Bonjour Celine,
Thank you so much, very happy to hear you enjoyed that piece. Merci bien.. Don’t really speak Francais, just remember words from high school.
Bon Soir,
Cookie
Finally joined Thistle Threads Casket Class
I wrote this post some time ago, and just today, found I did not publish it. So, after a long delay, hope you enjoy reading it.
After considering making this class choice for a few years, I started the Casket class, Part One this past month. So far, I’ve accessed the reading material and will soon be receiving the first shipment of threads and fabrics. Tricia Nguyen warns us there will be approximately 900 pages in her materials and having only read Lesson 1 so far, I am quite intrigued. She gives a lot of information on historical 17th c. caskets, the people, the designs and materials. I am fascinated and can’t wait to begin.
The same day I sent off my deposit money, I suddenly discovered that I knew what the subject of my casket would be. As most of my desiging ideas come to me in strange or inconvenient places, i.e. the shower or before bedtime, this idea occurred to me about 1 a.m. as I was trying to fall asleep. Sleep wasn’t happening because my mind kept racing and finally gave up the pretense of sleeping at 4 a.m. and went to the computer and wrote all my ideas down. Although I was tired the next day, it was a relief to have the design aspect out of the way.
Since these caskets were only being done in Great Britain during the 2nd half of the 17th century, popular subjects for the designs were the two British monarchs Charles I and II and their wives. Many caskets were done with religious subjects but I don’t have much of an interest or knowledge of these subjects, but do love historical monarchies, and I have no idea why I am so attracted to this subject, but there it is.
As some of my readers know, I have collected dolls houses and miniatures for the past 40 years and am, this very week, auctioning my miniature collection in Chicago at http://www.LeslieHindman.com The preview commenced today and the auction will take place this Wednesday and Thursday, July 23 & 24th.
One of my favorite dolls houses has been what I called Leicester House, a 16th c. English Manor House modeled after three Stately Homes in England. My favorite monarch has always been Queen Elizabeth I and she and her courtiers will be the subject of my casket, partly in honor of the Queen and partly in honor of my Elizabethan interests and dolls house.
After the auction madness is over, I will start on the casket project and will possibly do a stumpwork mirror as well in the 17th c. style using either Charles I or Charles II and a more typical item from that era.
A closed Slope top type Casket from the 17th century
17th c. Stumpwork Boxes or Caskets
An interesting view of the inside of an early casket
Picture of a 17th c. Grotto from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Love this picture of a 17th c. grotto with fish jumping out of the water.
I laid awake one night thinking of driving to Sanibel Island on the other side of Florida…West Coast, near Naples to beachcomb and find tiny seashells, which I hear abound there. Hmmm, luckily I thought about it again and was able to finally fall asleep as I realized I have a local shell shop in the town of Lantana, which is about 10 miles due east of my home. Smarter option! A few days later, I found myself near the shore one afternoon and stopped in to see what they had in tiny shells. Seems they had a lot, so I bought a 99¢ plastic bag of tiny shells, much cheaper, easier and smarter choice. The proprietor mentioned another customer had been to Sanibel Island, and for some reason, there were no tiny shells there this season. Can you imagine driving over 100 miles to find out they weren’t on the shore? I’ll have to see if I can find my old tiny drill to make holes in each shell I want to use.
Now I am fairly done with putting findings, threads, fabrics for my projects in a few plastic drawers right opposite my sofa where I like to do my stitching. My storage “system” isn’t very elaborate or perfect, but it will be convenient. I found out about a bead show the weekend of June 26th in Pompano, FL and plan to go to see more yummies. I will first go through my current stash and glue samples of these beads to a card so I can take with me and not duplicate at the show. I find if I liked it once, I will like the same one again and keep buying it, so I’ve learned to make sample cards. I discovered this with my miniature collecting, I would carry sample cards of wallpaper, paint, fabrics, etc. so I could match and not duplicate my mini stash.
