$ 125.00
Thistle Threads
2024 'Choice and Precious Work' - Treasures from the Schoolroom 1650-1770 The Needle and Beyond
$ 125.00
Books in stock!
The 2024 Witney exhibition catalog is their second and larger hardcover book covering an extremely rare collection of treasures of the schoolroom from 1650-1750. This catalog contains several essays on new research in the field of 17th century schoolgirl works.
The book is anchored by an unusual decoupage cabinet adorned with cut out prints from well known prints published for schoolgirl works. The collection is continued with many caskets and samplers, several of which are series by the same girl. A few other outstanding pieces in rolled or quilled paper work are included to give a better idea of the breadth of school girl accomplishments.
The 220-page book has full page photography, including many views of the caskets and very magnified views of the smalls in the clear photographs you have come to expect from Witney's catalogs with an essay about each piece.
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The 2023 Witney exhibition catalog is their first hardcover book covering an extremely rare collection of treasures of the schoolroom from 1650-1750. The primary collection is the 1667/1668 casket on the cover worked by Elizabeth Hall at the Shacklewell School outside Hackney and containing a number of small casket toys made by her. The family continued to add items to the box such as a handmade layette set, small whitework pieces and their patterns. The box also came with a set of samplers made later by other family members and friends from this small Quaker meeting. What is stunning is the research done by Rebecca Scott and Isabella Rosner regarding Elizabeth, her friends and family using the extensive collection of family letters. Never has so much been known about a set of embroidery from the period. Copies of some of the important letters are shown in the book. The casket and sampler worked by Hannah Downes, now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum's was made contemporaneously adding to the information. Samplers worked by girls who went to school and were attendant at Elizabeth's wedding are included in the exhibit giving a fleshed out understanding of these women's worlds at the time.
This tome is a follow on to the 2022 Witney exhibiton catalog which extensively covered samplers of the period (and many are on display with the Hall sets now. But it is the prequel to the 2024 Witney exhibition catalog which will be larger and will cover more caskets with their internal items which also have impressive information on the girls and their schools.
The 126-page book has full page photography, including many views of the casket and very magnified views of the casket smalls in the clear photographs you have come to expect from Witney's catalogs with an essay about each piece.
$ 56.25
This is the 2024 Christmas Ornament kit in limited release. Kits are available for the project including full tubes of the silks, spangles, beads and trim to work one ornament. The instructions for the 4" diameter ornament with sampler stitches are available for free on the teaching site for download. If you like buying ala carte, the spangles and trim are also currently available in the shop.
The kit includes 40 ct Picadill White Linen, soie paris silks, gilt mignardise trim, shaped spangles, beads, a needle and the gilt bullion/silver check No 6 needed for finishing. New - a 4" die cut card stock/batting kit for finishing is part of the kit for easy and fast finishing. Not included are fabric backing
$ 48.75 - $ 53.75
This is the 2023 Christmas Ornament kit. The instructions for the 4" diameter ornament with sampler stitches are available for free on the teaching site for download. If you like buying ala carte, the spangles and trim are also currently available in the shop.
The kit includes 40 ct Picadill White Linen, soie paris silks, five types of shaped spangles, beads, a needle and the gilt bullion/check cord or 9 OR gilt bullion/silver check No 6 needed for finishing. Not included are fabric backing and card stock/felt for building the ornament.
NEW - a 4" die cut card stock/batting kit for finishing can be purchased (includes die cuts in matt board, poster board and three pieces of die cut batting) for easy and fast finishing.
$ 15.00 - $ 65.00
Martha's Rose is a 3" diameter ornament worked with Soie Paris. The instructions are downloadable as part of the mini-course offered through my teaching platform for $15. The course called "Martha Edlin - Her Life and Embroidery" has a video presentation on her biography based on my original research, a video on her embroideries, and this set of project instructions. An additional video on how to handle filament silks is included.
The mini-course can be watched as many times as you want for 31-days from date of purchase (Of course, extra time will be added for any technical snafus) and the instructions for the ornament are downloadable to keep. $5 of each course registration is a donation to the Textile Department at the V&A. The images are licensed for a specific number of spots.
This optional kit includes: Foxtail Millet 45ct Linen, needle, six colors of soie paris, a piece of pink silk for the backing, silk facette gimp and silk lacet for the ornament edging. The maker will have to provide matt board and batting for the finishing.
A note - my teaching platform and shop each have different user/passwords as they are hosted by different companies.
Once you order the course, I will follow up with an email with your user/password to the teaching site and instructions on how to access the course. NOTE: the email goes to the email you use for your Thistle Threads shopify account and is from the shopify system. Almost always I get the email sent to you within 8 hours and most likely within 1 hour. So please look at that email inbox (Spouse? Old yahoo email? Former employer email? Yes, most reasons you don't get the user/passwords are this. Email me the next day if you don't get it right away).
$ 12.00 - $ 24.00
This metal thread trims are tiny and were used extensively on 17th century stumpwork and up to today on Eastern European folk costume. The gilt version is petite and close to the size used on 17th century stumpwork to edge costume on figures emulating metallic lace of the period. The silver version is slightly larger and can still be used that way but opens up all kinds of other ideas to decorate embroidery.
The gilt version is about 3/16" wide and the silver version is 1/4" wide
This is a metal thread that I have been searching for forever! The machine to make it is intense and apparently only one company still has it (and it broke while making my large batch - I hope it can be fixed)
$ 4.50 - $ 10.00
NEW! Gilt Folien Die Stamped pieces:
Gilt Folien No 411 - small cup shaped die cut spangles that are patterned on both sides. They can be held down with a bead, stitches, or a large french knot. 1 gram (approx. 20-24 in bag).
Gilt Folien No 198 - small flower shaped die cut pieces that are held down by stitch over them 2-3 times with a gold or colored thread. 1/2 gram (about 14) or 1 gram packages (about 28).
This is one of the most exciting product finds in years for me - spangles that are shaped! These spangles are made the way our normal ones are, but are then stamped with a die again to make them either textured or have a flower type shape. There are two which were sent in the Frostings Box 6 (No. 22 and No. 24) and two NEW ones (No 27 and No 23).
They are gilt and packaged in bags of 1 gram each. They are almost 4-5 mm in diameter. Depending on the spangle type, there are between 20-23 per gram.
You can imagine all kinds of ways to embellish them by using colored thread to secure them, a colored silk purl chip, a bead, etc.
$ 3,520.00 - $ 3,683.00
Next Full Start is Jan 1st, 2025. Late registrations taken for 2024 version if paid in full
There are only 23 spots available out of 250.
Paying in full is also a ~5% discount from installment plans.
There are two ways to pay. Either in full or on a 18-month payment plan using PayPal. The links in blue below are for payment plans and take you to a PayPal page to complete the order. Shipping is included, so please choose your correct region. If your preferred email or shipping address is not the same as entered for PayPal, please email me with the correct info. Husbands have a tendency to unsubscribe your class emails.
The installment plans have changed to have a total of seven shipments vs 2-3 shipments when paying in full. That is why there is a discount for paying in full.
18-months USA Shipping ($205.33/month)
18-months Canada Shipping ($210.33/month)
18-months Rest of World Shipping ($215.85/month)
If you are interested in taking the course or finding out more, email me at tricia@alum.mit.edu
