Members Meeting - Sept 19 2015
Welcome to our new Regional Director - Michelle
Regional Director - Michelle
We were pleased to welcome Michelle as the new Regional Director for JASNA Calgary. Good luck Michelle, we know you will do wonderfully!
Following Michelle's introduction and summary of upcoming events, we were treated to a discussion about the crafts in Jane Austen's time by Ann. Some of the crafts focused on by Ann were bookmarks, paper dolls, Christmas ornaments, orange pomanders, and floral broaches. The creation of crafts were only the occupation of the upper classes to occupy idle hands; those in the lower classes would have had no time for crafting.
Crafts in Jane’s Time - Workshop
Bookmarks have been in use in some form since the time of scrolls in ancient Egypt but were not formally introduced until the time of Queen Elizabeth I. Paper dolls have been in existence basically as long as paper but the function of the paper dolls has changed throughout that time. In ancient times the paper figurines would have been used in religious ways. Different cultures have had different forms of paper figurines including Japanese origami, Balinese puppets, Polish wycinanki formations, and French pantins, or jumping jack puppets. The creation of homemade Christmas ornaments began in the 16th century with the introduction of Christmas trees but did not become popularized until the time of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Greeting cards have been exchanged in Europe since the 1400s but in the 1800s, bought greeting cards were made more affordable by the creation of the printing press. Christmas cards were first printed in 1843. Orange pomanders were popular during the middle ages and were believed to have been of some use in combatting the black plague as it was believed at that time that bad smells were the cause of disease. Another popular craft during the Regency era were floral broaches.
Calgary members were then treated to several craft stations which had been set up for a chance to create our own bookmarks, Christmas ornaments, paper dolls, greeting cards, cloved orange pomanders, and floral broaches. We then split up and were at leisure to try the crafts while enjoying some lovely tea and good conversation. The materials and instructions allowed all to try their hands at some of these creations and when the meeting adjourned, the room was full of beautiful products and the sweet scent of oranges and cloves. What a success!