Reproduction Samplers....... off again on another tangent....

As 2020, moved slower and slower into Fall and Winter, then 2021.... I sorted through my stash of reproduction sampler kits and thought about the samplers which started my embroidery path. Seriously, I've been thinking of the bucket list items. To reduce anxiety... I watched ALL 40 seasons of 'Survivor', then, Startrek Discovery and Picard and if that wasn't enough, joined The Royal Oak to escape into the wonderful lectures they made available.....I culled through stitching related items and released many no longer wanted to Fireside Stitchery for their Ebay auctions (shockingly I made almost $400)....Visited over a dozen Frank Lloyd Wright sites..... and listened to many books on tape, all as I began stitching my newly designated 'need to complete' items.... After finishing the Black Bird sampler above, I wanted other simple/easy projects to 'just pick-up and not lose my place', while in bed listening to the latest Covid 19 news etc. in the evening and early morning.... While reorganizing probably four score (using that term so my hording sounds less crazy) kits, as I've done dozens of times in the past, I found pieces which reminded me of my friend Linda Hysler. In honor of Linda, I decided to stitch samplers of three teachers Linda loved best; Eileen Bennet, Darleen O'Steen and Joanne Harvey....

First, Eileen Bennett's 'Elizabeth Meadow' in miniature. This class was offered through my Kindred Spirits Sampler Guild in Michigan well over a decade ago. The Meadow sampler is the earliest of around a dozen known English samplers dating from 1691-1711 with ties to Iuda (Juda/Judith) Hayle and her school in Suffolk, UK. Much has been written on this group of samplers, which is not the scope of my discussion. Eileen's interpretation is on a 40 count linen stitched over one thread. Obviously, this version is a simplification of the original sampler, which made me consider decisions made of how to chart a reproduction sampler. I have eight reproduction sampler kits attributed to Iuda Hayle: Six from the Fitzwilliam Museum, one from the Abby Aldridge Folk Art Museum, and one from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Several are chart/kit's from teachers I am familiar with, along with Eileen Bennett, Joanne Harvey and Margreit Hogue to name a few... I decided.... since Eileen's kit of the Meadow sampler swapped the schoolgirls name for each contemporary students, I could use my 'interpretation' of the famous verse below because a precedence was set.....

Deborah..... Stade Schoenek.... is my name and..... with my needle.... I wrought the.... same in memory... of Juda and her.... fame....DSS....EB (Eileen Bennett)....this sampeloar (sp)

In the cartouche I used EM (Elizabeth Meadow) and IH (Juda Hayle) in case someone in the future is wondering what it was originally attributed to.... I will attach a note in the back of the framed piece for documentation, my framed piece is depicted below.

Next, I stitched a Darleen O' Steen sampler titled 'The January Sampler' I purchased on Ebay several years ago. January is both my daughter and my birth month, plus it is much smaller than other sampler's enqueue on my bucket list. Darleen's samplers are new designs, which teach old techniques of European band samplers from the 16th-18th centuries. Darleen had been ill for sometime and passed in the Fall of 2020. This is also in memory of her, she will be missed by many embroiders. I believe 'The Proper Stitch', her must have book, is still available. My January sampler is below... just as Darleen interpreted the timeless motifs.

