Saccoccia

As a woman I'm not sure that I could function out in the world without my purse.  I don't know about most of you, but I need most of the stuff that I carry inside mine.  Usually there is my wallet with my money and cards, then medications I can't live without like my epi-pen, inhaler, and Ibuprofen, next you would find cosmetics, such as lip gloss, clear polish and lotion, oh then, there is a little case with bandages in it, because I have kids and you know you always need a bandage in the craziest of places, and for me my sewing kit, and a notebook to take notes in, oh, and my calendar, the phone....  You know exactly what I mean!

When I head out to SCA events I run into the problem of how I am going to carry around the stuff I need access to during the day, granted the list becomes a lot smaller, but there are some things that have to go with me, everywhere...like the inhaler.
 
So what did the regular Renaissance girl need in her bag to carry around with her?  Well, we aren't really sure, we know that money was probably carried in their pouches, maybe food and sewing supplies, but whatever it was, they still had stuff to carry and needed somewhere to put it.  The answer we usually find is "pouch" or "basket".

Now pouches came in more than a few varieties as we know from the artwork, but I'm most interested in the pocket variety that can be found in the museum collections, art, and wardrobe accounts.

These pouches all have center front openings and hang from a belt or the waist area, much like a portable....wait for it.....pocket!!!!!  We know that pockets were used extensively in the 17th and 18th Centuries before reticules (small purses) came into vogue with the Victorian Era.  The V&A has an extensive collection of pockets as does VADS.   However we don't know much about the pocket/pouches found in pre-1600 sources.

Italy 

In Italy, the evidence for these types of pockets is shown in the paintings.  Allesandro Allori, painted scenes of a woman on wash day, as show in the first portrait.  The following two portraits are also be Allori, and show two different women with pockets.  In the first paining, one can see that she is not fully dressed, but a pouch/pocket is secured at her waist.

In this painting, the pouch is accompanied with a needle case, and it makes me want to think that perhaps she has other needlework implements tucked away inside the pouch.

A Woman at her Toilet. 1575-78

In the final portrait, the pouch appears to be attached to a thin belt or string around her waist possibly the same thing that is holding up her apron.

Birth of the Virgin

What all three of these pouches have in common is that they open with a center front slip, are suspended from a belt or string, and are embellished.  The first pouch appears to be worn over the underthings and likely under the sottana, while the second two appear to be worn over the sottana (underdress, worn commonly as the "outer" wear in the home, and covered with the "overdress" when going out)

Spain

There are three extant pieces dated from middle to end of the 1500's such as these from El Museo del Traje, Spain have similar construction and design:

All three of these pouches/pockets appear to be made in a style similar to those of those from the Florentine paintings.  They all have center front openings, are richly embellished, and appear to be suspended from a belt when worn (The museum identifies them as pockets).

At least as far as Spanish and Florentine fashion in the late 1500's, I think it is acceptable to say that the pocket pouch was at least one method for a woman to carry her valuables.

England

It is a bit trickier here when we bring England into the discussion.  As far as I am aware there are not any paintings of women from England that specifically show one of these style pockets.  However there are some interesting references to pockets in the Warrants and Wardrobe Inventories of Queen Elizabeth.

In some cases it is quite clear that the writer meant for pocket to mean a packet, as in a packet of cloth.  However in other instances the author(s) write in such a way as to imply that the pocket was part of the clothing as in these two notations from the site, ElizabethanCostume.net, which has a collection of transcribed notations from many period sources.

Example 1

1584: Wardrobe Warrant for September 27th, ER 26 (1584)	Pg/Fol.: fol 199 v
Item for making of sixe payer of Pockettes of taphata of our greate Guarderobe

Example 2

1590: Warrant for the Robes, May 18th, ER 32 (1590)	Pg/Fol.: 133
Item for makinge of xii paire of pockets of Taffata of our greate warderobe

After reading each and every one of the 146 citations my search produced, I surmised, that while sometimes it was meant as a "packet" or package, in most cases, it was a list of pockets to be made or worn with certain garments.  While a number of the references were for men's pockets, the majority were for pockets that were to accompany women's gowns.  We have no way of knowing if these "pockets" were made in the same manner as the pockets from Spain or Florence, so while it is awesome to find the citations it is still slightly disappointing to me that I have nothing visual to confirm my suspicions.

