2025 Limited Edition Christmas Angel Ornaments

2025 Christmas Angels are here!

I am super honored to have been chosen for the Directory of Traditional American Crafts again this year (the 18th consecutive!). I love what I do and pour my heart and soul into each and every piece. In a world full of AI and machined everything, it is so important that we keep the Heritage trades and crafts alive so that the knowledge and skills will not be lost.

I usually put out an heirloom embroidered ornament kit for Christmas, but a few years ago I got sick, and it was too much work for me at the time, so I made a painted ornament. It has become a tradition now that I am happy to continue. What is unique and fun about my Christmas Angels is that each is inspired, or a painted version of an angel found on an extant 17th c embroidery. 

I am happy to tease that I will again have a special 2025 Embroidered Ornament coming out in November, and this year's angels are available in my ETSY shop!

Each is designed and hand made by me from maple, then hand painted, one at a time! There is NO die or laser cutting here.....no decals! Me, my saws, sandpaper, paint and brushes, that it. 

Once the ornament itself is made, and I prep the wood, I draw on the designs with a steel tip nib and India ink. Yes. By hand. I only make a few, and each year is a different design. I have made 20 ornaments for this year, and I have been working on them since the first of September!

Each is hand-painted in black to resemble 17th-century blackwork, and then overpainted in gold mica. What I love about the overpaint is that from the front, one doesn't readily notice the shine, but when viewed at different angles, the design sparkles.

Each is signed and dated on the back and inscribed "Blessed Be". I thought it was fitting as this year's inspiration is the Annunciation angel on an embroidered mirror at the V&A Museum, depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, as seen below. 

If you would like to see the entire mirror, you can follow the link

here

 

Do you have one of These in your stash?

Have you Always wanted To embroider a 17th c Style Fancy Mirror but dont know WHERE oh WHERE to Start???

 Are you one of the many with a Thistle Threads Fancy Mirror Frame base sitting in your stash collecting dust??? You had every intent and dream of a beautiful embroidered mirror gracing your favorite space, but got stuck for whatever reason? Maybe the thought of coming up with a design was too overwhelming.... or you don't have a slate frame big enough??? 

Well my friend~ my Four Seasons Quaternion Class may be just what you need to make your dream a reality!

 Several students in class are currently working on their Quaternion pieces to mount onto a Fancy Mirror Frame. When I was designing the pieces for class, I specifically sized them to fit the Thistle Threads Fancy Mirror, just in case anyone wanted to do just that. They are super versatile~ they can be stitched and mounted separately, in pairs, or as a group...they can be incorporated into a box or casket design, and they are a super GREAT way to kick start your Fancy Mirror journey!

 No~ the frame does not come with class. If you don't already have one, you can buy them on the Thistle Threads webstore. But if you do have one, I will show you in class how the cartouches can be incorporated into a mirror design~ as you can see above, they really do fit perfectly! There is enough space left around them to accommodate the traditional tape trim that usually edges the mirror.  

Will I design the rest for you? No, I wont. BUT...I WILL help you with your design, and guide you through the finishing. ....

Which brings me to another point~ I will also share with you my ideas on finishing a mirror in steps~ like a casket. You don't have to have that huge slate frame to work the entire design at once. I'll teach you how to break it down into small, easily digestible pieces so that you can mount and finish your mirror in steps!  

If this interests you, you can learn more about my Four Seasons Quaternion Class here

There are 11 Spots in the fully kitted class remaining.

Class just started on the 15th of April, and its work at your own pace anyway, so you won't be behind. If you want to join us, we would love to have you!

Now Open for Enrollment!!

The Four Seasons Quaternion~

A Study of 17th c Embroidered Beasts

   

Would you like to stitch these wee beasties for yourself????