The last sampler group I finished brings me full circle to my long friendship with Linda. We both possessed a stamped version of 'The Chase', a 70's kit from Paragon, obtained from our Aunts. I additionally purchased Joanne Harvey's 2006 version in 2018 from the Craft House in Williamsburg. When Joanne originally taught the piece at the 'Just X Stitch Seminar' I was in a Merry Cox class so I decided I would only concern myself with the Paragon Kit. Almost a decade later, I just had to try Joanne's meticulous directions. It has delightfully become a wonderful learning experience. Joanne charts ALL errors that little Mary Starkey made in the original sampler. The 1970's paragon stamped design has all the little flaws corrected and sadly changed the rice, satin, queen and several other stitches into cross-stitch or a very simplified satin. This corrupt interpretation of the original is almost criminal..... I have to admit, I too corrected the right side of Joanne's kit where the original band is 'off' by a stitch and centered bands for symmetry. I'm sure this was something little Mary was bothered by every time she looked at her work, and I just couldn't bear leaving that flaw in my version. I also swapped the stamped Paragon kits' cotton Luster thread with Needlepoint Silk, this allowed my version to be completed with one strand rather than the 2-3 requested in the original kit. If anyone out there wants my Luster threads, contact me, you can have them! Joanne Harvey has blessed us with keeping 'errors' in her directions, allowing each embroiderer to decide her interpretation. Joanne is understandably appreciated in the area of reproduction samplers, for her incredible attention to details, however small..... My interpretation of Joanne's kit is below, minus the surface embroidery, which I'll get back to after I take a break....  I have invested almost 5 months of stitching into the two versions of this sampler! This past February 2022, while attending the Needles and Sins Seminar in Williamsburg, Mary Starkey's original sampler was removed to the Restoration Lab and our group was able to view the back, an extremely rare event. Understandably, I drove home from the event very carefully, thinking 'this is a very BIG closure item', which Linda may be blessing me with....I am very satisfied with my Needlepoint silk thread choice, Mary's original is very delicate, a lighter touch is a better match....

Linda's family kindly sent me her unfinished Paragon piece. Linda displayed her Aunts finished piece in her home and I enjoyed seeing it. I would comment to Linda, "we need to finish ours", when visiting. That wonderful sampler has stayed with Linda's family. Originally I thought, I would finish Linda's for her.... but have decided to frame it, along side both my finished Paragon piece and my finished Joanne Harvey 2006 version. I have never found any of my Aunts Paragon samplers, which may still be in attics of homes in Macomb County Michigan. Aunt Jean stitched them for a friend, who gave them to customers of their Victorian home restoration business.... I remember my Aunt's comment that she was paid $50 for each one she finished... probably 10 cents/hour.. This past year has been a wonderful journey for me, which many have taken, due to a much loved sampler little Mary Starkey completed centuries ago. It has influenced so many memories, touching the lives of six women in my bubble.... Linda and my Paragon pieces are pictured below....I did, however, add the following to Linda's sampler, her name and birth date and the date 'she parked her needle'. Four more items I can confidently cross off my extensive bucket list.... more detailed images below...

Also finished in 2020-2021 due to limited travel, cancelations and restrictions, several other projects from my 'traveling' stash bag... now substituted with fresh items. Spring 2021, I attended a reschedule of one of my 2020 classes at Salty Yarns, Jackie Du Plessis's Case Study #1 & #2 pictured below, finished! Along with several pincushion's from Joanne Harvey (a Winterthur kitted piece), scissor slippers of Tricia Nguyen, an on-line mini shaker basket of Merry Cox, four study classes of Catherine Theron and Sherri Jones's 'To Pair a Pear with a Parrot' surrounding a box design of Blackbird... 

Now, well into 2022, I have followed up with finishing the interior of 4 folk art painted boxes of Elsie Di Cassio (to store my Au Ver A Soie silk and metal threads) and three hat boxes to fill with Dr. Nguyen's finished petite projects. I had these items with the finishing silks in two 2 x 2 x 3 foot storage containers now repurposed.  Matching the folk-art motif are three Ellen Chester kits from my stash... A huswife, a thread pallet storage book and an actual stitched book of Alphabets which is assembled as book signatures (a bookbinding adaption). All finished, giving me a great feeling of accomplishment.... yeah me!!

Book Binding a Rare Find

It has been six years since I attended the annual Louisville JASNA summer event in which I had my first experience making hand marbled paper.  A wonderful introduction into the technique which has created an appreciation of marbling for me. As a first attempt, I was not impressed with my final product. To this point, I've purchased marbled papers for finishing the interiors of both my caskets.... In the summer of 2019 this continuing saga changed ....