Stitching / Stumpwork to start soon
As a great procrastinator, I have spent the last several months finding, organizing and creating storage areas for my stumpwork projects. Silk threads, silk fabrics, beads, odds, ends and notions now have their place in my plastic drawers.
I have a small trinket box from Tricia Wilson Nguyen’s Cabinet of Curiousities class that I learned to make a base cover with laid paper and then cover with coral silk, ready to have the embroidered top layer. Think that will be a practice piece with a 17th c. castle on top, small animals and flowers on the sides and back panels to represent 17th century England.
Also found a small stylized wooden mirror surround, about 5″ x 7″ that will have a nautical motif, likely with upright seahorses on either side panel, a grotto with mermaid on the bottom and perhaps a ship, fully rigged on the top panel, with various sea creatures “floating” around.
I am a master creator in my mind, to get these things down on fabric is another story. But, oh, how I love to design/create. Keeps me up for hours at night, just seeing it all in my mind.
I have designed and drawn the large mirror surround I plan to do and was going to jump into that first as I am wont to do, but think caution is the right thing, and I will first work these smaller wooden pieces.
While searching through my stash of goodies, I found a packet of four wooden “Split Wren Eggs” that I bought at the craft store, Michaels, years ago with no particular use in mind. They have stayed in my mind for all these years because I believe they are the right size to use for the base of a human head on the casket or mirror surround. I couldn’t find them all this time, but am pleased to say I did find the packet. Once I knew the proper name, I was able to Google it as the company that carried them no longer seems to be in business and Michaels definitely doesn’t have them. Now that I found them online, I ordered them and should have a good size lot within the week. They measure 7/8″ long and are under 1/2″ in depth. Now the problem is, will I be able to carve a little, tiny piece of wood for a nose without cutting my fingers. I am not very accurate with a carving knife, but will try it.
Next, I will need “Sleeven Silk” which is what was used to cover the wooden forms before decorating. I think acrylic paint or oil paint might be useful for this, but I will try that out. Not sure if Sleeven Silk is even made today but will try with what I have available. This is indeed a question for Tricia Nguyen. Included are some drawings for my large mirror surround.
The East Coast Casket Tour was marvelous!
I am thrilled to say I just came home from our trip to New York and Boston where 46 (including two brave husbands) of us “Casketeers” thoroughly enjoyed our time in Behind-The-Scenes tours of three museums, ending in a how-to-mount-fabric class and a lovely dinner in Tricia Wilson Nguyen’s beautifully restored 1912 home. Can you tell I loved my trip?
Before I go further, in case you are new to the word Casket used in reference to needlework, we are not talking about coffins in the modern sense. These boxes are similar to 20th c. jewelry boxes (think of the 1950-1960’s pasteboard jewelry box with a dancing ballerina on the inside). Interestingly enough, one of the things I learned was that early caskets were also made of some cheap material such as a modern pasteboard, and not of wood at all, so it is a wonder that they are still holding together today and there are so many extant. I was told that in England, a coffin has never been referred to as a casket, so that is obviously an Americanism. These pieces were akin to a girl’s senior project to show she had accomplished her needlework skills, and were stitched by girls from 11 to 17 years of age. There were many craftspeople involved in this work, including a draftsman for the design patterns which were hand drawn and sold commercially; thread and needle makers for the products used and another person mounted the finished fabric. Generally, they were stitched during the period of 1650-1700, some as late as 1724. Usual subjects were Biblical stories or the lives of 17th c. English Monarchs, such as King Charles I and his wife, Henrietta Marie of France, (m. 1625-he was beheaded in 1649); or that of the Merry Monarch, Charles II and his wife, Catherine of Braganza (m. 1662). His elder brother was James II of England. and they were both sons of King Charles I.
The only downside to this adventure is that we were not given permission by the museums to post our photos to blogs and other online media. We were able to photograph as much as we wanted (without camera flashes, of course) but did have this restriction placed on us, understandably.
