In the interest of making a lot of embroidery progress in a short amount of time, we’ve scheduled four sessions in January. We’re going to run two sessions back-to-back, twice. If you haven’t been able to make any of the sessions so far, now’s your chance – come to Plymouth in January (OK, doesn’t have the ring of April in Paris, but we’ve got embroidery). Let me know jhall@plimoth.org if January is a possibility for you and we’ll talk dates. Remember, the maximum we’ll be able to have is 12, and by then we’re likely to be down to 10 frames so the sessions will fill quickly.

 

 Thanks for the comment, Carol, I’m glad the picture is clearer. If you hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have tried to get a better one. If anyone has other questions, please leave me a comment or send me a note.

 

Two pictures tonight. The top one is an array of Lauren’s work; all her designs and mostly her stitching. The second is another detail of the late 17^th-century stumpwork picture Joanna Hill brought to the embroidery session.

 

And I thought I’d link again to the stitch directions, for those who’ve only recently joined us. Here’s REVERSE CHAIN STITCH and DETACHED BUTTONHOLE STITCH.

First, Kathy has managed to secure us a larger room for the December session – December 11-14. (YAY, Kathy!) That means we can have the full complement of 12 embroiderers. So far I have 10, and a couple of those are tentative, so is there anyone else out there who would like to come to Plymouth in December? The living history sites will be closed to the public by then, but the gift shops in the Visitors’ Center will still be open. We’ll also have some of the special programs that the first two groups have enjoyed so much.

 

Aha, you sharp-eyed readers caught me there: a full complement is now only 12, not 13 as it was a few weeks ago. One of the frames has “gone out of service”, meaning that as much work as can be done on it has been done. It is waiting for more threads to be made; more colors of the sparkle thread and the gold thread for the curling vine. Likely that number will go down further as we finish what can be done on the other small frames – the gussets, the wings, the collar & cuffs. The collar & cuffs especially still have a bit to go before that happens.

 

Thanks to Wendy who reminded me to THANK TOM for rescuing us Friday night. At the end of each session the work room has to be broken down and everything moved back to the building where the Colonial Wardrobe office is. Wendy and Tricia offered the use of their big cars so we needed to make only one trip, but if Tom hadn’t shown up to help us load everything, we might still be there carrying. Thanks again, Tom.

 

So, one of the questions that invariably comes up when looking at the partly embroidered pieces is, “Who gets to wear it?” The jacket, of course, isn’t intended for even occasional wearings, it’s meant to be on a mannequin in the adornment exhibit. But a piece of clothing has to be worn at least once, I feel, or somehow it won’t be whole. We’re making the jacket to the dimensions of the original, not to fit anyone in particular. The pieces look little but in reality the finished jacket shouldn’t be impossibly small. In fact, one of the historical interpreters currently on staff ought to be able to fit into it. Paulette is of medium height and slender and her measurements match the measurements of the garment pieces. She may have even tried on the muslin of the jacket while it was being proved this winter. So Paulette will get to wear it, at least once, maybe more, who knows.

 

What other items of clothing will go with the jacket is a puzzle for another day.

HA. I think I did it. Last week, or is the week before? Carol left a request in the comments. The photo of the full sleeve was blurry, could I post a clearer one? I consulted with Rich (I’m all the time with the calls, how do I do this? Can I do that? and always he’s so patient) and after the third time through the same explanation I think I’ve got it. The answer is, I can’t actually put a clearer picture in the post, Bloggie can only handle so much. BUT I can link to a better picture. And after trying it, apparently I CAN. Woo-hoo. (Thanks, Rich.)

 

CLICK HERE and be zoomed to a photo of the whole left upper sleeve. It’s still not so clear big like that, but roll the cursor over the picture and click and you’ll be zoomed in even closer. Sparkly clear now? Fortunately I’m easily amused, and even better, little things like this give me a sense of accomplishment…..

 

And just because I’m feeling so competent, here are some details of the embroidery. The pink round thing is a strawberry, done in the special sparkle thread.

 

Margaret, who was here volunteering last week, has a blog called Life, needlework and everything. Go visit and see more of her great-grandmother’s needlework, some beautiful work of Margaret’s, and her report on her trip to Plimoth. She did excellent work on the jacket, both in quantity and quality. Thanks for the link, Margaret, I enjoyed reading.

One of our embroiderers had to leave early last week due to illness. I’d like to send some get well wishes to Joanne D; we all hope she’s all better in no time, and will be able to join us again.

 

I incorrectly credited one of last night’s photos. The close-up of Shaina’s hands embroidering was taken by my daughter, not by Laura, as I was informed this evening. “It’s an interesting blog. I like it,” she pronounced after reading the last few entries. “It could use more pictures, though.”

