12-Days of Christmas Giveaway - Day 2

I have a pair of postcards of our favorite embroidered jacket from the V&A Museum.  The Margaret Layton jacket is an amazing piece of embroidery which hasn't been altered.  More wonderful is the portrait of her wearing the piece.  

If you are interested in the postcard set:

1. Please send me an email to:  tricia@alum.mit.edu

2. Put LAYTON in the subject line

3. Add your name and address because I won't be looking you up.  :-) Send by midnight EST Dec 16th.

So today I thought I would also tell you about the Read-Only version of the Cabinet of Curiosities online course.  I have roughly now 100 spots in it and it starts January 1st.  The course is pretty comprehensive.  Originally it came with two kits of threads in the historic color line and the materials for five small projects.  As the supply chain makes that impossible to get large numbers of everything together all at once right now, I decided to put the course out there without the kits.  Many people are taking one of my casket project classes and would like the historic background to the cabinets which is included in this

course.

So what is in the course?

- Each month a topic regarding the history of the cabinets is explored very fully.  That could be the small toys inside, the stories on the caskets, the background of the girls, the history of cabinets made before, etc.

- Every month is accompanied by weblinks to additional material that supports the historic discussion.  We may be talking about the allegories and how to read them, so being directed to the same allegorical prints at the time would help recognize the devices used to signify that a woman on a side is "Touch" as an example.  You become an expert in reading these 17th century pieces

- Each month has dozens of close pictures of historic cabinets from museum and private collections.  More than 30 caskets are presented in this way - its like being there in the room and studying the embroidery and then opening the pieces and seeing inside.

- There are motif sets copied from unembroidered satins that were to be used for stumpwork, mirrors or caskets.  You can use these to do your own designs.  Then there are templates for the casket sets, full casket designs and sides.  So if you have a home-wood worker and wanted the measurements to make a simple box and needed designs or wanted to design your own - there is plenty of helpful material here.  Some people know they will never do a box but would love to have a design to stitch - say of a mermaid in a grotto.  It's there.

- Four sets of project instructions for pincushions and scissors cases.  And a full trinket box set of instructions.  I still have about 50 trinket boxes for sale if you wanted to do the one in the course with your own threads.

- Finishing instructions/videos for caskets.  If you make your own, you might not know how to mount the embroidery.  There are full instructional videos for that.

If you don't have a cabinet and want to do one, I periodically get one back from a stitcher who has decided not to work hers.  They are listed in the drop down menu for the course and can be purchased with the course for those who want to design their own.