English Country House Textiles

And now for something a little different ... which may provide some interesting holiday reading. Our Branch Chairman, Liz Lowry, has just completed a master’s degree in The English Country House at Leicester University. She says:

Whilst I was on a field visit to Boughton House in Northampton being shown some magnificent tapestries and upholstery dating back to Charles II’s reign, it suddenly struck me that we’re never shown any of the household textiles in these stately homes. So, I decided to write my dissertation on them. 

As they’ve largely disappeared, I was following a paper trail of probate inventories, household accounts and sales catalogues for the sales of country houses like this one for a sale at Horton Hall in Northamptonshire in 1772 with numerous lots of tablecloths and napkins.

When there was any mention of sheets, tablecloths, towels and those necessary bits of cloth we still have today, and which Sarah Churchill, the first Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, referred to as ‘Linnen for the Kitchen House Maid Butler & Housekeeper the particulars not worth putting down’ - how I wished she’d put them on the list too! 

There were some fascinating details amongst the archives. The accounts at Warwick Castle for 1665 showed large numbers of sheets being required. 

Item      183 ells ¼ of Flaxen cloath for Sheets    

Item      40 ells of Hempen cloath for Sheets          

A payment of £3.2s.4d was made to one Ann Newcombe by Ragley Hall ‘For Marking 36 pare of Sheets’ and 421 further items of household linen.  These marks were probably similar to these on a Victorian tablecloth from Chatsworth House. 

 

This inventory for Stoneleigh Abbey has a wonderful list of sheets stored in chests in 1738, as well as lots of material waiting to be sewn into more! 

Mrs. Hayes, the housekeeper at Charlecote Park in the mid-eighteenth century, kept a Household Book in which, amongst other things, she made lists of the linen. There were sheets for Mr. Lucy’s bed and large numbers of damask table cloths with sets of napkins. Mrs. Hayes even recorded buying ‘3 pieces for Dishcloaths’ at Warwick Fair in March 1754. 

One of the pleasant things about ferreting round in archives is that you sometimes find something wonderful, like this list of children’s linen from the Stoneleigh documents for 1637, incidentally showing how spelling and terminology has changed, as pillow boards are now pillow cases. 

So, although there aren’t many household textiles on view in country houses, it is possible to find out about them in other ways. And who knows, there may just be some out there hidden away in an attic that will come to light someday. 

Many thanks to Liz for sharing this glimpse into an aspect of domestic life that is now long-gone.

Christmas penguins

Sewing, cakes, Christmas jumpers, friends ... our JETS had a fantastic Christmas session.  

They all made a winter sock penguin, and had a lovely time cutting socks in half and stuffing them with wadding. 

The rest of the sock was added for the wings. 

They decorated their penguins with blusher for cold cheeks and pompoms for noses.

As you can see, one Dad had a great sense of humour and added his own penguin to the picture!

One of our younger JETS decided to add some finishing touches to her penguin at home. It now has lovely hair and an outfit or two.  Well done, Eiliyah!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Christmas Party

We had a fabulous Christmas party last Saturday, packed with activity - stitching a neat little project, chatting, showing off seasonal work and enjoying a veritable feast for lunch.

We spent the morning making three-sided 'pod' decorations - with a little treat popped inside, they will make an ideal gift to hang on the tree ... and it was very satisfying to delve into our stashes of shiny fabrics, beads, ribbons and trims.

 

   

  

Members brought along Christmas-related items they had stitched (they didn't have to be all this year's), so there was an extensive display of work using all manner of techniques on show.  

    

 

 

As well as browsing all these wonderful things, we inspected the embroidered stockings that members submitted for the annual Christmas challenge. Voting is by putting coins into a cup next to the entry/entries you like best (the number of coins, not the value, is what matters). The winner, apart from receiving a gift, is asked to nominate a charity to which they would like all the money to be donated. 

(Numbers on the stockings refer to the entry number, not order of preference.)

  

 

We enjoyed a fabulous buffet lunch courtesy of everyone present, with a glass of wine or non-alcoholic fizz. Then the post-lunch quiz, which was based on Christmas songs and carols - not all so obvious, unless you are a carol buff ...

• In The Little Drummer Boy, who kept time?
• Jehovah tells the happy toffs to take a break.

(Answers at the end) 

Still more treats to come, as we dipped into Secret Santa's sack.  Gifts had to be textile related, cost no more than £5 and should be creatively wrapped.  Some very imaginative gifts were exchanged.

And finally, picking up our 'pod' stitching again, we managed to complete or nearly complete them ready to hang on the Christmas tree at home. Look out for them on display at St Mary's Church, Warwick next Christmas.

It was a really fabulous day, and we are already looking forward to next year's Christmas party!


Answers: The ox and lamb.  God rest ye, merry gentlemen.

Compton Verney: Exhibition and Buttons!

