I was in Maryland for a couple days, and then Portland, OR for a week. It was mostly work, but I did manage to escape for a bit.
More photos to come, as I sort them out.
While I was gone a whole pile of things accumulated in my “post me” file.
Most exciting, the Philadelphia University Design Center found a box of 15-16th century textiles stashed away! They’re holding a hands-on tour to raise money to conserve and store these items properly. The date is unknown, but there should be 10-20 slots, and the fee is expected to be $50-100. There has been so much excitement that the organizer is looking at holding a lottery to select the participants, so even those who found out late (like from this post) have a chance to participate. The inventory is fascinating: velvet, cloth of gold, brocade, even a fingerloop and bobbin lace bookmark.
In other textile news, Drea Leed has finished her mammoth inventory of Queen Elizabeth I’s wardrobe warrants. She writes:
Queen Elizabeth’s Wardrobe Uploaded holds the transcribed contents of MS Egerton 2806: The complete record of what Queen Elizabeth’s tailors made, altered and bought between the years 1568 and 1588. I have spent the last several years transcribing the manuscript from microfilm, proofing it, and building a web database application that I have loaded it into, to facilitate searching and browsing.
Mixing textiles and science, Gudrun Polak’s tablet weaving was used as the cover illustration for the MIT Press volume Quantum
Computing, A Gentle Introduction. No weaving in the book, I’m afraid.
Mixing textiles and computing: “The Bayeux Tapestry archiving model: A thousand year archive.”
Probably all of you have seen this kite weaving video, but just in case…
I’ve posted John Marshall’s Japanese textiles here before. He has now started a blog, in which he discusses his experience with Japanese textiles and some of his favorite pieces. [Edit: He’s changed the URL, and I’ve updated the link here.]
Sanna-Mari Tonteri has been making wonderful nalbinding videos for years. Here’s a complete list of her works.
