A Punch Paper Surprise Solstice Gift

As 2020 drew to a close, I participated in a lovely solstice gift swap. I received a mourning purse, one that I'm currently taking pictures of/documenting in another post, so I don't want to say too much about that yet. Perhaps the most interesting part of the swap was that among the 10+ fellow costumers participating, the name that popped up was quite familiar...

Anneliese, The Sewphisticate

Of course, it came later than expected. The silly mail service dragged through most of December/January, and even now I'm finding Christmas cards in the mail. Thankfully she's patient, and even more thankfully she's willing to take a ton of pictures!

This gift was months in the making. I'd been planning for months to do some sort of beaded box and had even cut the dimensions just before I participated in the solstice swap. When I pulled her name I knew she would be the PERFECT recipient! 

And then I got COVID...and the rest of these projects were recovery work. The pusheen kitty needlebook took forever, mostly because my fingers were still pretty clumsy then. The thread winders were my favorite, mostly because they went together so quickly. The little wool felted kitty was fun and easy, and I need to make about twenty more to satisfy my need for pusheen kitties.

It's the castle tape measure that took the most thought and skill. Let me give you my inspiration:

Godey's Lady's Book, Date: June, 1868

TOWER OF PERFORATED CARDBOARD FOR A MEASURE.

Materials. — A cotton-reel, perforated card-board, colored silk cordon, and small steel beads; colored sarsnet ribbon, a quarter of an inch broad and one yard long.

COVER an empty cotton-reel very neatly with perforated card-board. Fasten one end of the ribbon intended for the measure to the reel; place in the hole of the reel a little memorandum-book pencil, which serves to wind the measure upon, and also, by being carried through a square opening in the roof, may be ornamented with a flag. The reel must be so enclosed that it may be easily moved, and yet always remain in the same place. Fasten a ribbon to the reel, leaving a short end free, to be afterwards hemmed round a piece of a match. Write the numbers with good ink very clearly upon the ribbon very exactly from another measure. 

Besides the space for the thirty-six inches, there must be a little piece allowed for sewing it round the reel, and it must also be glued on. The ribbon must be an inch or two longer than the measure, in order to be able to use the whole length of the measure when required. The round top wall standing out a canvas-hole higher on both sides of the reel must be ornamented with red silk and steel beads. The card-board must be made to fit round the reel exactly, and at the edges one hole must lie upon the other. They must be so neatly sewn together with white thread that the stitches do not show, and afterwards ornamented with silk and steel beads. Close the place where it is joined. A line of holes must be cut out, and the end of the ribbon measure must be drawn through the little opening, and a hem made inclosing a little piece of wood (part of a match), or a little brass ring may be sewn on. Ornament the tower according to the design. The little ornamental part at the rounding of the roof incloses an opening of four or five holes, and at the under rounding there is a cross stitch (see design) at the part that is not to be cut out. Both the roundings are lightly stitched over with white thread. The roof is ornamented with little scallops cut out at both the outer edges, and also with silk stitches, and beads sewn on with white thread. A little ribbon flag concludes the whole.

It will probably not shock you to discover the directions to be...lacking. It's common to have an image but without the instructions for how to properly recreate it based on the original source. OR, the image and directions don't even make sense together. This tower was no exception, but it was fun wrapping my head around how to make it work. I definitely want to publish instructions on how to do it because it was super fun to do, and I'd like to see them everywhere :)

Here I am thinking I didn't do much of anything for three months, and then I do all of this! And a very special thanks to Anneliese, who took all these pictures and let me talk about the process with her recent sip and sew. Seriously, it's nice to make a gift for someone who really appreciates the history and process!

Have fun, stay safe!

~Kristen