Friday, March 29, 2013

Eggs - travaganza!

Ukrainian Easter Eggs
Decorated Easter Eggs
I love the shape of eggs, and over the years I have developed an egg collection.  My main  collection started with stone eggs I got as souvenirs in the Canadian Rockies.  (See this blog post).  I got other eggs over the years as well.  In recent years, when I've seen eggs I like at an estate or rummage sale, I end up buying them because they are usually so inexpensive.  So I now have quite a mish mash collection of eggs.  Today I am showing you some of them.

The photo above shows six decorated Easter eggs that actually used real eggs.  They are incredibly light and fragile, and so I am glad I have taken the time to photograph and document them. It seems impossible that they will last a lifetime - they are each from hollow real "blown out" eggs.  The style of the eggs are different, and they don’t necessarily “blend” well, but I enjoy them anyway.

Ukrainian Easter Eggs
Ukrainian Easter Eggs

The photo above shows my three Ukrainian Easter Eggs, decorated by truly talented artists.  Eggs like these take hours to decorate and I have seen them for sale for over $50. I bought my three at three separate estate sales, each under $5.

Decorated Easter Eggs
My attempt at Ukrainian Easter Eggs

LOL!  The photo above shows my attempt at decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs. Can you see the difference between my amateur attempt and the experts?  My sister purchased the correct tools (a ‘kitsky’ stylus), wax, and the correct dyes. I used my Ukrainian Design Book (image at right).  

Trying to recreate the artistry someone else has achieved can really give you an appreciation for the talent and skill that goes into doing a craft well.  Drawing lines on a 3D curved surface is much harder than it looks, and takes a lot of practice.  I will not be practicing that much, so I hope to find more eggs at sales.  I also had a couple of more eggs I made, but they broke after several years, reinforcing to me how fragile blown out eggs are.  
 
Ukrainian Easter Egg
Ukrainian Easter Egg
You can not count on finding an Ukrainian egg like the one above at estate sales.  I've gone to more then 50 estate sales, and only come across three Ukrainian Eggs.  And you don’t get a selection at estate sales – you just get the one random egg that happens to be there. 
Ukranian Ukrainian Easter Egg
Ukrainian Easter Egg, Multiple views
I now like Ukrainian Easter Eggs so much that I am considering buying a full price egg next time I see an egg artist selling them - just to encourage the artist for spending so much time perfecting this craft.  Support your local artists!  

Pewter Easter Egg
Pewter Easter Egg

Another egg I bought many years ago with my husband is the pewter egg above.  We like pewter, and this little egg was at a shop in Long Grove, Illinois.  They had several different pewter eggs there, but they were expensive (for us at that time), and so we only bought this one.  It opens up.  It is kind of like my own little Faberge egg, if you know what those are.


Holland Dutch Delft Easter Egg
Dutch Delft Easter Egg


The last egg I am sharing today I bought when my husband and I were on vacation in Holland.  Holland is known for Delft china - a hand painted blue and white china.  The souviner shops feature Delft, and we toured a Delft factory.  Delft china sort of goes with the flow blue china I love.

Holland Dutch Delft Easter Egg
Delft Easter Egg

In Holland, we saw three beautiful eggs in a window display in a shop.  The shop clerk would not/could not sell us the items from the window display, something that clerks typically will do in the United States.  After that, we searched for eggs in all the other souvenir shops we came across and even the Delft factory store.  This one egg was the only souvenir egg we found for sale.  Sometimes it is the search that makes it fun.  

I hope you enjoyed the goofy collection of eggs presented.  You may also have noticed the vintage linens I picked to go with the various eggs...  Have a Happy Easter all!

Click on the images to see them enlarged. 

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Faith Grace: Pearls and Lace Thur 129 (Entry 20 of 23.)

Monday, March 11, 2013

Needlework finds

I haven't written a blog post for so long I'm going to have to relearn how to do it. So today I am just sharing some needlework images that I hope you will enjoy.

vintage lace rose


I enjoy estate sale and rummage sales. Recently I have been finding beautiful examples of lace and other needlework - crocheting, knitting, tatting, hardinger, cutwork, and more. The prices are frequently low - so now I have a collection of needlework.

Vintage Doily
Vintage Doily (diameter about 9.5 inches)

The details of the needlework I collect captivate me - the artistry, the design, the creativity, the knowledge and the skill, the amount of time it would take to create the piece. I think the amount of time it would take to duplicate a piece awes me.


Small coaster with crocheted edge
Vintage Needlework doily with crocheted edge

I learned to sew, crochet, embroider and knit. I have done weaving, cross-stitch and hardinger - mostly tiny projects, like Christmas ornaments. I decided I didn't want to become "jack of all trades, master of none" - so I decided to concentrate on quilting and left the other crafts behind. But my beginner skills have left me with an appreciation for the needlework I now find at estate sales.


vintage lace rose
Vintage Lace with a 3-d Rose petals


The pieces are rarely perfect - because it's handwork, and because of the passage of time.  Still, the skills the needlework displays make me marvel.  For example, in the image above, the middle rose petals are free from the background - see how they are folded up in this detail as opposed to the first image.



vintage lace doiley
Detail of doily with crocheted edge.


I like to try to figure what techniques were used for a piece.  The edge of the doily above is crocheted, but the acorn like shapes in the piece above is a technique I have never seen before.



Click on the images to see them enlarged.


If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

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I am linking to these parties:
Mod Vintage: Mod Mix Mon 92 (Entry 65 of 72.)
Boogie Board: Masterpiece Mon 114 (Entry 121 of 143.) 
BNOTP: Metamorphis Monday 216 (Entry 230 of 238.)
Making the World Cuter (Entry 187 of 199.)
Maria: Tue at our Home (Entry 23 of 35.)
Uncommon Slice: Tues Treasures 126  (Entry 128 of 266.) 
Diamond: Time to Shine 108 (Entry 132 of 157.) 
Twigg: Sunday Showoff 9 (Entry 91 of 94.)
Stroll Life: Table Top Tue 156 (Entry 73 of 126.)
Sew: Sew Darn Crafty 105 (Entry 199 of 207.) 
Savvy Style: Wow Us Wed 109 (Entry 299 of 472.)  
Lavender Garden: Cottage Style 35 (Entry 21 of 36.)
Handy: Wicked Awesome Wed 101 (Entry 85 of 128.)
Rose Chintz Cottage: Wed (Entry 10 of 35.)
Faith Grace: Pearls and Lace Thur (Entry 12 of 26.)
Brambleberry Cottage: Time Travel Thur 140 (Entry 45 of 81.)
Jen Rizzo: Fabulously Creative Fri (Entry 164 of 187.)
Thrifty Grove: Thrifty Things Fri 100 (Entry 36 of 64.)
French Country: Feather Nest Fri (Entry 199 of 419.)
* Common Ground: Be Inspired 130 (Entry 139 of 249.)
* Romantic Home: Show and Tell (Entry 110 of 289.)
Chic: Flaunt it Friday 144 (Entry 105 of 281.)
Shabby Nest: Frugal Friday 144 (Entry 152 of 435.)
Annamarie: Link your Stuff 20 (Entry 178 of 215.) 

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