Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-09
A VISIT TO DEERF|ELO
Arts and Crafts of q Massa
chusetts Town.
ANCIENT AND MODERN
LATTER DAY USES OF oLD-FASH-
IoNED THINGS.
Busy Fingers in Quaint Surroundings
Reproduce Century-old
Patterns.
ANCIENT AND MODERN


THE rural problem, in it's essence, is to
| find some method of making the small vii
| lagos and towns attractive that our
| population will be directed toward them in
| stead of cityward,' is what one writer
| says. and It's truth is apparent.
To the traveller in New England the ques-
ton of making them attractive" seems al
ready answered and many interesting
old place is being appreciated by outsiders
who, for the summer at least, find content
| ment in the quiet village life there afforded.
1t would seem that the trolley lines and
| rural delivery are responsible for the open
! ing to the world at large of the secluded
| towns and hamlets, well as the farms
formerly so utterly isolated. Now one may
go from large city to city exclusively by
| trolley car, and delightful summer trips
are planned just in this way. If one is
| stopping in any town, in New England
especially, there are any number of short
| excursions to be taken through beautiful
country, historically interesting, to these
! smaller places, where one is charmed with
| the quaint and bygone air of life in gem
| eral, and where one fairly resents the troll
| ley which has given the opportunity to
| have this very pleasure an impertinent
| intrusion and anachronism.
An Historic Route.
| Lately a trip to Deerfied, Mass, was
| taken from the city of Northampton-a ride
| of forty minutes through veritable garden
| spot of the country, passing several smaller
| places, one of whose hotels, bearing the
name of Bloody Brook House, recalled
the terrible Indian massacre of long ago
| and the early history of Deerf1eld ms,
| however was not historic pilgrimage
strictly and all those things may be read
| in books; our interest was In the arts ana
crafts work of modern Deertield women, or
which also one may read in books but
being of the present day, may also pe seen
| in it's proper setting
| The car passes the length of the one long
village street and we were set down at
the entrance of it. Strolling along, gazing
| at the monumental stone placed mere ana
| there looking at the old houses, all or
which represented the architecturally best
| of a period of from one hundred and tWen-
| ty to one hundred and fifty years ago. All
| the houses are clapboarded and gray with
age; one sees very little evidence OF paint
| having ever been used on any OF them. All
| stand near the road as the almost in
| variable rule of old-time buildings. and nine
| giant elms wave their great branches over
| them.
Breaking the Quiet.
Everything seemed so quiet and secluded
that we began to wonder if there really was
any publicity about the place after all, and
if our quest were in vain, when through the
small panes of some front windows embow-
| cred in vines we spied baskets temptingy
! point in our Mecca at least.
In a setting of old chairs and tables was
| spread interesting array of baskets and
| rugs; the baskets were all of raffia, not
copying Indian or Mexican work at ALL but
of Deerfield inspiration, some of the de-
signs being from those found in old homes
there and some of them original with the
modern workers. Names have been given
to many of these creations as Dawn"
Moonlight" and other poetic appellations.
The shapes and coloring are very pretty
and great variety and number are
shown.
The rugs really charming, blue and
white colorng predominating, but other
colors are also used in different tones or
combinations. The weaving is that of the
usual rag carpet. but SO fine and close and
with the graduation of shades of one color
so blended as to make an idealized rug of
that name
field colors exclusively, and still are the
favorites there, and compose the rugs
winch are most pleasing to the eye, though
shaded browns, shaded greens and both
combined with white are also extremely
good
A Snapshot Wanted.
A Few doors further up the hill is town
SO very attractive in outline that we in
tultlvely turned our steps toward It, a hand
written placard on the pillar at the front
porch seeming to invite us to inspect IT
and then to enter, but all its hidden charms
informed
merely that 1t was a private house was not
open to inspection and the the blue-and-
white embroidery would be found next
door
admlrlng its fine old lines, interesting win
dows and gray tones, and its great lilac
pushes shading the front door, now in full
bloom; and this seemed a fitting time to
try the new camera a late ACQUISITION of
one of the party suitable point finally
was CHOSEN, the knob was turned to bring
NO. before the little red opening, but no
number appeared. and knowing nothing bet
ter to do, it was turned and on until
stop came into view and all hope was
gone.
Sign of the Spinning Wheel.
At the side entrance of the house next the
inhospitable one mentioned, and itself only
| slight degree less quaint, was a spinning
| wheel, detached, and elevated as a sign
| of the blueand-white embroidery displayed
within. This spinning wheel is the symbol
chosen by the Dentield Society, and it ap-
pears conventionalized in much of their
work. A lady answered our knock our
mite was duly paid admission and we
were uShered into the small room which is
| the present sales room. Our guide was
dressed In print gown of the same soft
blue-and- white of the embro:deries and was
in charming harmony with her surround
ings.
Mcdern Owners
The fame of Deerfield Nook is widespread
and fully justifies the interest 1t has ex-
cited. 1t is unlike any other and was in
spired by old embroideries still cherished in
the village households. Deerfield was a Sc
cluded place before the advent of the troll
ley, and instead of parting with the me-
mentos of former days, everything was
appreciated by the modern owners the de-
scendents of the former jewellers in the
same old houses. So unique and character
istic was this work that at first only copies
of 1T were made, but as a demand came
for it from the outside world, new design
ers were set at work and adaptations were
| made, preserving the spirit of the old work
1t is hard to describe the embroidery; it is
all done in linen thread, now dyed in Deer
field from imported indigo for the blue and
vegetable dyes for other shades; the de-
signs are very much conventionalized flow
ers, generally in a scattered pattern over
the whole surface of the article to be deco
rated.
Has Many Uses.
Bedspreads and hangings, curtains and