Details &...

 1845 Girls Fan Front Dress

Here we are at the end of another week...heck the end of another month! Time is zooming by. Just imagine the time spent hand stitching this little girls dress from the mid 1840's. The minuscule gauged gathers on the fan front bodice, piped seams and microscopic braid trim shown above. Note the darn to the bottom of the picture.  This is one of my favorite little gowns.

The fabric is beautiful~ so dainty and feminine. The above picture is the strap across the shoulder

White soutache braid & dainty whitework edging borders the trim on the bodice and all tiers of the skirt. 

I have been working on the model for this year's ornament kit for those of you who have asked about it~ here is a little peek ;)

 It's super cute so far....what can I say have I ever offered an ornament kit I'm not super jazzed about? I dont think so! It is going to be really fun for you to stitch, and is so dainty~ it will fit in the palm of your hand. Keep your eyes peeled Ill be sharing more about it soon!

Making it 'So'....

  It just Popped in There....

This vision....

So I Gathered.....

And Made it So....

I took my own advise and just DID IT. I have NO IDEA what is going on the outside of this casket...but the inside is done and that makes me happy!

My favorite colour very pale blush pink silk interior....

I hand stamped the dusky blue endpapers myself in silver

I designed the interior configuration after one of my 17th c favorites at the Dallas Museum of Art

Used my favorite antique cut glass scent bottle...

Theres nothing like finishing an interior to get you jazzed about what to put on the outside...and no, they dont need to match~ just DO IT already ;)

Look at these Bunns!

Ready To Get Dressed!

  I spent some time carving a set of my turned bunn feet into these fluted cuties for a lil somethin I been tinkering on. They are drying now after a quick dip in 24k gold....well, it wasnt a dip. I wish it was that easy. Gilding with real gold is quite tedious actually. What have you been working on?  It feels great to finally  be getting my mojo back!

 

Catching up

A Fun Paint... 

 I am still catching up after being sick, but getting there. Now that this frame has been delivered I can share it ~ it was super fun to paint and I think you will be able to tell why. My customer ordered a frame for his wife for her birthday, and simply said she liked turtles, sea otters and octopuses (is that the plural? I have no idea). I do love the challenge of designing for this tiny narrow area to paint on. Its a really happy frame and has made me anxious for summer!

 The painting technique I practice is from the early 19th century and is done in water colours. I first draw my design or parts of it, on the wood with a steel tip pen, then all is painted with watercolurs. Several coats of watercolours....on this frame some areas have nearly 20 coats of paint. I have to be very careful to have paint to water ratio just perfect so that the new coat of paint does not take off the layers beneath it.

 

 I very much enjoyed painting the octopuses, these are the first I have ever drawn and painted. There are three, and I wanted to portray how they change to camouflage themselves, 

So the fellow in the center is starting to change to blue. I really love how he came out. I used titanium white for the suckers on the tentacles which really made them PoP!

The otters are cute 'as all get out ' as my Grandmother would say~ so playful

I had to include one with an urchin on their tummy~

With as much time that we spend at our frames, they should be pretty and make us smile~ dont you think? I sure do~

Green for the Daye~

1820-29 Boy's Jacket 

If in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day I thought I would share this cunning young boy's jacket with you~

It has been fully hand stitched and is made up of a rich green wool blend that is trimmed in a contrasting orange narrow wool braid. The dark green enamel buttons are merely decorative.

The above fashion plate from 1827 is remarkably close to our boy's jacket, though it depicts adult male ideals.

 

I love the simplicity of just the tiny narrow orange braid for decoration. The buttons are very classy and elegant. The turn back collar is black velvet.....and if you look closely you can see the lining peeking though the front opening.

It's a party on the inside! I love this cotton print lining~ which only lines the skirts and back collar flap.

How to Wax Paper

 Easy Peasy!

I have been asked as of late how I wax my marbled papers for finishing 17th c caskets. Theres nothing to it. All you need is a hard beeswax cake and some paper. I use an old hanky or muslin cloth to buff after applying the beeswax to get off any little crumbly bits that may have fallen off the cake. I do prefer a hard wax cake of 100% unprocessed beeswax as then you dont have to burninsh afterwards for the nice shine. Soft wax and some thread waxers may have conditioners added or scents ect...you dont want that, just 100% beeswax.

 Happy February!

   I hope you all are well! It's has certainly been a while since my last blog post, and I apologize for that.  2020 was quite a year ...I wont be lying when I say I am glad its over! So much stress and heartache, I found myself in need of a distraction so I picked up an old quilt I had started some while ago...over a year ago actually, and have been working on it while watching the evening shows with the family. This is a technique called Broiderie Perse, which is basically chintz applique. It's the center of Di Ford Hall's Giggleswick Mill Sampler quilt. I had started it and then put everything in a bag and forgot about it. When a friend told me Di had passed away this past year, I was shocked that I didnt know, and so dug it back out.  

My online 17th c Beadwork class Beneath Thy Poft Oak students are motoring right along. Shown above is Patti T's progress thus far~ just look at those pretty legs! Patti has never EVER beaded anything before. Im super proud of all my students and how quick they catch on. We have a live chat every month where they can ask questions and talk together as a group which I have really enjoyed. I'm excited to be working on my next set of 17th c beadwork classes~ not telling what they are just yet, just that I am once again sparkling with anticipation to see them finished. Last year was a hard year for me and I was starting to wonder when my sparkle would come back, if it all.  I will be running this class again in the late fall, if you would like to be put on the wait list just drop me a line at rlkinnison@yahoo.com.

I am busy designing this years special Ornament Kit as well~ Bolivia V. sent me these pictures of her finishes for last years Fanciful Story and the Ort King from 2019. She did a super job and changed up some things to make them her own. I LOVE how she stitched the Ort King's hair to resemble a Barrister's wig. It makes my heart smile to see my kits finished & enjoyed by their makers.

I have restocked the ETSY shop with more #16 Bead needles and the ever popular black mourning straight pins. I have also decided this year I would offer a bit of my favorite threads and stitchy things~ like the above size 4 silk wrapped purls in my favorite pansy colours

Just look at these colours~ SOOOOO yummy! The gold on the bottom is new to the line, 0544, and it is THE most fantabulous gold for 17th and 18th c periods. Its clear and bright, just spot on. I have already swapped out all my 2533 with this colour. It just makes things POP~ can you tell how much I love it?

And feast your eyes on this gorgeous precious TINY braided cotton cording. Everyone loved the natural colour so well I got it in in black~ makes wonderful shoelaces and drawstrings for my dolly focused folks. Its minuscule, not even 1/16th inch wide....really great stuff!

Two of my 4 children have got their covid shots already....my parents just got theirs this past week and I am anxiously awaiting to get my own~ perhaps their may indeed be a light at the end of this never ending tunnel I seem to be trapped in....