I joined the Chester County Historical Society following a field trip with my local Sampler Guild. The group pulled pieces to inspect from the CCHS collection. We enjoyed examples of pinball's and other family heirlooms donated to the Society of several locally connected early American embroiderer's work..... A few months later, I received a member brochure. Listed were Thursday evening summer tours of Chester County boroughs, several 'Arm Chair' lectures of local history, information of folk art festivals and local sites I could tour. One Lecture was of Historic Sugartown. I stopped in last fall to tour and found a wonderful spot for children's field trips along with a reproduction 'book bindery' which blew my mind, not 15 miles from me!

I was amazed to find a huge collection of embossing tools and a set of beautiful leather books on display..... If you believe in fate/destiny, you can understand I experienced another, one of now many, epiphanies ..... The docent mentioned they offered classes, so I signed up as soon as I had a free weekend... You see, I knew that book binders made carrying cases for caskets, from Dr. Tricia Nguyen's research, and I need two....

The first class I attended was embossing/gilding on leather, not as easy as one would think. I have pictures of a period carrying case, decorated with perhaps 3 patterns, built up to form larger designs.  This piece is not gilded, thank you, because it would almost be impossible to keep up the concentration needed to complete a whole case. Second, two in-depth paper marbling classes, one with contemporary paints and the second making traditional historically accurate paints. We went through the process of grinding gems, mixing a binder of water, glue and gum tragacanth.....prepared a glazing paste of beeswax, potash, and olive oil soap .... and finally the addition of ox gall... I found through this process, being too timid with color was my previous error. I now have a nice selection of marbled paper for a few books and to cover the interior of my casket cases... 

The last classes, to complete my casket cases, was experience with leather, actually becoming comfortable bonding leather to boards..... I signed up for a bookbinding weekend last March, which as fate would have it, turned out to be the weekend after everything shutdown for Covid....... What a bummer!!!! As I stitched most of the summer, I stayed in contact with Sugartown, waiting until I could take the classes I was now obsessing over... Well, the time finally came a few weeks ago. I finished Bookbinding I, a half binding. The following weekend I completed Bookbinding II......

I'm now educated and have a 'hands on' appreciation of the fine art of bookbinding..... I have sewn signatures together, attached cords, glued and beaten them round (rounding and backing)..... I now know how a spine should look and the details of attaching a colorful headband (very beautiful in silk) ..... pasted end papers..... completed both half and full bindings .... and had the experience of applying my own marbled papers to my books... Overall an experience any lover of books should be blessed to have.... I know I would like to return for more, because there are so many other fine details I now have the passion to explore ...... life is going to be a bit too short.....

Things that go bump in the night.... the 2020 Lockdown and a fun filled 2019 to celebrate....

Currently.... into month five of a surrendered 2020..... a year of cancelled trips due to 'Covid'. My plans to France, Salty Yarns, and the Cleveland AGM, in celebration of my 60th birthday, has instead become a year of fond memories of 2019 and reflection.... I lost a valued and dear stitching/JA friend in February. I mentioned Linda in the beginning of this blog. I regret I still had many topics to discuss..... and can no longer ask her guidance. I should know regretfully, with my history of lost people, never wait for the right time for anything. The right time often never comes......Williamsburg was where we met, in a shared cab from the Richmond Airport in 2005, bound for the 'Just X-Stitch Seminar'. In the excited discussion, we found we both shared stitching Aunts, a 70's Reproduction Sampler and a love of Jane Austen in common.... Linda was 17 years my senior, but her enthusiasm, thirst for new experiences and being a lifelong learner was more like she never left her 20's.... We had many enjoyable excursions.... to the UK in 2013, South Africa in 1214, the 2015 AGM in Louisville and several trips to Williamsburg.... many wonderful memories. I will miss her laughter and the goofy situations we would find ourselves in, by no fault of our own....

