NEEDLECRAFT FROM THE 17TH CENTURY

How it started:

In the summer of 2000, during a holiday, I saw 2 magnificent embroideries in a museum in Glasgow. The museum was The Burrell Collection. One piece was called "The Last Supper", the other one "The Agony in The Garden". I was allowed to take pictures and once at home I started designing embroidery patterns.

This is not easy in miniature because there are not many stiches I could use and I wanted the pattern to be exactly like the original.

I worked it in the Tent stitch and a few months later The Last Supper was ready.

I did not have a good place to hang it, at that time.

Making this tapestry made me more interested in needlecraft from the beginning of the 17th century and I wanted to make more.

My very best friend Jean Damery, who is a wonderful miniaturist from France, wanted to make a room box for me. I made a plan and Jean started enthusiastically. Lots of letters with photos and drawings went to and fro.

For instance: In Bruges I saw a beautiful stained glass window. I took some photos and sent them to Jean. Then I got a letter back with sizes: this is what I made out if it; do you like it? A wonderful alliance.

My second needlework was a sampler I once saw in the Victoria and Albert museum in London. And I had a book with a picture of the sampler.

This became one of my most beautiful and most difficult pieces. First I had to make the pattern, than I embroidered it on silk gauze of 84 DPI. After that I made very tiny contour stitches. Size of the sampler: 1 7/16"x 1 7/8 ". This tiny flower is only 3/4" x 3/4"

Because I now had this type of embroidery "in my fingers" I made a tassel using the same technique, from an example in the book from the Victoria and Albert museum. These tassels were used to put in nice smelling herbs and flowers in.

And of course the second tapestry, The Agony in the garden, had to be made. A few months later this one was ready too. Would you like to embroider these wallhangings yourself? The pattern can bepurchased in my webshop.

A pillow for the chair. The pattern for this pillow I took from a German sampler of 1618.

Then a cover for the cradle. Made with very tiny red stitches on white linen.

All these needle works are from the beginning of the 17th century.

The room and the furniture however, are from an earlier period: the middle ages.

Here are some pics of the very fine furniture with all the amazing details.

The seat of the chair can be put high. A cradle like this was often seen in France and Italy.

At the foot you can see with how much love this furniture is made.

The lamp is like a torch. Along the wall there are a number of them.

To make the room look cosier, I made a Book of Hours from the Duke of Barry.

This is what the cover looks like; this is the book open.

A pair of slippers to make you feel at home.

To my surprise my best friend Tim Schimming made this magnificent plate for my birthday.

Expositions:

Nederlands Centrum voor Handwerken 9-2-2002 / 29-6-2002
Westfriesmuseum in Hoorn   29 march - 19 september 2003
De 2 Marken Maarn 27 september 2003 

Poppenhuismuseum Heesch 5-7 / 31 - 11 - 2004

Articles about this room:

Poppenhuizen en Miniaturen no 57 febr/mrt 2002

Handwerken zonder grenzen january no 114 - 2002

Handwerken zonder grenzen no 122 sept. 2003