Italian Renaissance Sewing Box – Designing Ladies 2005
This box has an old-fashioned look because it is a reminder of late Renaissance times of my town. Massa, a little town in Tuscany, near the sea coast and surrounded by wonderful marble mountains, was once called “Massa Picta” which in Latin means “Painted Massa”.
Many houses of my town were colorfully painted with bright reds, pinks or deep yellow sand or Sienna colors, making a strong contrast with the white marble of doorsteps, windowpanes and floors.
Those were the times in which our magnificent castle was full of nobles, music and art. The Marquis Alberico I Cybo Malaspina and his wife Isabella wanted the town to be splendid and renowned.
Even now we can see most of our houses painted with the same shades of colors and we still have some of those frescos on house walls and inside the castle rooms and court façade.
My design has been inspired by a paint, still visible nowadays, on the façade of a house of my town.
The top is stitched with Assisi stitch, characterized by stylized flowers in Holbein Stitch or Backstitch and figures created by void spaces within a background worked in cross stitch.
Chart pack includes designs charts and instructions for main box sections (top, lid band, wall band, bottom), scissors pocket, two doors needlebook, pin roll and ruler.
Beads: Mill Hill: Glass Seed Beads Bronze # 00221 and Antique Glass Beads Matte Cadet Blue # 03046
Finishing Instructions can be found in the Designing Ladies’ “Stitcher’s Treasure Box” book by Judy Odell (Just A Thought). Please enquire with us to purchase the book.
| Fabric | 28x21.5 in (71x55 cm) 28 ct hand dyed linen Busy Bee Blend from R & R Reproduction (for box); 21x13 in (53x33 cm) 32 ct hand-dyed linen Busy Bee Blend from R & R Reproduction (for platform sections and sewing accessories) |
| Threads | The Thread Gatherer SNC: 006 Stormy Skies, 050 Blue Seas, 087 Midnight Cobalt, 175 Straws into Gold, 972 Honey Blues; Kreinik Silk Mori silk thread: 2016 Dark Gold, 2017 Very Dark Gold, 5013 Light Navy, 5016 Dark Navy |
| Stitches | Cross Stitch over two and over one, Back Stitch, Holbein Stitch, Darning Stitch |
