Friday, September 24, 2010

Sewing Room Art

I have three favorite pieces of sewing related artwork on the walls of my sewing studio.

This one is an antique print purchased in 2003 in Breckenridge, Colorado entitled The Butterfly and The Bee.

"The Butterfly and the Bee", by William Lisle Bowles (1762-1850)

Methought I heard a butterfly
Say to a laboring bee:
"Thou hast no colours of the sky
On painted wings like me."

"Poor child of vanity! those dyes,
And colours bright are rare,"
With mild reproof, the bee replies,
"Are all beneath my care.

Content I toil from morn to eve,
And scorning idleness,
To tribes of gaudy sloth I leave
The vanity of dress."

This one was purchased in 2000 at the Booth Mill, in Lowell, Massachusetts. If you peek in the windows of each floor, you will be able to see the carding, spinning, and weaving processes. Fabric made here was shipped all over the world. You learn about these mills in the fourth grade. Visiting one leaves a lasting impression. The mills played a serious roll during the industrial revolution, and women entered the work force.


This final one, crewel embroidery, was handmade by me about 25 years ago. I enjoyed making it, but never made another picture.