Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Some Stitching & A Busy Day In Charleston

Hello Friends!
Sunday night I managed to stitch a little on Margaret Randolph.


I finished the flower tree motif on the right.



It is so nice to have some time to work on her.
The first stop on the seminar Monday was at Middleton Place. This is an amazing property. The collection is all Middleton family pieces and we saw clothing from the mid to late 1700's that was amazing.



The house that is standing is one of the smaller buildings that flanked the main house on each side. Unfortunately the the main house and the other side building were burned during the Civil War.
Middleton Place introduced camellias to North America and they have amazing gardens here.


The moss covered live oaks are very beautiful too.


Our next stop on the tour was to the Nathaniel Russell House. The flying staircase is just amazing.


More pics of the staircase..





The focus on this tour was on the research done on the soft textiles that would have furnished the house, the rugs, upholstery and window hangings. The research and techniques used to discover and recreate the interiors are fascinating.
The next stop was at the Aiken Rhett House.


This house has not been restored but has been left in it's "found" state.


This room was closed off for most of the 20th century. On the walls you can see the charcoal marks where the wallpaper hangers marked the walls.


They have many of the textiles that decorated the house in storage.



Here is looking back at the property. The stables are on the right and housing and kitchens are on the left.
Here is another picture looking at the lot from the back of the house.





The privy at the back of the walled lot.
If you ever visit Charleston this is an amazing place to see. It is so different than the other restored or maintained properties.
In the evening we went to a lovely reception at this home. It was a treat to visit.


What a packed day, but a fabulous day.
Thanks for traveling with me!
I hope that your week is off to a great start.

Chris

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

24 comments:

Angela K said...

Beautiful sampler and nice trip!

Vickie said...

Oh wow! So cool. Thanks for sharing it all Chris. =)

Dani - tkdchick said...

Oooh I never had a chance to visit any houses since I was in the Charleston area to visit my bestie!

Margaret said...

Looks like a great tour! Love your stitching too!

Cindy's Stitching said...

Looks like a good time chris. The sampler is real pretty

Shirlee said...

So beautiful! I wouldn't mind taking that tour sometime : )

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Oh my goodness! Such lovely pictures and the story to accompany them. I feel like I was walking right along with you! Thank you for sharing :)

Krista said...

What a nice trip visiting to historic places. Love the Margaret Randolph, did not realize it was a Scarlet Letter until I just looked it up. Love the butterflies. :)

Brigitte said...

That house tour in Charleston certainly was a great experience. Thanks for sharing all these great pictures.
Love your sampler. It's always great to see a sampler grow when you add motif after motif.

Vera said...

Sounds/looks like you had a fabulous time Chris! What a great trip. Your sampler is coming along very nicely -- love it.

Gabi said...

Lovely pictures and beautiful stichery. Thank you for bringing back nice memories.
Greetings from Germany

geeky Heather said...

What a wonderful tour you are on. I adore Charleston...Thank you for sharing your trip.

butterfly said...

Chris it looks like you are having one good time , love the photos hugs.

Penny said...

What a great trip! One that I dream of making some day. Unfortunately, I always seem to get the urge in the summer, and I know that is not when you want to go to Charleston. :) Love the update to Margaret - pretty!

diamondc said...

Chris: Beautiful pattern to stitch, fabulous tour you were on.
Thank-you for sharing..
Catherine

Carol said...

Wow--such an amazing staircase! Really enjoyed your "tour," Chris--have fun on the rest of your trip!

Faye said...

True eye Sandy Chris!!!! Love the sampler progress.....

Barb said...

What a fascinating post! The houses are amazing. You are off to a good start on the very pretty sampler.

Simply Victoria said...

Wow! This place looks amazing. It's always fun to travel along with you.

Beth said...

Wow Chris. What an amazing day!

Terri said...

I never got to see these places when I lived there! Thanks for sharing!

Your stitching is lovely!

Meari said...

The colors in your WIP are very pretty.

That staircase is awesome!

Catherine said...

Love the colors in that sampler! What a fantastic trip!

Melissa said...

We went to Charleston for our Honeymoon, and we loved the city! The staircase pic is awesome :)