Sunday, February 19, 2017

Elizabethan Casket Etui

Although this etui is not part of the Cabinet of Curosities, it fits in with the general theme of the school girl embroideries.
It was designed by Betsy Morgan as modern etui that uses the form of the original caskets. It is of course much smaller but delightful none the less.
Betsy used techniques from many different eras and types of samplers to create her box with its toys. I loved the concept and most of the pieces but after having taken the Cabinet of Curiosites class from Tricia, part of the designs didn't fit my idea of how it should look, so I changed them.
The bottom part of the box used the original design but I changed all of the designs for the lid of the box. I borrowed from several different samplers and adapted the designs to fit the area to be stitched. The top features two stumpwork flowers, I love daffodils so played until I got one that I like and then I couldn't resist a pink Mariposa lily. They come in a few colors and live in the arid desert west in the wild.

Betsy added some toys to her etui that I stitched as designed except for adding a second design to the scissors sheath. They are a pin cube, a bag for buttons or other small stuff, a needle book with an Aztec stitch side and a scissors fob and sheath.


I just couldn't resist adding a few more toys to my box. I did a flame stitch holder for a stiletto, a Lacis lace piece for the thimble bag and an emery with a gold work band. I dyed ribbon for the tape measure that features a blackwork design  and some semi-precious stone beads.
It was a fun piece to stitch and adds one more thing to get me ready to stitch my big casket.