New Dollye on eBay this Week!

Ladye Grace~ Respect

  She is just adorable and like a true c1830 Ladye of fashion~ always worried about her hair!  Respect is the first dolly in my new series of Ladye Grace Virtues~ if you are interested you can see her here on eBay, or click the link to my eBay specials on the right sidebar tab.

1620 Man's Bottle Green Knit Silk Long Purse

LRM 708.2013.26

  Look vaguely familiar?  That would be because later Victorian era stocking and miser's purses were modeled after its most earliest counterpart~ the long purse.  In the later 18th c this type purse was also referred to as a stocking purse, as it is said that in medieval times, coins were held in the tip of ones stocking in the shoe.  I am honored to have this c 1620 example here at the Museum and been wanting to share it with you for some time. It is nearly identical to, and one can say with 98% certainty, it was made by the same hand as the one who knit the following example now held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

You can follow this link here to read info on their purse. Dating to 1620, these two keep company with only a handful of extant 17th c knit long purses, and yes, for a gentleman!

  Mine is knit of a fine bottle green silk with rows of real silver metal threads. The design formed from dropping knit stitches is nearly identical to the LACMA piece.

 Mine is missing the little tassel at the tip. It is not exactly known how these were worn on the person~( later in the 1830's and 1840's  they were worn lapped over the waist belt of both women and men). One theory, as they are so very large, is they were worn over the shoulder, under the doublett or jacket, hidden under the man's arm

 Silver metal ribbon trim is stitched on over the opening.  In theory, the early 18th c purses had but a single ring for drawing down over the opening to keep the coins safely inside, but neither mine, nor the LACMA piece still retains the original closing  ring

 The bottom of the purse is densely worked in metal threads over a larger cord netting. Coins were heavy, so the bottom was reinforced in this way~ both decorative but also allowing one to see thru it at what was inside

 The bottom is worked in 6 petal shape sections of buttonhole stitch with several strands of silver wrapped thread.

  One could be absolutely certain, that whatever precious whatnot they placed inside it, would still be there when they went to get it out!

 One of the things I love about early clothing and arts is the deceptive simplicity of them. They look very basic...as with this purse~ it is made from just three threads~ the knit thread and cord, both dyed in the same vat, and the silver thread~ the bottom and spiderwebs are multiples of the same single thread used for the knit stripes~ the techniques are basic, but the time involved in the making makes the pieces very complex.

 c1620, 16" in overall length from bottom to top. 

Our Primero Class of 2014 Valedictorian

Congratulations Turtle~ We are SO PROUD OF YOU

Follow your passion~

Stay True to Yourself~

Never Follow someone else's path...unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that~

~ Ellen Degeneres

 

          

The Reason Why I Shudder...

At the Sight of any Box on the Road.....

   One never knows what may be within it.  The stupidity and cruelty of  some people still amazes & saddens me to no end. Please you to meet my newest little helper~ Skye. I named him Skye because his eyes are the bluest I have ever seen, and the top of his head reminds me of a silk moth. Hes fluffy like a big while cloud...and like the sky, he can be calm...or an absolute tornado.  He was put in a cardboard box with another kitten and left out on the road  :(

 MIL took his brother, and he decided I was his new Mommy. He is absolutely stuck on me all the time~ if I am standing and he hasn't climbed up my pants and onto my shoulder, he is sitting on my foot. He sleeps up under my chin and is the most precious little thing.  I was sorting beads yesterday and noticed he had stopped purring~ when I realized he had fallen asleep I had to take a picture to share.  My white kitty Mary passed away this past month and I miss her Dearly~ I cant help but think she has sent little one to my rescue~

Living With Grace & Humility

       What can I say, but that I love life & living. Each day brings something new~ and is a new opportunity to live life to its fullest~ be it climbing Mount Everest ...or taking a walk to check to see if any wild asparagus has come up yet. I take great joy in the simplest and sometimes silliest of things~ but that's O.K.~ its me. I don't need to live in a huge house or drive a fancy car. I don't wear makeup..never have. Heck, some days I don't even comb my hair~ pays me no mind and those that know me don't care!  I love to sit by my window and listen to the quiet and the birds singing. I love to sew and dearly love my dollys, both olde and new.
    Some of my most darling of little darlings are my early 19th c wooden dolls~ they are referred to as many things~ Grodnertal Dolls....Tuck Combs...Penny Woodens...Apollo Knots~ all are of the 1830 period~ one of my most favorite of all eras. Us girls were so ultimately feminine and delicate in this era~ clothing was finely detailed with embroidered & padded and wadded hems to dresses...huge gigot sleeves and gorgeous elaborate hairstyles that wrapped round and towered up above fine tortoise & silver hair combs.  My original girls like Princess Holley, Ada, Emma & Lucy all have the sweetest of sweet expressions and I have been itching to sculpt some elaborate do's as of late...and I very much enjoy my quiet time spent sculpting in my little studio.  I ponder all sorts of things while sculpting, and as I was working on the above three pretties, I was the entire time pondering and appreciating how much I love my life and making dolls.  How much I love being a Mother & a Wife. I do my best to be the best person I can be, and to teach my children, and show by example, how to be a good, honest person. How to love the time and place one is at, and to be content with things~ how to dream and set goals and most importantly, to treat others how they themselves would like to be treated.  Whenever talk starts going amiss in our house...or someone gets that look in their eye...I always will say " Patience...Restraint.....Compassion!"  When Pip was just so little~ 4 maybe...her Daddy went to say something one day and she blurted out as loud as she could "Patience...Restraint....Repassion Daddy!"  I think I even have it on a video~ she couldn't wrap her brain around compassion....it was always repassion.  So where am I going with this rambling tonight...I had affectionately been referring to these three dolls as the "3 Graces", and when I painted them and asked their names....they all said Grace....but yet not~ one was Compassion....one Restraint.....and one, Respect.  There are many virtues, I guess I should call them, that I tack on to 'Grace'~ I wrote down a whole long list of my favorite attributes, so naturally, I guess I will have to sculpt a new dollye for each one~ and this is how a new series of my dollys is born~ a very special near & Dear to my Heart series~ The Graces~

Flat Stacked Beadwork Kit

For Those Making up a Padded Mirror Case~

  I have a limited, and I mean, very limited number of kits for the flat stacked beadwork butterfly pin disk available on the For the Ladye Blog. Everything to make him up, including the antique beads I used in colors shown above, are included~  

Tufted Silk Linings

Fit For a Royal

  I am in l*o*v*e with the eggplant purple silk lining I choose for the inside of my mirror case!  I chose a hand made marbled paper to match and have completed the cavity the mirror will set into. Case is all papered with 24k gold gilt edges and bunn feet~ I could totally see this on a little Princess's dressing table.

I know of one original case that has a single compartment to one side for rings, but I chose to keep mine plain and lightly tufted the silk lining~ there is a lot of space in here! Myladye would have perhaps kept a carved double edge comb within, to gaze upon her reflection whilst combing out her pretty hair.  If you would like to make a case, I am currently still making them~ they are for sale on the Diamond K Folk Art Shop blog~ link to the right. Go check it out~ all finishing instructions are included for a beaded case, including the beadwork instruction! yes!!  You will have access to the blog for as long as you like to totally work at your own pace. Don't miss all the fun now :)