I have to speed ahead in my Jacket Tour tale as we are ready for this portion of the trip.  It has taken me months to get everything ready and I had slowed down the blog.  Now the timing is off.  Oh well.

Stitch a Snail for Storage - The Glittering Snail Project

I am happy to announce an off-shoot of the tour that everyone can enjoy – Stitching a Snail for Storage. Previous to leaving on the Jacket Tour, I asked all the curators if there were any special projects that they needed funds for as we were interested in leaving a donation at every site to thank them for their time.  Elaine and Rosemary at the Fashion Museum, Bath, let me know about a project to rehouse the 17th century glove collection in their care.  The Worshipful Company of Glovers, London has a fantastic collection of period glove in trust (Glove Collections Trust) and deposited them in the care of the Fashion Museum decades ago.  The gloves were stored in drawers with archival tissues separating them.  This is a storage method I have seen many times, but it is difficult to access them if there are many.  Due to the high volume of requests to see these pieces for research and tours, they wished to update the storage to allow better visibility of location (there are over 150 pairs!) and movement of the pieces.  By storing each pair in an individual box with photo and accession number clearly visible, they could access pieces quickly without moving others.  In the box, the gloves would be secured on a new plexiglass or acrylic stand in a specially cut foam base.  The stand could be lifted out without touching the gloves and moved around the table for better viewing.  It even allows the glove to be lifted and the bottom looked at without the glove being turned over.  What was even better was that the costs were comprehensible by everyone and in reach – about 10 pounds per storage box (roughly $15).  A small donation could make a big difference!

I was thrilled to know about a project so close to my interests (Floral Glove Online Class!).  The tour participants along with Susan and I donated the funds to rehouse almost 1/3 of the collection on the spot at our visit.  As the day wore on, I began to think that it was within the possibility to fund the rest of the rehousing project.  What if Thistle Threads was to make a Needlework Nibble off one of the pieces?  The funds could go to the museum and be earmarked for the project.  Rosemary, the curator, joined us and I proposed the idea.  She was very excited and we talked on the spot about what little detail could be turned into a kit.

I proposed a few ideas and she let me know about the other issues that would facilitate or complicate a particular choice (ownership of the object being the biggest – since we need permission).  In the end we chose a darling little snail from a glove owned by the Glove Collections Trust.  Rosemary is on the board and would take the proposal I would write in November to the Trust for discussion and hopefully approval.  Meanwhile, I would make up samples, instructions and see about getting the materials made.

Two days before (you will hear about this soon), Bill Barnes had showed me a prototype of a thread I had asked for that matched one in the snail.  Hot Dog! We could stitch a snail for storage and introduce a new thread to the embroidery community at the same time!  And I knew that the next day I would be off to Benton and Johnson for our factory tour – I would scope out the other missing thread.

So here we are.  We have 125 kits ready (more in the works until our supplies run out), instructions on the website and historic pictures to boot.  There are pictures by permission of the Gloves Collection Trust and courtesy of the Fashion Museum, Bath and North East Somerset Council.  They have graciously given me permission to use the photos of our visit as a thank you for your donations.  So enjoy the ride for the next month – there will be much eye candy to enjoy.  Gloves, jackets, and a glorious nightcap as well!

Stitch a Snail for Storage!  The list of those who purchase a kit will be given to the museum for their gift rolls.  I was asked at my class over the weekend (they got a sneak peek) if other donations could be given.  I am waiting for instructions from the finance group at the museum and will post them in the next day or so.  They would be thrilled for your generosity.

To start the eye candy, here are two photos of the glove that the inspiration came from.  It is GLO-23342 &A and its description is as follows:

Embroidered gauntlet gloves, with long extended fingers, c 1595 – 1605, of white leather dyed buff. There are nine shallow scalloped shaped tabs edged in long fringes with sequins. The embroidery in coloured silks, and metal threads shows a design of stylised fruits and flowers, with a phoenix rising from the ashes on both sides of each glove. Just below each phoenix motif is a tiny snail worked in blue silks and metal thread.

More on the glove and its details tomorrow.  My mailing list had 24 hours head start on the kits and bought 2/3 of them.  If you aren’t currently on the list, get on it! If you want to see the current email – click here.  There were also announcements of kits and charts that are being discontinued as well as other new products.

Tricia