The Embroiderers' Story

Australia

Jill Hall — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:02:42 +0000

Look what we got from Susan D in Australia! This is our very first sample received from Australia. I was so excited to see the return address on the package. Thanks, Susan, for sending it back. We’ll use your beautiful work in the exhibit (along with the other samples), so visitors can see the stitches [...]

Ceylon squiggles

Jill Hall — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:06:52 +0000

Here are more of my needlework challenges. This is the first try at a wavy line of ceylon stitch. A straight line is OK, but the worms “squiggle”. (Click on “ceylon stitch” for the pdf of the instructions.) A subsequent (I won’t say how many tries were in between!) attempt yielded this red worm. It’s still a [...]

The Left Front

Jill Hall — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:54:08 +0000

Here’s another snapshot of a piece in progress. This is the left (as the wearer sees it) front, and was taken on May 5. The shallow curve at top left is the neckline; the deeper curve at right is the armhole. The two fronts are the least-favored pieces to work because the frames are so wide. [...]

Trellis Trials

Jill Hall — Fri, 09 May 2008 18:47:20 +0000

The other day I decided it was time to branch out beyond the detached buttonhole stitch. I hadn’t worried about the other stitches since there was (and still is) so much buttonhole to do. Here’s my first try at trellis stitch. I gave up halfway through the shape, hopelessly confused. (If you click on “trellis stitch” [...]

Justin working on the blue silk

Jill Hall — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:27:55 +0000

Here’s the second installment from Justin. The italics are quotes from Justin’s email. Some more shots of the bat head on my wheel. Bat heads were the most common in New England before Minor’s, or the accelerating, head replaced them in the early 19th century to handle the newer, shorter fleeced breeds of sheep which [...]

The beginning of the lining

Jill Hall — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:55:04 +0000

This is the first email from Justin, the Village interpreter and weaver who is making the blue silk lining for the jacket in conjunction with Kate of Eaton Hill Textile Works. Here are some pictures of the current progress on the silk lining. See yesterday’s entry for a picture of the sample. I knew it was [...]

Blue Silk

Jill Hall — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:50:48 +0000

I’m sorry I didn’t post last night. There was a lot of homework to do at my house, and by the time my number came up to use the computer, it was today. Here as promised, though, is the beginning of a new story. Eventually, the embroidery will be done, the oes sewn on, and it will [...]

We Get Mail

Jill Hall — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:55:42 +0000

Or comments, really. Thanks, Jane, for your note. Jane’s from the UK and was curious about our UK stitcher, all of whom were in the US for the Celebrations of Needlework in Nashua, NH, which I believe wraps up tomorrow. I don’t know offhand where Sarah and Susan are from, but I’ll look it up when [...]

Pictures

Jill Hall — Thu, 01 May 2008 23:27:07 +0000

of yesterday’s stitchers and their work. First, here’s Anne and her leaf, embroidered on the coif. Thanks to Robbin for this great picture. Here are a couple of pictures of Tricia, Sarah and Susan. I love how Tricia curls up in a chair to work on these big frames. No matter how huge they are, she looks [...]

Thank you

Jill Hall — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:23:56 +0000

to the Loudoun Sampler Guild! They sent a $250 donation to the Textile Conservation Fund! This is even more wonderful when you know this story - the original estimate to conserve “EC” was about $3800. The Mayflower Sampler Guild donated $1000 specifically to conserve “EC” which kicked off the Textiles Conservation Fund shortly after the new [...]

Lace work

Jill Hall — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:00:12 +0000

Yesterday, Carolyn and her friend Margaret came to Plymouth to work on winding bobbins. I have lots of pictures. Quite a lot of time was spent calculating how much thread should go on each pair of bobbins. I think lacers come from the same school as carpenters, the “measure twice cut once” school, or in this [...]

Linda’s needlework

Jill Hall — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:17:32 +0000

Last session Linda joined us for Saturday. She lives locally, but not too local, so it was a bit of a drive each way. Linda used to work at Plimoth, about 35 years ago, before the program was consistently first person (which is when the interpreters pretend to be people from the past). Linda took a [...]

