Olá! Nineteen
years ago I had no idea that my life would become intrinsically related to
embroidery. I was a university professor beginning my career and no way I could
think that embroidery would come into my life as it did… But there was a
premonitory sign…
I designed
my wedding dress and at that time I decided I would like it to be hand
embroidered, in a simple way, using color (not only white) and inspired by “Daisies”
– in Portugal, Margarida is used to
name a girl (Margaret) and to name the flower (daisy). Every detail was special
for me. And I wanted it exactly as I imagined, full of meaning…
It was not
an easy choice… Above all it was a lonely choice… My mother would have
preferred to have a richer embroidery. Maybe in gold or silver, or at least in
a brilliant white… Absolutely not in yellow and green!! The owner of the “embroidery
house” was a very respectful lady, heiress of the most famous “Maison de couture” in the North of
Portugal… No way she wanted to have her work related to something that could be
named as “simple”… She showed me so many samples trying to change my mind… But
I wanted daises in yellow and green… As I knew we had to reach a compromise I
decided, in order to make it “richer”, that they could use little beads but
only if they did not shine!! And they could create the pattern… Always
assuring: daisies in yellow and green.
And as it
often happens, compromise took us further. At the end all of us were happy with
the result.
This week,
celebrating 19 years of this special embroidery, I picked the dress to take
some photos. And I felt that it is not out of fashion because it was not meant
to be in fashion but rather to be full of meaning…
And now,
with my older daughter named Margarida
and embroidery “living” in my daily life, I’m sure that my wedding dress was
really full of meaning and that it had foretelling powers…
No doubt... that piece of embroidery
And I would love to know if there is such an important piece of embroidery in your life...
*this post was meant to be published last week...
*this post was meant to be published last week...
My grandmother embroidered me a shirt with a princess on the back and other things I loved on the yokes and pockets. I wish I still had it, it must have taken her hours!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wedding gown with the perfect embroidered daisies. How blessed you are to have such meaning and depth of beauty stitched into it.
ReplyDeleteI embroidered a pair of bell bottom jeans back in the 70s. It was a creative outlet for me, something I added to little by little until the pants were full of expressions created by me. I wish I still had those bell bottoms.
That is beautiful. I added some beads to my own dress. It was ok. My mom did cutwork embroidery on my aunts dress. I wish I could see that. Good for you for standing your ground, because the dress is memorable and personal. How perfect,
ReplyDeleteI see that you have them in your heart! I loved hearing about them
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story!!
ReplyDeleteThanks
ReplyDeleteYou still have it on your memories!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't embroider my wedding dress as the material was already stitched. It had 2 roses entwined together with a ribbon. I decided to do the same for my bouquet. It sounds awful and my husbands not too happy with my idea to cut up my wedding dress and do a bit more bling on the material to make special cushions or whatever comes to mind for my daughters. They didn't want to wear my dress. When they got married I was going to make the ring cushions out of my dress but my hubby said No. We've been married 43 yrs and together since our mid teens. This time I'm going to do it. Yes it will make me sad in a way but another part will be glad to share it around with my loved ones in a fashion they will love. That's the key LOVE. Your dress is gorgeous and I hope it will keep being beloved by your family.
ReplyDeleteLucky of you that you still have it! Keep it :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your story :)
ReplyDeleteSo lovely,
ReplyDelete