Dissertation and thesis joy!

I just had to share this post from "a stitch in time" blog. The British Library hosts a database of electronic copies of dissertations and thesis documents! Hooray! This is awesome on both recreational and professional levels :)

Niedersachsen / Lüneburg monasteries

The German Inscriptions Online project has posted a lovely set of pictures of art from the Lüneburg monasteries/cloisters along with a discussion and translations of the original inscriptions and text! There are some lovely pictures of embroidery - enjoy :)

Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter

I do a lot of random research bits here and there, so I thought I'd start sharing some of my sources. The "On-Line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics" project is hosted at the University of Arizona and has a large number of very cool documents. The series "Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter" has a number of interesting notes on medieval patterns, artifacts, and textile trade and issues 22-35 are available online. Enjoy :)

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 22, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 23, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 24, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 25, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 26, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 27, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 28, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 29, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 30, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 31, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 32, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 33, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 34, PDF

• McKenna, Nancy M., ed. Complex Weavers Medieval Textiles Study Group Newsletter 35, PDF

Reliquery box

Out of the weekend of general craftiness at Casa de Clermont, a plot was hatched by my friends to build this box. I've started work and charted and stitched a sample for the first pattern I decided to get even closer to period practice and stitched this with a flat silk, Soie Oval. I have to say not only is the result very close to close up shots of period pieces, but its gorgeous! For comparison, here is a picture in the same light of sample in similar colors in a spun silk (Rainbow Gallery Splendor) And for fun, here is a nice close up of a period piece from the same time and place: We've started chatting about other construction details and I'm very excited about this project. I will post updated pictures and samples as we make progress. I've got 4 patterns charted so far and I think we will start work on the panels as soon as we order the silk.

Finished white work

More pictures of stuff that I have been finishing up post dissertation time :) Here is the white work that I took off the frame and started to finish some time ago. It's stitched in Londonderry white linen thread on a white linen background. This style uses many of the same patterns as the silk work that I have been working on, but has a larger geographic area and a longer time period of use. The pattern is a small (4.5 inches x 3.25 inches) notebook cover.

Brickwork notebook cover

I just finished the stitching on a small notebook cover that I've been working on. I wanted to do another piece that was bigger than my little pattern swatches. I bought some tiny composition notebooks and am going to make some notebook covers. This is the first. Next step, sewing it together.

Today, you get a pretty picture :)

The Nuns at Wienhausen

This website is on women's monastic communities and it has some great embroidery from the Convent at Wienhausen (some in color!). There is information for embroidery pieces and a bibliography. If you're hunting down info on a piece, this may be a good start. The convent embroidered pieces in the brick stitch that I have been focusing on and the Klosterstitch works that Racaire has been working on.

Pretty pictures

Thanks to my sister for sending me links to some more pictures on the web :)

Two Flickr pools of interest:
* detail pictures from the Cloisters piece at the NY Met: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosettastones/3406589474/in/set-72157616161436505/
* some scans from the Kroos book, along with some pretty stitching: http://www.flickr.com/photos/medievalartcraft/

Pouch from Cologne

I found this while doing some research and thought that the pouch folks might like it. Its looks like an example of the brick stitch pouches complete with fancy tassels. It seems that the pouch patterns are a mixture of stitches and emtpy canvas. The book "Der Kunst- und Reliquienschatz des Kölner Domes (1870)" can be found here. The figure is on pdf page 267 or if you're browsing the "flip book" its page 159 of the last section.

I'm using Google translate for the information since the book is in German, so my understanding of the passage is vague. The piece is listed as a relics embroidery bag in silk embroidery on canvas. The colors are listed as red, white, and blue silks. The pouch is from the first half of the 14th century and seems to be considered a representative piece of a larger collection.

Source-tastic!

I have found another source (in English!) from Digital Archive of Documents Related to Embroideryfor further information on brick work:
Mediaeval Embroidery from the Collection of Mrs. Murray Crane The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1932)

My bibliography grows stronger!