Tarnished

Tricia — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:28:41 +0000

A few weeks ago Carolyn left a note in the forum about her silver lace thread tarnishing. I sent Tricia a note about it, and then Carolyn and Tricia corresponded. Tricia sent me a copy, thinking the subject and her answer would be of interest. Has anyone else had such a serious tarnishing problem with [...]

Spangles on the Bobbins

Tricia — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:43:17 +0000

Tricia sent me this post for tonight: I know many of those lacers reading the blog would like to see how we are keeping the spangles on the bobbins. Here you see the spangles on one with Carolyn’s small hair clips to hold the thread in place. We are also adding [...]

An Assortment of Susan’s Needlework

Jill Hall — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:31:55 +0000

I hope you’re having as excellent a time this week as I am. It’s school vacation week and I’m officially Not In The Office, although I am checking emails every morning which is hardly a burden. We’re having absolutely golden weather here in southeastern MA, sunny and warm with a light breeze. Fantastic. Today I have [...]

We have a BLOG ROLL

Jill Hall — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:03:55 +0000

And I even know what that is! And I can add links, which I’ve been doing, a little at a time as I remember where your blog is. I know lots more of you have blogs, would you send me a note or a link and I’ll add them? Thanks for the dental floss needle threader [...]

The Gilded Lily

Jill Hall — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:46:23 +0000

Here is a photo of the back of the jacket, taken last Friday, April 18. This is the piece Tricia took home with her before our inaugural embroidery session last June. She had to work one of each motif, taking detailed photos of the steps in order to produce that fantastic instruction manual. That’s why she [...]

Short & sleepy

Jill Hall — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:47:21 +0000

Thanks for the positive comments on the divided carriers from Orleans Carpenters on Friday’s post. We’re grateful for their generosity, and pleased to be associated with them. By the way, there is a treat on the way to go with these carriers. It’s in development now and should be ready by the end of May. [...]

Orleans Carpenters

Jill Hall — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:01 +0000

Lyn from Canada was here last weekend embroidering on the jacket. She’s a veteran, she has worked on the jacket a couple of times before. On one of those trips last fall (before the snow set in) Lyn mentioned to Wendy that she’d be touring around Cape Cod for a few days before she headed [...]

Spangle Making

Jill Hall — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:38:53 +0000

Last Friday the embroiderers at our April session got an unexpected treat - Mark was working in the Crafts Center making spangles. Lots of Mark’s work isn’t suitable to the Crafts Center, requiring a big fire like it does, but this work is great for that space. Wendy and Tricia took photos and also video, I [...]

The “EC” Sampler

Jill Hall — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:52:00 +0000

A few months ago I let you know that the Mayflower Sampler Guild donated $1000 to kick off our Textile Conservation Fund, with their donation earmarked for the conservation of the “EC 1664″ sampler in Plimoth’s collection. Today I have some exciting news to share: The Swan Sampler Guild has donated $2500 to the same cause. [...]

Tallying the Progress

Jill Hall — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:01:06 +0000

Today Wendy counted up the motifs that were done this weekend. I had high hopes for this session and I was not disappointed. There were many hands working and a great deal was accomplished: 16.5 worms. The plain worms, not the fancy worms. We don’t have directions for those yet. But the plain worms gave us [...]

Bryce makes Lace, and Rose Strategy

Jill Hall — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:14:25 +0000

Here’s two pictures of Bryce working, both from Friday. And here’s what Bryce said in the comments about her time in the workroom: I had such a wonderful time making lace. I urge all you lacemakers out there to try it! It’s a little fiddly, but not difficult. The people — staff and embroiderers both — [...]

Out of Service

Jill Hall — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:26:58 +0000

Today, one of the sleeve pieces went “out of service”. This is a good thing, not like when that happens to your TV. I am plenty excited. Out of service means we’ve hit a point where we can’t do anything else on it, until either we get more instructions or more materials. This is the first [...]

The Left Under Sleeve

Jill Hall — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:30:23 +0000

Here’s the other half of the jacket’s left sleeve. You can see the concave curve at the top which goes under the armpit. And a detail of foxgloves, showing the “speckling” which is done, as Kimberly mentioned, in running stitch. I agree, the GST doesn’t show up well in a still photo. It shows to best [...]