The 2019 JASNA AGM in Williamsburg, all about Northanger Abbey, was another good memory. My JA reading groups had taken several angles to the book. One was a contemporary look on crime in JA's time, the second what JA read in her youth. The fore mentioned topic was based on Susan Fullerton's book, 'Jane Austen and Crime'. The fantastic setting of historic Williamsburg enriched our reading topics in preparation for lectures and breakout sessions. A 'haunted walking tour' of the historic downtown, followed by a solo nights stay on site in a slaves quarters, was simply hair raising... I slept that night with the light on! I must add...... my phone died during the night. With no WiFi, it sadly spent hours searching for cell data. That's my logical minds story anyway, you be the judge! The later reading group included 'The Mysteries of Udolpho' by Ann Radcliffe and, highly recommended, is 'A Woman of Color'. An interesting story twist in JA's time. I can not get over how women are treated as property, how male society co-operate to keep women under strict regulation and their treatment as bargaining pawns in both 'Udolpho' and 'Woman of Color'. It's important to remember that although men and some women will scoff these story-lines they are based on laws and treatment of women, which is still current in most of the world.

This past summer my mother and I took a long weekend to Lake Michigan for her 94th birthday. Since I'm so far away, I thought we could have some mother/daughter time, and I'm so happy we did because a trip like that is impossible now. She got through four of Austen's novels before we left, Persuasion, Emma (she thought Emma very funny), P& P, and S & S.... I was a bit surprised she enjoyed the novels as much as she did. You would have thought she'd read Austen earlier in her life. In true Janite form, when asked which one she enjoyed the most she answered "the one I'm reading now". Favorite male character, "Mr. Darcy". Why? "Because he takes care of Elisabeth"..... ugh.... But what is she reading now during shutdown, 'Not Without My Daughter' by Betty Mahmoody. We both had attended separate talks by Ms. Mahmoody years ago and as my mother recounts the book to me I can't help but to be reminded of Udolpho..... I can't wait to hear her thoughts on Northanger Abbey once the libraries reopen.....

In celebration of the Gothic Novel and JA's 'spoof' Northanger Abbey I dusted off, out of my very extensive stash of kits, three to complete in 2019 by Rae Iverson. First, 'Things That Go Bump In The Night', which is the sweet etui, pictured below....

It's covered in roses stitched over one thread, and surrounded by over a dozen critters like spiders, snails, bugs, centipedes and a howling coyote...... dozens of interesting stitches give a 3-D effect to the design which includes a waxer pocket, thimble-bob and needlebook that tuck neatly inside the pincushion topped Etui. The inscription is.... 'From Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-leggity beasties.... From things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us'... After suffering through Radcliffe's non-sense poetry beginning each tedious chapter, Rae is a breath of well thought out fresh, rather than stale air....Reading Udolpho can only be explained as an intensive work-out, where you are suffering through pain but the endorphin rush wonderfully keeps you powering though.... Unquestionably the worst sin is not mentioning 'the casket' until chapter 16 of the fourth volume..... three chapters before the end..... and what happened to the dog??? Yes, I suppose at some point I will brave through a re-read because it makes Northanger Abby more enjoyable, if that's possible......

My second and third finished projects are Rae's interpretation of the Needlework Shop and Bruton Parish, both buildings in the Historic District of Williamsburg. I'm so happy to have the Needlework shop kit because the actual building is being re-purposed and will no longer be as such. In a way this etui is in commemoration of the now 'old shop'. I've added hand painted thread-winders by Rachel Kinnison, more about Rachel in another post covering beading. Both etui's, pictured below, also include a variety of smalls similar to those mentioned above. Bruton Parish was the largest and I may safely say the longest to complete (almost two months)....

Inside the Parish cupola is a pincushion. I have fitted mine with a 'crown of thorns' in silk chenille and eyelash threads of drab green.... I think drab green is a Fanny Price color, it would suit her quite well.....

