Case, Needle

Description

"Purse-shaped" woven poplar needle case trimmed in white kid leather. Butter yellow satin ribbon at top of case, tied in a bow. Interior of case is lined with yellow silk and has four pieces of cream-colored wool, used for needle storage. Edges of felt have a zigzag pattern.

Notes

Museum records indicate that this set of needlecases were acquired from and made at Sabbathday Lake, ME. However, the weave pattern suggests that the poplar was woven at Mount Lebanon, which is characterized by the straight, solid lines of the threading rather than a twill or top/bottom alternating weave. According to Michael Graham, director of the Shaker Museum at Sabbathday Lake, the bow at top is characteristic of work made at Canterbury, NH. Also, he believes that woven poplar that remained at Mount Lebanon after its closure in 1947 was given to or purchased by the Shakers at Canterbury, also suggesting that these pieces originated at Canterbury, not Sabbathday Lake.