Blog Updates and Add-Ons

Rich — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:55:31 +0000

Hello Embroidery Community, I wanted to write to let you know of a couple of updates I’ve made to the blog framework. The first is the addition of the “ShareThis” button and the second (and the one that’s going to annoy those of you who are linking the blog) is the addition of “pretty permalinks.” The “ShareThis” [...]

The Left Upper Sleeve

Jill Hall — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:14:07 +0000

Here’s a good idea, thanks Carol and Kimberly. This is the left upper sleeve as of today, April 9th. Each sleeve is composed of two parts, the upper and the under. The top of the upper sleeve has a convex curve to go over the top of the shoulder; the under has a concave curve [...]

Jill Hall — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:09:12 +0000

Thanks for all your encouraging comments. I will photograph more motifs tomorrow at the office and post them. About the plaited braid stitch, I know Tricia is working on a set of instructions with great photos that can be posted here and downloaded, like she did for all the other stitches we’ve been doing. She and I [...]

True Confessions

Jill Hall — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:47:15 +0000

I haven’t blogged three out of the last four nights because I simply can’t think of anything to say. Nothing new has happened since about 10 days ago when Carolyn and Robbin worked on the real lace. I’ve been taking this project one bite at a time for over a year (remember the old joke [...]

Sweepings

Jill Hall — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:37:25 +0000

Embroidery sample received from Debbie A; stockings received from Susan J and Monique N; 2 pair gloves received from Linda F. Riches. Penny and Shaina spent the day cleaning the office, not the big workroom, but the office. The office is a medium-sized room. There are two bookshelves, about 12 big plastic tubs that hold fabric [...]

Setting Up and Stitching

Jill Hall — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:59:17 +0000

This is Tricia’s third and final installment on a day in the life of a jacket embroiderer. Once people are settled in and feel more comfortable, we get their frames into a stitching station. Here you see me helping my mom set a frame in a floor stand. There weren’t any stands [...]

Robbin’s Turn

Jill Hall — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:36:05 +0000

On Saturday Robbin made lace. Carolyn lent moral support. Melanie Anne continued to clean up “little bits” of embroidery. Small motifs, or half-finished ones, and some of the little black stitches on the ends of the rose hips. She took a break to worship the pile o’ spangles and hear all about how they were made. Here [...]

Without whom the spangles would not be possible …

Jill Hall — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:38:42 +0000

I know I promised pix of Robbin’s lace work today, but at the time I wasn’t remembering that I wouldn’t be in the office today. I left them in the laptop at the office. Here instead, is the story of the completion of the Spangle Quest in Mark’s own words. The gratitude, though, is seconded [...]

The Real Thing!

Jill Hall — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:49:09 +0000

Mark brought us 101 spangles. After all the time and effort he and others put in, it may seem like a very small pile of result. But there was great rejoicing. Carolyn wound bobbins. Due to a greater demand for the lace kits than we’d anticipated and a longer delivery time on the gold & silver [...]

Getting Settled to Stitch

Tricia — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:39:37 +0000

Yesterday I started a photo journal of a typical day in the life of our sessions. Here we continue on the day. After going over the instructions and as new stitchers are getting their doodle cloths finished, Wendy or I do a ‘highly scientific’ process of looking at the doodles, [...]

What Do We Do?

Tricia — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:57:05 +0000

A few days ago, Robbin did a great job of describing a typical session in the comments but I would like to add to her commentary with a photo journal of the last session. This journal is courtesy of my father, Bill Wilson, an amateur photographer. He was accompanying my [...]

More Hands

Jill Hall — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:21:59 +0000

On February 29, our intern Alex worked on the jacket for the first time. Here are her hands stitching a peapod. At that session we also had another new embroiderer, Myrna. Melanie Anne decided that the state of Maine was under-represented among the embroidery corps, so she persuaded her friend to come down with her. Myrna [...]

Your Thoughts

Jill Hall — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:37:28 +0000

Lace sample received from Julie E. This and all the lace samples are just gorgeous. I get seriously distracted when a new one comes in, holding it up, watching the sequins tremble. . . getting a little nervous about sewing it all together. . . Lovely green stockings received from Monique N. I honestly feel that [...]

