Just Pin It!

If you completed your Just Pin It! smocking sampler by October 15^th and you have not yet posted a photo on the Smock Along Facebook page, please send your photo to Carol Kick at artisan@smocking.org.  

You will be awarded two Artisan points; you do not have to have completed the construction, but all smocking stitches must be completed.

Carol Kick's Just Pin It! Example

Historic Deerfield

Are you attending the SAGA Retreat in Bedford Glen?

Maybe you are going to have a little extra time, either as you travel to the site or on your way home? Maybe you can visit one or two places nearby?

Here is one interesting place to visit- Historic Deerfield

www.historic-deerfield.org

Historic Deerfield Inc., founded in 1952, is an outdoor history museum that focuses on the history and culture of the Connecticut River Valley and early New England.  It has a dual mission of educating the public about the lifestyles of the diverse people who lived here long ago and of preserving antique buildings and collections of regional furniture, silver, textiles, and other decorative arts. First settled in 1669, Deerfield is one of the few towns settled by English colonists along the eastern seaboard that retains its original scale and town plan. Visitors are offered guided and self-guided tours of 12 antique houses ranging in age from 1730 to 1850. Eleven of these houses are on their original sites.

This is one exhibition that might be of interest to SAGA members:

Celebrating the Fiber Arts: The Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery (2017)

January 01, 2017 - December 23, 2017 | 9:30 am - 4:30 pm 

Historic Deerfield’s costume and textile collection has long been considered one of the finest in America.  Begun by the museum’s founder, Helen Geier Flynt, the collection features a vast array of costumes, needlework and domestic textiles which are displayed on a rotating basis.  Newly installed in this permanent gallery for the season are 38 exciting examples of American and European clothing, accessories, textiles and needlework from the 17^th century through the mid-20^th century. 

Some of the current highlights featured include a dramatic, mid-18^th-century gown, whose fabric was woven in Lyon, France’s renowned center of silk-weaving.  Yards of expensive brocaded silk were draped and sewn to create a gown whose considerable width was supported by panniers or side hoops worn under the garment itself and tied around the wearer’s waist. 

A man’s early 19^th-century wool coat is displayed in an unconventional, horizontal orientation for visitors to get a better sense of the skills involved in tailoring the garment.  Padding, interfacing and stitching will all be seen to better advantage from this diagrammatical presentation.

Also on view is a recent acquisition by the museum, a modest pictorial needlework wrought by Violet Forward Scott (1786-1853) of Belchertown, Massachusetts in the late 1790s (pictured).  This piece represents an important step in Scott’s education.  It was likely her first attempt at a pictorial needlework that required her to develop the skill of composition, beyond the practice of count-stitching alphabets and numbers in horizontal rows onto a grid of warp and weft.  This example also incorporates watercolor and gouache, probably executed by the instructress or an outside professional.    

 A vibrant red whole cloth wool quilt is just one of the new items on view in the gallery’s quilt and coverlet rack.  This example’s all-over uniform geometric quilting pattern is indicative of styles from first half of the 19^th century, while its cut-out corners – a design feature seen on the bottom corners of some quilts to accommodate its use on a four-poster bed – suggest a New England origin. 

See these and other outstanding textiles thematically arranged according to their natural fibers: silk, wool, cotton and linen. 

 This exhibition is made possible in part by a grant from The Coby Foundation, Ltd.

Visit Williamsburg- SAGA Convention Pre-day Tour!

Colonial Williamsburg textile tour

Tuesday, September 20,2016   8:00 am – 4:30 pm 

8 am  depart the hotel by charted coach to Colonial Williamsburg where you will begin the day touring two of the DeWitt Wallace museum’s textile exhibits. A Century of African-American Quilts showcasing eleven colorful and stunning quilts, half of which have never before been seen by the public. The quilts of African Americans varied widely, depending on the date, location or community, the purpose for which the quilt was made, and the personal artistic vision of the quilt maker. The bold designs and brilliant colors of the quilts featured in the exhibition speak to a longstanding cultural and artistic tradition within which the women designed and created their quilts.

African-American Quilt

Also view 18th- early 19th century stitched textiles in A Rich and Varied Culture: Early Southern Textiles. See stitched textiles, such as quilted clothing and bedcovers, decorative pocketbooks, and small accessories, which were usually made at home by women. Most needlework pictures and samplers were stitched by girls attending schools or seminaries often located many miles from the needle worker’s home The majority of American schoolgirl embroideries were created by middle and upper class white girls who lived on the Eastern seaboard in the New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Southern embroideries are not as plentiful as there were fewer cities and large towns where schools were most likely to be established. The samplers come from several different states including Virginia, the Carolinas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi. Each sampler on view offers a glimpse into a young girl’s life.

Williamsburg Sampler

12:30 pm following the museum tour the group will enjoy a southern lunch at the Shields Tavern. (At the time of registration, attendees will choose between pulled pork and fried chicken. All lunches include salad, tavern bread, beverage and ice cream)

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Williamsburg Millinery Shop

The afternoon will include a tour of the Colonial Williamsburg Weave Room, as well as the Millinery and Tailor Shop. Explore the technology of weaving and other aspects of producing textiles, including spinning and dyeing.  Karen Clancy, Journeyman weaver, spinner and dyer will share how Colonial Williamsburg uses botanical recipes to blend the historic old with a vibrant new world of pure color to create authentic dyes that are then spun and woven right in the Weave Room.  Just down the street visit the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop and explore the trades of the milliner, tailor, mantua-maker, and stay-maker. Fashion was just as important in the 18th century as it is today. Learn about the changes and how clothing was viewed by society.

 

Masonic Apron

3:30 pm the group will depart for the hotel. Water and apples will be provided by SAGA business member, Lavender House.

Timeline summary

8:00 am               depart hotel for Colonial Williamsburg

9-9:15 am            arrive Colonial Williamsburg; walk from parking lot to museum

10am – 12 pm   tour the Dewitt Wallace museum exhibits

12:15-1:30 pm   lunch at the Shields Tavern

1:30-3:00 pm     walking tour of the Colonial Williamsburg Weave Room and Milliner and Tailor Shops

3:30-3:45 pm     board bus to return to hotel

4:15 – 4:30 pm arrive at hotel

Cost for the day - $130:  includes transportation, museum and historical grounds fee, lunch and all tips

Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather. A sweater or light jacket is recommended for inside wear. 

Visit the SAGA website to sign up! www.smocking.org