12 Hour Classes
INSTRUCTOR: Annelle Ferguson, Fellow
COURSE: Needle Work
PROJECT: Needlepoint Panel for a Queen Anne Game Table
(This class is FULL)
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Card games were frowned upon in 17th Century New England, but were a very popular form of entertainment in the 18th Century. An acceptable diversion in England since the 15th Century, card playing traveled to the New World with the pilgrims. The activity was enjoyed in private homes and in public inns and taverns. Second only to chairs, gaming tables were the most frequently produced articles of furniture by New England cabinetmakers. The earliest examples were made in the Boston area as early as 1730. The Queen Anne styles had shallow recessed surfaces, rounded or squared corners for candlesticks, and scooped pockets for coins or counters. A drawer in front held cards and candles.
The recessed playing surface, originally intended for baize fabric, provided the colonial woman with an opportunity to display her needlework skills. The completed panel was then tacked into the shallow space. Among the most elegant table covers made in early America were those done in canvas work, a style of embroidery fashionable for fine household furnishings and accessories.
Referring to photographs of antique embroidered
panels for inspiration, students will chart their pattern
on graph paper. Class discussions will include the
essentials for setting up the project, color selection,
and adapting antique designs into 1/12th scale.
As an option, the completed work may be attached to a Queen Anne card table, created especially for this class by Mark Murphy. The table, made of cherry, will feature a recessed area for a needlepoint panel, a drawer, rounded corners, pockets for coins, and cabriole legs.
TIME:
12 hours. While completion is unlikely, students will go home with all the techniques and materials to finish on their own.
POWER TOOLS:
none
SKILL LEVEL:
All levels. Beginners are welcome to take this class. Each will receive basic needlepoint instructions and materials on which to practice in advance of the school week. A partial chart will be available—the design to be stitched on #48 silk gauze, for those not wanting to design their own pattern. Intermediate and advanced students may choose to design their patterns to be worked on #58 or #72 silk gauze.
MATERIALS FEE:
$15 with an optional fee of $175 for a Queen Anne game table created by Mark Murphy.