We're at the halfway point! I stitched bands 51 and 52 tonight. These were fun and easy to stitch!
I'm thinking about ripping this band out and reversing the colors. I just think it would look better. The red stitches look like pointy witches shoes. Thoughts?
Here's what I've got so far. I still need to stitch the Blackwork band from three weeks ago.
This might be one of the coolest projects I have ever stitched!
This is the first time since the beginning of the year that I found myself behind with Randje. I was able to stitch the bands for Week 24 while flying to New York. The seat next to me was open; how unusual is that?
On Sunday night I worked on the bands for Week 25. I think I might have to restitch the first one and reverse the red and the white.
Note that I left room to add the second band from Week 23; the Blackwork band.
I wanted to share a couple more pictures from New York. I found the architecture of the buildings in the neighborhood to be quite appealing.
We decided to visit St. Stephen of Hungary Catholic Church, just two blocks from the festival.
The stained glass Window behind the altar was beautiful.
Always have to take a picture of the organ for my organist mother. She has trained me well.
In the church there was an icon of St. Stephen. I learned that he is the only saint recognized by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Byzantine Catholic Church.
Sometimes you find quilt squares in the most unusual places. This pattern was in the floor at St. Stephen's.
We also went into the Byzantine Catholic Church. They were in the middle of mass. Sadly my pictures did not turn out well.
I'm working on trying to finish up a friendship sampler that a group of friends worked on over the past eight months. Would like to have it framed in time for our guild's retreat in August. Wish me luck!
Occasionally there are opportunities in life that you just shouldn't pass up. When I learned that Mrs. Szigethy and her daughter were going to be in the U.S. I knew that I needed to find a way to see them during their visit. My schedule during their two weeks here was already quite full, but I knew I could make a weekend trip to New York work.
As mentioned in my last post, Mrs. Szigethy had no idea I was coming. It was a surprise. When I walked into the room, she looked at me and it took a few seconds for her to recognize me. You know what it's like when you are not expecting someone. Then she realized who I was - hugs and smiles. I am so glad I made the trip to see this special lady again.
During their stay, they exhibited Mrs. Szigethy's Lace of Hövej in three different locations - twice in Connecticut and then at the Hungarian Heritage Festival at the Magyar Haz in New York. I'm amazed at how many pieces they were able to bring with them.
Every single piece of lace in the pictures above was made by Mrs. Szigethy. As people filtered through the hall, Mrs. Szigethy was on hand to tell them about the needlework and to demonstrate how it is made. Remember, most all of them spoke Hungarian and could easily converse with her!
She laughed when she showed me her scissors. She remembered about our last visit when I asked how she could create such beautiful, delicate lace with such a large scissors! It's all about what you are used to working with. Note that she has started cutting this doily out; all of the stitching is complete.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity. Many thanks to Karolina Szabo for making this trip possible for Mrs. Szigethy and her daughter.
And many thanks to Mrs. Szigethy's daughter Elisabeth for all she does to care for mother and to promote and preserve this beautiful embroidery.
I am so grateful to have met this special lady. Will always treasure this opportunity!
If you've been reading my blog for the past few years, you know that I have a soft spot in my heart for Austria and Hungary. My maternal grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Hungary. We still have many relatives living in Austria, but in 2011 I discovered that my great-grandfather was born in Hövej, Hungary. Being a needleworker, Hövej is especially significant to me because the most beautiful lace is made by the women in Hövej. More on that later.
Yesterday morning, bright and early, I flew to New York. I took a cab from the airport to the Hungarian House on 82nd Street in New York where they were celebrating the Hungarian Heritage Festival.
The street in front of the Magyar Haz was closed from one end of the block to the other and vendors set up their wares. There was food, drink, sweets, and items for purchase.
Look at all the cookies! I think the ones in front are called a Linzer Cookie. There is jam sandwiched between the two parts of the cookie. It was delicious!
Below is my lunch. Their portion sizes were gigantic, so I asked them to make a special plate for me with smaller portions. Top left is a sausage, to the right, a cabbage roll, then some spaetzeles with gravy from the Chicken Paprika (I passed on the chicken - portions were ginormous!) and then red cabbage. There were some interesting paprika potatoes and pork that I also passed on. Too much food, but oh so delicious.
Inside the Magyar Haz there was a display of various forms of Hungarian art. From weaving...
To needleart, pottery, and decorated eggs...
To music...
And other miscellaneous Hungarian art and culture.
This event was for families; there were many activities for children. The one that was of most interest to me, was the egg decorating. Hungarians decorate their eggs very similar to the Ukrainian Pysanky eggs.
One young girl let me take a picture of her work.
One thing that amazed me were the number of people speaking Hungarian,especially the children. There were little ones who were easily transitioning between English and Hungarian!
I was at the festival for about five hours. My primary reason for visiting though was not the festival, but this lady:
Mrs. Szigethy and her daughter were here from Hungary! They've been in the U.S. For two weeks displaying Mrs. Szigethy's beautiful lace at various events and this was one of them.
Mrs. Szigethy did not know I was coming. Mrs. Szigethy's daughter and their host, Karolina, knew, but they did not tell Mrs. Szigethy so that it would be a surprise. Was she ever surprised when I walked into the room! I got a big hug from her and she was all smiles. We have not seen each other since my visit to Hungary back in 2012.
Tune in again tomorrow and I will share with you pictures of the lace exhibit. Until then, here's another snapshot of this special lady and me.
It takes quite a long time to stitch these little words over one! Two more words to go, then I'm going to spend some more time in the flower garden!
You might be wondering about Randje. For the first time since the beginning of the year I am behind! Will have to rectify that too.
TGIF!
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