We arrived Sunday, October 26, 2014 in New York City and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott on Third Avenue and 53rd Street, most of us were impressed with this hotel and would stay there again. A very large group got together at a nearby restaurant that evening and started making friends and talking about 17th c. Caskets, embroidery, history, etc. and it was a total joy for me to find so many people who talk the same “language.” I’ve always had this experience in my dolls house and miniature collecting life where you don’t have to explain yourself and why you are involved with dolls houses and miniatures. Sometime in August after I signed on to this tour, I had suggested we get together for this first night in NYC as there were people coming from four countries, many of whom had never been to the city, which can be quite daunting as a newbie. Luckily for our group, Renee Fields, a New York City resident, picked up the actual search for a restaurant and found a great eatery in Hillstone on Third and 55th St., within a two block walk from the hotel. We separated into several tables randomly, so that I was seated with several others, including two lovely women from Newfoundland (who taught me the correct pronunciation of their Canadian province), it rhymes with “understand?” with a lilt in the voice at the end of the word.
As I mentioned, participants were (approximate numbers)…4 from England, 9 from Canada, 5 from Australia and New Zealand, and the balance from the United States.
The following morning, excitement was high as we took our coach to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (aka The Met or as the Museum refers to itself, MMA) at Fifth Avenue and 81st Street. First, many of us attended Tricia’s lecture on 17th c. embroideries which she had given the previous week at the Winterthur Needlework Conference, near Wilmington, Delaware, entitled “The Diligent Needle.” I believe 13 people from our group attended that Conference and were able to listen to various lectures and take needlework courses, including Tricia’s class on how to make a 17th century needlewoven Posy, many of which were found inside of caskets. They are frequently shown in 17th c. portraits of women, to show their accomplishments and to display their graceful hands and fingers. These paintings frequently showed the delicacy of the hands denoting they were refined people and did not work in lowly jobs which would callous the fingers.
We were directed to Gallery 517, a very narrow hallway sized room found among the 17th-18th c. English rooms on the first floor, (walk behind the massive gate which is behind the main stairs on the first floor and turn right. Ask the guards where to go exactly). As an aside, I must tell you about the Studiolo Gubbio. Again, ask guards for directions as it is on your way to Gallery 517. This is also a tiny space in the early Italian Renaissance area. This room is completely made of Marquetry by Antonio Barrili in the 14th-15th c. The marquetry goes three quarters of the way up the wall and shows many inlaid sections depicting art, music, etc. It is magnificent! Just outside this room is an early chapel also done in marquetry. I never miss this area when I visit the MMA.
Back to Gallery 517 again, encased in glass is a very large (possibly three feet high) sumptuous mirror surrounded by magnificent stumpwork embroidery, as well as the tiniest “sweete bag” that I have seen. It might have been used as a casket “toy” as many small treasures were placed into caskets. There was also a coif shown, a woman’s cap, and this one was not stitched together for use, along with an old piece of blackwork with some of the work worn away. The museums’ artifacts may be seen on the Heilbrunn Timeline at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ and it is well worth a search for needlework, stumpwork, etc. We were told that ultimately, everything in the museum’s vast collection will be included with information and photos, so it is worth looking at the website frequently.
We were broken up into manageable size groups to go to the Anthony Ratti Textile Conservation Department on the lower level, where there were two rooms displaying about 20 pieces of 17th c. stumpwork and/or embroidered pieces. Embroidered mirror surrounds were shown in the first room and the embroidered caskets in the second room. The staff was so gracious in allowing these pieces to be shown to our group. The pieces were, of course, selected by Tricia Wilson Nguyen for our delectation.
Tricia’s research and knowledge is invaluable and I tried to engage her in conversations regarding the pieces, the fabrics, trims, etc. and she was able to explain so much. I only wish I recorded every conversation and any lectures she gave. I had my iPad Mini with me and ultimately ran out of space because I bought one with fairly small memory storage, never expecting I would need more.
