New Year.....New Project Goals

 What is Your 2025 Goal?

Today I sat and wrote out a list of goals for 2025. No resolutions...just a list of things that I want to accomplish, aside from living through the entire year, thats a given. I have close to a dozen things on my list, I put it up on the board by my desk so that I can be reminded every day of what I should be doing.  Some things are new endeavors...some things are things that have been nagging at me to get done for a while...and by a while, I mean, some of them nagging at me for YEARS now. One of the most persistent ones is this beautiful c1850s wool challis. Those who know me know my stance on cutting up early clothing for dollmaking or anything really....there are so few original garments out there~ don't get me started (you can search the blog for my post "Be Ye a Cutter" from several years ago that angered many a folk)...anyways...a few years ago I was searching for some wool challis and I happened on the above. Isn't it just gorgeous?

It was being sold as a loom width, and upon looking at the photos closer, I could see that the bottom had been hemmed, and the top of the panel had been gathered.....

I asked the seller if they had any more 'panels', to which they replied quite confidentially, yes they did...they had just finished unpicking a dress how many did I want? I want them ALL I said.

 She said, I have the hem lining as well, do you want that? I said Yes. Seller then said, Well if you buy all the panels and the hem facing, I will throw in the bodice, maybe you can do something with it....

:::enter HUGE sigh here::::

I just don't understand folks....really I don't. I would have gladly, happily paid TWICE as much, even three times as much, for the whole gown than I did for it in pieces, and seller wouldn't have had to waste her time unpicking it. Though I have to say, she UNPICKED it....she did NOT cut it apart, thankfully! The whalebone stays are still inside the bodice lining....the hammered brass hooks and eyes are all present, and the piping is even still attached to the waist of the bodice!

So, one of my goals for 2025 is to reassemble this humble wool challis house gown into its former self. It has survived this long, its the least I can do. I will share my progress here on the blog, sprinkled in amongst other things.

Cheers to a Happy & Healthy 2025 full of Peace & Love for EVERYONE

XOXOXOXO

Merry Christmas

  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. If you have taken a class from me or made a purchase, THANKYOU from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate it & hope it brings you joy  XOXOXOXO

Detroit Institute of Arts Sampler Exhibit

 Painted With Silk

The Art of Early American Embroidery

Dec 13, 2024~ June 15, 2025

If you are in the Detroit Michigan area, I hope you will take a moment to visit the Detroit Institute of Arts' current exhibit of early American samplers. It runs through June 15th 2025. The above photo is a link to their website~

Earlier this year, Megan DiRienzo asked me to make a set of Touchable Embroideries to

accompany the exhibit. The main reason was that they wanted people with sight impairments who may not be able to see the embroideries clearly to be able to have something they could touch instead. Many of you know that I have macular degeneration myself, so this was super special to me. 

If you are a stitcher,  you realize how much the sensation of touch is involved in our own appreciation of stitching, no matter how perfect our vision is.....as well as how soothing and relaxing the repetitive sound of the needle passing through the fabric is~ but those that don't may not, so it is super exciting to have something available for anyone to touch!

I worked two identical sets of embroideries so that they may be switched out halfway through the exhibit. 

The curator specifically asked for a house motif. I chose a low-count linen in a neutral tone as a ground fabric in hopes that the cream colour of the ground would not show dirt as quickly as a white one would, and a lower count so that the larger spaces in the weave would allow dirt to pass through instead of collecting on the surface.

The house is worked in DMC cotton thread. 

  You may recognize this weeping willow motif~ The Clarke family's 1795 memorial embroidery for Isabella Clarke, shown in the first photo, was my inspiration. It is worked in stem stitch with black perle cotton and really feels wonderful. It was my favorite to pet with my own fingers!

The stitch sampler, seen on the far right in the exhibit grouping above, demonstrates two stitches, satin stitch, and stem stitch. Each stitch is worked (from the top down) in silk, wool, and cotton thread so that the difference in the fibers can be appreciated. 

You can learn more about the exhibit on the Detroit Institute of Arts website~ just click the Isabella Clarke memorial pic to follow the link. 

So after how many years of being told...NO TOUCHING.....and myself telling other folks to NOT TOUCH...

Finally! WE GET TO TOUCH! 

**I hope they keep the samples afterward as a good example and illustration of the importance of not touching embroideries, as I fully expect them to get quite grubby!

November

  Back Burners

My sincere apologies for letting the blog sit for months now with nothing nice to read. I do get to my Instagram more, because it is quicker I guess, but that's no excuse. I have had more bad days than good, everything is a struggle for me, its been hard to juggle everything. More than just the blog has been put on the back burner...but hey, they're not off the stove entirely so I guess that is a good thing. 

 I have been getting little things done here and there, and this past week I came to the blog for something and saw it has been so long since I have posted(!!) and that's just unacceptable to me! 

