ALBANY VISITORS and TRICIA LEARNS TO SPIN

Last Friday I got an email from my cousin in Albany saying that friends of hers would be visiting the plantation and could they come up and see me in my wardrobe lair. Later that afternoon, Amy McCarthy came up with her two daughters, Kate (11) and Maddy (10). As there was an embroidery session going on, Tricia asked them if they'd like to sew on some of the paillettes (aka sequins). They were most enthusiastic and jumped right in!

Here we have Kate sewing on her first of several paillettes.

Next, Maddy takes over and is complimented by Tricia on her hand-eye coordination.

Here we have Amy taking a stab at it. They all did a great job.

This picture shows the paillettes that they collectively applied.

Here, the girls are checking out a new project by fiber-artist extraordinaire, Carli. It's an embroidered, stuffed sheep. Not fabric with embroidery on it, but a sheep constructed from embroidery stitches. Carli never ceases to amaze us with what she's created between sessions in the colonial wardrobe.

Earlier in the day, Tricia decided she wanted to see what it would be like to make the gilt sylke twist embroidery thread on a spinning wheel, the way it would probably have been done in the 17th century. Of course that meant she had to learn to spin, which she did in less than five minutes. Is there anything she can't do!?!?

Here she is practicing with plying two wool yarns.

Now she's wrapping one silk with another silk.

Spinning silk and gold together. Rumpelstiltskin?!

The finished hand-spun gilt sylke twist on a spool.

For more information on the Plimoth Embroidered Jacket project, visit

http://thistle-threads.com/blog/