Queen Elizabeth II: Tributes in textiles

Tammis Keefe handkerchief, 1950's.

Like many folks around the world, I respected and admired Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) and awoke a bit early to watch her funeral this morning.  There were tears.

The lifecycle event at the beginning of her reign, her coronation, was also televised, and celebrated with pomp, ceremony, and souvenirs.  Commemorative textiles were very popular, including scarves and handkerchiefs. Although I haven't been able yet to find documentation, I believe these two handkerchiefs, from my collection, were produced as souvenirs of the coronation of the young queen. The central image of the hankie above certainly resembles the Gold State Coach and the crowns in the corners evoke the silhouette of St. Edward's Crown, worn during the coronation.

Below, a silk pocket square again depicts the crown and the golden coach, in addition to London Bridge, yeoman of the guard, and The Tower.

Tammis Keefe, silk pocket handkerchief, 1950's.

I'll miss the Queen's colorful outfits and matching hats - designer Angela Kelly did wonderful work.  The Queen's self-presentation and style did much to make every event special.

The person who most closely approximately the Queen's role here in America might have been Mrs. Brook Astor, who once said:

If I go up to Harlem or down to Sixth Street, and I'm not dressed up or I'm not wearing my jewelry, then the people feel I'm talking down to them. People expect to see Mrs. Astor, not some dowdy old lady, and I don't intend to disappoint.

The Queen never disappointed us.

Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World

 

Cover image.

I've just finished Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World, by British writer Victoria Finlay. The book, published this year, was a gift from a dear friend, and was well-reviewed in the New York Times.

Finlay divides the book into chapters by fiber or fabric type, including wool, tweed (a type of woolen fabric), silk, etc. A chapter entitled "Imagined Fabrics" covers fibers, such as polyester, made from hydrocarbons. I love maps and the book includes several so the reader can follow the geography of fiber sources.  There is also a short, informal glossary right at the front of the book, in case terms such as heddle and selvedge are unfamiliar, and eight pages of color images.

 

Finlay is quite adventurous and through a combination of perseverance, connections, and just plain luck manages to get to remote areas of Papua New Guinea to observe and document the  making of barkcloth, a traditional material crafted from the inner bark of young Broussonetia papyrifera trees.   In other chapters Finlay tries her hand at backstrap weaving in Guatemala and quilting in Gee's Bend, Alabama. Accompanying her on her travels is part of the fun.

The book  interlaces cultural history, science and technology, and politics, and Finlay refers to her book as a kind of patchwork - she and her mother had planned to create a patchwork quilt together but this project was never realized due to her mother's death.  So, the book is also a kind of memoir of grieving, but is never morbid.  Overall, a very informative, entertaining volume on cloth in our world.

 

A note on the cover image - it's a detail from a painting by neo-classicist John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) entitled Penelope and the Suitors, in the Aberdeen Art Gallery.  Penelope, wife of Odysseus, works at her loom, supposedly making a burial shroud for her father-in-law, while secretly picking out the work at night. The suitors, at right, try to woo her with flowers and music, but she held fast. I've always read The Odyssey as a kind of celebration of monogamy; both Penelope and Odysseus had plenty of opportunities to make new alliances but remained loyal to one another.

Penelope and Her Suitors, 1912.

 

 

Soft toys to stitch

Finished stuffed personalities, made by a seven-year-old.

Our grandchildren and their parents visited this summer and my granddaughter loves projects so I found this kit. My aging brain has forgotten where I found it, but it's available through Amazon and other vendors.

 

Kit comes with everything, including polyfil stuffing and a needle, and makes three stuffed toys: a unicorn, phoenix bird and yeti.  I explained the legend of the phoenix, and we found Nepal and Tibet on a world map to discuss the yeti. 

 

The well-illustrated instruction booklet is very clear. I helped start, and tie off, each seam of stitching, but otherwise grandchild worked independently. Most of the eyes and ears, etc., are adhesive, but there is a bit of additional stitching. 

 

Also extra adhesive bits allow for some personalization, as seen in the yeti in the top image, which differs from the image on the package.

Several mornings of fun.