French Leave

Once again off to gather a few bits but mostly to extend the summer and find peaceful uncrowded  places to explore Back on 15th Elizabeth.  Entry on 19.10.10.  this date turned out to be over-optimistic - we got involved in the French strikes on our return and as all transport services were cancelled, we had to drive the long journey from Avignon home (over 900 miles) instead of the ease and comfort of Auto-train, TGV and Calais crossing.  The worst was not knowing if the petrol strike would catch us out and the fact that none of the services would give out any info. at all, even the telephone and Websites were blank!  We saw the gathering crowds of schoolchildren and many others gathering for the manifestations and suspected it would become ugly and spread fast - and so it did and does.
The weather was perfect, a French Indian summer,  and we took our ease in a favourite hotel with lovely terraces and gardens , had many a picnic and some good meals - the French can still cook!  But life is now very expensive and the antique goods are mostly far too high for re-sale.   However,  I did load up with masses of old French bleues, the old workmens' dark blue jackets, blousons, shirts and aprons - all attractive old workwear that is enjoying a fashion moment in this country - and especially among the young in London.   I now have a good row in many sizes hanging on the washing line, and they make a change from the  popular white and cream linen and hemp smock- shirts which I also bought in quantity.

French Seams and Top Ideas

My latest lot of vintage French curtains, all of the salon or reception room type, have individual details which I find fascinating and inspiring.. There are so many ways to construct and hang fine curtains and I hope a short account might interest would-be curtain makers who want that little extra touch. Now that pelmets are not so fashionable, the top gathering and pleating of the curtains is important and can give a touch of luxury and expertise that may please you and your guests! The first is a cord trimmed top, where a thick cord matching the richest colour in the silky tapestry woven curtain, is laid and knotted over the goblet pleats - very effective if the cord is really chunky and slightly glossy - silk of course is the best. Two pairs and an extra bed curtain available now.

The second, pastel chintz Indienne, has hand-covered buttons placed over the soft gathered pleats and the leading edge and the bottom have a charming gathered frill with piping holding it in place, just R. of button,- every seam and frill and all piping is entirely hand sewn with the tiniest stitches, as well as the lining of course. 6 curtains, but only 5 tie backs! The third example is a single pair in a fine cotton print with simple gathered top and it does have a pelmet which is gathered in 5 soft ruched swags, all edged with very good (and complete) pom-pom trim. I would say very suited to a pretty bedroom or small sitting room. All curtains are at least 8' drop, in very good condition, date from 1880s, and are for sale at moderate prices. View by appointment near Bath, email dbaer@onetel.com

CHINOISERIE

Pagodas, fishermen, parasols and exotic birds conjure up a Chinese scene for me and my very favourite fabrics are the Chinoiserie prints of 18th C France. Many were copied from the designs of Jean Pillement whose etchings inspired fabrics, wallpaper, lacquer work and porcelain. The beauty and richness of Eastern civilisations was carried by the ships of the East India Companies to the great ports of Lorient, Marseille , Amsterdam and London, and the rich and fashionable classes eagerly adopted the new decorative styles. and copied them for their houses and wardrobes.

The Dancing Lesson is one of the most charming and I have a large panel of this in the raspberry red colour which was one of the most popular colours produced from Madder plants and cheaper than some of the other vegetable dyes. Toile de Jouy was expensive, even then, and was often mixed with the Toile de Vichy a large red/white check to complete the furnishing in a room, lining pelmets, backing chairs and making bed valances.

Children's Towels, Help me find

I have just had an SOS from dealer friend asking for a source for Victorian children's towels - I have never seen or heard of them but there may be some lurking out there and if so the film co. will be very grateful -contact me at dbaer@onetel.com if you have anything likely. I have had a lot of dealings with wardrobe ladies and it is well worth running round for them as they are always short of time, their deadlines are terribly short and they do tend to come back to you if you can help. I have just sold a load of damaged linen sheets for dyeing and making up for another epic film and was pleased that someone (as always) found a good use for 'seconds'.
I will give you full credit, of course.

