A Masterpiece Completed!

I just received these pictures from Mrs. Szigethy's daughter; the altar cloth is completed!  It took her two months from start to finish to re-create this beautiful piece done in Hövej embroidery.  Mrs. Szigethy stitched the original many, many years ago for the church in Agyagosszergény.  She borrowed it from them so that she could copy her design and stitch it again.  This finished reproduction is now on display at her exhibit in the village of Hövej.

Here are some pictures of her completed work!

When I visited last November, there was another altar cloth in its place; I will have to ask what will happen with that one.  Perhaps they are going to use it on the other side.  There's another room in the building that they are currently re-doing and will have more of Mrs' Szigethy's embroidery on display.

Thank you for following along with me as we watched her progress on this piece of needlework.  She's an amazing and very talented needleworker!

Previous Posts:
Altar Cloth Progress #3
Altar Cloth Progress #2
Altar Cloth Progress #1
Altar Cloth - Original Post

Wishing you all a Blessed Easter!

Dear to My Heart

I have many things to share with you today, all of them very dear to my heart!

In addition to counted cross stitch, I love to do a little Hardanger now and then.  This is the second installment in Nordic Needle's Hardanger Stitching Accessories club this year...it is a little pocket for safe keeping of my scissors!  Here's the front...

Here's the back...

And just in case you didn't see it the first time, here's the box:

Also dear to my heart is my mother's tatting.  She came over today to test out my lights and magnifiers.  She showed me all of the crosses and hearts that she has been working on and then asked, "Well, aren't you going to take a picture for your blog?"

I have a very soft spot in my heart for a special place in Hungary...I had stitched up the Minnesota Heart some time ago and recently stitched the Hungary Heart.  Both are from Victoria Sampler...

And last but not least, allow me to share with you this beautiful example of Hövej embroidery.  I think this is from the altar cloth that Mrs. Szigethy is working on.  The picture was on her Facebook page; I know she won't mind if I share it with you.  Every hole is filled with a different pattern; ten different designs!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Altar Cloth Progress Report #3

I just received these photos from Mrs. Szigethy's daughter; you will see that Mrs. Szigethy is making good progress!   When I last posted on February 25, she had just reached the middle of the piece.  She is now working her way down the right side..

These are some of the motifs leading up to the chalice in the middle...

This photo shows where she is at right now.  Can you see the design drawn on the fabric to the right of what has already been stitched?

Here's a look at nearly the entire piece so far.  An amazing piece of needlework...

I think I may have told you this already...this altar cloth is going to be added to Mrs. Szigethy's exhibit in Hövej.  The room next door was empty and they are working on it.  I imagine it will open sometime this summer.  I'm sure we will get to see a picture of the finished piece once it is displayed in this new room of the exhibit!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

To Hungary With Love

On Tuesday evening I had the opportunity to share information and stories about my family history, Hövej embroidery, and a special lady, Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy, at a meeting for the Needlework Guild of Minnesota.  Now, I know you've already heard lots of stories and seen lots of pictures, but this is important to me and it is a topic that I am passionate about.  Not only is it a connection to my heritage, but when I visited last fall, they were so very kind to me - sharing their story enables me to give something back to Mrs. Szigethy and the other women from Hövej who are trying to keep this beautiful embroidery alive.

I brought nearly all of the pieces that my mother and I have collected over the years and displayed them for the ladies to see.  Tablecloths, doilies, handkerchiefs - some were done on fine cotton, others on organza.  The red tablecloth helped to accentuate the intricate filling stitches.

My story started at the beginning, with my grandparents, Hungarian immigrants who came to the US searching for a better way of life.

What's interesting is that our family here in the U.S. has maintained contact with the descendants of my grandparents siblings for almost 110 years.  Don't you think that is amazing?  My grandfather's father (my great-grandfather) was born in Hövej.

I also shared the story of Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy, a lady who has dedicated her life to God, to her family, and to her needlework.

Included in the display were these dolls dressed in Hungarian folk costumes.  These were gifted to me by Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy when I visited her last fall.

I also explained everything I had learned about the embroidery itself.

