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History of Tomato Pin Cushions
Metal pins are an invaluable tool for today’s needleworker and seamstress, and they were no less so for sewers throughout history. With pins came a variety of ways to store them, including boxes, cases and cushions. 15th-Century Debut The first reference to the tomato pin cushion appears in the 15th century. Before this, as metal pins were rare and expensive, they were stored in a variety of protective cases made of bone, ivory or silver. Tudor era During the Tudor Era (1485-1603) it became common practice to use fancy, stuffed shapes to store needles and pins. The familiar tomato shape evolved due to the folklore surrounding the fruit, which symbolized…
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A dress of many patterns
Hi, everyone! Today on the blog it’s all about a dress recreation project: a dress of many patterns. I’ve spoken about the idea of recreating a vintage, Edwardian-styled dress from the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol. The plan is to recreate the basic pattern of a tea dress using swatches of recreated needlework items. So, it’s a reproduction on two levels: design & construction. The dress design will be based on an Edwardian Tea Dress-style wedding dress originally worn by Francis Mason Watson (1890 – 1918) a former resident of Blyth, Ontario. The shawl and dress will be made up of vintage pattern samplers (swatches) based…
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Pillow inspired by 1890 bureau scarf
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Vintage textiles on display
A small number of the Huron County Museum‘s many beautiful heirloom textiles were on display in the Governor’s House adjacent to the historic Gaol for Sunday’s counterpane knitting workshop in the parlour. Starting from the left in the photos, you can see a counterpane crib blanket, a counterpane bureau scarf, a pair of knit men’s gloves (the pattern is similar to Sanquhar), and a crocheted counterpane bed coverlet. There are so many more lovely items in their collection. These are but a few examples. Would you or someone you know be interested in recreating patterns based on the heirloom textile items in the museum? Their collection holds many, many needlework items…
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Thank you!
Thank you so much to everyone who attended the knitting workshop at the Gaol in the Goderich yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 9. It was truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to meet you and share some creative time together. And thank you also to Sinead and the Huron County Museum for encouraging me to share my work and for organizing and hosting the workshop in the wonderful Governor’s House. Thank you, all!
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Counterpane Pincushion, inspired by history
Do you love stitching from old patterns? I certainly do. I also enjoy trying to recreate a pattern based upon a stitched item. This pincushion is inspired by a white cotton counterpane baby blanket in the collection of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol in Goderich, Ontario. White cotton counterpanes (or coverlets) were common in the nineteenth century, as was “white knitting,” due to the preference at the time for white bed coverings and because of the ready availability of cotton yarn. Counterpanes are made up of smaller units (squares or octagons, for example) that are worked separately and then joined together to create an overall design or effect.…
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Pillow inspired by 1890 bureau scarf
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