Check back in a few weeks for pictures of various pockets I've been making, with instructions to follow!

Medieval Diamond Piecework

Some of you may remember a previous post I made about the earliest known piece of decorative patchwork found in Europe, the link is here, well I finally got around to drafting out a test pattern.

I started by drafting the pattern into Electric Quilt (I still have version 4, yeah I know I'm due an upgrade, but it still does most of what I want it to do).  There was a similar block already in the library so I only had to do a little bit of tweaking.

**I did not decide to put the nine patches into my test squares, so yes, that is different from the original.

After I drafted the block, I printed out a 4" pattern and decided that I wasn't quite that nuts,so I reprinted a 6" pattern of which I was satisfied.

 After some trial and error, I finally figured out that this pattern does not have symmetrical pieces.  I'm not sure if you can tell by the photo,but sides A and B on the rhombus are of slightly different measurements, as are the two ends of the diamonds, that is why there are lines drawn on all of the shapes.  For any future uses of this pattern, I will be drawing these on each and every template.

 The next photo shows one diamond that I completed.  Notice that I don't try to "hide" the seam allowance behind the points of the diamonds, I simply flip them out of my way as I stitch.

I whip stitch the diamonds together in pairs, then I create two halves, and then sew those together to make a complete unit.

 Next is to add in those funky shaped rhombuses (I looked it up you can use either rhombuses or rhombi - who knew?)  and the isosceles triangles.  I hadn't figured out with this poor little guy that the diamonds and the rhombuses weren't symmetrical yet, so he is a little wonky.

When you go to put the octagons together there is a square that sits in between each unit.  For some reason I can't find my test sample anywhere,so there is a good chance that I left it behind at the SCA event I was showing it at last month or at the other house.

While doing this, I did determine that, even though it is fairly involved keeping track of which piece needs to go in which place it was a fun English Paper Piecing project.  I do plan on making a bed sized version just to have for my own home use, probably scrappy using up the many tubs of scraps hanging around the house, but for now, I've got to finish my "Elena's Flower Garden".  I'm on the last border, so perhaps it won't take long.

Pumkin Patches, Parenting, and Special Needs, it's all a rollercoaster.

Yesterday, my youngest, the Ragin' Cajun, went to the Pumpkin Patch on a field trip and I was blessed to be able to go with him.  We had a great day playing on the "hay bale" playground, going on the hayride and picking out a tiny pumpkin.

However, such days are always bittersweet to me.  He is my world and after a while, our world has become what is "typical to me".  When I get to spend the day with 60 other "typical" kids, it is a real slap in the face to me as to how much my world has changed. I struggle with insecurities, fear, and anger as I watch a world go by me, that I no longer know how to live in "typically".

So, to all the Parents of the typical kids out there, here are 10 things I'd like for you to know, some are born out of my sadness and fear, some out of anger but I tried to finish in love:

