Rugged Rugs. the joy of good embroidery work

Hello my friends,

The 'rugged' in the title of this post was only put there for the purpose of alliteration. There is little, if anything, rugged about miniature embroidery! If anything it is delicate and detailed. No?

In the pictures above and below you see the work of Henriëtte. These carpets I bought off of her in a Dutch facebook group where people sell second hand or self made miniatures. Often what is offered there is of little to no interest to me because it usually does not fit in the time window for Huis ter Swinnendael. . But once in a while something beautiful and very worthwhile comes along there. The difficulty then is to be the first to respond. I'm not glued to facebook and di check that group sometimes but certainly not daily. But when I saw these beauties I was in luck. And the prices were more than reasonable.

These two are made from patterns in a book on Eastern carpets. Henriëtte and I got off on a friendly footing together,  she is a very kind lady and an accomplished embroiderist. Then I remembered that I stil had a THOM kit for a miniature carpet lying around. It was for a large Tabriz style carpet with hunters on horseback and jumping deer. 

I bought it second hand a few years ago, but for an absolute novice in embroidery like me, it was foolish to think I could make an intricate design of thát scale. I had resigned myself to the idea that it would never be made. It had been laying around sealed in that bag for at least three decades now. So was it really that bad to leave it in there fore a few decades more?

Fortune favours the brave, dear reader, or so the saying goes. Not that I have been very brave for that matter. No. But I did ask if she was interested in making this kit for me. She loved the challenge and we soon reached an understanding on the price. Now do not think that, as a dutchman, I haggled the price down to the bare minimum. If anything I had to keep her from charging the materials only. She was so looking forward to trying her hands on this pattern. Luckily we came to a mutual satisfactory conclusion. 

Although these kits come with all materials supplied the wool had dried out so as to easily pull it apart. It could no longer be used. She tried but it kept breaking constantly. Instead she used the same colours from dmc. And only two months later Henriëtte had finished the entire carpet. It measures 8 by 10 inches, or 20 by 25 centimeters. Quite large but a realistic size. Luckily Huis ter Swinnendael as mostly large rooms so that they will fit in every room size wise.

As you may know, dear reader I have collected quite a few books on miniatures, miniature making and (famous) dollshouses over the years. Including a few on period embroidery. I lent them to Henriëtte for her use. One of the carpet designs in the book about Georgian embroidery patterns in miniature was my favorite.

And it's this one. A design based on a Savonnerie carpet with flowers and ribbons. The design comes with a brown background but Henriëtte changed that in a dark blue background for me because that colourcwill fit better in the intended room. I only have to build the room now...

Huibrecht