I was able to find enough of the difficult to find gold threads to open 60 spots for registration in Floral Glove Needlecase for September 1, 2013.  We already have 20 people in the class from the wait list so if you are interested in taking this course, there are 40 spots available for the fall.

The course is taught in six months with an extensive history section with licensed close photos of 17th century embroidered gloves from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  The project itself sits flat on the table looking like a glove, the gauntlet opens to reveal places for scissors and needlework tools to fit in.  The class is $40/month for 6 months and can be registered at the Thistle Threads website.

Britex Fabrics

I had a lovely time on Wednesday of this week with several ‘casketeers’ in the Bay area – Stacey and Cathe Ray (owner of the wonderful needlework shop Needle in a Haystack).  I was in the area for a Smart Textile conference that I am an organizer of and they rightly suggested an afternoon of visiting area fabric and ribbon stores for fun.  If you travel to San Fransisco, there are number of don’t miss places for those of us who love embroidery and fabrics.  Of course, don’t miss Needle in a Haystack, but also Britex which is a five floored store that has a terrific selections of silks, wools, buttons, notions ribbons and decorator fabrics.  Most of us realize how hard it is to find such materials these days and we had so much fun wandering through the small silk checks, double color taffetas, and the like.  Their displays are too yummy as well!

We then took in The Ribbonerie, a store that I have lusted after for years and was so excited to visit.  I have talked about Jan at Detectable Mountain Cloth many times before

The Ribbonerie

- well Paulette Knight, owner of The Ribbonerie is the same person – just for ribbons!  A truly wonderful store, full of both vintage ribbons and trims and new ones from France, Europe and Japan.  I know my ribbons and was pleasantly surprised to be surprised!  She carries all the wonderful small scale Mokuba ribbons that are perfect for needlework finishing as well as the double sided silk satin ribbon imported from Japan in all the sizes and luscious colors.  I have used these ribbons in my projects and every time I do – people want to know where to get them.  I am happy to point them now to Paulette.  If you want them, the colors are

Double Sided Silk Satin Ribbon

found on her website.  Go to Collections-> Satin -> Double Faced Silk Satin to see them.

One of the items that blew me away (and caused all three of us to go crazy getting some of every color) was the hand Fortuney-style pleated ribbons.  These are made for Paulette by a local fabric designer and they were so amazing – I had never seen anything like them.  You have to buy them ‘stretched’ when measured.  So a yard piece relaxes to be about 1/2-1/3 yard long.  But the effect is so stunning that we had to have them as they were changeable ribbons as well, meaning the warp and weft is a different color so you see multiple casts when moving them.  We were trying to figure out what to do with them and then seeing this piece in a case, we realized that we could line parts of our caskets or put the ribbon next to

Hand pleated Fortuney style ribbon

the mirrors – absolutely luccious!  I took a picture of the prices so anyone who wants these one of a kind lovelies can call them (415)626-6184 or email info@ribbonerie.com.

The Ribbonerie also sells a line of organic cotton ribbons that felt and looked like a duller version of silk.  I kept stroking them and couldn’t figure them out – but loved them.  We then went nuts for her collection of vintage metal thread laces. These are French made and are limited in amounts.  Some are quite reasonable and would be really useful for the caskets that many of my students are making.  Sometimes caskets were trimmed with a straight bobbin lace laid over a colored ribbon instead of the woven silver tape.  For those students looking for a different look – this is the place to get the

Box idea for pleated ribbon

materials!  The two items in the picture, one about 1/2″ wide, would be amazing like this.  The other is a 1/8″ wide trim that from afar looks exactly like the ‘smooshed’ trim that was used.  It is a looped edging but I can see it added to the edges of stumpwork dresses or capes.  I told Paulette to be ready for a deluge of email on this tiny trim as I bought a bunch for my own use.  I think it was about $2 a yard.

If you get to the area or see something you

Antique Metal Trims

like in my pictures – feel free to grab the picture and email them for a quote.  We all need to keep these treasure shops going so we can all have wonderful visit experiences – either in person or virtually.

Tricia

The Encore of Cabinet of Curiosities is starting on May 1st.  If you have been interested and have been waiting to hear more details about the casket forms that will be available, their details are up on the website now.  Students in the course get a discount on the wooden forms equal to the cost of the course.  The forms are being sold to them for a very small markup to cover the labor to pack them up and coordinate their making.  If you aren’t in the course, the forms are more expensive.