After our needlework tour, I filled my time with visits to see my old MMA haunts, as I practically grew up in museums, first the Brooklyn Museum which has a fine collection of 23 restored rooms from New York houses that were torn down. This is where I first became enchanted with history and art. When I was old enough to take the subway into Manhattan, I frequently visited the MMA and fell in love with their many historical rooms from the 16th to 19th centuries, all of which delighted me. Of course, I visited my old friends, the Dutch 17th c. genre artists including Vermeer, Frans Hals, Pieter de Hooch, Gerard TerBorch, Gerard Dou, etc. I must have had previous lives in the 16th c. Elizabethan world as well as 17th c. Netherlands because I am completely fascinated by these periods and places. I’ve been to both countries many times and it is never enough as there is so much to explore and learn.
Tuesday morning was our trip to the Cooper Hewitt Museum at 9 East 90th Street. This museum is currently closed for restoration, but they graciously allowed our group to tour their conservation room, where we saw another excellent display of stumpwork caskets, mirrors and other early needlework objects. The museum will be reopened sometime in mid-December, and is an excellent place to view art. In the afternoon, we bussed to Boston and stayed at the Midtown Hotel, which was a disappointment after the lovely accommodations in NYC. It worked out fine, but it was dowdy. I was told the bus was legally able to park across the street which might have been a reason the hotel was selected. It was within walking distance of the Prudential Center, which held many stores and restaurants, so it was actually very well located. Had a wonderful lobster dinner at the Summer Shack, located nearby. I was told by some fishermen in Maine that a female lobster is the sweeter and I specified that, and it was indeed sweet and tasty.
Wednesday morning, we visited the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) where I made a beeline for the 17th c. Dutch paintings and was gratified to find many of the Dutch genre paintings I love so much. In the conservation department, we were shown many wonderful caskets, mirror surrounds and a stumpwork pillow which opened up to show very finely stitched rectangular sections with a mirror in the center. I asked if their largest casket could be opened and it was so gratifying to see the inside of this fabulous piece. Inside the very highly domed lid was a 3/4 length bust of a doll, likely a wax figure, and she was magnificent.
Seeing all these examples of stumpwork and silk embroidery has raised the bar for my expectations for my own needlework. I will probably do the mirror surround as shown here in an earlier posting, and if my eyes cooperate (I will need cataract surgery within the next couple of years), I expect to turn out some fine embroidery.
Later in the day, we were driven to a section of Boston near the docks to see where these modern day caskets are actually made. We met Richard Oedel of Fort Point Cabinetmakers who talked about the making of the wooden cabinets which has to be very carefully researched and made because tolerances for drawer openings have to be precise. It was very enjoyable to learn about his work and research. His place of business was in a huge building containing Boston’s Decorative Design Center so it was interesting to roam around and see fabric design houses such as Scalamandre, Brunschweig & Fils, etc.
Thursday morning we were taken to the Lexington Historical Depot for a class in how to mount the silk fabric on a 3″ x 5″ trinket box. It was an interesting challenge using wheat paste on laid paper, with silk used for lining of the box. I had the misconception that one had to attach each panel of the casket fabric by stitching and am thrilled to learn it is not correct, that is what all the silver or gold taping is about. As I am new to the course, I felt very behind in the material offered in Tricia’s courses. Many of the women there were third year students so knew many of the answers to my questions.
Thursday evening, we visited Tricia’s beautiful home, had a wonderful catered dinner and a tour of all four floors of her home where we saw many antique examples of samplers and stumpwork. She displayed much of her own stitching including what she calls “Needlework Nibbles,” classes she offers online. Do check her website, http://thistlethreads.com and search out all she has to offer, including classes, a blog, materials for sale, etc. This is where the information is shown on joining her class for the stumpwork casket, so if interested, do take a look. It is simply amazing what she has learned and amassed over the last twenty years, plus having a husband and two children. In 2010, she headed up the Plimouth Jacket project and there are pictures on the site. She is indeed an extraordinary woman! My sincerest thanks go to Tricia and Susan Albury from Hanging by a Thread in England who arranged the travel aspect of the adventure.
