My last post was about Newark Park and the Laura Ashley bedroom. While I was there I also found time to admire some of the wonderful needlework around the house. There is a good range of embroidery, although nothing very modern. This is just a picture show, as I do not know enough to make sensible comments:
I begin with a selection of cushions. The one at the top is an outstanding example of shabby chic.
Chairs and benches also got a look in. I liked this florentine needlepoint armchair, again on bare boards and doing its bit for shabby chic country house charm.
This is a nice, and I think, quite modern needlpoint rug. Rather brave to have a cream background here:
I felt a pang of recognition about the star quilt hanging in the stairs. It was mounted on a cotton bedspread. Doing all that work over papers clearly was enough and the idea of quilting it was just too much.
There were some very old fragments of embroidery but these had to be kept in very dim light. These photos were taken with a phone camera and so are not brilliant, but I wanted to include some of the older work.
I might well do something with these images. I love the way the stitches are used to create volume.
Apart from the pieces of needlework themselves, there was a lot of inspiration in the gardens:
Because the day was rainy and overcast the white flowers in particular really glowed.
