Thursday, August 16, 2007

TAST 32 and 33 Crested Chain and Scroll



I've had fun this week working on quick little samples. Some weeks I can think of nothing to do other than just rows of stitches, and other weeks I get inspired, although this time some might say I've just gotten silly. Whatever the case, I've used only the stitch of the week in each piece. My stitch sample book is getting quite large and I think I might have to get a new and bigger book to hold everything? When you start adding cloth and thread, things get thick very quickly.
Hope you are all enjoying the challenge as much as I am.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Lace questons

While I have always enjoyed the lace samples I have that were crocheted by my great grandmother, I never thought they would be of interest to others until I took them up to Plimoth Plantation for show and tell last week. It reminded me that I have promised my Stitching Sisters Christine and Jenny in Australia that I would put some photos up for them to see. At first I had thought everything was crocheted but when I saw the knotted lace on Jenny's blog and as I looked at things closely when deciding what to take, I realized that there were different types of lace in my pile.

So here are some things I could manage on the scanner since the camera is in use elsewhere. I think there is bobbin and needlelace here as well as crocheted lace. There is a needlelace tradition in Hungary (which is where my mother and her family are from) specifically in Kiskunhalas. I have two pieces framed.
I would love to hear from anyone who can tell me what's what.




Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Small fun stuff

As I've been contemplating other bigger projects and deciding where to start, I've been working on smaller things. I finished these two this week. Technically, the St. Paul's on the bottom isn't finished because I need to make it into an ornament, but the cross stitching is done. The top is the commemorative needlebook kit we received at Plimoth Plantation last week (see previous post). Isn't Wendy White's design lovely? And I really enjoyed working with the perforated paper card. I have an extra special bit on my needlebook. I saved the ends of the gold wrapped silk I was using on the jacket and made the top pink flower on each side with it.

Carol Ann had a question about the piece I was working on for the jacket project. I don't get to finish the underarm piece. All the pieces stay at Plimoth Plantation and get worked on there. Some in my group were there for a second go round. But others like me were there for the first time. There will be sessions every month until next year but I don't think I'll be able to go back so I won't be able to do more on the jacket. But it is nice knowing I've been a part of such an amazing project. Tricia Wilson Nguyen is working on a series of kits that will be available based on this piece though, for those who are interested - keep a look out.

Monday, August 13, 2007

trip to Plimoth Plantation

My trip to MA was fantastic! I arrived home late Friday night but company prevented me from blogging until today. I must start by thanking Dorothy on the EGA National Yahoo group who wrote about this project. When she told the group about the jacket project back in May I went to the website and was thrilled with the idea of recreating the jacket. I ordered the sample kit soon after and with my husband's blessings I started to plan for this trip.

We started Wednesday morning with warm up samples and then moved on to the actual jacket pieces. We all started with leaves or buds outlined with reverse chain and filled with detached buttonhole stitch. The filling is quite dense and looks beautiful done in the twisted silks. We were all lucky to be able to look at what the June group had stitched. Here is one part of the room as we started stitching.

All the pieces are stretched on frames and the larger pieces have stands. It was the first time using a floor stand for me and I actually like it - which is saying alot from a person who normally stitches in hand with no hoop if at all possible. For this stitch it is very important to be using a frame though. While we spent most of our time stitching, there were several exciting events planned for us as well. During our first lunch, we had a talk about Thanksgiving from Kathleen Curtain, the plantation food historian, which was very enjoyable and her book was included in our gift bags.
I was working on the left underarm piece of the jacket. It had not been worked on because they had only just acquired enough large frames to stretch all the pieces. It was nice to have a new piece because at the end of it all, I knew everything on the piece was done by my - not that there was much done, but it was still nice.
Our first evening program was a needlebook kit with a design by Wendy White on a Tokens and Trifles card with a customized back that commemorates our stitching session.. The pattern was special - based on one of the two samplers in the Plimoth Plantation collection that we were able to see in person the next day.

On Thursday, as well as having the chance to see a real stumpwork piece close up, we had a behind the scenes tour of the Plimoth Plantation collections department with Karin the curator in charge of the collections. She brought out a selection of needlework and clothing related items to show us, along with the two samplers. She also told us about a wonderful book, Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing, by Mary C. Beaudry. I purchased the book and it is wonderful (more in another post). There was a large shelf of pieced together pottery that had been recovered from privy digs - a useful place to study the past.

We also had our show and tell time. It was wonderful to see everyone's work. I have so many ideas for things to make - as always I'll write them down or I will forget them before I ever get the chance to work on them.

Later in the day, Jill Hall took us to the wardrobe workshop and showed us where they clothe the 50-60 English settler interpreters at Plimoth Plantation. There is a separate wardrobe department for the Native People who wear Wampanoag dress.
So here is my completed underarm piece. As you can see, three days of stitching doesn't cover much ground when you are working with detached buttonhole and getting used to a floor frame. Mind you I did take breaks and had time off for meals and shopping. I imagine the women who made these jackets back in the 16th and 17th centuries didn't have so much time off and I know their meals weren't as nice as the ones we had.


I can't tell you how exciting it was to talk with Tricia Wilson Nguyen about the project. She is very excited by all the technical details and knowledgeable about the threads. It was fascinating to hear about how she researched the threads used and how she was able to get gold wrapped thread for the project. And the gold wrapped thread was great fun to work with. The two pink strawberries are done with the carnation colour.

Everyone at Plimoth Plantation was great. Jill and her staff in the Colonial Wardrobe Department (and Jill's two lovely daughters) did so much for us. And all the other stitchers were so nice and it was inspiring to hear about all their projects and the classes they had taken. I realized that despite my many years of stitching, I really am just a neophyte when it comes to real historical stitching. A few reproduction samplers is nothing compared to the work many of the other participants are doing. It was a real learning experience all around.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Historical needlework and beads

The day after tomorrow I leave for Plimoth Plantation in MA. I'll be working on the 1627 jacket project up there http://www.plimoth.org/embroidery-blog/ I'm very excited to be able to participate in a project like this. When I first got serious about embroidery I was into reproduction samplers and now I'm interested in stumpwork so the chance to learn more about historical embroidery fits right in with my interests. I'll have three days of stitching with a lecture and special project as well. Can you imagine, three days with nothing but embroidery! Thank goodness I have such an indulgent husband. He encouraged me to go and he is staying home from work to look after the kids while I go.

In order to ready myself for the stitching, I've spent the last few days working on the butterfly pattern that came with the stitching sample kit that was part of the process for participating. The body of the butterfly is trellis stitch, the red wings are buttonhole and the pink wings are buttonhole lace - the outline is couched down so afterwards you can lift off the wing and attach it where you want it. Just this butterfly and the samples have taught me so much, I can't imagine how much I will learn going to work on the jacket.

In the meantime, I went to a local bead store yesterday - which has an online storefront as well http://banglesandbeads.net/catalog/ - and I was awestruck. Having only encountered the craft store bead aisles, this store was incredible. I love the crystals and pearls and glass beads, but the semiprecious stones that were available in all sorts of shapes were really inspiring. I could see garden paths and water and flowers and trees and all sorts of things I could embellish with those beads. I guess the variations in the stones fit with my love of overdyed threads. I didn't get anything for myself this trip - I bought quite a bit to encourage my daughter's new love of jewellery making - but I will get something on another trip because I will go in with some ideas!