I am a domestic Goddess!

Don't believe it!

I have disgusting and horrible pictures to prove it - so consider yourself warned and take action (or heed) if you can't stand photos of dirt.

But before I show the whole world that I seriously lack in the Goddess department let me show you one of the ghosts from my dungeon - the basement where ghosts from my past live a dusty and forgotten life.

One of them has made it up the stairs under the roof to my tiny and old appartment, it has been washed and ironed a little bit - all so that you can see what once was on the table - so to speak.

This was the tablecloth I believed was embroidered in Hardanger. Totally wrong. My brain is not what it used to be *sigh*
Obviously it is what I believe is called counted needlepoint (?)

Also - and this is even more important (or embarassing) - I did not make this. I thought I did, but no. A friend gave it to me many, many years ago and I have treasured it so much that I seriously believed I made it my self. But I know I made some Hardanger but I haven't got a clue where it is or what exactly it was.

Here it is - almost half of it hanging from my ironing board - a tablecloth made many, many years ago by a dear friend.
Such good memories:-)



And now to the filthy part. I warned you!

I have been doing more of that once-a-year-cleaning. Not amusing. And some times scary.
In the near future some poor guy will visit me to read the meters on my radiators. So - time to clean the radiators!
I have four of them. Remember I live in a tiny appartment - so bedroom, living room and kitchen were done without problem. But the radiator in my tiny, tiny bathroom is a problem.

A BIG problem. HUGE.
Here is why:

Yes. Som building-inspector-genius mounted the radiator under the ceiling!

I never use it. But that doesn't stop the darn thing from being filthy, gross and utterly disgusting!
There is no way I can clean that thing up there. The bathroom is 1,8 m2 and there is NO room for a ladder and even if there were I could not reach anyway.

I try not to look too close at it. I wipe dust and cobwebs with a broom and that's it.

And then I got that stupid idea to look a bit closer at the handle. The one in the kitchen - which by the way is very close to the stove I sometimes kick cook on.

OH MY GOD!!!




For heavens sake, woman!!!!!

 I told you it was horrible!!!


I don't usually stick my nose or bad eyes down to check handles on radiators for dust and ugly stuff - I wipe them down with a wet cloth on and of - but I never ever had the idea to check behind the handle in between those plastic ribs.

I'm absolutely sure thats what a true domestic Goddess would do.  I'm sure that YOU do it.

Oh - how I HATE this kind of cleaning.

It's supposed to make you feel GOOD when its finished but this just s*cks.


I need chocolate.
And peanuts.
NOW!

15/6 UPDATE: I deserve to show you a cleaned handle to prove that I'm not a totally domestic pig *lol*
Now - I cleaned them with cotton sticks and took pictures of the handles 3 times and each time the darned things STILL looked dirty on the photos!
Some things just can't be done perfect - a 90% clean radiator handle have to be okay!

Almost clean!

A finish...

Det var supernemt, hurtigt og utroligt afslappende.
Portugisisk broderi kan varmt anbefales:-)
Og så er det færdigt! (jeg er stadig i chok!)

Men... jeg vil jo gerne bruge det til noget, som ikke er en pynteting. Små lyseduge og lignende er ikke mig - så idéer er meget velkomne:-)



Motif meassures 8,5 x 8,5 cm (3,25 x 3,25 inch)


The Portuguese whitework was super easy, quick and very relaxing.
And best of all - it is finished! (I'm in shock!)

But what to do with it? What can I make out of it?
I'm not really into small decorative embroidered pieces laying around on tables, shelves etc. so I want to incorporate it into something useful.

Help and ideas are most welcome!

Portuguese Whitework

Some time ago Mary Corbet recommended an embroidery book about Portuguese Whitework written by Yvette Stanton. I found this review rather interesting because the technique is a mix of Hardanger and Bullion Knots - and that this kind of embroidery only uses 21 various stitches - all of them also used in Crewel embroidery.

I bought the book immediately and have been reading a lot about the history, patterns, stitches etc.

 

My photo


For et stykke tid siden anbefalede Mary Corbet ovenstående bog om portugisisk broderi skrevet af Yvette Stanton. Denne type broderi er specielt for området Guimarães i det nordlige Portugal og er et mix af det vi kender som Hardanger og Bullion Knots. Der er oprindeligt kun 21 forskellige broderiteknikker (eller sting) - alle sting som også bruges i Crewel, som jeg er meget optaget af.
Så bogen blev omgående købt og jeg har læst en hel del om historien bag, om teknikken osv.

 I picked out a beginner's project...

 

photo from the book - more cuteness sneaking into my life!

 Jeg valgte et begynderprojekt fra bogen..

...and this is where I am to-day.

 ... og så langt er jeg i dag.


The funny thing is.... when I had embroidered a couple of minutes I suddenly remembered that I used to do a lot of Hardanger when I was about 11-12 years old. I actually have a rather large tablecloth embroidered in Hardanger - it is white on blue linen. I haven't seen it in years - I'm sure though that it is hiding somewhere in the dungeon I call my basement - a place filled with old forgotten, dusty and scary things from my past *lol*

Det mærkelige er, at da jeg havde broderet nogle få minutter så huskede jeg lige pludselig, at jeg havde lavet en hel del Hardangerbroderi da jeg var en 11-12 år. Jeg lavede bla en stor blå dug som nu befinder sig et eller andet sted i 'undergrunden' - i min kælder - sammen med en masse andre gamle, støvede og glemte sager fra min fortid.
En fortid, som man åbenbart ikke kan løbe fra, selv om man har glemt en masse - det sidder på rygraden..
Så jeg er på Hardanger igen - og det er (foreløbigt) sjovt og nemt:-)