Deerfield Embroidery

 

Deerfield embroidery was a style that developed in colonial New England, specifically the town of Deerfield and the surrounding area. It was a form of crewelwork using wool on linen, and the designs were stylized flowers and leaves, often shared with neighbors. 

In the late 19th century, the town became interested in its own history, including the arts and crafts of the colonial era, and two women -- Ellen Miller and Margaret Whiting -- founded the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework. Its purpose was to document and preserve all embroidered works and patterns that they could, and also replicate the designs for their own use or for sale. Wool threads were harder to get at that time, so they used instead linen threads (of a much better quality than we can get today) but stuck to the mostly blue and white palette. Miller and Whiting were accomplished embroiderers who expected the best from their stitchers, and for several decades this artistic community thrived. 

With the Bicentennial fever of the 1970s came a renewed interest in all things colonial, and in 1976 Margery Burnham Howe published this book documenting this history of Deerfield and the Society and devoting a good chunk of it to patterns, stitches, and stitch guides. It's a wonderful resource.

So why am I interested in it? I grew up in western Massachusetts, and went to a private school right in Old Deerfield. We often visited the local museums and restored houses, and of course being little kids we were especially fascinated by the Deerfield Massacre. The first style of embroidery I learned was crewelwork, in a class at my school (every trimester we picked a Friday elective). All this to say, this book made me quite nostalgic.

I intend to buy my own copy (I got this one from the library) so I can stitch several of the patterns; Polly's Parrot in particular is calling to me. In the meantime, I stitched a badge with the logo of the Society, a flax wheel:

I don't actually like blue, so I picked the purpliest blues I had from my stash of crewel wool. The D is in satin stitch and the rest is in New England laidwork, aka Roumanian stitch. Several of the stitches were known by different names then, including buttonhole which was called the spike stitch. The Deerfield embroiderers also invented their own stitch, a variation of herringbone; I hope to learn and use that in the next project.

This book is well-worth adding to your stitch library.

Book Round-Up: I Forgot to Write About Several Books Edition

 It's been a tough year.

Sourdough by Robin Sloan: Lois is a computer programmer who feels lost until she learns how to make sourdough bread. This is not a typical return-to-simpler-things book, though;  Sloan is too smart for that. Lois uses her background in technology to improve the bread making process and joins a collective devoted to cutting-edge food production. It's an unusual book about the delight of making things, and the second one I've read with a sentient sourdough starter.

Better than Fiction by Alexa Martin: This, I'm sorry to say, was a disappointment. The protagonist runs a bookstore even though she hates to read, but instead of a novel about expectations, bookishness, and intellectual snobbery, it was a mediocre romance complete with sassy best friend, meddling aunties, cartoonishly evil antagonist, and secrets that didn't merit the angst they produced.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett: I loved this "cozy historical fantasy" about a British academic dealing with dangerous fairies, skeptical townspeople, and an annoying colleague. I'm excited to read the next one when it comes out this winter.

Jewelry Photo Dump

 I've made a lot of jewelry over the past few months that I forgot to document on the blog, so here it is.

A gorgeous strand of amazonite from Allegory Gallery inspired me to do some knotting again. I added rose quartz, beryl, and faceted moonstone to make a very long necklace that can also be wrapped around my wrist. I don't wear pastel colors much, but this is a lovely combination:

 I don't know how I got it into my head that I needed a Prince necklace, but who am I to turn down an excuse for purple jewelry? The silver charm is one of a pair of earrings, and the beads are a strand of amethyst I got for free from Lima Beads's delightful annual Easter egg hunt on their website.

 While spending hours on the Lima Beads website I found a cute project for necklaces to wear together, so I made two to create a set of sorts with some other necklaces:

 Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries was a fun book with a beautiful cover that inspired me to embroider a pendant with wintry flowers and a sinister hand:

 

 

 Many years ago at a needlecraft store I picked up two knotwork pendant kits by Teresa Layman. One I made for my mom right away, and the other languished in a box until recently. Soooo many knots. French knots, colonial knots, knots where I lost control of the thread ...

 

 I haven't made brick stitch earrings with fringe in decades, so that had to be remedied. I've included a picture of the first "draft," too wide and with the wrong size thread. More fringe earrings are in my future.

 Finally, a simple necklace I made with the African Christmas beads I can't get enough of:

Phew!