It was a wonderful evening.  A large group of ladies had come to hear my story.  I am grateful that I had the opportunity to share it with them!

Altar Cloth Progress Report #2

The last time I posted an update on the altar cloth that is being stitched by Mrs, Szigethy only a small section had been completed.  Look how much progress she has made since that last post!

I think that she is approaching the center; more than likely this chalice is the center front.

Isn't this floral medallion gorgeous?  Note how each circle and even the center circle has a different pattern woven in it.

I'm in awe of how much she has accomplished in the past 21 days. Many thanks to Mrs. Szigethy's daughter for sharing these photos with us!

Altar Cloth Progress Report

Last week I shared with you some pictures of a project that Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy is working on at her home in Hungary.  Please visit my January 28 post for the background information if you haven't read it already seen it.  
I received some updated photos yesterday from Mrs. Szigethy's daughter showing the progress she is making on the altar cloth.

It's beautiful, isn't it?  I know that she works on it everyday; she's anxious to get it finished.  She has a long way to go.  I'm looking forward to watching her progress!

I know many of you are enjoying these posts.  I was thinking this morning about how technology has helped to make our world a smaller, friendlier place.  Through the use of email and the internet, we have the opportunity to watch Mrs. Szigethy create this beautiful work of art.  

Thank you for your comments too.  I know that her daughter checks my blog and shares your comments with her.  It is very exciting for this lovely old woman to know that there are  stitchers in the U.S. and other parts of the world who are interested in what she does.  It brings her great joy!

Thank you Mrs. Szigethy for sharing your talent with us.  We're anxious to see more!

Hövej Embroidery: Step One

It's been nearly two months since I returned from Hungary.  My purpose in going there was to learn more about the embroidery and hopefully learn how to do it.  Mrs. Szigethy sent me home with a doily already stretched onto it's frame.  I just couldn't find time in December or January to pick it up and work on it again, but today I had time.

Here's the doily on the frame all ready to stitch.  Perhaps you can see the design traced onto the fabric.

Step One:  Baste the outer circles twice around.  The stitches will not be seen, their purpose is to stabilize the buttonhole stitch and the wrapped stitches that go around the outside and inside of the circles.  The basting stitches you see in the photo above were done in Hungary.

Here's what my piece looks like now, with the basting for these outer circles complete:

I think you can see the design better in these two photos; the fabric is very thin!

That's all I am going to do today.  Next time I will work on the buttonhole edge on the outer part of the circle.

Off to watch the football game!

A Really Big Work in Progress

Many of you will remember my trip last November to visit Mrs. Istvánné Szigethy and to learn more about her beautiful Hövej embroidery.  You might recall the pictures of the various pieces of needlework on display in her exhibit in the village of Hövej.  Her daughter shared with me recently that they have started to work on another room in the building and in this room will be displayed additional pieces of Mrs. Szigethy's embroidery.  I am so pleased that her work is being preserved for many more generations to admire!

Currently Mrs. Szigethy is working on a project to re-create an altar cloth that she stitched some years ago and gifted to a church in Hungary.  She recently started working on it and I thought you might be interested in seeing her progress.  I'm going to be sharing pictures with you that were taken by Mrs. Szigethy's daughter.

Before any stitching is done, the design needs to be traced onto the fabric.  As you can see, a very fine fabric, organza, is being used.  The fabric has been placed on top of the design and it is lightly being traced with a pencil.  Here Mrs. Szigethy is receiving some assistance in preparing her fabric for stitching:

Once the design has been traced on the fabric, the fabric is then mounted to a frame.  This is a rather large piece of fabric and so a large frame is going to be needed!  In this photo, you can see that Mrs. Szigethy has completed the bottom edging for this section.  She's now working on a more intricate design.  Each one of those open sections of the medallion will be filled with a different design. If you look closely, you can see the additional patterns, yet to be stitched, that are traced on this fabric.

Admiring her work!  Note how large that frame is...

I have fond memories of my visit with Mrs. Szigethy.  I know how important her needlework is to her and that she takes great pride in her work!

I will keep you updated on her progress as I receive more information.