April and most of May was a very stressful month for me. All my sewing projects went on hold and I tried to take the time to put myself and self-care first when I could. I’m starting to feel like I have more energy now, I’ve gotten some hand sewing done and started a few embroidery projects that will carry me out until the end of the year.
First up is a simple linen apron in sage green. I hand sewed this all with white linen thread and clocked in at about 10 stitches per inch. Those hems are going nowhere. Using a contrasting thread gave an extra decorative effect and I may make another one for the etsy shop.
The embroidered stomacher project is back under the machine once more. I took a break to keep my shoulders and neck happy and rethinking my workroom set up for when I need to spend a lot of time at the machine.
The silver glove cuffs are on hold, because I fell in love with a much more colorful set of gloves from the V&A.
These are also featured in 17th Century Women’s Dress Pattern Book 2. Mine will not be an exact reproduction (I’m not fond of the tabs with the houses) but will be similar.
And finally, to get a little more practice with goldwork and working with purl I started a much smaller, less ambitious project. This is based on the 17th-century purse and pincushion at the V&A. Which features purl worked flowers, couched cording and tiny birds covered in seed pearls. There are no measurements listed so I am taking a guess at the size of the pincushion, based on others that survive.
Some sections of the flowers and leaves I padded out with linen thread, the gold cord I twisted myself with a drill, and in place of seed pearls I am using some white seed beads I had in my stash.