Forum’s Up

Jill Hall — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:22:36 +0000

I was planning to address some of the questions in the recent comments, but Robbin has done an admirable and really thorough job. Thanks, Robbin. I was a little swamped, with opening and then a come-to-my-house holiday in the same weekend. The bottom line on the session schedules is - we’re flexible. I am scheduling the [...]

OPEN!

Jill Hall — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 00:11:08 +0000

Today was opening day of the 2008 season at Plimoth Plantation. It was sunny but a little cold, with the wind off the water. It warmed up nicely, though. Here are a couple of pictures taken by Penny at the 1627 English Village morning meeting. This meeting lasts only a few minutes and is sort of [...]

Embroidering Now and Then

Jill Hall — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:32:40 +0000

Tonight I have more pictures from the February 29th embroidery session. Here is Ellen working a ceylon stitch worm in Gilt Sylke Twist. I love the worms. And here are Ellen and Wendy looking at two antique samplers Ellen brought for show & tell. The samplers belong to Ellen’s family, and within a few minutes Wendy had [...]

Catching Up

Jill Hall — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:54:07 +0000

Kandy left us a note in the comments that she’s a new knitter, too, lured in by the jacket project. She said she’d tried it before but it never “took” with her, but this time it did. Colleen asked if we’d ever tried hand pounded oak staves in our stays. No, we haven’t. We use oak [...]

A Good Day

Jill Hall — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:04:25 +0000

Today was a good day in Colonial Wardrobe. For one thing, we got to see Wendy. For another, we got to see Mark, and the way cool gilt ribbon. He kindly brought it up to show us and he and Wendy measured it. Over 18′ of gilt ribbon. We figure it’ll make, oh, plenty of teardrop [...]

Spangle Success!

Jill Hall — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:18:20 +0000

After that meeting Mark went away with research and ideas. A few weeks later, which was last November, he arrived in the Wardrobe Department with, in Wendy’s words “a battered coffee can under his arm and a big grin on his face!” Wendy goes on: The most amazing things tumbled out of that coffee can! [...]

The Spangle Quest continued

Jill Hall — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:35:37 +0000

Wendy sent me this information from her spangle research. She sent it quite a while ago, but I put off posting it in favor of other subjects. I wanted to save some for when we got nearer to the end of the Spangle Quest. I’m posting it now; think about that. While researching word origins [...]

Gilt Sylke Twist Available!

Tricia — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:28:15 +0000

Tricia has some exciting news: Other than a few spools that Access Commodities has given out to shops and designers to promote the up-coming release of Gilt Sylke Twist, Thistle Threads bought the entire manufacturing runs made for the jacket, knowing that not all of the thread would be needed for the jacket. [...]

Wire Drawer

Jill Hall — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:36:58 +0000

Tonight Wendy continues to tell about her investigations into how spangles were made in the past. These descriptions come from post-1620 sources. The methods and techniques described may very well have continued unchanged for decades or even centuries, but unless we find some pre-1620 sources, we won’t be able to know for sure. However, the [...]

Knitters’ Hall of Fame

Jill Hall — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:27:10 +0000

Since November, 2007, we have received: Stockings from: Deb W from MA Veronica M (two pair) Virginia S Melanie Anne (two pair) Linda F Liz P Deb W from Texas Cindy S Leslie H Salley C Gloves from: Rosemary C (two pair) Liz P Julie S (two pair) The interpreters have been coming in all week, picking up their period clothes and choosing new knitted stockings from this fantastic collection. [...]

Donations

Jill Hall — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:49:10 +0000

May be sent to Plimoth Plantation c/o Kim Corben, Development PO Box 1620 Plymouth, MA 02362 Please write on your check or enclose with your contribution a note saying: “Restricted to Embroidered Jacket Project” or something to that effect. And thank you so much for asking! Cheryl asked how much we need. I will sweep together the estimates and let you know in [...]

Who will stitch the vines?

Tricia — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 20:34:48 +0000

Tricia writes: Good Question. Jill has been asking me this question about once a month recently. I keep pretending I don’t hear her. Of all the elements of the jacket, the vines are the only one that all touch. When it is continuous like that, it is hard to cover up [...]