 

Happy to oblige with two details of the exquisite work done by our generous volunteers. The first one is, surprisingly, a "spiky winged butterfly" (as opposed to a round-winged one). The second is a partially worked honeysuckle. Some of the flowers look to me exactly like what they are; the pansies, for instance, and the borage. This does not.

 

One of the objectives of the embroidered jacket project is to introduce not-yet-embroiderers to the art, and to encourage beginning embroiderers to tackle more complex projects.

 

We’re meeting that objective already. Here’s Shaina, the newest tailor in the Colonial Wardrobe Department. She started in June, just before the first embroidery session. She had done some embroidery before, but hadn’t tried these kinds of stitches. After a few lessons from Tricia and a day of practicing, and holding stitch diagrams up to the light to see the steps reversed (she’s a lefty) Shaina was embroidering on the jacket!

 

I am wicked impressed. Here’s a beautiful shot of her hands working the stitches. Laura took these pictures.

 

Thanks for Carol’s comment asking for a higher-resolution image of the partially embroidered sleeve. As I suspected, there IS a way to do that, but I had to ask Rich to explain it to me two or three times. I think I’ve got it and will try it, but I have to take a higher-resolution photo first.

 

Another prospective volunteer asked for stitch directions. If you click on “participate” over to the right it will provide you with a list of all the blog entries I labeled that way. Links to the pdf’s of the stitch instructions appear in blue type. Some of them are on the second page of the list. I hope that helps, if not, write me at jhall@plimoth.org and I’ll try again.

Well, Session Two is in the books, and by all accounts was a resounding success. The whole story’ll unfold over a couple of days, especially because I have lots of pictures, but for starters:

 

An unexpected delight of the first session was getting to see and admire treasures brought in by the volunteer embroiderers. This time, I asked everyone to bring their needlework all on the same day. Also on that day, a spectacular treat was brought by Joanna Hill, a textile conservator from the greater Boston area: a late 17^th-century stumpwork picture. We were all allowed to examine it up close – no glass in between, no anxious museum guard asking us to step back, please, ma’am (right, who HASN’T had that happen?) – and even take pictures!

 

The first picture is of some of the participants viewing the stumpwork piece.

 

 Here’s one small detail of what they’re looking at……

 

 

 

Then there were the goodies brought by the volunteers. This collection of crocheted samples was worked by Margaret’s great-grandmother. This is only one layer of the samples, and the whole thing is only one of several beautiful items Margaret shared with us. How lucky, and precious to still have them. 

 

 

Also Lucinda’s beautiful embroidered and beaded pieces. Lucinda gave us one of my favorite quotes from this session. Before she came, a friend had expressed concern that she was traveling alone and didn’t know anyone else who was participating. Lucinda wasn’t worried, though, she replied that she’d get along just fine “because, you know, embroiderers mesh.” And, she’s right. Like last time, some of the embroiderers knew each other, some knew Tricia, others knew no one, but everyone meshed. Chatting, laughing, making new friendships and renewing old ones; I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, that’s the real gift of this project.

 

Samples arrived from Melanie L and Kimberly S (Melanie’s arrived late the week before last, and was safely tucked into The Book, but I neglected to mention it in all the bustle).

 

Even if you’re not planning to come embroider, please do finish and send in your sample. We have a big binder (The Book) of all of the samples in clear plastic sleeves. These bits of embroidery speak volumes about this project, how the idea of recreating this spectacular artifact has caught the imagination of so many all over the world. The samples, without the names and addresses (I’m thinking now just first names and city/state, like Jill, Middleborough, MA how would that be?) will be part of the record of this project, and also part of the display associated with the finished piece. They’ll not only demonstrate how many people helped make the jacket a reality but they can be viewed up close and even handled, so people can see the back, can feel the texture, can appreciate the skilled work more immediately than would be possible by the finished piece in a case. Please send yours back.

The second embroidery bee is going very well. It’s a busy time, though, and I got home late, so tonight just a couple of pictures.

 

Here are Carol’s hands working with the special new thread. So far we only have three of the colors we need; the others are still being made. We’ll definitely have more information about this thread, what it is, how it is made, how you can get some….but for now, here’s another picture of a finished motif, a thistle. This is the one Robbin did, I believe. The calyx is Ceylon stitch, the blossom part is detached buttonhole stitch with the new thread. I’m not sure how well it you can see it. It really shows to best advantage as the light moves over it, which of course a camera can’t do.

 

That’s really about all the brain I have tonight. I’ll do proper posts about this session over the next week or two.

Some “before” pictures. Here is the right upper sleeve and a detail. This was worked on only at the June stitching session. Next week I’ll have an “after” picture to show you.