Comments on: Mystery

By: carol scheele

carol scheele — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:39:43 +0000

These look like either kits or, at the very least, companion pieces that were published in a book or magazine. They really have a 1960’s “feel.” The colors are very sharp and saturated – very 1960’s. When you place the pieces side by side, they look like a matched “set” – and they balance each other out with color, composition, form, and even size. I don’t think there were many individuals back then who were designing their own pieces. Crewel was too “new” then – and kits were the rage. A clue might be to remove both pieces from their frames. If the pieces of fabric are exactly sized – then they’re probably from kits. Are the wools true crewel wools or are they “tapestry yarns?” Whatever these embroideries are – they’re delightful and whimsical. They’re also a good example of why pieces of art should be signed and dated – somewhere or somehow – even if only in a separate journal entry that might read: “I finally finished the lion and lamb crewel work today! Grandma – December, 1967″ Documentation is SO important to family members who inherit our gifts of time and inspiration! I keep a “needlework journal” for just that purpose. I record all kinds of things about each piece I work on – including how I was feeling and what was inspiring me about the piece. I record why I chose certain colors, or why I selected a particular theme or who I was stitching the piece for. I always tell my students to do the same. Perhaps these pieces are here to teach us a lesson – and maybe this blog can become part of the heritage of these 2 crewel embroideries!

By: bcubed

bcubed — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:24:12 +0000

The first embroidery I ever did, in 1967, was a Pargon kit of a Jacobean style Tree of Life. It is not exactly like either of these but very similar in style. I still have it.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:34:19 +0000

I agree. This strikes me as mid 1900’s. The bright blue of the floss in the “lamb” piece appears to be too bright for a period piece. I remember seeing items similar to this in the 70’s when I was learning to embroider.

By: Libbet

Libbet — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:55:16 +0000

These feel “60’s” to me. I have several embroidery books from the time that are big into Jacobean type and Tree of life. I have memories of either my Grandmother or my Mother doing similar pieces. I remember going to needlework stores where you could by kits, or they had people who would design what you wanted (the second seems a bit more likely with my Grandmother). You could get the designs out of books too. Erica Wilson wrote several books at that time with different types of patterning, Jacobean Tree of Life was in there.