Tantes Zolder

Tantes Zolder is the name of a website. It means "Auntie's Attic". If you want to go to the site, unless you read Dutch, don't click on the link. Well, go ahead, click on the link - see if you can read Dutch. Otherwise, go to Google and type in the search box "Tantes Zolder". The first site to pop up is the one you want, but WAIT. To the right there's a clickable link that says "Translate this Site". Click on THAT. What you'll get is the site, along with a literal translation of all the words on it. It reads choppy, but you can at least understand what the writer is saying. If you go there directly, there is one paragraph that is in English that paraphrases the purpose and beginnings of the site. Follow the links to the archives.

Why do I want to go to this site, you say? Well, how about a gajillion downloads of needlework patterns. Most very French/Northern European style. Can't download for resale, but for personal use. A lovely woman in The Netherlands found all this stuff and put it on line with the help of some volunteers. Fabulous! Check it out.

Merry Christmas from Windy Ridge

A posting by Kirsten Edwards on the Gift of Stitching blog reminded me that I've never written about these discoveries I've had on the world wide web. About a year, or so, ago I found these two websites: The Antique Pattern Library and The On-line Digital Archive of Documents on Weaving and Related Topics. As I said to Kirsten when I commented on her blog, don't let the "weaving" fool you.

When you go to either of these sites, search for "Dillmont". Thérèse de Dillmont began an embroidery school in Alsace, France in 1886 with the help of the founder of the Dollfus, Meig et Companie. You may recognize the company name better by it's initials - DMC. Yep, that DMC. Dillmont had made contacts in the publishing world while living in Vienna, Austria. Between those contacts and Dollfus, she wrote several books. You can see a mini-bio of Mmsl. Dillmont at A Textile Lover's Diary (another superb cornucopia of information); and information about Msr. Dollfus on French Wikipedia Most of those publications through DMC were what they called "Albums"; what we would call pamphlets nowadays. They are about 40 pages long and many printed in color. They are collectively called Bibliotheque DMC. On these sites you can find these albums in downloadable PDF format. I have many of them that I've saved on my own computer and I call it my own personal Embroidery Library. If you can afford them the Albums - original ones - can be found on the internet from time to time for purchase.

I will also say that these sites have books about more than cross stitch. There are crochet and knitting - and of course, weaving among others.

As Kirsten also pointed out on her BLOG, you can also see some interesting public domain embroidery books at Google Books. Dillmont's Encyclopedia of Needlework is available there as well.

Hopefully this will make for some splendid after-Christmas reading for you; when you have time to yourself.