I also made four weekend road trips to Salty Yarns in Ocean City, MD in 2019. One a guild retreat, the others' classes with Sherri Jones, Betsy Morgan and Jackie Du Plessis. I returned home with ten new kits..... February I was back in Williamsburg for a week of beading with my Casketeers (Needles and Sins) group. Rachel Kinnison taught two beading classes, her casket is almost finished, not surprisingly in beading..... I also took a solo road trip to Indy for a silk gauze class with Sherri Jones (add another three kits) with stops at Westcott House and Kentuck Knob to see two FLW homes on my bucket list.... Pictured is my sweet little Miata's curves in contrast to the Westcott angles....

I ended my 2019 excursions with a trip to The Attic in Scottsdale, AZ (to meet another JA travel buddy Cheryl). This time for two Merry Cox classes and an evening with Barb Adams and Alma Allen, the gals from Blackbird..... another five kits! Cheryl a FLW enthusiast and I took the 3 hour tour of Taliesin, noting our first contemporary, 20th century, Ha-Ha..... Yes, there is always a JA connection..... I  finished three of the kits this year.... Palais Royal (below left in progress, right finished), Betsy Morgan's Bee Skep, and Fanciful Fragaria (below bottom) .......

     

Fanciful Fragaria is a trio of pincushion and tiny huswif with a matching silk velvet carrying case. A lesson in stitching on, in this case, 40 count silk gauze. Pictured below left, is the gauze attached to a piece of muslin, then mounted to a frame for stability. Right is the finished trio, and bottom the huswife laying open. A useful technique to have mastered similar to working a 'slip' on linen which is stuffed and appliqued to background embroidery for a 3-D effect. The tiny strawberries hanging off the pincushion are emery's, tent stitched on gauze and carefully stuffed.... Sherri Jones always has fun and useful classes in fine hand sewing... Sherri along with Rae have some of the best detailed instructions written. Sometimes decades after taking a class the instructions can be read and the project easily finished.....

 

I'm working on a Blackbird sampler just to distract myself.....OK, I must admit, your probably thinking 'why are you adding this to a  JA blog?'... because sometimes you need a mindless project to work on, to allow your mind to wander.... Yes, these 9 mini-samplers are simple, but I've changed the x-stitches to 14 other counted thread stitches for variation. If you haven't noticed I love funky Folkart.... I just wanted to do one of Blackbirds designs and I have!! So there....

2019 was filled with a lot of wonderful trips, good reading, great classes and lectures. It has been nice to slow down a bit in 2020 and finish a few things..... maybe I'll even get back to reading... and my JA casket.....

This little sampler hangs above my headboard.......  Fini...

A Virtuous Education.....Schoolgirl Art and Historic Williamsburg

I spent two months this winter completing projects from classes I began several years ago, which were inspired by Schoolgirl Art. It feels wonderful to finally have shortened, slightly, my to do list.......Below left, is a traditional New England family tree design taken from a Boston area group of samplers. I've updated mine into a 21st century divorce scissors case, for posterity. Note the weeping hearts on the bottom....ha ha. Below right, the interior of a pillow book with matching hand painted thread-winders and thread-keep fitted with a fob of hand twisted cord and tassel finial. Also, a matching waxer pocket and thimble nest of linen, embroidered with silk threads and finished with silk ribbon and fabric, absolutely decadent....... Both projects were classes of Dr. Nguyen's, one taken on the 2014 East Coast Casket tour and the other with my Michigan Sampler Guild, Kindred Spirits in 2003  ......

The following is a group of other related projects. A gentleman's pocketbook of Bargello, Florentine or Irish stitch (a simpler form), mine holds a compact mirror. A strawberry emery of silk fabric and matching ribbon. Also two pin pads filled with wool to protect pins from rust..... The right pin pad is a copy of an antique piece which was printed on silk fabric and looks amazingly close to the original, a kit I purchased from Amy Mitten last year. This will be stored in my JA casket, being of the correct period. Amy, among her many talents is a Dyer. Her company, 'Fiber's to Dye For', has a very entertaining website. Amy's book 'Autopsy of the Montenegrin Stitch' has been reprinted or as only Amy can put it......exhumed..

