Crewel

Nothing to show. I'm reading like mad. I'm still reading English Domestic Needlework--1660-1860 by Therle Hughes. I find my attention wandering and so my reading's slow. My fingers are beginning to itch to stitch so I may begin my samplers. I'm still trying to find a form for them and/or a design. So I'm reading.Today I got an interlibrary loan copy of Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd, edited by Janet Arnold. This is a bit before my time frame but I've always wanted to read it and I think it will be a good grounding. That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. (It's a fascinating book even at first glance.) I'm reading, mostly online, about the dyes and colors they would have had in the 17th Century--below is fustic dyed silk. (from Aurora Silks)
And I'm coming up with more and more questions. Like why, after many years of exquisite fine silk embroidery, stumpwork and needlelace, would there be a fashion for crewel wools. It's beautiful, but seems huge and kind of clumsy next to work like the medieval Opus Anglicanum.

What caused wool embroidery to come into fashion? Why at this time? And who did the embroidery? Was it professionals or perhaps women at home? Middle or upper class?

The other thing I've discovered. I am very (very) literal. So. The Jacobean era is named after King James I, who ruled from 1603 to the 1620s. I assumed Jacobean Crewel embroidery would have it's roots during his reign. If it did, they're deep underground.

So far, I'm not finding examples that I can identify as this style until at least the mid-17th Century(which is why I'm paying so much attention to Therle Hughes's book). This timing makes sense if, as the crewel stitch books all seem to indicate, the designs are derived from imports from India and the Far East, primarily by the East India Company. The EIC wasn't chartered until 1600 and it took them a while to get up and running full steam. I'm adding to my book list.

Moving back in time...

For the last three months, I've been planted in the 18th Century, reading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (so far) in order from book 1 through 7. I finished An Echo in the Bone at the end of last week. It all began when I bought her new graphic novel, Exile, (which views events from the first book from the perspective of a different character than the novel did), and then had the stress fracture in my hip that had me doing a lot of sitting. The books got me through. And made me very happy I live in the 21st Century!

Now I'm moving further back in time, to the early 17th Century. I've begun working on the Jacobean Crewel Independent Correspondence Course from EGA. My book arrived this week. (Is anyone else out there doing this course?)This is the sample project. I have a ways to go before getting there, though. And research to do--I love research. So, this week I've been looking at my crewel books to see what they say about Jacobean design--and where they got their information from (the ether, apparently, they don't list their source material!). I've been looking online for modern designs with a Jacobean flair, investigating natural dyes and what colors would have been available in and around 1600--I've even been exploring what years fall into the Jacobean era.

[It varies widely, I've learned. The Jacobean era is named after King James I who ruled from 1603 until 1625. James 1 belonged to the Stuart family as did his son and successor King Charles I reigning from 1625 until 1649 (until he met an untimely end). The term Jacobean era often refers to the period of both kings. Some take it even further, though, through the period of the Commonwealth (Cromwell and his cronies), through Charles II to King James II, encompassing the years 1603 to 1688.]

I get to do a stitch sampler. I received all three lessons at once so I can plan ahead and I've been thinking of how I want to organize my stitch sampler. A spot or band sampler, a more formal design, or perhaps (my current choice) a booklet with pages to be later bound together. (and, if a booklet, what shape, size, page format...fun stuff!) Or maybe pockets. I really like old-fashioned pockets (the tie around your waist, wear under your skirt type that Lucy Locket lost). So perhaps I could do a series of pockets. To be bound together as a book? Whaddya think?

And I'm thinking of topics for a short research paper. Like where did these designs come from? What influenced them? Were they the same everywhere? Why? What types of birds and animals and insects were depicted? Were the colors used in a realistic manner or not? Lots of fun questions. What items other than bed curtains used this style of embroidery--that's what I think of when I think of Jacobean crewel--bed curtains. (which leads to the question of why did they spend so much time and effort to decorate their bed?)