BUT the difference is the cost of the class.  If you purchase one without being a student, you have the option of being made a class member and getting the kits and passwords to the lessons.  One reason is that covering the boxes with the papers and fabrics/embroideries is so specialized that you need the instruction material to make the box.  It is too much work to embroider it to not have the info on how to install it properly.

The kits for the Cabinet of Curiosities include:

- all 32 colors of Soie Paris in the historic color line (5 m tubes)

- all 32 colors of Soie Ovale in the historic color line (15 m tubes)

- all 31 colors of Silk Wrapped purl in the historic color line (1/2 m each)

- all 31 colors of Silk Gimp in the historic color line (5 m tubes)

- a trinket box and reproduction tin plated brass escutcheon

- pink silk, pink silk velvet, ultra suede and ducheness silk satin

- Montrose linen, waste canvas, legacy linen and napier ivory linen

- wheat starch glue and brushes

- reproduction papers in cream and purple

- silver gilded purple papers with reproduction book binding stamps

- woven silver tape to edge trinket box

- Gilt 6-strand silk metal threads and silver twists

- gold webgimpe

- marbled papers

- other finishing materials and a Cup of Contemplation

The course members have just finished Lesson 12 of 18 and it includes 1000 pages of design motifs, templates, history, embroidery instruction and PICTURES of embroideries from private collections and museums that you will never see anywhere.  That doesn’t include the hundreds of weblinks to material on the web that supports the topics of the lessons.

I think that the best part of the course is the intangible of ‘finding your people’.  Most of us who have lusted after an embroidered casket don’t have anyone in our life who understands such an ‘obsession with a casket’.  Of course, they are so far off base – not even realizing that you are talking an embroidered jewel cabinet.  They think you are talking about a coffin and are a bit morose.  I set up a private social media site by NING that all students get an invitation to join.  There each student can set up a facebook-like page where they can upload pictures of their design work in progress, stitching, past projects and other pictures.  We have discussions that go on and everyone can participate and introduce new topics.  Students love it as they can locate materials, get help, find books, share experiences and the best part of all – ORGANIZE.  There are regular get-togethers organized around the world now around this class.  Just this last week there was a large group of current students and Encore students who visited the National Gallery of Victoria in Australia to see all the 17th century embroidery in the collection.  Those Encore students haven’t even started the first lesson! The curators gave them permission to post their pictures on the NING site so the rest of us could virtually visit as well.  And this is happening all over the world!  One such visit organized to the MET included a class member from Australia who was visiting the USA at the time and was included – because of the discussions.  That is fantastic.  I particularly love it when students post where they are going on vacation and the rest of the students swoop in with suggestions of museums to go to, names and numbers of curators, ‘don’t miss’ shops, and sometimes invitations to get together in person.  Some have personally met other students in a city to join them in a visit to a museum collection.

Meeting ‘your people’ – that has been one of the best parts of the class for me.

As one student told me recently – “this is 100 times better than spending the same amount to go to a seminar (travel, hotel and fees) – we get tons of material, 100 times the instruction, the same personal touch and yet it lasts 18 months!”

Tricia

There has been a wonderful Dress and Dress Accessories exhibit on at Williamsburg for the last year.  Well, recently the exhibit was placed online in a new and very interactive digital exhibition called “Explore~Historic Threads: Three Centuries of Clothing”.  It is quite fun with dozens of purses, embroidered buttons, workbags, clothing, etc in high resolution and able to be easily magnified. The site is a visual treat and one to enjoy with a cup of tea in a quiet room.  The pieces range from the 17th century to the 19th, with quite a few really lovely early pieces with gold work.  The site is wonderful for those who aren’t able to go to the gallery and even better for those of us who pressed our nose to the glass – here you can see them without glare and up close like you wanted!

Click here to enjoy the site today!

Tricia

There is a box full of stuff I have been collecting as I am putting my needlework room back together again.  So here is another item for a giveaway!  This is for a person with a little girl or boy in their life who needs a little bear to snuggle in church to keep quiet.  This pattern makes a little ‘bed’ for teddy to play with.

If you are interested, send me an email at tricia@alum.mit.edu with your address in the body of the message and “TEDDY” in the subject line by March 14th at midnight EST.

Tricia