Wednesday 5 June 2013

WIPW - Mysljus & Tändstickor

How fast the weeks pass by; it is already Wednesday again and time to give a WIPW progress report on the Kafferepet quilt.

Last week I showed you some silver items, a cake server and some spoons.
Let's move on to copper. This week I have a candlestick made out of copper to show you.





























Kafferep is a daytime gathering, and this quilt depicts a party held in summer, after all, the blooms in the border are summer flowers.
So you might rightly ask what a candlestick and a lit candle have to do with a daytime summer coffee party.

Well, winters are long and dark, the tradition of using candles to brighten the day is firmly rooted, and so even in summer people light candles. Especially when you have laid the table with a nice table cloth and the best china.

There is even a special name for candles that are only used for adding a good mood; mysljus. (charming and comforting candles).

I have also appliquéd a box of matches, tändstickor. The details of the illustration are too small for embroidery so I used a permanent ink pen and iron-on crayons instead.
Solstickan is a brand of the world famous Swedish safety match. An amount of the profit goes to charity. You can read all about it here.


All flowers on the border are now in full bloom so I got started on embellishing the undulating bias tape. I want to make use of as many TAST stitches as possible and chose Fancy Hem Stitch for this:


For more WIPW reports and lots of inspiration on how to use Sharon's new Stencils, head over to Pintangle.

13 comments:

Cynthia@wabisabiquilts said...

What a lovely candle tradition. It is so interesting to learn something about Sweden while admiring your beautiful stitching.

Angela said...

Looking good!

Annet said...

Great use of the fancy hem stitch!

carorose said...

Love your block today and have had a great time looking at the link to the museum. I have been collecting images of matchboxes for some time and some of the most memorable are from India but I see they say "made in Sweden" on the boxes.

sharonb said...

Love the story about the candles - thanks for sharing

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Cynthia
Many things in this quilt relate to object or customs people use all over the world. It is nice to compare one's own with other those of other countries. I have learned a lot, too!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Angela

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Annet.
Don't you think it gives a kind of thorny look to the stem?

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Carolyn
I have always taken the text *Swedish Safety Match' for granted but never known why. While doing the research for this block I learned about how the poisonous phosphorus was changed to a non-poisonous kind, which greatly improved the working conditions in the factories. Also by making the matches lit only against the striking surface of the box they were made safe. I mean, it looks 'cool' when a tough cowboy lights a match against the surface of his sole but, boy those matches must have caused all sorts of accidents.
Who knew one would learn so much while quilting!!!

Queeniepatch said...

Thank you, Sharon
Candles are used all over the world, in so many different ways and for various reasons. In Australia, would YOU light a candle while having afternoon tea in a sunlit room in summer? 'Mysljus' for atmosphere!

Elizabeth's quarters said...

Super piece of work and I love how you're not afraid to use pen and crayons in your work. Thank you also for your book recommendations-I will definitely check the book bag out!

Anonymous said...

A nice candle story, I like the use of candles in the house they give a nice atmosphere especially in winter.

Marjolein said...

You made good use of the fancy hem stitch to embellish the stem.