Embroidered Mirror Frames, another option for stitchery
Above are two mirror frames I discovered at my local scrapbooking store which I plan to use for another 17th c. embroidered piece. During the period stumpwork was commonly being done, approximately 1650 to 1700, caskets and mirror frames were the most frequently used objects to be covered with this work.
The mirrors shown here have approximately a 4″ flat area which can be stitched to tell the story. On the top, which I call the Moorish style, measures nearly 20″ square with an inner opening of 11″ square. The frame below, which I call Scalloped style, measures 22-1/2″ high by 18-3/4″ wide with an inner opening of 13-1/2″ high by 10-1/2″ wide. There are several other styles at the store, but these are the ones that appealed to me. They cost $26.00 each and the store owner assures me she would be happy to mail them, but I didn’t inquire if she would ship outside the United States.
If you are interested in purchasing a similar item yourself, please write to me at cookiemax@aol.com and I can forward their contact information. I am not associated in any way with this company, just wanted to share this with interested stitchers.
The East Coast Casket Tour
I’ve been a member of the Casket of Curiosities class for a few months and have read three lessons so far which were very interesting and complete. There is a lot to read and many photos that were specially licensed for this project, so they are not items to be seen online anywhere. I am awaiting my first shipment of associated fabrics, trims, etc. so I can start stitching. I am very excited to start as I keep thinking about design motifs that I will do.
After making the commitment to join the Casket of Curiosities group, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to join about 40 people on Tricia Wilson Nguyen’s “East Coast Embroidered Casket Tour.” This is in association with Susan Albury’s Hanging by a Thread, our other hostess. We will have a behind-the-scenes tour of the stumpwork embroidered caskets and mirrors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (I will refer to it as the Met) and then travel by bus to Boston, to do a similar tour at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). After that, we will have a class on how to put a casket together which should be fascinating. I believe the reason this was started was because the shipping of these wooden caskets became so expensive to mail overseas, they decided to make it into a learning experience and people are having extended vacations as well. I have notice folks coming from the Great Britain, Canada, Australia and of course, the U.S. Should be a fascinating group.
The tour was actually filled but someone cancelled out and I was able to sign up and am very excited. I am planning a shopping trip to the ribbon/fabric district in New York City near Broadway and 37th Street if there is available time. Of course, I’ve also found out there are reasons to stay at the Met to see some other exhibits. I wrote to someone at the Met the other day discovered that a wonderful collection from the Met’s Miniature Paintings will be on exhibit from the end of August to the end of December. How serendipitous! Then, someone mentioned a collection of Faberge objets d’art that is on display for about 2 years and I will have the opportunity to view these pieces. Serendipity again! And I cannot leave the Met without visiting the 17th c. Dutch genre paintings, and I will spend time with some of my old favorites. Realize that I am talking about my favorite things in the world! Needlework, miniature paintings, Dutch art and Faberge. I know I will be beyond myself with excitement. On the downside, I am sure we are not allowed to photograph anything, but believe most of it can be viewed online nowadays, thankfully. If I have time and energy enough, maybe I could fit a Broadway play into one of the evenings I will be in NYC. Now I will check out any special exhibits at the MFA that would be of interest to me.
My Pinterest Obsession
I am a member of Pinterest.com and while I never thought I would be caught up in this, it seems I am practically addicted to it. I have 20 boards which include Historic Needlework, Period Costumes, George Stuart Figures (some would call dolls, but Mr. Stuart insists they are figures and not dolls. I can see why), and of course, I have a board on 17th embroideries, including stumpwork pieces. If you care to view them, I am listed under http://www.pinterest.com/cookiez123/, and you can look at all my boards. There are also boards on Botanical Illustration, Watercolors, Faberge and objets d’art, Dollshouses and Miniatures, and my own collection of Miniature Dolls Houses that I recently sold at auction.
Cookie's Historical Needlework 