This 8-month fully kitted web-based class at  Diamond K Folk Art Online Academy takes the student on a journey of exploration into 17th century embroidered animals. Each 4"x4" season is viewed within an opulent cartouche of looped glass beads and silk-wrapped plate purls, which the students will make themselves. There is one beast for each season, inspired by Ann Bradstreet's 1650 poem, The Four Seasons of the Year.        

Sweet Spring depicts a cheerful leopard relaxing upon fertile green hillocks..... 

Burning Summer is represented by a stately Bactrian camel......

. 

Eden's Autumn depicts the ever-popular 17th c noble Lion.....

Snowie Winter shows a beautiful 17th century winter landscape

I only plan to run this fully kitted class once due to the difficulty I have had acquiring the materials for it. This class will be limited to 30 students, half of which have already filled from the newsletter sneak peek, so as of my posting, there are only 15 spots remaining!!

Class will begin 15 April 2025 and run for 8 months. 

You can learn more about the class or purchase an enrollment by clicking the Four Seasons Quaternion tab at the top of the blog page directly under the header or by clicking here. 

New Year.....New Project Goals

 What is Your 2025 Goal?

Today I sat and wrote out a list of goals for 2025. No resolutions...just a list of things that I want to accomplish, aside from living through the entire year, thats a given. I have close to a dozen things on my list, I put it up on the board by my desk so that I can be reminded every day of what I should be doing.  Some things are new endeavors...some things are things that have been nagging at me to get done for a while...and by a while, I mean, some of them nagging at me for YEARS now. One of the most persistent ones is this beautiful c1850s wool challis. Those who know me know my stance on cutting up early clothing for dollmaking or anything really....there are so few original garments out there~ don't get me started (you can search the blog for my post "Be Ye a Cutter" from several years ago that angered many a folk)...anyways...a few years ago I was searching for some wool challis and I happened on the above. Isn't it just gorgeous?

It was being sold as a loom width, and upon looking at the photos closer, I could see that the bottom had been hemmed, and the top of the panel had been gathered.....

I asked the seller if they had any more 'panels', to which they replied quite confidentially, yes they did...they had just finished unpicking a dress how many did I want? I want them ALL I said.

 She said, I have the hem lining as well, do you want that? I said Yes. Seller then said, Well if you buy all the panels and the hem facing, I will throw in the bodice, maybe you can do something with it....

:::enter HUGE sigh here::::

I just don't understand folks....really I don't. I would have gladly, happily paid TWICE as much, even three times as much, for the whole gown than I did for it in pieces, and seller wouldn't have had to waste her time unpicking it. Though I have to say, she UNPICKED it....she did NOT cut it apart, thankfully! The whalebone stays are still inside the bodice lining....the hammered brass hooks and eyes are all present, and the piping is even still attached to the waist of the bodice!

So, one of my goals for 2025 is to reassemble this humble wool challis house gown into its former self. It has survived this long, its the least I can do. I will share my progress here on the blog, sprinkled in amongst other things.

Cheers to a Happy & Healthy 2025 full of Peace & Love for EVERYONE

XOXOXOXO

Merry Christmas

  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you have taken a class from me or made a purchase, THANKYOU from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it & hope it brings you joy  XOXOXOXO

Detroit Institute of Arts Sampler Exhibit

 Painted With Silk

The Art of Early American Embroidery

Dec 13, 2024~ June 15, 2025

If you are in the Detroit Michigan area, I hope you will take a moment to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts' current exhibit of early American samplers. It runs through June 15th 2025. The above photo is a link to their website~

Earlier this year, Megan DiRienzo asked me to make a set of Touchable Embroideries to

accompany the exhibit. The main reason was that they wanted people with sight impairments who may not be able to see the embroideries clearly to be able to have something they could touch instead. Many of you know that I have macular degeneration myself, so this was super special to me. 

If you are a stitcher,  you realize how much the sensation of touch is involved in our own appreciation of stitching, no matter how perfect our vision is.....as well as how soothing and relaxing the repetitive sound of the needle passing through the fabric is~ but those that don't may not, so it is super exciting to have something available for anyone to touch!

