I was looking through my cupboard for some inspiration when I found these little Hardanger treasures. Most of the small embroideries I do are given away, but these I couldn't part with.
Some years ago I was fortunate to do classes with Lynne Laver of Fish Hoek, a popular seaside town in Cape Town. Lynne designed the most intricate and beautiful Hardanger pieces. Turn this little sachet over and you are in for a surprise.
The embroidered back is quite different. And it is smaller than the front. It's the front that forms the see-through lacy edge.
The blue needlecase and tiny pincushion have a delicate edge stitched with DMC cotton sewing machine thread. The challenge for me was all those picots. It was also the first time I used a coloured thread for Hardanger rather than the traditional white on white.
Talking of colour, the scissor keep and pincushion were embroidered with a space-dyed thread by Chameleon. Rather than detracting from the embroidery, the soft coloured thread complemented the dainty Hardanger stitches very well.
There was nothing predictable about the reverse side of Lynne's scissor keep pattern either. I'd been wanting to try out that stitch in the centre of the kloster block for some while and here was the opportunity.
The triangular piece at the top of the scissor keep folds down to keep the scissors in place. I still have to find a pretty pearl button the correct size for the fastening.
Somehow I know I will never actually use any of these. I just enjoy looking at them when I come across them in the cupboard. Perhaps you have treasures like that too?
