Discovering a Past Hobby_Hand Embroidery

Cleaning out my Grandfather's linen closet, which contained far more than just linen, and far more linen than was necessary, we discovered a pile of lace work and embroidery, neatly folded and in dire need of a long soak in Napisan. Piling these (and every doily I could find around the house) into a big Ikea bag, we took them home for the required clean and iron. While some of them are in remarkably good condition, some remain a little stained and most require some form of darning. In addition, all with tassels need the tassels to be softened and combed flat.

To the best of Jocelyn's recollection, most of these pieces were created by her grandmother, Granddad's mum, in the days before TV, when she would spend the evening listening to the wireless, her fingers occupied with these pieces. Looking at some of the pieces more closely, she wondered how many had actually been made instead by her mother. 

An afternoon tea set comprising of a square table cloth of blush pink colour, matching tea cosy and 6 napkins. All are embroidered with bright flowers and trellising (bar the napkins). The tea cosy is edged with lace while the napkins and table cloth have a drawn thread hem.
Made by Violet Camilleri

Made by Violet Camilleri

A set of 6 coarse green linen placemats and napkins. It seems to be a form of drawn thread work with the pattern picked out in white thread.

Rough cotton doilies embroidered with multi-coloured sunflowers. One of these (family owned) is on display at Azelia Ley House.
These were all embroidered by Violet Camilleri

 

A rectangular cotton table cloth and 11 napkins embroidered in a beige thread. Very ornate and detailed with different patterns and techniques providing texture and 3D bits.

Part one: Lace