Delicate Edwardian Dress

I did a tiny bit of repair work on this lovely, delicate Edwardian dress.  As always, it is fascinating to hold and handle these amazing old pieces, explore the construction details, and marvel at the age and quality of the fabrics and laces.

Cheery Cherry Wreath

This quilt was made near Millmont, PA.  It was purchased in the early 1990s on the farm of an Amish quilter who was selling both her own quilts and those made by other quilters in the area.

The quilt block is called cherry wreath.  I like the clean, clear look of the quilt, due to the great balance of color, and the expanses of white.  And as every quilter knows, stitching all those circles is a challenge and requires an experienced hand at appliqué.

Wooden Art

My recent estate sale excursion found this lovely little box, which I bought for my daughter who crochets.  The design is marquetry, inlaid with dyed wood, not painted.  And very sweet and springy, too.

As a child, I worked on several marquetry kits, and loved doing it.  I still have them - that's how much I enjoyed making them!  

Pewter Buttons

I was at an estate sale this weekend, and found several dusty, dingy cardboard boxes filled with dusty, dingy old sewing supplies.  In amongst them, I found these unusual, to me anyway, buttons.  So of course, I brought them home.  

My brilliant husband identified them as pewter.  We found out that in the late 18th and early to mid 19th century, many, many buttons were made of cast pewter.  These, according to some Q&A pages and blogs, were made for the folks who do historic reenactments.  These are easily identifiable as reproductions and not originals, because the shank is cast on as one piece instead of being added after casting just the circle.  So, no Antiques Roadshow win for me this time!  I am still quite happy with the purchase and my new knowledge, don't get  me wrong.

These are Revolutionary War style, proudly displaying the initials of the new country.

Needlework That Tells Stories: Exhibit in England

While searching around for something else, I came across notice of this wonderful exhibition at the Time and Tide Museum (lovely name!) in Yarmouth, Norfolk England.  It's called "Frayed: Textiles on the Edge."  It runs through 2 March 2014.  I'd go if I could!

Here's the theme as expressed by Ruth Battersby-Tooke, the exhibit curator, on the exhibit blog:  "...we have collected people's stories as well as the objects .... that had relevance to the idea of making textiles as a therapeutic art.  Not only an occupational therapy, a meaningful and structured way of busying the hands to still the mind, but also a powerful way to communicate, a creative and expressive way to release an inner voice." (The photo above is from the exhibit blog.)

Russia, the Olympics, and Quilts

Olympics!!!

The outfits of the U.S. snowboarding athletes use a print based on an antique quilt.  While I was peering closely at the snowboard racers on Thursday evening, I noticed a diamond patchwork-like design on their number bibs.  And then, handily, a quilt friend posted an article about that design.  

The "prints" on the diamonds contain references to many, many of the folk art traditions all across Russia.  The design is being used all over the Olympic events, and shows up on the medals as well.

So I began to wonder about the tradition of patchwork in Russia.

Here is the Russian Quilters Association.  Clicking on most of the links will take you to a page with photos to explore.

And the All Russia page shows lots of really wonderful quilts.  I especially love the rendition of Klimt's famous painting "The Kiss".  For some reason I was just imagining the other day how that painting could done in fabric - and poof! - here it is!  I can't find the name of the quilter.

Also, there are lots of cat quilts, which is fun.  There was a specially themed section called, "One Day in the Life of a Cat and Her Friends" at the show which is highlighted.  I especially like this stylized black, white, and brown one called "Family Portrait", by Galena Progonova.

I've always been fond of Russian culture, studied Russian throughout high school, and traveled there as a graduation gift back when it was still part of the USSR.  Also, my anthropology major in college has colored my interest in seeing how quilts and quilting vary around the world.  It's fun to see quilts, especially on the All Russia page, that depict the traditional Russian babushka (which actually means "grandmother", but in English has come to mean her headscarf) and Russian folktales and traditional dress.

I, for one, love to watch the Olympics, even though I'm not a sporty person.  The travelogue segments are the best!  I imagine I'm going to get a lot of embroidering done on my big tablecloth project.  I'll post a status report after the closing ceremony!

Romeo and Juliet - Costume Details

Here are the stories behind putting together some of the outfits worn in our recent Romeo and Juliet.  The story of the overall design process and photos of the production are in the previous post.

The main sources for the costume pieces were:

- our own collection

- a bin full of unfinsihed samples and prototypes generously donated to us by clothing designer Alice Berry

- Annie's incredible shopping spree at the Salvation Army on a 69-cent Saturday sale

- loans and donations from Julia at Basya Berkman Vintage Fashions

- the closets of the actors and costumers