Norma has been here stitching at least a couple of times before. She comes from Connecticut.

This past weekend for show & tell Norma brought her in-progress nightcap, the project Tricia taught last February in Williamsburg. It is an awesome piece, even in-progress. The kit came with a slate frame. Oooh.

Plus Norma brought another couple of Tricia’s pieces – the glove and a rose with goldwork set into a box. I particularly love this one. It unites two of my favorite things, red and something to put things in.

Norma also brought a box with one of Elizabeth Creeden’s designs set into the top. This is a mourning piece, and is dedicated to a friend of Norma’s who passed away while helping out another friend. The second friend and her family were all down with what seemed like the flu. Norma’s friend Kathy went over to help out, but turned out they didn’t have the flu. They were slowly being poisoned by carbon monoxide. Norma’s friend Kathy died as well as two members of the family. Norma finished this piece in tribute to her friend, and part of a very long tradition of women memorializing loved ones through needlework.

During the weekend Norma completed fifteen detached butterfly wings. I haven’t had a chance yet to count how many there are total, but 15 must win her the Butterfly Queen crown. Thanks, Norma.

Tricia’s Blog #3:

There are several sets of “Plaited Braid” directions out there. Excuse me if I don’t mention one you are aware of, but please let us know as it will help us solve this mystery!

The first is a set diagrammed by Mrs. Archibald Christie (Samplers & Stitches, 1920) that is often duplicated in other publications. I and others have found it difficult to understand and very difficult to work. To date, I haven’t been able to make it work without pins and an extra elbow.

The second is a set decoded by Elizabeth Creeden and diagrammed by *** (JILL PLEASE PUT HER NAME HERE mmm. not as easy as it sounds. I found the directions – but no one is credited for the illustrations. I think it was either Die Hoxie, Joanna Kline Cadorette, or Joanna’s father, Mr. Kline) and published by Plimoth as part of a coif pattern. I have used this set in many of my pieces. It has a lot of strength in that it works fast and easily. I mention this because a stitch used across a large piece would have to be relatively easy to work and not require any extra steps to make the stitch look uniform. But the stitch doesn’t look like the one on our jacket.

The third set was published by Leon Conrad in Fine Lines (Summer 2003). Another stitcher, Linda Connors, took Leon’s directions and expanded them using more pictures and additional graphics to make it even easier to read. This version results in a stitch which is indistinguishable from the gold embroidery on the jacket we are attempting to reproduce. These directions also “truck”, as I am apt to say in the workroom. They work fast once you get going. And as we have found during the project, that is an important distinction when trying to determine the stitch order. If it moves and flows naturally, it is most likely good. Time was money in that workroom.

This last set of directions will be the ones that we will use for the project. They are also the ones that were used to produce the stitch in the picture.

Tricia

Yes, as mentioned in the comments, Fine Lines is now defunct. jmh