The 2nd Day of Christmas

You'll have to make do with my old camera this post. I had to move the contents of a couple of rooms, and lost my charger in the process. I'm afraid it will be much quicker to just get a new one than hope to find it.

My favorite Christmas gift is this fruitcake.

Yes, I know, that's not very common, but you've never had this fruitcake. I said if I only get one gift, I hoped it was this. I love nuts, and this is hardly more than pecans held together with a little cake. And a couple of candied cherries, which is what Rufus is waiting for. ;)

I have been slowly working on my silk on linen needlework accessories.

This is not as easy as it looks, and I'm finding it very challenging. Nevertheless, when Tricia announced she was taking reservations for a new class to make a needlework casket, I couldn't get there fast enough. I have been wanting to make one for ages, and here's my chance. The class is in two parts, over three years, and includes a lot of threads and fibers manufactured exclusively for us. The hardware is all cast from some used on an actual casket. The 300 spaces were gone in just over a month, so I'm not the only one wanting to do this!

Needlework caskets were made in the 17th century by young girls, and consisted of embroidered panels covering a wooden box, which opened to reveal compartments, secret drawers, and sewing implements. They often contained vials of perfume, which dried your hands prior to beginning stitching.

Here's a link to a video of a casket at the Victoria and Albert Museum, made by Martha Edlin in 1671 when she was 11 years old!

And here is a link to more information and pictures of caskets.