It's at this point I want to elaborate on a collaboration between Dr. Tricia Nguyen and Betsy Kreig Salm on the subject of Schoolgirl Art. Late in the 1990's they designed a class which included a painted box with sliding top, compartments for embroidered smalls and lined with hand marbled paper. This class was researched around a group of Newburyport, MA samplers known as the Shady Bower group. This brings me full circle with 'The Chase' sampler I have discussed at the beginning of this blog and why I began to embroider. To review, 'The Chase' was a sampler in this group by an 11 year old Mary Starkey (1760). Her original sampler is stored in a display drawer on the second floor in the textiles area of the Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in the historic district of Williamsburg. I found a few reproduction kits of this sampler available at the Craft House shop in Williamsburg charted by The Examplarery Sampler Collection in February. Dr. Nguyen and Betsy's project was designed around Sarah Bartlett (1800) and Anne Kimball (1803) samplers. All three sampler's have a saw tooth border in common, other features are fruit trees, birds, flowering urns...... I loved stitching this project because it was a review of stitches found in Schoolgirl samplers. They are a good example of the basic's in surface embroidery and include, cross, long-armed cross, four-sided, satin, tent, french knot, rice, button hole, long and short button hole, stem, chain, reversed chain, split, fly and lazy daisy stitches. My finished project is below.......

Above, the large satin stitched 'A B C' with a ring of bows, along with the Shady Bower texts on Virtue, below, are found on both Mary Coffin (1801) and Abigail Prince (1801) samplers. Typically samplers of this period will contain Schoolgirl Virtue quotes....in verse of a 'Shady Bower' which brings to mind a reread of JA's juvenilia short story 'Catherine, or the Bower'. These are constant theme's used throughout Schoolgirl samplers of this period. The Bower as a place of  solitude and reflection....or from a crazy Aunt....

Having taken a painting class of Betsy's, I deeply appreciate her artistry, all painted pieces on this post are Betsy's work.......Below, the cover of Betsy Kreig Salm's scholarly and beautiful coffee table worthy book, 'Women's Painted Furniture 1790-1830 American Schoolgirl Art'..... Which I may add I found a few still left at the AAR Folk Art Museum Store. Some could possibly exist at the Williamsburg Visitor Center book store. Note the time period, in which American schoolgirls were painting like their British counterparts!

I also have in my possession a pair of Betsy's fireplace hand screens, shown below, which lay proudly over my fireplace mantle. They are simply wonderful...Very Regency Era worthy...

I began this post with the 'Polar Vortex' still in the news. Winter always reignites my schoolgirl memories, very different from the period of Jane Austen. Mine are of seeking a profession, in graphic/industrial arts which lead me to a College in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A college situated on Lake Superior with long and very cold winters. Freshman year recorded 386.4 inches of snow on campus, a number shocked into my memory. Followed by three more years and as many occasions of frost bite, two which involved my ears and the third included my cheeks. I no longer enjoy winter....

Another memory of dear roommates involved in a freak accident, loosing control of their vehicle in a white-out, while returning after Christmas break. My close childhood friend Jane Elizabeth Taylor (I always assumed her parents were JA fans) was killed instantly, Caroline Carr expired before an ambulance could reach them. My Jane was a gorgeous tall blond. We attended Elementary through High School together. We shared the same girl scout troop, and her mom was a substitute art teacher in our school district. Jane and I took summer train trips to Toronto, Montreal and a road trip to Boston. Both ladies were Senior year Engineering students, Jane majored in Mechanical and Caroline in Mining. Recently, one of our college room mates and her spouse contacted me about helping to fund a scholarship in our room mates name. I am so very happy Marcia and John put in the hard work to get the fund started. It's the Taylor/Carr Scholarship Fund at Michigan Tech, which will benefit female Engineering students. I can't think of a better expression to remember two girls who were taking advantage of an education. Sadly neither got the chance to benefit from their dedication but like the Schoolgirl samplers there is something left behind to keep their names remembered.....

