( but very nice?) than traditional Matyo designs.  The embroidery is a mixture of hand and machine. www.parna.co.uk

Old Printing blocks

I picked these old printing blocks up at a flea market. There are some nice Matyo designs