1. I feel alone, all the time, even in a crowd. I can't relate to your parenting issues, like the 'my child is a picky eater because he won't eat green vegetables', because my child will only eat cereal, rice, crackers, and popcorn, period. I don't get to meet other moms at the Fall Carnival, because my kid can't handle the “over stimulation” so our going would be a nightmare for him and us. For the Mom who told me  how excited you are over getting OT, it took me a few minutes to realize that you meant overtime and not occupational therapy. You complain about your child taking forever to pick out their clothes, while my concern is simply getting my child to keep his clothes on. You guys get to to talk about the trendy fashions for your little ones at the best prices, and I'm still trying to find jeans with elastic and shoes with velcro at sizes that these things don't come in or that aren't so cheaply made they fall apart after one wearing. You guys are on a first name basis with each other from going to PTA meetings, catching up at the park, etc., I'm on a first name basis with all of the teachers, nurses, office scheduling coordinators, therapists, and doctors that we visit on a regular basis. So even in the midst of a bustling conversation if I'm quiet or don't say much, or just seem distant, it isn't that I don't want to be included, but I don't know how to contribute and I feel fake trying to pretend that I do. Or, I've freaked out the normals just one too many times, and I'm too tired to try and bother with trying. Sometimes though, I chose to sit in the corner by myself (just like my child) because it is just easier for me this way, I don't have to feel bad when I'm clueless, and you don't have to feel bad watching me try.
2. I'm insanely jealous of you.  It hurts me to watch my child painstaking build a pile of hay by himself to roll in as your children run and laugh and play together. It hurts me to watch your children go to the restroom, when I wonder if my child will still be in pullups when he is 16. Sometimes I mourn for him, as I know the taunts he will receive from your children because he is still wearing “diapers”, sometimes I mourn for me, because damn it all, I'm tired of washing 10 pairs of soiled pants a day and changing the sheets every morning, or looking at your glares, because it is obviously my fault that I can't get him to go potty by now.
3. I'm terrified all the time. What if something happens to me, who will take care of him like I do? What if he misses some therapy that would make his life better because I didn't know about it? What if he doesn't ever learn to use the bathroom? What if he can't learn enough social skills to get and keep a “real” job or even to have a real friend? Even if I live to be 80, who will take care of him after I'm gone?What ifs bombard me all the time, and there are no easy answers in my world.
4. I lie. When I say things like, “I don't know if I we can make it to the_______ (fill in with whatever event)”, it really means, “That is going to be crazy and chaotic, and he's not going to last long, and I'm honestly too tired, to have to cope with the struggle to get there, and get out before he melts down.” When I tell you the reason I don't call anymore is “That we're so busy I don't have time to think about calling until it is too late,” it really means, “We are so busy I don't have time to call you until really late, and if I did, I'd break down and cry, and nobody wants to listen to me cry.” When I say “It works better for us to meet at my house,” it doesn't mean that I wouldn't love to visit you, but he will cope better in his own environment, and I don't have to worry about what might get broken or how hard it is going to be to get him back into the car when it is time to end the visit.
5. I apparently do not believe in the same Jesus that you do. When you say something like, “God only gives you what you can handle,” or “God gives special needs kids to really awesome mom's like you”, or any of the other variations of those statements, it makes me totally crazy. First of all, I understand that you are trying to compliment me or make me feel better, or to simply say that you can't possibly imagine being able to survive a day in my shoes, but let me say, it makes me want to throttle the heck out of you. I do not have a super power gene that makes me better able to handle the situations that I find myself in any more than you would. I'm a normal mom, living in a stressful situation, with two choices; I can suck up and learn how to deal or I can choose to not deal and put my child in the welfare system. I chose to learn how to deal, at least most of the time. The rest of the time you may drop by my house to see me sitting down in the center of a pile of Lego's drinking a Pepsi or a glass of wine and mumbling like Goldie Hawn did in Overboard as the kids throw grapes in my face or sitting on my front porch in 20 degree weather crying after the kids are in bed because I've lost what ability to deal with life that I had and the anger and stress has gotten the best of me. If you must really be reminded about how God works let me sum it up for you, as it is written in the book of Job:

• Chapters 1-3: God allows Satan to take Job's wealth and health, because God trusts Job's faithfulness, God doesn't GIVE him, the boils, rash, or loss of wealth, Satan does. God trusts that Job will be faithful, no matter what happens to Job.
• Chapters 4-37: Friends and family give him some really sucky advice, which was mostly either “God did this to you, be mad at him” or “It's your fault, you sinned.”, neither of which are true. They continue to tell him he “deserved” this fate because he was sinful, which is ironic since both God and Satan both accept that Job is upright.
• Chapters 38-42: God enters the picture and sets Job straight, that humans can not possibly begin to understand the complexity of God's creation. God declines to give an explanation as to why good people suffer, apparently not wishing to tell Job that all of this was caused by Satan, who simply wanted to see if he could get Job to renounce God.

