A Gathering of Stitchers

I knew I belonged to this place as soon as I stepped inside City Hall.  To the right of the entrance was a meeting room and in that room were five or six ladies and they had gathered...to stitch!  Oh how I wish I would have been able to speak to them (I don't know any Hungarian). I was traveling with a friend, the daughter of Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy, and she was able to speak both English and German in addition to her native language of Hungarian.  She introduced me to the ladies and would also translate for me.

They very graciously shared with me what they were working on. All were learning how to do the beautiful Hövej embroidery!

The woman with the blonde hair and the black vest was the teacher.  She was preparing patterns for her students.  

Hövej was introduced to the village in the 1860s.  The woman who introduced it was Borbála Nyikos Gáspárné Horváth - her maiden name, Nyikos, is the same as my great grandfather's.  Maybe there's a connection? 

The needlework is done on thin fabric like organza and is always stitched with white thread.  As you can see in the photo, the pattern is placed under the fabric and lightly traced with a pencil.  The fabric is stretched onto a frame and is then ready to be stitched.  

Over the years, the women of Hövej developed their patterns, each more ornate than the previous. Similar to Hardanger, some of the fabric is cutaway after it has been stitched.  The holes that are left are then filled with "spider" stitches -- here's one of the finished doilies from the Csipke Museum in Hövej; note how each "hole" is filled with a different spidery stitch.

Do you see the calendars on the wall?  Each year the village puts out a calendar that highlights this beautiful embroidery or lace.

In Hungary, the title "Master of Folk Art" is given to anyone who has become a "master" of their art.  Only three women have been given this award for the Hövej embroidery that they have done...Mária Horváth, Margit Pócza, and Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy.  Tomorrow, I will share with you some of the work done by Mrs. Szigethy.

Discovering Hövej

Greetings all!  I hope those of you in the U.S. enjoyed a wonderful, long holiday weekend.  I just returned from eight days of traveling.  Last Saturday I flew to Vienna to spend the week with family and friends in Austria and Hungary.  It was a wonderful week!  Over the next few days I will share pictures from my trip with you.

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a long time already know that Burgenland holds a special place in my heart.  My maternal grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Austria/Hungary in 1904 (grandfather) and 1906 (grandmother).  Recently it occurred to me that we (the family here in the U.S.) have maintained contact with them (the family in Austria) for 108 years - that's a long time!  Each trip to Burgenland is a journey of discovery - learning more about the people, the places, and the culture that are a part of my history.  This trip was another learning experience in my journey.

My purpose for travel this time was to learn more about my grandfather's side of the family.  My grandfather was born and raised in Wallern which is located today in Burgenland, Austria.  His father and his father's brother, Fabian and Johann Nyikos, were born in Hövej, which is located just across the border in Hungary.  Last summer I visited Hövej for the first time, but on this trip I spent more time there and in some of the surrounding villages.

The village of Hövej "the village of lace" is very small; approximately 350 people live there.  The village is just over 750 years old.  In the center of the village, is the Catholic Church which was built in 1761. When we visited last year, we were not able to go inside the church, but this time I was able to.  It's quite beautiful.  Note the embroidered altar cloths.

The other notable buildings are the City Hall, and two lace museums, all are within a block or two of each other.  Here is City Hall...

Next door to City Hall is the lace museum (Csipke Museum), a permanent exhibit in Hövej...

The lace exhibit for Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy is also located nearby...

There is a small chapel near the church; Our Lady of Sorrows chapel - it is under renovation...

And just a short walk down the street is the Lourdes chapel...

Here are some additional views of this quiet little village in Hungary...

The local people agreed to let me take their photo...

But the real reason for visiting Hövej...to see the unique embroidery/lace that it is famous for.

Next post will include more pictures of the beautiful Hövej lace!

Hardanger Ornaments

I know my posts have been few and far between lately; let's just say I'm just trying to keep my head above water; lot's going on!

On Saturday I am flying to Vienna, Austria to spend next week with my cousins in Burgenland.  My family has given me their blessing to be gone over Thanksgiving.  Two of the days will be spent visiting with Mrs. Istvan Szigethy and her daughter.  You can read more about Mrs. Szigethy here:  Hovej Embroidery.  I am so excited to have this opportunity to meet them and to learn more about Hovej Embroidery.  Check back after Thanksgiving for a full report!

There has been little time for stitching, but I have done some...I've been working on Hardanger ornaments for Christmas.  Aren't they pretty?  (I think I need to take a photography class!)

That's all I've got.  Thanks for stopping by!

Time for Some Tatting

Yep, it's that time of year again.  My mom, the mad tatter, is busy getting ready for her holiday boutiques.  She has one this weekend and one in December.  I'm always tasked with helping prepare her tatted goodies which she will sell at the boutique to her admirers that come from far and wide to see her!

I've been busy making pincushions:

And putting together what I call "tatted tartlets" (smaller pincushions):

And a few pendants with tatted medallions:

The pictures are dark; photography is not one of my strong suits!  You now understand why there hasn't been much stitching in my part of the world!

Stitching at Rosebud's

Every other month or so, a group of us gathers at a local quilt/wool shop that lets us use their classroom for a nominal fee.  The room is perfect for a group of about 18 - 20 stitchers; the lighting is good; and there is a great restaurant next store for those who like to grab a bite to eat mid-way through the day.  We had a nice group gathered today at Rosebud's.

I usually go around and take pictures of what everyone is working on; unfortunately I didn't get pictures of all the projects - I'll have to do a better job of that next time!

Here's LuAnne with her Lizzie Kate Halloween Mystery Sampler.  Love the colors of the fibers!

Jeanne was working on embroidering a quilt top - there is a design for every letter of the alphabet and they will eventually all be pieced together to make the quilt top.  Today she was working on the letter "B".  What's unique about this project is that the colors are colored in with crayons!  After you are done coloring, you iron the piece to set the colors.  The design is then enhanced with embroidery.  Neat project!

Chris is working on a project that was in Just Cross Stitch magazine a year ago or so.  It was spread over three or four issues.  It's a Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter sampler by Sally Hesketh.  (I have this all kitted up in my stash; sadly have not taken a single stitch yet!)

Pam was finishing up this design from the Cricket Collection:

We've been watching Joyce work on this Stoney Creek afghan for a few months now; it's a really big project!

Just before we left for home, Jane finished up the Serenity Prayer design she has been working on.  (I think this is from Big Toe Designs.)  This was the UFO from her stash that Jane selected for our guild's challenge project - hooray Jane for finishing it!

Chris is a prolific stitcher; she loves to stitch and spends a lot of time doing it (lucky for her, she is retired and can dedicate much of her day doing what she enjoys most!)  Chris took the Fruit of the Vine Huswife class with Ellen Chester a couple of weeks ago.  She showed us her stitching on the needleroll -- the finishing just needs to be done! (The picture of the finished needleroll is on the right!)

Joyce is a big fan of Just Nan projects so Chris brought some of her finished Just Nan designs.  In the same box were her C.A. Wells projects.  We had such a great time looking at all of her treasures.  Are you ready for some eye candy?

Now, onto the C.A. Wells pieces...

Pretty awesome, huh?

It was a great way to spend the day.  Too bad it had to end.  Too bad it was followed by grocery shopping and laundry. :(