Archive of A Previous Program
Saturday, October 15, 2016
 

"Textile Treasures" Tour

We have an exciting opportunity for a private textile tour at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield.  “Textile Treasures” is being offered to the public on select Saturdays in June, August and October, but they are willing to let us come on Saturday, October 15th to get a rare behind-the-scenes view of this historic and well-preserved collection at 10 am on that date.

When textile and costume expert Lynne Bassett was invited to consult on a new textile tour at the Webb-Deane-Stevens (WDS) Museum, she was genuinely surprised at the quality of the collection.  There, among the brilliantly colored and richly detailed clothing, shoes, and linens dating from the 1690s to mid-1800s, lay several Sarah Noyes Chester crewelwork pieces.  To put that into perspective, Chester’s crewelwork bed cover, part of the same set, is at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Among the favorites of curators Lynne Bassett and Richard Malley are an exquisitely detailed man’s crewel purse dated 1759; a luxurious crewel christening robe; whole-cloth worsted quilts; a quilted red petticoat; and 18th century men’s clothing attributed to Jeremiah Wadsworth.  While costumed guides show off some of the museum’s most prized possessions, they will discuss the home as a source of textile production, domestic labor, and textiles as an indicator of wealth/social status.

You may sign up for the tour at 10 am, and/or lunch at a nearby restaurant at about 12:30 pm, and/or “Creating Bargello Balls” at Thistle Needleworks at around 2 pm.

If you do plan to join us for the tour, please be there several minutes before 10 as the tour begins at 10 am.

Creating Bargello Balls
Meet at Thistle Needleworks at 2 pm

Create a beautiful Christmas ornament, or just a happy hanging for the chandelier or a window.  Have you seen the balls that are all the rage by home decorators that are placed strategically on a table or mantle?  You can make a very special one that will be the highlight of a grouping in your home.

Workshop participants will provide five full skeins of cotton embroidery floss in the color of their choice -- four values of the same color, very dark to very light; two skeins of the darkest value and one skein each of the others -- one card of FyreWerks or 10 meters of Balger 1/8" ribbon to coordinate, 7" x 12" stretcher bars, embroidery scissors, a laying tool, and magnification and/or light, if needed.  Your kit will include a 7" x 12" piece of 18-mesh canvas, a #22 tapestry needle, a Styrofoam ball for the finishing, and full instructions for both the stitching and finishing.

Directions to Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum

211 Main Street
Wethersfield, CT

From Hartford and Points North:  Take Interstate 91 south to Exit 26 (Old Wethersfield).  It is four miles south of the intersection of Interstates 84 and 91 in downtown Hartford.  Follow the prominent brown signs for the Webb and Deane Houses.  When you arrive at the intersection in the center of Old Wethersfield, take a left on Main Street.  The museum is one block on the right side of the street.
From New Haven and Points South:  Take Interstate 91 North to Exit 26 and follow the signs to the houses in the center of Old Wethersfield.
From the West:  Take Interstate 84 east past Waterbury to 691 east.  From the left lane, exit to Interstate 91 north.
From the East:  Take Interstate 84 west to Interstate 91 south.

Parking:  Car parking is available at no charge on Main Street in front of the museum or in the parking lot behind the Keeney Memorial Center directly across the street.