What Next?

Tricia — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 23:40:00 +0000

Boy do I love this blog. I couldn’t find my notes on how much gold thread we needed and then remembered that we blogged about it! Sometimes you might read the blog and wonder why we go through all this detail and mindless calculations. Well, this is a perfect [...]

What Needles?

Tricia — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:50:52 +0000

Tricia writes: Before we get lots of questions, I thought I would add a blog about what needles we will use for the goldwork. You can see in this picture a #8 embroidery needle and something called a #10 Japanese needle. In the 1600’s needle eyes were being made by both stamping and [...]

Rapunzel, Rapunzel…

Tricia — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:24:23 +0000

Let Down Your Plaited Braids. Tricia’s writing again tonight, but first I want to mention the receipt of two more lace samples, from Carolyn W and Mary D. Here you can see the trials stitched in plaited braid. What I found was that the 371 Gold Wire was the most flexible and [...]

Rumplestiltskin!

Tricia — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:40:43 +0000

Tricia writes tonight, beginning a “thread” about gold threads for the vines on the jacket. I’m most grateful, as we’re opening the museum two weeks from Saturday and the Day Job is insisting on more of my attention. I’ll try to take some photos tomorrow of that busy-ness. But tonight: How I wish I could [...]

The Nightcap and Horse Trading

Tricia — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:36:02 +0000

Tricia writes tonight: To answer the questions posed by Jill’s blog last night, here is the Glittering Nightcap. Remember back when I wrote about the development of Gilt Sylke Twist and mentioned “horse trading’? Well the Nightcap was part of that deal. To make sure that we could get the [...]

Productive Lace Meeting

Jill Hall — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:28:38 +0000

First, Gail J’s lace sample arrived safely. The sharp-eyed reader award goes to Catherine K, who noticed Tricia’s completed “nightcap” in the photo on Friday. Tricia’s going to write about it so I didn’t photograph it for the blog, but I saw it in that picture and wondered if anyone else would notice. It is so [...]

Leap Day

Jill Hall — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:56:51 +0000

Here are more pictures from Friday. The first two show the transformation of the laundry room into a lunch room. Remember how Beth said that some embroiderers knit? Here’s Rosemary with her first stocking (for us). She’s already knit two pairs of gloves, one larger and one smaller (the smaller ones fit me perfectly). This is [...]

The Very Busy Day

Jill Hall — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:03:48 +0000

Yesterday was the first day of a new embroidery session. This time we’re in the Wardrobe office; Accomack is being renovated. So much happened yesterday that it seemed like several days, and it will probably take me several days to tell you all about it. For now, here’s a picture of Tricia getting everyone up to [...]

List

Jill Hall — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:08:05 +0000

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 [...]

New Session Dates

Jill Hall — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:59:07 +0000

I have spring and summer session dates for you. All are Friday to Monday weekends. March 28 - March 31 April 11 - April 14 May 16 - May 19 May 30 - June 2 June 20 - June 23 We will be making lace at some of these sessions, but I’m not sure yet if we’ll be ready to do [...]

Mystery

Jill Hall — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 01:30:55 +0000

In January, Melanie Anne from Maine brought two embroideries for show & tell. They came from her grandmother’s house, but other than that she doesn’t really know anything about them. She and Wendy undid the back of one but found no clues. They’re pretty, and remind me of Jacobean crewel embroideries, with the ‘tree of [...]

For instance

Jill Hall — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:57:29 +0000

A few weeks ago Karen asked about having a lacemakers’ forum connected to the blog, and Sandy suggested how that might be accomplished. I forwarded the notes to Rich, both because he’d have to set it up, but also (and mostly) because I hadn’t the slightest idea what was wanted. As so often happens, Rich [...]

How we do what we do

Jill Hall — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:24:02 +0000

It’s funny Sandy should ask (in yesterday’s comments) about how we make stays. I’ve been thinking about doing a “how we do what we do” post, or a series of them, since Carolyn H noticed the rack of serger threads in the background of a photo way back in December. The Colonial Wardrobe & Textiles department [...]

