With the year almost finished, I am going back to complete some posts languishing in the drafts folder during my busy fall. This is a follow-up to an earlier post on my trip to Sweden, “Final Swedish Days.” On my textile-filled day with Kirsi Manni in June, an antique shop near her home happened to be open, Siljansnäs Antik. (Facebook page)
Not only was the open door of the shop enticing, there was a beautiful sheepskin-backed rosepath weaving hanging on a nearby railing. Very promising.
Sure enough, a stack of beautiful weavings beckoned from a corner inside. I was attracted to a large monk’s belt weaving, beautifully woven and with such thin warp and weft.
Later my friend Annelie Holmberg said that it is the type of monk’s belt pattern called tärningsväv. Here is another tärningsväv piece from the Swedish Digital Library.
And another:
At first the dealer said they weren’t for sale yet – perhaps in a few days. Kirsi whined politely on my part. “But she’s from Minnesota. She won’t be here.” So I was able to buy it. Even better, it came with provenance. It belonged to the estate of his grandmother, Augusta Lucie von Dardel (1917-2010). She and her mother, Countess Ragnhild Caroliina Von Dardel (1885-1972), were skilled weavers.
The weaving was quite large, but didn’t fit well on our enormous table – not big enough to cover it, nor small enough to use with placemats. So I cut and hemmed it into two beautifully-proportioned rectangular pieces and one narrower runner. Look how gorgeous it looks with a piece of Hardangersøm on top.
It also looks beautiful with a piece of Swedish näversöm, translated as birth bark stitching. Kirsi picked this up as we were cruising through a secondhand store. “Here, you need to buy this. It’s only $2.” She didn’t need it; she has collected many! See Kirsi’s Facebook post. (See Kirsi Manni’s Facebook post.)
My take-away from my visit with Kirsi is that next time I need to come with a larger suitcase. Because I could also have purchased the pretty skinfell…
