more crafty stuff
March 26, 2009
While sugaring off over the weekend, the Pie Goddess and I wandered through the new house on the Farmer's Museum grounds. Well, I wandered. She gimped.
Regardless, this exhibit is devoted to the domestic arts of the late 1800s and features a mind-boggling array of irons and mangles and dress forms. But what caught my eye was the cross stitch, which the picture below does a horrid job of capturing:
Still, something about it speaks to me. Not that I need a "Holy Bible" bookmark -- I'm not even sure there's a bible in my house -- but I can just picture a homesteader stitching away by the feeble candlelight as snowstorm whipped up outside. Which seems both romantic and, frankly, horrifying.
Maybe in 100 years one of my handmade items (this one, maybe. Or this one.) will be on display in some museum somewhere for future women to wax rhapsodic about.
(This was the dishwasher in the house across the street, which don't have a comment for, just like the picture.)
Speaking of crafty things, my old college pal Callie mentioned The Harveyville Project *to me. I'm ready to pack my bags right now -- but might have to wait until Fall, at the earliest, since this summer is booking up fast, what with weddings and conferences (Montreal!) and moving.
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* Harveyville reminded me that I *still* want to take a class or teach at the John C. Campbell Folk School. I'm told it's an amazing experience.
The only bible in my house belongs to my Jewish girlfriend. Go figure.
Posted by: matthew | March 26, 2009 at 03:58 PM
Thanks for this great review of our exhibition! The Dimmick House was my first project here as curator and was quite fun. The punched paper embroidery (Holy Bible bookmark) is pretty interesting stuff. Anyone could purchase the punched paper and make their own pattern from a colored chart, or follow a pattern stamped directly on the paper. Sometimes people combined patterns into their own composition. On occasion, combinations of patterns wtih different scales created horrifying giant babies, cats or other creatures, in idyllic woodland scenes. As a curator, I'm surprised the stuff lasts this long. Based on my own needleworks skills, I would have ripped out the spaces between the holes, making it unrecognizable and ruined.
Glad you're keeping the craft alive. Looks like museums collecting 21st century needlework will be getting some much more interesting objects!
Posted by: Erin Crissman | April 21, 2009 at 05:37 PM