So I haven't been able to knit. I'm barely able to type. But I have been thinking. And looking at yarn, and clearing things out of storage. And as I get the junk out of my storage garage, I'm finding the accumulated research and resources of almost 20 years of an obsession with historic fibery stuff. Stitching, sewing, embroidery, knitting, spinning, weaving, fabric, button-making, lace...you name it. I have 2 file-cabinets' worth of files. Carefully labelled, categorized by century and craft and clothing type. Books. Boxes and boxes of books. Samples. Patterns I've drafted. Photos.
I used to teach people, informally and through invited lectures. I had period clothing students, who studied with me. Not just how to make it, or what makes it fit in a perticular period of history...there's more to it than that for me. I care about the spinning of the fiber all the way through to the drape of the final fabric and everything in the middle. It fit into an historic context we have to strive to view through jaded eyes. Each step was an important part (and still is, in couture) of the creation of the garment. And so much was done in the home, by the family, in the course of everyday life.
So what I am getting together is a wiki for those of us with obsessions about history of fibery things. Would you be interested in being a contributer? The initial entries would probably be little more than re-posted blog entries from some, typed in entries from me, and would be on our special topics of obsession. They can always be refined and the style developed as we go along.
I'm seeking out sewers, weavers, spinners, embroiderers, costumers, all those with history-based obsessions of fibery stuffs. I've been looking for a way to share all this research for a long time, and a webpage didn't have the freedom that I was looking for.
Let me know what you think. It's not meant to be a hurry-up project, just an always-there kind of thing. A place for people to share. Our own library, of sorts. And of course, with the bibliographies included, we would have a place to look for resources of others' obsessions. And I am most certainly open to suggestions of others to contribute. I am not, and cannot be, everywhere on the web to see who is out there. I have no idea where this might lead, if it will flop, if anyone wants it at all... Does the philosophy of "build it and they will come" work here?
Email me, or leave a comment. I really want to hear what people have to say about this.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
It's a great idea, ut I think you need to start it, and then, yes, they will come.
I am not a historian by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have an interest in historical textiles and I work with naturally colored cotton. I have done historical costume design as well as needlework. I could probably write a couple of entries.
Hi,
I think it's a great idea to bring all our textile obsessions together. I'm pretty sure it will take some time, but will be a great success.
Post a Comment