Spanish Women & Textiles in the 1700's

I went to Spain 2 years ago for a field study to research in the Archives. One of my purposes for going to Spain was to examine the records and figure out what textiles were being described in the marriage inventories, death inventories and wills. Besides genealogy, I have an expertise in working with linen and weaving. I needed to learn about the materials and stitches used in the needle work listed in these old inventories. I asked the older women in Spain to show me examples of the stitches and items that I had seen mentioned in the records. I also went to many ethnographic museums that held household items from history. I discovered many things, but one of the most exciting things to me was that the women used a stitch on linen called Desilado. This is similar to Hardanger where linen thread is removed leaving open boxes and the remaining threads are woven together in a pattern. I think Hardanger is my favorite kind of linen work.

I am now working with a history professor to write an artile about these women in historic Spain. Two weeks ago I was invited to give a one hour presentation to a BYU History class about my findings. The presentaion went well and another history professor was in attendance and had many other research ideas that could stem from what I have done so far. In June I will spend 2 weeks working on the final draft of my article. This history professor is writing a book about different aspects of culture in Spain in the 1700's and has asked me to write a chapter about the textiles. I am very excited about the many opportunities before me, especially working with things I love.