I got a call today from one of the gift shop staff. There’s a lady here from Australia, and she wonders if it’s possible to see the jacket? This sort of thing is becoming more and more common, as more people find out about the jacket and of course want to see it. Work on the jacket happens almost completely behind the scenes. A few of us have done some embroidery in front of the public in the Crafts Center, but that is unusual and special. Many people who find out about the jacket here don’t realize the work isn’t ordinarily on display.

We try to accommodate these requests when they come up so I said I’d meet the Australian visitors in the Crafts Center. Because we’re behind the scenes we can’t just give museum guests directions to find us, they need an escort. And if you’re planning a visit to Plymouth particularly to see the jacket, please, please get in touch with me beforehand. There are days when no one is in the office, or times when we’re “in” but unavailable. You know where to find me.

Anyway, I met Mary and David from New South Wales and walked with them up to the office. Turns out that Mary didn’t know about the jacket before a day or two ago, when she was visiting the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Mary, a lace maker, was chatting with someone at the museum, staff or volunteer she wasn’t sure, about ivory bobbins for lace when that person, also a lace maker, told her about “what’s going on over at Plimoth.” Thank you to the anonymous lacer from New Bedford for spreading the word.

Mary told me about a lace teacher and researcher in Australia, Rosemary Shepherd, who is currently working on a book about metal laces. Definitely someone we’d like to get in touch with. It was a pleasant episode in a busy day, and another example of how this project is making connections among those who love historic dress and the techniques that created it all over the world.

Tricia did say that she got a photo of herself with the Embroiderers’ Guild panel and permission to post it, so we’ll see that at least. What a trip; I’m sure she’ll always remember this one.

Here’s a picture for today. This is the cover of Catherine’s workbox. There are all sorts of goodies inside, but this will whet your interest.

For the past few days Penny, Arianna, and Penny’s mom Betty have been preparing for a two-day dye demonstration that will happen outside the Crafts Center at Plimoth Plantation tomorrow and Sunday. They’ve been skeining, washing and mordanting, and preparing an indigo stock solution. Tomorrow will be the “hot” dyes, dyes that need to be heated to work, like madder and cochineal and fustic; Sunday will be the magic of indigo. I’ll take some pictures to share, and Penny and Arianna are planning to write about the experience. I promise no one’ll be wearing flip-flops this time.

Last winter, Catherine and Deb from Kansas came out to Plymouth to embroider bearing gifts of coffee and chocolate. This September they came again, bringing more chocolate (bless them) and a friend! Catherine and Deb had been trying to persuade Sandye to come out to Plymouth and exercise her considerable embroidery skill on the jacket, but, well, we all know the gravitational pull of our usual orbit can be pretty strong. This time,they contacted Sandye’s husband and explained the situation. He responded by making Sandye a plane reservation and then telling her to sort out the rest of the arrangements. How great is that?

Sandye brought treasures to share with us. First is a favor she made for her husband to carry. They are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, as are many of our embroidery volunteers. The first picture is Sandye holding up her work, the second is a close up. She said that she has often been asked why she made him such a lovely favor to carry, wouldn’t it get ruined? She says, I know how to make another. And after hearing about his supportive attitude towards her avocation, I bet we all agree he totally deserves pretties.

Sandye really likes snails. Do you see how the coiling vine is the snail’s shell? It’s subtle, and so pleasing because you have to discover it. She said she used up leftovers from other projects on this.

Here is a coif she embroidered. There are many motifs on it, including a snail which isn’t visible from this angle.

The last piece was a gift to Sandye from Catherine. In the SCA it is an honor and an achievement to receive a laurel (or is always plural?), and it sounds like it can also be a grand party! Catherine made this for Sandye for Sandye’s laurel award.  See the snail?

(SCA members, did I mess that up completely? Straighten me out.)

Catherine, Laura and Jen joined us for last weekend’s embroidery session. All of them have been here before and so are considered “veterans.” They certainly showed their experience; they all accomplished a great deal.

Catherine was working on the unwieldy back piece, and stitched three complete roses along with a few odds & ends here and there. Laura mostly worked on the collar & cuffs frame, finishing the cuffs to the point that they are ready for goldwork. She also stitched the detached butterfly wing piece, and then sewed it to the collar, which made the collar done-done-done.

Jen was working on an equally unwieldy front, and did some of everything, including fancy worms. Fancy worms are composed of two parallel rows of ceylon stitch, in two different colors, with the head stitched separately in a third color but also in ceylon stitch. These worms also get black back stitched antennae (thus making them not technically worms, I know) but are not wrapped like the plain worms.

Here are all of them with their frames. They were friends from before this project, and traveled here together sort of like a girls’ weekend away. They have such fun together, it makes the atmosphere of the weekend sort of like a party. A few different times we’ve had friends meet here both to enjoy each other’s company and to work together on the project. It puts me in mind of all the different sorts of women’s gatherings to work and talk, like quilting bees or houseraisings (OK, there the men are working I guess but if you don’t think it’s a lot of work to feed timberframers, I’d like to introduce you to a couple of cooks I know…..)

1. Are you going to Celebration of Needlework in Nashua, NH May 2 – 5? Would you like to stop in Plymouth coming or going to stitch on the jacket? We’re having “shoulder sessions” the couple of days before and after. Call me [508-746-1622 X 8119] or email jhall@plimoth.org to sign up.

2. Thank you to everyone who weighed in on the Mystery of Melanie Anne’s grandmother’s embroideries. I love starting conversations here that continue in the comments. I’m looking forward to unveiling the forum so we can have even more conversations.

3. Speaking of conversations in the comments, I should have clarified what I meant by our experimenting with using reeds as stiffeners in stays (corsets). We have used marsh reeds, the sort native to this area, that maybe perhaps the early colonists might have used if they made or repaired stays. (That, and getting reeds native to England that might have come over in already-sewn stays was Too Much.) I have heard of using basketry reeds to stiffen stays as a substitute for the unavailable whalebone. I tried that a few years ago, but the reed we got came in a coil. I cut it to size and filled the channels, but it kept shifting and curling. I was told to soak it to take the curl out, and I tried, BUT it still curled. How to describe…it didn’t curl against or away from the body of the wearer, but sideways. It did not look good. I gave up on the basketry reed.

4. Picture! Catherine from Kansas came to a session in January with her friend Deb. The weather they left at home was so cold we joked that they’d had a beach vacation in Plymouth. This is one of the exquisite pieces Catherine brought for show & tell.

At our last session, Chris was our only new stitcher. She was also our only stitcher from out of town – from Michigan. I think (I hope) some folks are waiting for our spring sessions to avoid the New England winter weather. But for some, like Chris, and like Catherine and Deb a few weeks ago who are from Kansas, a trip to Plymouth is a beach holiday compared to the weather at home.

It was great to meet Chris, a talented stitcher and fun to be around. She showed us a pair of her granddaughter’s jeans that she is embroidering. These have an underwater theme – fish and kelp. Chris turned the ruffles on the side into a coral reef by blanket-stitching the edges. These are the second pair her granddaughter asked for; the first have flowers on the bottom of the legs and a bouquet on the pocket. What a special gift for a precious child. And I bet she’s so proud of her one-of-a-kind jeans and her talented grandmother.

Chris was having a real vacation after leaving us; she was headed to visit friends in Florida. She’s on her way home to frozen Michigan now, and I hope she’s had safe, happy travels.