The Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Jan 5, 2022Jan 4, 2022 toomanystitches9 Comments

There were many things about my recent trip to Prague that didn’t quite go according to plan. The antiques shop, famous for their stash of antique lace was closed for unexpected reasons, as was one of the museums I had wanted to see, and the whole country went into a ‘State of Emergency’ thanks to You Know What. However, despite my best laid plans going to waste, I found some unexpected gems, including the Museum of Decorative Arts, and completely fell in love with a city that I’m just going to have to go back to.

Review: The Fabric of Civilization – How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel

Apr 7, 2021Apr 7, 2021 toomanystitches3 Comments

This post contains affiliate links meaning if you sign up to the course from this blog, I get a small commission. However, any recommendations and opinions are my own. For more information, please click here.

Some books manage to demand you read every page of them and this week’s review is for one such text. Fancy figuring out the secrets of Machiavelli’s childhood and how textiles shaped his plays and thinking? Eager to find out just how hard it is to knit a 3D bunny on a machine? Read on – this is the text for you!

Review: This Golden Fleece

May 27, 2020May 25, 2020 toomanystitches7 Comments

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Review: Threads of Life

Apr 1, 2020Mar 31, 2020 toomanystitches6 Comments

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links meaning if you purchase the book through these links, I receive a small commission that contributes to the running costs of the blog. However, any recommendations and opinions in this review are my own. For more information, please click here.

Art? Handicraft? Women’s work? What is needlework to you? To Clare Hunter, needlework is not just a decorative frivolity but true skilled labour and a means of telling the stories of the individuals, countries and historical periods. To her, the act of sewing is to secure and trap out personal memories in thread and fabric. ‘Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle’ is Clare Hunter’s exploration of the oft-forgotten tales of the accomplished hands that created many different textile pieces, lost and preserved, and the political and social environments surrounding their work.

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Swiss Tour IV – Käse, Museums and Wollelade

Nov 6, 2019Nov 3, 2019 toomanystitches2 Comments

As well as the wonderful local architecture and the delightful Museum Appenzell, there is another historical textile treat outside of the main village, the Appenzeller Volkskunde-Museum, which also affords you the opportunity to enjoy the local, rolling hills and scenery. This is the folk museum dedicated to the local working culture and heritage.

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Lyon, ville de soie

Jul 31, 2019Jul 22, 2019 toomanystitches2 Comments

Lyon, to me, is one of the gems of France. It is deservedly famous for the local cuisine, the beauty of the preserved old city, now a UNESCO world heritage site and, even better, for being the historical and modern home of some of the most beautiful silk weaving ever to grace this earth. astitchornine (2)

Catching a Break

Jul 17, 2019Jul 14, 2019 toomanystitches5 Comments

I think I should be very careful about ever complaining about have a few too many demands on my time on my blog again…. Apparently, life decided to take that as something of a challenge and pile things on to an extent that definitely crossed the ridiculous threshold and in a way that will also mean lots of big changes up ahead… Just when I was thinking of getting a bit settled!

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The Wooly Haven of Kiel, Germany

Mar 13, 2019Mar 9, 2019 toomanystitches7 Comments

Kiel is a charming city in the north of Germany, only about an hour and half from Denmark, with plenty of beautiful waterfronts. Maybe inspired by the slightly… brisk weather during the winter though, it also seems to be home to a surprising amount of spinning, weaving and wooly goodness.

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Review: The Golden Thread

Feb 27, 2019Feb 24, 2019 toomanystitches8 Comments

It was always going to be a challenge to dislike to a book that starts with the sentence ‘I am assuming here, Dear Reader, that you are not naked’. It was also always going to be a challenge to dislike any book that promised an adventure through our textile past, present and future.

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Textilmuseum St. Gallen

Feb 6, 2019Feb 3, 2019 toomanystitches6 Comments

Given the historical importance of textiles to the town and its interest in trying to preserve as much of its history as possible, it probably comes as no surprise that St Gallen has a wonderful museum dedicated to textiles with regularly changing exhibitions if you’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend regularly.

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