I worked two identical sets of embroideries so that they may be switched out halfway through the exhibit. 

The curator specifically asked for a house motif. I chose a low-count linen in a neutral tone as a ground fabric in hopes that the cream colour of the ground would not show dirt as quickly as a white one would, and a lower count so that the larger spaces in the weave would allow dirt to pass through instead of collecting on the surface.

The house is worked in DMC cotton thread. 

  You may recognize this weeping willow motif~ The Clarke family's 1795 memorial embroidery for Isabella Clarke, shown in the first photo, was my inspiration. It is worked in stem stitch with black perle cotton and really feels wonderful. It was my favorite to pet with my own fingers!

The stitch sampler, seen on the far right in the exhibit grouping above, demonstrates two stitches, satin stitch, and stem stitch. Each stitch is worked (from the top down) in silk, wool, and cotton thread so that the difference in the fibers can be appreciated. 

You can learn more about the exhibit on the Detroit Institute of Arts website~ just click the Isabella Clarke memorial pic to follow the link. 

So after how many years of being told...NO TOUCHING.....and myself telling other folks to NOT TOUCH...

Finally! WE GET TO TOUCH! 

**I hope they keep the samples afterward as a good example and illustration of the importance of not touching embroideries, as I fully expect them to get quite grubby!

November

  Back Burners

My sincere apologies for letting the blog sit for months now with nothing nice to read. I do get to my Instagram more, because it is quicker I guess, but that's no excuse. I have had more bad days than good, everything is a struggle for me, its been hard to juggle everything. More than just the blog has been put on the back burner...but hey, they're not off the stove entirely so I guess that is a good thing. 

 I have been getting little things done here and there, and this past week I came to the blog for something and saw it has been so long since I have posted(!!) and that's just unacceptable to me! 

One of my back burner to-do's was making an archival mount to store of the many 18th c quilted layette basket linings in the collection. I do have one still stitched into its original 18th c woven basket, but the others are long separated from theirs. This lining in particular was stored for years before I got it folded and by how sharply the folds were creased I suspect this was placed on the bottom of the stack and under much weight. Silk does not like to be folded. It really needs to be stored flat and not folded, but because it is a shaped construct, it does not just open up and lay flat. 

I took careful measures and made a basket /tray form from archival materials to store it, as seen above. Ideally, I will have triangular inserts that fit up against all sides that will fully support the silk ruffle as well. 

I am always looking for deals, and this past summer had a couple of happy finds. One was this table, 50 dollars in a junk shop I found while waiting for daughter to get out of school up in Pueblo..

I brought it home and refinished it. It's a great little table, better than anything you can get new these days. One of my favorite things about it is the hand made cove/ridge molding around the table edge, its wavy and wonderful. 

Can you believe these were not even 50 dollars?! Colonial shoes, thats what they were sold as, 49 bucks. Not in the greatest shape, but ya'll know how much I love shoes. Even the poorest condition pieces are valuable, as we can see construction details not seen in pristine ones. This is them out of the ENVELOPE they were mailed to me in (oh my golly I am never amazed at how people ship things)

 I was absolutely over the moon when I removed the olde paper stuffing and found the provenance of the shoes written on the footbed and interior of both latchetts of one of the shoes. Grandma may no longer be with us, but her wedding shoes are, and they cannot wait to help me uncover her story.

All these need is a little love to bring them back to life. 

One more happy under 50.00 find of the year...this one just 33.00 on eBay

 A precious boys wool tunic late 1830s to very early 1840s I thought...and upon unwrapping it when it came, not one but two provenance notes along with a museum loan document it being worn in 1840 in New York.

I love the neoclassical design of the applied braid on the front. 

I would have loved to have the matching trousers that there most definitely once was, but hey, beggars can't be picky. I'll take it how it is, with gratitude!