One of my back burner to-do's was making an archival mount to store of the many 18th c quilted layette basket linings in the collection. I do have one still stitched into its original 18th c woven basket, but the others are long separated from theirs. This lining in particular was stored for years before I got it folded and by how sharply the folds were creased I suspect this was placed on the bottom of the stack and under much weight. Silk does not like to be folded. It really needs to be stored flat and not folded, but because it is a shaped construct, it does not just open up and lay flat. 

I took careful measures and made a basket /tray form from archival materials to store it, as seen above. Ideally, I will have triangular inserts that fit up against all sides that will fully support the silk ruffle as well. 

I am always looking for deals, and this past summer had a couple of happy finds. One was this table, 50 dollars in a junk shop I found while waiting for daughter to get out of school up in Pueblo..

I brought it home and refinished it. It's a great little table, better than anything you can get new these days. One of my favorite things about it is the hand made cove/ridge molding around the table edge, its wavy and wonderful. 

Can you believe these were not even 50 dollars?! Colonial shoes, thats what they were sold as, 49 bucks. Not in the greatest shape, but ya'll know how much I love shoes. Even the poorest condition pieces are valuable, as we can see construction details not seen in pristine ones. This is them out of the ENVELOPE they were mailed to me in (oh my golly I am never amazed at how people ship things)

 I was absolutely over the moon when I removed the olde paper stuffing and found the provenance of the shoes written on the footbed and interior of both latchetts of one of the shoes. Grandma may no longer be with us, but her wedding shoes are, and they cannot wait to help me uncover her story.

All these need is a little love to bring them back to life. 

One more happy under 50.00 find of the year...this one just 33.00 on eBay

 A precious boys wool tunic late 1830s to very early 1840s I thought...and upon unwrapping it when it came, not one but two provenance notes along with a museum loan document it being worn in 1840 in New York.

I love the neoclassical design of the applied braid on the front. 

I would have loved to have the matching trousers that there most definitely once was, but hey, beggars can't be picky. I'll take it how it is, with gratitude!

FREE SHIPPING SPECIAL

 Heirloom Ornament Kit Special Offer 

~August 2024~

I am cleaning out making room for new class kits and am offering FREE  Priority Insured SHIPPING within the continental USA on the above ornament kits~ depending on the zone you are located in, this could be close to 28.90 savings per kit! 

Many of the limited edition ornament kits have sold out, I have just 2 remaining of the Ort King, 4 of Winter Queen, 5 Flemish Coffer, and 9 Skarlet Ladye (my personal favorite it looks AMAZING against the green of a Christmas tree). 

Everything you need to make one ornament(silk ground, silk, and REAL metal threads, seed pearls etc) along with full step-by-step colour printed instructions are included in each kit~ full spools of silks are included so you will have plenty of leftovers to add to your stash! Basics like embroidery frames, scissors, pencils, and that sort of basic tools most folks already have are not included~ if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. 

This offer is only good through the email~ if you are interested, email me at rlkinnison@yahoo.com and I can send a Paypal invoice to your email. 

2017 Winter Queen~ 350.00

2019 Ort King~ 260.00

2021 Flemish Coffer~ 385.00

2022 Skarlet Ladye~ 325.00

All Overseas orders will receive a 30.00 USD discount on shipping 

Flemish Coffer Ornament Kits

 Back in Stock

I have a limited number of Femish Coffer Ornament kits back in stock~ if you are interested they can be found on my ETSY shop, just click the link in the sidebar!

Diamond K Folk Art Online Academy

 Puffed Silkes~ 17th Century Inspired Padded Silk Interiors

Class begins 1 April!

Class Login information was sent last week in the emails, so if you are new to the Online Academy, you should have your particulars in hand. If not, there are links in the body of the email, so check your spam box. If it's still not there, email me and I can resend it. I have had students email me with their excitement to start, and let me say, I am just as excited. I cannot wait to see what ya'll create!

If you are interested, please click the tab for the Online Academy at the top of the page here to learn more about the class. This is a 3 month long course that I keep adding to, because hello~ I want your interiors to look FABULOUS!!!! Not just a casket interior~ but any box interior. The photo above is just an example of what you will be able to accomplish. The box on the left is the box I started out with, and the result is on the right. Some of the bonus lessons include how to make custom compartments, the 17th c technique for integral hinges on interior doors, and making velvet-lined ring compartments.

Class is work at your own pace.

Class starts on Monday~ but you don't have to! You can download and start when you are ready. (Though there is so much eye candy and inspiration in the history lesson one cannot help but get super jazzed about all the possibilities!!!!!!!)

Will this mean I will only be available to you to help you during course time?

Absolutely NOT. I know who is in class. If you download your lessons and get started a month from now~ or a year from now, it makes no difference to me.  I am here to help guide you through your process as long as I am still living!

Course material is written and downloadable in full lesson pdf's, with supplemental videos. I myself have Viasat internet and am not able to stream, so I try to keep videos short and to the point.

This course does not include instructions on how to make an octagon configuration interior.

Octagon interiors will be covered in my upcoming class~ Through The Looking Glafs~ 17th Century Inspired Mirrored Interiors