Thrift Store Find of the Week! {Vintage Hungarian Embroidery}

This is one of those rare treasures that shows up once in a blue moon, and if you're lucky, you recognize it for what it is and snatch it up before anyone else does. I saw this, and at first, I didn't even think it was real: but on closer inspection, I realized that this runner was made of real (and very fine) linen, and that all of the embroidery and lace was sewn by hand. I didn't understand what the words meant, or even what language they were in, but it just seemed so beautiful, I really wanted to buy it.

Unfortunately, it didn't have a price tag. My local Salvation Army has a policy that they don't sell anything that doesn't have a tag. This is to discourage people from removing the tags from expensive items, hoping to get them for cheaper. Lucky for me, the girl at the counter was nice and let me buy it anyway, and she gave it to me (!!) for only $2!

Once I got home, I did some internet searching, and learned that "Szent Jozsef" is Hungarian for St. Joseph, and that Hungary is famous for it's folk art embroidery, so this piece is very likely from there. That's as far as I got though. I wish I knew more.