National Trust – Killerton House – Part Three

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Some of the big estates within England during earlier times had their own Chapel within the grounds. Killerton House was no exception and I was very keen to see it.

Glimpsing the Chapel through the trees

I love the design on this!

The view of the Chapel as you arrive at the building is lovely. The stain glass windows are wonderful, the skill involved in making them is remarkable. The sunlight was coming through making the viewing spectacular, and the photographs do not do it justice. As you would expect there were a few plaques and these can be found over at Grave Encounters.

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National Trust – Killerton House – Part Two

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Julie Goucher

As we walked along to the chapel we could see these these statues of Urns, marking the pathway.

What a wonderful way to remember the work and contribution of a loyal employee. Arthur Godfrey worked at Killerton for just under 40 years; what an achievement.

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National Trust – Killerton House – Part One

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Yesterday, making the most of the Autumn heatwave we headed over to Killerton House, owned by the National Trust. We have been there before, but a long while ago. The house looked smaller than I remember.

There was some wonderful embroidery and cross stitch examples. This photo was taken through a glass cabinet, in one of the exhibition rooms.

There was also an example of an incomplete quilt, which really caught my eye.

We then wandered through the gardens, enjoying the sunshine and then walked up to the chapel which sits at the back of the estate.

Set within the grounds is a chapel that was used by the family who owned and donated the estate to the National Trust. More on that a little later.

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Postcard Friendship Friday – Bowring Institute Bangalore India

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Julie Goucher
Submitted as part of Postcard Friendship Friday hosted by The Best Hearts are Crunchy
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Wordless Wednesday – An old Scrapbook

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday

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Tea Cup Tuesday – Royal Commemoratives 1902

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Julie Goucher

Welcome to Tea Cup Tuesday.

On Sunday night, as I sat down to watch the Antique Road show (broadcast by the BBC here in the UK), I was contemplating the next object for my Tea Cup Tuesday post. I have quite a choice, each object with their own story to tell. Then on the program was the fascinating story of a 1902 Royal Commemorative tea cup. I thought that this would make a wonderful Tea Cup Tuesday post, especially for those outside of the UK.

So, here is the synopsis of that story and the guideline price and some photographs that I managed to take while pausing the program.

The Story was that the owner’s Grandmother had knitted a blanket to send to King Edward upon his Coronation in 1902. The lady wrote to Buckingham Palace and in time received a response, from the Lady in Waiting to Queen Alexander, that it not correct protocol to receive a gift from a commoner and the Queen would like to purchase the blanket. A letter was returned objecting to accepting payment for the gift. A reply from the Lady in Waiting arrived, with the suggestion that gifts be exchanged between Queen Alexander and the lady in question.

The box was then opened and initially revealed the original wrapping paper sent from Buckingham Palace.

Then the delights from within were revealed….

Then, as the cup was tilted, a surprise revealed

Yes, it is the imprint of the face of Queen Alexander.

Here is the complete set & then the valuation……

The expert valued the set at £30-£40 because so many of this style of cup were made. I have a similar style set HERE. I was surprised at that, simply because that is the value, I would pay now for the cup and saucer, but here we have a piece of social history and quite a story, including the name that the person the gift was given to. Of course, if this was in my family I would never part with it and hopefully this chap (left) will keep it as part of his history.

The key question is, Does the blanket still exist in the Royal Household or in their archives?

Submitted as part of Tea Cups Tuesday hosted by Artful Affirmations & The Plumed Pen

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Sunday Salon – Latest additions and musings…..

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Julie Goucher

A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of the Homes and Antiques Magazine published here in the UK. There was an article on King Penguin books. I was intrigued, and much to my husband’s dismay I am contemplating collecting the series of books, all 76 of them. King Penguin were published from 1939 to 1959. I have no idea why I feel compelled to collect the set, but I do and if I am honest I probably will. I enjoy not just the book owning, but also the thrill of locating the sought after.

My recent book addition, there has only been one. I have been good on the purchasing front, and just replaced the actual buying books with thinking of buying books! The latest addition was purchased yesterday at the Creative Stitches and Craft Fair at Exeter. Details appear HERE, HERE and HERE!

The book can be purchased from National Needlework Archive and this third volume has the ISBN of 978 – 0 – 9550790 -3 – 0.

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Creative Stitches & Crafts – Part Three

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Julie Goucher
The poetry in stitches exhibition was remarkable and hosted by the National Needlework Archive.

All the material is of course copyrighted to those who made the amazing pieces on display. I was very taken with several pieces and my only purchase of the day was the book that accompanied the exhibition.

The book can be purchased from National Needlework Archive and this third volume has the ISBN of 978 – 0 – 9550790 -3 – 0.

The following photos are snapshots taken by me to show which embroiders were my real favourites and what inspired me to buy the book.

The skill of the people who made these works of art is remarkable. The pieces, once they have finished touring the various craft exhibitions and shows are offered to hospitals and waiting rooms for the benefit of patients on loan and some are returned to their owners or perhaps donated to the archive themselves. Each embroidery was inspired by a particular poem and there is also a small write up as perhaps to why the creator found the poem inspirational or perhaps details as to how it was made.

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Creative Stitches & Crafts – Part Two

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Julie Goucher
This impressive collection of postcards were embroidered by the West County Embroiderers Group. 

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Creative Stitches & Crafts – Part One

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Julie Goucher

The Creative Stitches & Hobby Fair has been on in Exeter since Thursday. We visited yesterday, against my better judgement. Work commitments prevented me going on Thursday and Friday. It was, as I predicted packed and getting photos of general views tricky, but we managed it!

The stall holders sold all sorts – wonderful buttons in varying shapes and colours, embroidery and cross stitch pattens, scrap booking material, patchwork, fabrics and much much more. There were also some exhibitions of Lace Making, Embroidery. 

The lace making exhibition was remarkable. There was a map indication the various pattens relating to various areas of the UK, so each area was renowned for a particular stitch, which was something I had not realised. I have an ancestor who was reported on the 1841 Census for the Surrey village of Elstead as a lace maker. She would have used bobbins and created pattens, and was paid by piece work.  It is very fine work and there was a volunteer on hand to answer questions and show exactly the process.
There was also a display of clothes which have featured in the UK drama Downton Abbey.

There were also embroideries from the Poetry in Stitches exhibition and the West Country Embroiders Postcard exhibition, but more on those later.
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