The Real Thing

This charming scene is one of the designs by Jean Baptiste HUET who drew many scenes for the original Toile de Jouy factory. He was specially gifted in drawing animals and rustic scenes in a romantic and idealised style. This is dated 1783 - 89 and is only known in red. The toile is named l'Escarpolette (The Swing) with all its romantic associations and also shows a coach and donkey carrying the happy couple away! Several large unused pieces, bright as could be, had been stashed away in the attics of the Chateau de Montesquieu, nr. Bordeaux, and appeared at a country Antique Fair, where I spotted them in a dirty cardboard box.
Funnily enough, the seller told me it was a Beautiran print, (he came from nearby Bordeaux) but when I found it in my book of Jouy patterns, that made it that much more special! Jouy is much sought after and it was good to find even a snippet in good condition. Each little scene could make the centre of a luxurious cushion or chair seat! Would M. Huet approve??

THE LUXURY OF LINEN

All hand embroidery

On my last visit to France I had the luck to purchase the entire contents of a linen room, all from a prosperous bourgeois house where everything was of the best quality. I have now sorted it all out and can offer a lot of extremely good value linens, all clean, pressed and ready for use. Remember that a lot of French 'double' sheets are only just over 6' wide so these are a really good buy if you have a normal English size bed:
Extra long fine weave linen double bed sheets 10' long X 7' and 8'width
some with openwork hemstitching £20 - 25 each
Fine linen initialled double bed sheets with similar borders, extra large £45 each
Finest cotton percale double bed sheets, very large, 4 rows of drawn thread work and reveres
very bright white, £55 each, as new. 2 different pairs large fine linen, superb initials (pics.) £85 each, as new.
About 30 assorted linen double bed sheets, all v.g.c. £25 each various widths and lengths.
Fine lawn baby pillow cases with broderie anglaise borders, £6 each, linen cot sheets, £5 each, tablecloths £15, heavy linen sleeping bag liners,£20, etc.

Large quantity of double, pure linen sheets, many very large over 10' long, seconds, which have professional repairs, (mostly extremely neat double seamed patches along sides), which could have many uses for dyeing, accessory making, cottage curtains, sofa throws, cushions, crafts, already used for film costume and fashion designs. To clear, £10 AND £15 each. Most of this last lot NOW SOLD, BUT THE REST STILL FOR SALE! I have no room for these and would sell them even cheaper as a job lot! 6 odd ones @£5 each!
Email me at dbaer@onetel.com with your phone no. to view in Bradford on Avon, nr. Bath.

SWEET COLOURS are in good taste

Hempolin tea towels

black/white pillow case

sweetie stripes on a grain sack

It was time to re-stock my reserve of rustic hemp, so went off to my supplier, and I had a lovely time rooting through a huge new stock that had just arrived from the furthest parts of Eastern Europe by lorry. I had no idea that the attractive grain sacks in handwoven hemp came in such a vast variation of colour and design. The stripes of colour woven into them were a sort of bar-code for identifying the actual village that the grain came from, so that the empty sacks could be returned to their owners. Most people have seen the common bright red and strong blue stripes, sometimes combined with large cross-stitched initials, known as Hungarian sacks. I have used them for years to cover French easy chairs. Now I was seeing (and buying) a wide variety of coloured stripes and very distinctive weaves, some in very close herringbone patterns, others looser and coarser, no doubt suitable for different crops and seeds that they might contain. Amongst the best were a whole lot in what I can only call toffee, butterscotch and caramel stripes, which with the creamy back ground of basic hemp, were lovely and very subtle in a muted palette. The black and white linen mix was very striking and has the latest contemporary look. I intend to re-cover my own fireside chair with toffee! Will post its portrait when done. You need to choose the closer weaves for chairs in constant use as some are fairly loose-woven and stretch and sag. I am getting very keen on hemp as an eco-friendly material with huge potential and I will keep on encouraging people to use this valuable stuff.

Darn! It's got a hole!

Inevitably, old materials have areas of wear and damage and it is best to do simple neat repairs before washing which will only make matters worse. Holes, if small, can be darned with a strong thread and fine needle, otherwise a neat patch of slightly finer weave makes the best repair. I pin the patch in place, turning the edges under and stitch all round by machine, then turn the work over and snipping four corner cuts into a rectangle shape, turn the damaged edges in and either darn across with a machine or make another neat square in the sheet, machining all round. If there is a split and no fabric missing, I either zig -zag, catching both edges together or machine-darn across the space, using a fine needle in the machine and a normal cotton thread. Some of the old French darns on linen are works of art, they are circular and rather like a cartwheel, the thread is woven round and round in and out of the 'spokes' .