Thursday 17 June 2010

A Young Girl Knitting

We've been doing a bit of redecorating and sorting out over the last few months. As I type the DH is painting the kitchen and then he'll put up a few (by few, I mean lots) shelves for my collection of vintage cookery books. We've also been trawling through the local junk shops and antiques centres looking for bargains to put on our dresser. I've found some lovely Victorian champagne glasses for £3 each and a nice Victorian circular, glass, butter dish, again for £3. I'm hoping that our Christmas table will look really pretty this year and I'm becoming slightly obsessed with looking for quality vintage bargains to keep on the dresser for "best".
Amongst the china and silver plate in a dusty, stuffed, wonderful, little shop in Market Bosworth I found this amateur watercolour of a young girl knitting. It's beautifully done, but despite the near perfect folds of the dress and position of the hands, the feet are a little clunky and the face is pretty, but not as delicate as the rest of the drawing. It's dated 1934 and signed P. M. Wray. It would be lovely to find out who P.M. Wray was, it's nice to think it was a local person, perhaps a woman, sketching her children and friends as they went about their business. It's an insight into the past and a thing of beauty and I feel very happy that I own it. Oh, and the antiques chappy didn't even know that he had it, and gave it to me for free when I bought the champagne glasses. This is why I love second hand shopping sprees. Lovely things and nice people.

7 comments:

Niki said...

good luck finding treasures, she is sweet, her feet are not toooo clunky, and I do like the teacup and saucer.

Hugs
Niki

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I like the idea of a mother sketching her children, and this being one of the sketches. I like it.

I hope you're doing well. I check in to read the blog, and always have big plans of writing substantial comments later, when I have a little more time, but I never do. So this insubstantial comment will have to suffice!

frances

Dulce Domum said...

Sue,
You're right, I double checked and there's only one needle...or should I say hook?

Anonymous said...

Lovely picture! I like to find treasures like that.

I got the books, thank you. I'll send you an email this weekend (I'm at my Mum's as I type this).

Pip, pip. xx

Angela said...

Lovely picture. Hoping to go to MB myself this weekend to the quilt exhibition

Dulce Domum said...

Ang,
I've been trying to comment on your site. Only to say I'm glad you liked the card and I have the sarong that bloke is wearing in your picture...perhaps it was the DH...has he become a transvestite Baptist? Note to self, must ask DH what he does on quiet Sunday afternoons.

I'm off to MH on Saturday and Sunday too. We're taking the kids to the festival and I want to take a look at the quilt exhibition. If you see a woman of Ma Larkin-esque proportions with two ice cream covered curly-girls in tow it is I, Dulce Domum!

Gumbo Lily said...

The picture is a lovely find. I like it. Will there be pictures of the fresh painted walls and all?

Jody