The Peacock's Feather

Just When I Thought It Was Safe

Just when I thought I had my stash spending well under control--look what Martina (Chatelaine Designs) has gone off and done.  This is her 10th Anniversary design.  It is an Elizabethan sweete bag.  I love sweete bags and want to stitch one (a really authentic one, not just a little plain sweet bag, which I have done before).  I will have to ponder this one.  I told myself no more really big (and expensive) projects as I have PLENTY of things on hand and kitted up (including a few former Chatelaine Designs I have never finished!).  Is anyone planning on joining in on this year long project? 

Sweete Bags Everywhere

I have mentioned before a couple of books that I bought some time back (they are listed on my sidebar towards the bottom), on Elizabethan cross stitch and embroidery.  Yesterday when I pulled out my magazines, these books where in the pile, and I pulled them out as well.  In a past JCS issue, I mentioned that there was a nice sweete bag (though the design wasn't really my style).  Both of these books have sweete bag designs that are great.  This photo comes from the Elizabethan Cross Stitch book.  While I don't use Aida fabric, they could easily be stitched on a different linen.  I really like the designs--especially the one on black.  The little fobs are nice, too!

This Tudor box is also from the same book.  I really like these sorts of designs.  This one reminds me of Liz Turner Diehl.  I have some of her charts, but I have never stitched her.  I think I have a cool pincushion chart, and now I am going to have to look for it.  I have really been into smaller designs lately (not that I finish them any faster than the big ones-LOL!).  This looks like a simple design to stitch.  I know Liz's are filled with specialty stitches, but they are gorgeous!

Isn't this one lovely? I don't know if I am skilled enough to try something like this.  Maybe eventually.  This one is from Embroidered Bags & Purses.  I have to say this is an excellent reference book.  Not only does it give great diagrams for stitches like picots, but it also discusses the assembly of various bags. 

Another gorgeous bag!!  This one even has little berries on the ends of the strings!  Another one I would love to try.  The diagrams are great in terms of stitching and assembly, but I have never worked on plain fabric such as this.  Something to work towards, anyway!

Sweete Bags

Recently in one of my posts I mentioned ordering some sweet bag designs.  I also broke down and ordered two books from Amazon.  The book shown is really more about embroidery, Embroidered Bags and Purses.  I have never really attempted embroidery, but I think the book will be a great reference as it is well illustrated both with photographs and drawings.  There are lots of diagrams on how to construct a bag and the specialty stitches used, which should be really helpful!

The main impetus for this recent interest in Elizabethan designs was spurred by wanting to read up on Spanish Samplers.  I pulled out a book by Thomasina Beck (which I also mentioned recently), and there are chapters on needlework through the ages.  The Elizabethan stuff really caught my eye, which made me start looking around for other information/charts.  The other book I ordered, Elizabethan Cross Stitch, by Barbara Hammet is a bit more of a modern interpretation of the style.  It does have a nice short section at the end of motifs, which could be adapted to your own designs. 

And I also discovered some lovely designs by Sharon Cohen.  I ordered four new charts from Wyndham Needleworks, and they came this weekend.  I definitely want to try my hand at making a sweet bag such as this one or something similar.   I have actually made two "modern" sweet bags.  You can see them in my picturetrail album.  They also have a modern feel to them, but they were really fun to make!  Now, of course, I will have to look at some sampler places and see what sampler reproductions were made at that time.  I have always shied away from these designs as they seem much more complicated than other things I stitch, but I am certainly willing to give it a try.  I do plan, however, on sticking with my original plan of working on my Spanish Sampler first, though!