Lace Update

Jill Hall — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:15:07 +0000

Lace sample arrived from Bryce W. Several lacers have asked this question - when you send back the sample, we only need 3 repeats of the lace motif, that is 3 scallops of the lace, not 3 of the gold + silver repeat, or 6 scallops overall. I had an update from Mark yesterday. He’s been busy, [...]

Back to School

Jill Hall — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:11:09 +0000

Emily’s gone back to Bennington, and we miss her. But, by working very hard and very fast, she finished the pair of stays for Norah before she had to go. I missed the very end of her stay, including the final fitting, due to yet more germs. It’s been the worst winter for illness [...]

Chris

Jill Hall — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 03:19:11 +0000

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 [...]

Of birds, and lace

Jill Hall — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:28:11 +0000

The bird on the blog header is indeed the same as the bird on the jacket, as Mary says in the comments. The bird on the jacket will be a little smaller, though, and the stitches may be a little different. Since we traced and Tricia worked that sample we’ve received more detailed photos of [...]

Just Notes

Jill Hall — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 23:45:38 +0000

Hi everyone, ELIZABETH N PLEASE CALL KATHY. She got your request for 2 kits, but not your contact info. 508-746-1622 X 8114 or kroncarati@plimoth.org Thank you for your very kind compliments on my little leaf. Hi Suz, yes, there will be critters on our jacket, but the embroidery pattern we’re using isn’t from the Laton jacket. We’re using [...]

The Secret Leaf

Jill Hall — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:50:32 +0000

We had a new embroiderer on Monday. It was me! I stitched a plain, single-color leaf in #325. I chose the location carefully; there aren’t that many single leaves left; they’re one of the “training motifs” we’ve been using as first work for those new to the jacket. (The other training motif is the [...]

The Lackey’s Leaf*

Jill Hall — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:32:21 +0000

Lace sample arrived today from Robbin. Today Emily embroidered on the jacket. The first thing she did was a pink bud, shown here next to someone else’s leaf. The top corner shows a little of Wendy’s pansy. This bud is on the lower left corner of the back of the jacket. Next she did a whole leaf [...]

Guests for Lunch

Jill Hall — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:04:20 +0000

Today we had special guests join us for lunch. Jonny and Shelley spend much of their time caring for the rare breed animals in the 1627 English Village. That brief sentence doesn’t begin to capture all they do (I realize I say that often about the staff here, but it’s always true). They build and [...]

Friday Morning

Jill Hall — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:20:43 +0000

Karen asked, in a comment on The Spangle Quest post, whether a blog or list on this blog can be set up for the lacemakers to get together. I have absolutely no idea whether that can be done; I’ve asked Rich. He’ll know. This morning the embroiderers gathered in Accomack to begin another session of work [...]

Intern, Helper, Lackey*

Jill Hall — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:11:51 +0000

Lace sample arrived from Jill H. We’ve got a lot to accomplish this winter, but fortunately we’ve also got help. Joining Shaina and Penny in the Colonial Wardrobe workroom are Kelley, Alex and Emily. Kelley is a Colonial Interpreter who during our open season works in both the 1627 English Village and aboard Mayflower II. This winter [...]

The Spangle Quest

Jill Hall — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:24:22 +0000

Wendy continues the story: Time to rethink - so I went backwards and began again from the “process” point of view beginning with goldsmiths and how the metal is made. Having done wire drawing (the process of stretching or “drawing” metal out to a longer length) and being familiar with the tools I started there. The actual [...]

Spangles Redux

Jill Hall — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:37:17 +0000

Both Robbin and Wendy answered my call for more information on spangles on bobbins. See Robbin’s comment on yesterday’s post. Wendy emailed me with pictures; her note is below. Jill, I have attached two photos for the “Spangles” discussion. They show lace bobbins from my collection ( I have been collecting tools for over 25 years) [...]

Sequins, Spangles, Paillettes, Oe My!

Jill Hall — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:15:34 +0000

Tonight’s post was written by Wendy, a Spangle Quester with a background in metal work and jewelry making. I know the lacers wish we wouldn’t call the teardrop shaped metal bits that will be worked into the bobbin lace “spangles”. To lacers, spangles are a hoop of beads affixed to the end of a particular [...]