My Tassel Fetish or The Joy of Things Well Hung...

From previous discussions it's obvious I love home soft furnishings, drapery, fringe, cording and tassels. It is a wonderful pastime, while enjoying a home tour, to collect decorating ideas inspired from tassels. Enjoy the following montage of ideas, collected from a few Great Houses from my travels the past decade.....

I  attended lectures and toured the storage facility at Winterthur Museum and Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware during the Textile Symposium of 2018. It was interesting to learn that each rooms window dressing was changed with the seasons, something not noticed until your attention is drawn to it. Most homes simply have one set of dressing, if that....

Le Louvre 2025...

Kensington Palace...

I recently returned from a Royal Oak Tour of the Treasure Houses of England. This tour completed my 'Lizzy Bennet' experience in 2025 style, with a profession travel company organizing most aspects for Royal Oak members. For me it was a very personal celebration of Jane Austen's 250th birthday. A complete sensory overload, 18 Great Houses in 11 days, with five accommodation changes, just enough time to taste the architectural flavor of each location. Considering the enormous size of several, it is understandable a town would be required to support them....

Basildon Park....

Below is what should only be called the Grotto sitting room, it was completely filled with shells.

Burghley House....

Grantham - Belton House....

Several locations had displays celebrating the 250th birthday of Jane Austen and Belton being the residence of 'Lady Catherine' was no exception....

I knocked on the door, and not receiving an answer, entered only to find that Darcy had already left earlier this morning.....obviously in business of some urgency, because there was such a disarray to be found...

Grantham - Belvoir Castle...

Next Chatsworth House.....

Castle Howard.....

Harewood House....

Harewood had a wonderful display throughout several rooms of Jane Austen memorabilia from private collections and family... Included were first editions of books, letters, a brother - Rear Admiral Charles Austen's private journal and other documentation of related period history. Below are two letters from Jane to her sister Cassandra, one written November 30, 1800 on Loan from the British Library (Le Faye) and the second written May 20, 1813 from Chawton House....

But the most exciting item to see from the collection was the original manuscript of 'Sanditon' on Loan from Kings College Cambridge, what exceptional and blessed luck..... Worth the trip alone....

Waddesdon Manor.... Note conservation measures to protect original pieces.

Blenheim Palace..... Note deterioration patterns.

Tassels and cords are not only used for home décor but to embellish Sweet Bags, these from Williamsburg's textile collection.....

The sweet bag below is by by far the most elaborate I have seen....

Trimmings and tassels can also be depicted in embroidered caskets and fancy mirrors such as these at the MET...

In April, I returned from another fantastic trip/workshop with 'Creative Experiences'. This time to France (Paris and Provins) focused on Passementerie with Elizabeth Ashdown. I have to thank another friend, travel buddy and stitcher Debi S who noticed the tour on their website. We had by chance gotten into a Jenny Adin-Christie trip to Barcelona in 2024 and here was another opportunity. I arrived a few days early to tag-on to a Paris shopping tour which began with a Dinner Cruise down the Seine River. The next morning was spent at The Louvre to see a very well staged couture display, throughout the second floor, which amazingly stayed on theme and blended with the artwork. A few incredible pictures below....

The following two displays were in the Armor and Silver/Tureen collections, respectively.... Very subtlety funny...

The afternoon was focused on textile shopping in Paris with guide Rebecca Devaney, beginning at Ultramod, Annie Bouquet, ACABA, La Droguerie, Mokuba and finishing at Au Ver A Soie. It was exhausting.... I finished a hand painted tapestry needlepoint strap and poppy heart pillow, purchased from Annie, as soon as I returned home... 

A return to Notre-Dame after the long restoration with the scaffolding pretty much removed..

The next day was spent at Versailles, more luxurious Passementerie, with a late lunch and stop to visit Sadjou. What a perfect location for Frederique Crestin-Billet's shop. I had to make a list of everything I have in my stash so I wouldn't end up with several of the same items. Although not really an issue, it just reinforces my taste.

Next, our class destination, the medieval city of Provins, France. On arrival I rested for the day, too much stimuli. A bomb threat had shutdown the Paris train station for several hours, very happy I was not traveling alone... The following morning I took a long walk to the Public Gardens, to my realization, all the descending to my destination also meant an assent to the Rampart entrance back to my Hotel. This trek was exhaustedly repeated, once friends Debi and Mendy arrived, too many laughs!!! On the way, a pleasant surprise, a 500th anniversary memorial to Joan of Arc, dedicated in 1929!! The bulbs and wisteria were in bloom around town and made beautiful pictures. 

Our small group enjoyed three wonderful days of classes with Libby Ashdown. Day one, weaving gimp on a portable loom and twisting cord with the Anna Crutchley winder. Day two, rosettes, weaving single strand gimp and creating a chardon ruff. Day three, implementing the techniques acquired the previous days to complete a tassel. Yes, very amateurish examples using inferior materials, not the silk fibers and gimp used by artisans, but we now have a deep appreciation for quality workmanship and material investment of Great Houses.... This was a rare case of actually finishing pieces before returning home!!! My work below, inspiring to be around so many creative ladies.....

Let's not forget the evenings of fantastic dinners...

We took the train back to Paris for a return to The Louvre. My second trip was spent on the upper floors. I found two Vermeer's, the picture of Ann of Cleves, my heroine because she worked out a great divorce settlement, and many other artworks which I became familiar with over the years of 'art appreciation' volunteering with my children's elementary school... 

Later in the evening a repeat of the Seine River cruise. The following morning a revisit of the shops discussed above, because one shopping trip is never enough, there are the items which you need to pine/stress over for a few days before actually purchasing. The afternoon was spent on our own to shop or in my case repack before dinner. 

Our final morning was a spectacular finish, a private tour of Declercq.... A lecture of family/company history by Jerome Declercq and daughter Margot, Master Craftspeople of the most lavish Passementerie ever devised, that of Versailles etc., etc... Depicted below a recently published book of their family history over the centuries, and sample pieces of their work.... The 'antique' looms etc. are an education in manufacturing alone, still in use. If an antique component fails they find talented local woodworkers or blacksmith to replace parts, amazing!

Below the covers of both Declercq and Elisabeth Ashdown's books...

The last picture is a tassel I purchased for myself from Declercq ... I'll lovingly describe my little piece of art made of silk. The cord is a four ply silk twist of two single strands of gold gimp with two twists of both red and gold stranded silk to give a polka-dot effect. The wood base mold is covered with a gold silk twisted cord. The seams are covered with a chardon of gold and red stranded silk. Finally, it is finished with a skirt of two strands of gold twisted silk cord in a loop pattern in which red stranded silk wick are hung..... This has been a trip to remember for all the wonderful eye candy and the detailed knowledge we acquired, this is what a quality experience is all about and it was shared with very enthusiastic wonderful women.... Thank you Nadine and Mark.....

Fini...