It's a Crewel, Crewel World and what I did about it!!!

I have finished a two year project, reupholstering a sectional couch and dressing the windows of my condominium, which included re-purposing linens from my longtime home in Michigan.

I can happily boast my new/construction condo is situated on an angle, which allows it to be flooded with light... sunrise to sunset, difficult to accomplish in a condo end unit! Here I reside, in a rather plain/non-descriptive exterior elevation, but with wisely placed interior windows. I hunted for a unit with a loft area solely for my embroidery projects, and with ample storage. I'm lucky to have found it! An added bonus two extra bedrooms which I have outfitted with four beds for visitors....

I originally thought, while home hunting in 2016, I would end up with someones window fashion design mistake, but no!.... I have a clean slate!  Over the years I have acquired, dozens of home decor books which I periodically love to finger through. I attended Winterthur's 'Properly Dressed Window' Seminar this spring, and enjoyed several very interesting lectures, three stood out. First, a museum house curator in Maine who investigates original window design forensics, such as painted over nail holes, frame embedded pulley systems, old photos and fabric remnants long forgotten in an attic, etc. Second, a local designers solution for a two story/floor window residing at the historical Union League downtown Philadelphia. As luck would have it, I've been on a tour there and remember the window. Third, included with Winterthur membership are private tours of H F DuPont's home. This prompted my purchase of Sandy Brown's book, 'The Well Dressed Window' to add to my collection of examples of beautifully decorated windows at Winterthur. Sometimes a lecture can help motivate the creative juices and greatly help with a major project. I learned several of the window dressings at Winterthur were adapted from Regency designs of Thomas Sheraton, my favorite is the dining room!

I have 13 windows to dress in my new condo, along with the cost of rods etc. plus at some point a walk-out basement, add two more! I could, very painfully, have settled with generic contemporary coverings at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Assuming $60-$100 per window that's possibly a minimum budget of $900. Now we're beginning to talk money, so why not consider creating my own. I have had successful experiences with two of my past homes under my belt, I'm not new to this concept!!

While inspecting my furniture, over the two major moves, to my current location, I noticed my sectional couch had several cushions with the fabric worn completely through. A bummer, which I hadn't noticed because it resided in the basement recreation area of my past home. The cushion core foam was in excellent condition, why not consider reupholstering, until the estimate came in at $4500. Geez .... I could purchase new leather pieces for that. It occurred to me, switch out only the cushion covers and coordinate with the windows in the loft area where the sofa now resides. This will give the area a shabby chic look. I could keep most of the 'flame stitch' fabric, which I love, and scavenge what I can for making piping and other trims. I want this area very homey because my craft storage area is off to one side and it is where I had planned to set up my slate frame for the casket project. Check out the end result below...

I hung in one second floor bedroom, a set of drapes I made for my daughter years ago. Adding an Austrian shade for privacy, from a remnant bolt of sheer fabric, I believe it wonderfully adds to the overall effect. Very happy all were the correct width!

For the second set of bedroom windows, I re-purposed fabric from a worn quilt, originally purchased as a bed-in-a-bag. The coordinating sheets were used in the valances. Think I hit it out of the ball park with this job. In review, one sectional sofa and five second floor windows completed in under $300.... I call that a very delightful success. Only eight more windows to complete, all on the first floor. Seven windows located in the great room and entry way, which need to coordinate and last my master bedroom window.

