Penrhyn castle - Antique Berlin woolwork

Antique Berlin woolwork embroidery - Penrhyn castle

Penrhyn castle is located in Northern Wales and while it is erected on the site of an older stone castle, the structure we see today dates only from the early 1800’s and was commissioned by a wealthy family at the time of the Norman revival. The ‘castle’, or more precisely ‘the country house’ was built in the Neo-Norman style by the architect Thomas Hopper.

The 1800’s were a time of discovery and nostalgy.  On one hand progress, inventions, daring adventures and a great interest in geography and natural history, on the other hand a longing for the past, a growing fascination with archaeology and antiquity, and an overall romanticised view of times past.

This little Berlin woolwork embroidery came into my possessions some years ago and for the longest time I had no idea which castle it depicted, that is until I saw a similar embroidery for sale on Ebay which unlike my own example had the name of the castle stitched below the picture.

The castle and garden now belongs to the National trust and is open for the public.

For more info see:

Wikepedia

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/penrhyn-castle

Cute little deer with seed beads for eyes

Penrhyn castle - cross stitch pattern

Would you like to stitch your own version of Penrhyn castle ?

A reproduction of the pattern is available on the website and ETSY.

www.roland-designs.com

Penrhyn castle - ETSY

Garden blooms - Cross stitch pattern

Daisies, fuchsias, rose buds, lilies of the valley, and nasturtiums.

Garden blooms 1 & 2 are delightful repetitive patterns suitable for cushion or furniture cover, while the individual motifs can be stitched and used to decorate cards, clothes, or added to a spot sampler.

Re-charted from antique, hand painted original Sajou designs number #3160, and #3161

Find the patterns here: ETSY, website

Sajou in Paris - 1st class medal at the universal exposition of 1855

Choosing the colors

I don't have time to stitch all the patterns I re-chart, but I thought it would be fun to stitch some of the motifs to test out the colors, different stitches and such. So I looked in my stash and found a piece of 28ct linen that was not too big, but large enough that it could be turned into a little spot sampler. 

Here you can see the original hand painted pattern, my digital re-charted version and the first item on my new spot sampler, the little daisies.

The best way to store a work-in-progress is to store you embroidery rolled up, this will keep it from getting crease marks. Here I used an old kitchen aluminum foil  roll.

Cross stitch, petit point and Gobelin stitches.

Bruno Börner in Berlin - Two new counted embroidery patterns

The latest patterns to be re-charted and added to the Roland-designs collection are both signed with Bruno Börner in Berlin and date to sometime between 1820-1870.

They are both different in style and dare I say, even in quality! ‘Rose garland’ for example is more delicate, and intricate in addition to being painted on better quality paper than the one I called ‘Blue’, though the later on the other hand has a nicer font for the signature.

Both are repetitive designs which can be used for borders, cushion covers, table runners, pelmets or other household decorations. 

Only a piece of the pattern is presented on the antique charts, and I have to admit that without the use of modern software it would have taken a bit of calculating and possible trials-and-errors to achieve a matching square. The designs look repetitive, but typical of hand painted patterns – they don’t always match up. So in re-charting them I have kept as true to the originals as possible, but took some creative liberty in the digital version in order to make all the design fit nicely together.

I would love to see someone get creative with ‘Blue’ and stitch it in a different colour scheme.  

Available on the website, and ETSY Rose Garland, Blue 

'Blue' - Cross stitch pattern

'Rose garland' - Cross stitch pattern

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Special offer

Get both patterns directly from the blog for only 4 $

The PDF files will be sent to your email.

Antique beaded reticule purse

In late October when my husband and I were visiting family in France we took a little detour into an antique shop filled with all the classic assortment of heavy furniture, large painting and overpriced pieces of local history. I love antiques, but do prefer to pick up things at charity shops or flea markets as once an item goes to the antique dealer the prices tend to dim my interest rather quickly – though I have to say my husband has become pretty good at bargaining or getting deals for multiple item purchases.

But, displayed along a lot of small this-and-that there was a pretty little beaded purse in relative good condition with an asking price under what I have seen on Ebay (a good place to get a general idea of the current worth of vintage/antiques – though not always fool proof as the value of those items are affected by popularity and demand; what might be sought out today could be completely forgotten the next year)

So that little reticule purse came home with us, and makes a lovely addition to my collection of 1800’s ladies accessories and needlework items. 

The purse was knitted with each stitch containing a bead, it was then lined with white cloth and edged with a blue silk ribbon. As expected the silk is completely worn and damaged, then there are missing beads, but overall it’s in pretty good condition for its age. The seller said it was made in Germany and while I am not an expert in purses I can imagine it was worked in the middle of the 1800’s as it features typical motifs of the time - An oriental scene, palms, a man and woman with turban and Ottoman costumes. 

Captivated by the tales of A thousand and one night, the Victorians developed a fascination for all things oriental and this is often seen in needlepoint patterns and art of the time period.

Would you like to try making your own beaded purse ? Here is a tutorial I found online, maybe I should test it out myself ? 

Pattern: Knit a beaded bag

More interesting reading here: A history of the beaded bag

Antique beaded bag

Other side

Details - A few glass beads are missing, probably broke and fell off as the string is mostly intact

The silk lining on the top is damaged

Notice how some beads are larger than others, maybe they were made by different companies ?