Now, I don't believe in a literal “Satan”, but I do believe that God gave his creation the ability to think and set up the world (and our bodies) to work in a framework that we call science. I do believe that God gave us our ability to think and make choices, whether they are good or bad, and that the choices that I make will have “effects” on others and myself , that may really stink. I however, do NOT believe that God sits around pointing at humans and going, I'm going to “give” that one this disability, to see if they will love me more. My child's genetics are more than likely at fault for all of this, yes, a creation that God set in place, but my child was not singled out by his creator to suffer. God did not give my child autism because I've sinned in the past or because he sinned as an infant. And please stop telling me that “God gives disabled kids to someone like you who is full of love”, because disabled kids are born every day to parents who suck and abuse their children. If that is the case, does that mean, God is picky about which kids are going to win the lottery of good parents? I don't think so.

6. I don't want to talk about what causes autism. So even if you bite that God didn't give my child, this disability, please do not tell me what the causes of autism “really” are. I read the latest research all the time and you know what, I have enough Mom guilt as it is, to have to listen to you tell me that my child has autism because I let him eat too much of a certain food dye when he was a baby, that I didn't breast feed him, or that I was too old to be having babies in the first place, didn't get enough zinc in my diet, was on anti-depressants when I got pregnant, had him vaccinated, or the hormones and preservatives in milk did this, mutated genes in the corn supply, or whatever you want to tell me about. I don't give a rat's tiny rear end what caused this, that is a moot point now. What matters to me, is what can I do to make it so that he can navigate in this world that he has to live in.
7. It makes parents of disabled kids crazy for parents of typical children to give us advice on how to discipline or raise our children. If we do things funny or different, it's because, “That's how we roll.” I guarantee you I've tried all the “typical” parenting methods, and if what we are doing seems crazy to you, it's because it's what we found that works for us. Also, I can't count the times I've heard, “What your kid really needs is a good spanking.” Let me just say, I can no more spank the autism out of him than I can smack the stupid out of you, so let's just move on.
8. It makes me cringe to hear you say things like “That's so retarded.” or “Yeah, I took a ride on the short bus today when I did.....” It's an insult to my child, because my child needs the label or the bus to negotiate life, it implies that our very real needs and struggles are a joke. And let me tell you, our needs and struggles are not a joke, not even on a good day. It's not funny and it makes you look like an ass.
9. But, don't be afraid to ask me questions if you are curious. I'd much rather hear you say, “I know that your son is autistic, and I really don't know that much about autism, I may not be asking you right, but would you be willing to share with me what it is like for you and him?” than for you to ignore me because you don't know what to say. I'd rather you say something stupid and obviously be trying to learn and understand our wild ride, than to say nothing at all.
10. I am extremely grateful to those of you who take a chance to reach out and help me when we are obviously struggling. It can be as little as letting us go to the restroom first because you noticed that the hand dryer was obviously a trigger to his meltdown or it can be as much as pushing my cart out of the store and helping me load my groceries as I struggle to carry him out screaming, or even just asking me, “I could see you were having a difficult time, is there anything I can do to help you?” Most of the time, I'm going to say no thank-you, but the offer is invaluable.  I am extremely grateful to the friends I have that offer their services at our home, like haircuts, because it will be easier for him.  I am grateful to the friends that don't mind to come to my house to hang out and accept my child for who he is and where he is, even if that means he is butt naked and talking about tractors.
    
    
    Thanks guys for those of you who try, and for those that weren't aware, I hope that you find something in my words to help you reach out to the next parent of a disabled child you meet.