What a very busy and rewarding week-end we had at Compton Verney's Textile Fair!

The fair in this beautiful country house attracts a large number of visitors from far and wide, and many of them took the time to pop into our exhibition.  Judging by the comments in the visitors' book, the work on display was well received, and it may even have inspired some potential new members to join the Guild.

  

Our button activity attracted lots of children - and parents and grandparents - to sit at our big table and have a go at stitching buttons onto fabric in decorative ways.
  

  

Cards and stamps were provided, so that participants could take home their efforts, as a reminder or to give to a lucky recipient.

 

 Thank you to Compton Verney for providing us with the opportunity to exhibit in this lovely venue.

Compton Verney Textile Fair

Leamington Embroiderers' Guild Branch will be in the lovely Wellingtonia room at Compton Verney, where we will be holding a drop-in free mini workshop on the decorative ways you can sew on buttons and incorporate them into your textile work.

Why not bring along some special buttons and enjoy sewing them on in a friendly atmosphere?              All materials necessary will be provided.

In addition, we will have all NEW work on display, made by our many members over the past year.

My Machine doesn't like Metallic Thread

The following information is taken from Barnyarns website.  We thought it might be useful to pass it on to members, since using metallic threads can sometimes be a trial.

One of the most common problems - even for the most experienced machine embroiderer - is successful stitching with metallic thread. We’ve experienced it all: fraying, looping, tension problems, and continual thread breaks are enough to discourage anyone and it’s such a shame for two reasons—- everyone loves the bit of bling that metallic thread offers, and second, absolutely anyone with any machine should be able to stitch, sew, or quilt with metallic threads successfully! So, at this time of year, when all is shimmering outside, let’s take it step-by-step and highlight the process of embroidering a snowflake with gorgeous metallic thread while recommending solutions to common problems.

Follow the THREE Golden Rules of Metallic Thread:

#1 - At the spool (or cone) - When stitching with a spool of Metallic thread, use the vertical spool pin. If your machine doesn’t have a vertical spool pin, we recommend using the Superior Thread Holder when embroidering with cones and spools of metallic thread.

#2 - Inside your machine - Most embroidery machines have electronic automatic tension and it’s preset from the factory to run a generic embroidery thread. As smart as your machine is, it has no way to tell that you are stitching with a metallic thread instead of a standard polyester embroidery thread. We recommend loosening your top tension (override your automatic tension settings) all the way down to 1.0. Metallic thread is one of the most delicate threads due to its unique construction, so a loose top tension is required for frustration-free stitching. Friction and metallic threads do not make a good mix. Refer to your machine’s manual to learn how to override the default tension settings.

#3 - At the needle - The way metallic thread is made follows a unique process. Strands of thin metal foil are delicately adhered to a film and wrapped around a strong nylon core. When embroidering, you have a high number of stitches per minute rapidly creating tiny stitches in a dense design. The thread is moving back and forth through the eye and groove of the needle, rubbing against the metal surface in a fast manner. All it takes is for the delicate metallic foil to break, and only the nylon core will be moving through the eye, as your beautiful metallic overlay starts to push back up into the machine. 

Again, thankfully the solution is very easy: use a needle with a larger eye and deeper groove. We recommend using a Topstitch #90/14 needle. Superior Topstitch needles have a longer and wider eye, deeper groove to protect thread during stitch creation, and a thin layer of titanium-nitride that resists friction and keeps your needle sharper much longer. Compare the Topstitch style to any of your embroidery needles and you’ll see the difference. Having more space in the eye of the needle helps reduce the stress placed on the thread as it passes at a high rate of speed through the needle and creates a stitch.

For further information on using threads, or to purchase products, visit:

https://www.barnyarns.co.uk/thread/

A Passion for Colour

Ruth Issett's talk on Friday evening about her "passion for colour" included a fascinating slideshow of her work and some of the countryside views that have inspired her.  The tables were covered in a wonderful selection of dyed fabrics and stitched pieces - in fact, the hall was transformed into a riot of colour!

Ruth Issett

Ruth explained how she keeps books of reference samples of all the dyes she uses on a range of fabrics, showing how the same dye reacts with each fabric to produce different effects.  

Often starting with collaged papers, she translates her ideas to fabric or other surfaces.  Any dye left over can be used as an ink to add or alter colours further.  

Ruth Issett

The following day's workshop focussed on using a number of accessible print techniques on fabric, and then modifying them with the addition of direct dye colour.  Ruth showed us how to apply fabric paint with a roller - not necessarily as straightforward as one might expect - and how to create patterns with brushes or stamps.

  

Ruth advised limiting one's colour palettes, in order to keep colours clear, and then playing with combinations.  Not that the results were in any way limited!  Playing with colour is fascinating and addictive, and "a passion for colour" is in no way an understatement.