Over the past thirty years I have made most of my home decor purchases through Calico Corners, with notions from Jo-Ann's. My closest Jo-Ann's has a wonderful selection of what I consider survival items for home decorating.... I also found a framer who is a Kindred Spirit at the location. As luck would have it one of my three local Calico Corner locations, an outlet, was going out of business! Very sad for them, but a huge blessing for a newly divorced woman on a tight budget!

My furniture now in place, and armed with my armrest protectors I headed to my local Calico and started collecting swatches. Fabric weight has everything to do with window dressing designs. Too thick and it limits pleating and will not drape, too thin and you need thermal linings... Some pattern designs do not do well as a swag. To date, more difficult than any appliance, craft area flooring, or dinnerware decisions which I've had to make has been the first floor window style....

I originally planned swags, jabots and sheers, very traditional, very me. Swags and jabots, however can require twice the fabric when compared to a simple panel on smaller windows, possibly cost prohibitive. I originally decided on three coordinating fabrics to do this, but to stay on budget, could only afford one fabric at a time. I started my purchases with a plain gold silky fabric, which would be used for the lining and several swags in the design. As it turned out this fabric did end up as a jabot lining, but also roman shades and a bed skirt. I have learned to always keep an open mind. Amazingly... while searching the Calico website for gold fabric a crewel design popped up which appealed to me but was not on my current thought track. I stopped into my local Calico to see the design, fabric weight and color in person. It flipping turned out to be a true (admittedly, chain stitch) crewel pattern, not a print. In a heavy weight, not necessarily good for swags and jabots, but on sale!!!! Originally over $100 per yard now under $25, the deal of deals and discontinued...... What a dilemma......so I purchased every piece available and prayed I could do something with it. Huge 33 inch repeat to add to the difficulty in design...but a design decision needed to be made soon. I had a Bed, Bath & Beyond '25% off your total purchase coupon', dedicated to my first floor rods, ready to expire. For several windows it could be worth hundreds of dollars.....When the fabric arrived I was so pleased to find it very drape-able, what a blessing.

 

I found deeply discounted trimmings at the Calico in Lancaster, which was going out of business. Huge coordinating tassels.... originally $88 a piece, discounted to $9... I purchased 9 of them. Plus...made in South Africa, sentimental meaning to me! Trimmings at a dollar a yard and smaller coordinating tassels at $1.50 each... Side bar, women were filling vans with fabric bolts at this location, the excitement was electric. Thank you everyone unknown, who made corporate decisions, that allowed me this wonderful piece of extreme happiness!!!

A small set back, the crewel fabric was cut into 4 pieces, a big deal when the repeat is so long. The color lots were similar, but repeats sadly a bit off, piece to piece. I worked one bolt of yardage into three simple panels with an attached valence and trimmed with a coordinating red fabric and trim. Each panel is clipped to rings and hang off a rod, nice effect in an intimate living area, then tied back with a giant tassel, very Jacobean. A remnant from this bolt was split for the foyer Roman shades....both designs shown below.

The second bolt, the longest yardage, about 13, was just enough to make 11 swags and 3 pair of jabots for the kitchen/dining area, foyer and my bedroom. Over decades of moves, I hoarded enough rods from previous apartments to create three triple rods for the swag/jabot design. Some how I avoided purchasing more rods for the double windows. Draped with two tassels per valence, these windows now exhibit that 'well hung' effect...and the original gold silky fabric made luxurious roman shades for privacy and refuge for my crewel world...

The remaining two cuts were too short for anything except covering counter bar stool chairs and a throw for my bed.....absolutely no complaints here...I love a design challenge and think I will be very happy with this solution for years to come....I love crewel and the color pallet matches the dish patterns I have commented on in an earlier post..The gold fabric I originally purchased is lining the jabots, the roman shades added under the valences will help to insulate in both winter and summer.

This was my third,  home decorating excursion and what an enjoyable time I had.... Maybe one or two more in the future!!! Oh I need pay homage to my helper pictured below, without who I could not have accomplished these tasks....