Pigeon Stitches

05/30/2026

Fantastic resource!!

RealOnline image database - a great resource
I'm hoping to finish the Haube project today, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share an image resource that some of you might not know...

RealOnline is a project of the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Material Culture.

You might know it by it's previous name: IMAREAL
There are many images out there on Pinterest and the like with the embossed IMAREAL watermark on them - and a broken link! The site was completely revamped a few years, and none of the original URLs work.

The new site has comprehensive metadata, so you can search for objects within artworks as well as the object itself. A search on 'book' will find examples of medieval books, but also paintings featuring a book.

The advanced search includes: Date, Description, Subject, Artist, Country, Geographic Location, Institution, Call No. / Inventory No., Ensemble, Material, Technique, Object Type sacred / profane, Motiv / Function Type, Form, Architectural Context, Tags

And once you find an item, it is mapped to all the other related things, so you can wander along link paths for hours...

https://realonline.imareal.sbg.ac.at/en

05/29/2026

Pigeon Stitches cloth and garb is open for business, for one evening here at the meadery! 💜

05/28/2026

“Cloth Concierge” — what even is that, EG??!

In simplest terms: I shop for fabric for you, either from unique stock I have collected or from stores and manufacturers I have connected with. I specialize in natural fibers and deadstock cloth.

In longer terms, because I can hear the question, “why should I pay you instead of just doing my own shopping??”

Yes, it is a convenience service, and people technically could do it themselves.

But I ask in return: do you know which sites to order from which are real vs a scam, which manufacturers are honest about their quality, and what all the little acronyms (GSM? MM? Oz/yd? Lea???) mean?

The value comes from my experience with cloth and in online ordering so I can get what the person is wanting instead of them having to guess expensively.

Every company takes pictures with a different color cast, describes fabrics differently, etc, and my experience navigating each place means that I can accurately get the right fabric for what someone wants. Also it is much cheaper on shipping for me to order in bulk instead of people placing small individual orders.

There is also the fact that by being a consistent high dollar customer of these manufacturers I have more clout with them and can get unique things and discounts that an individual ordering once couldn’t. And I can get problems resolved more efficiently and favorably, which is important when shipping cloth from literally the other side of the world.

That is the point of a concierge, to make it easier and less stressful for you to do what you want to do.

So! What marvelous fabrics may I find for you?

(And I promise I didn’t use AI to write this—I just like the M-dash! 🤣)

03/17/2026

Prepping to place a fabric order. Who needs yardage?? If you are looking for something specific or unusual, I may be able to get it.

DM ASAP, I am willing to do excellent deals so orders can be placed quickly to take advantage of discounts I have available.

Current things I’m looking at (pure fibers unless marked otherwise, no synthetic):
Wool/Silk blends — a couple colors and weaves, mid to light weight, soft hand, very drapey
Wool twill — neutral solids, potentially blue,
Wool tweed — subtle texture, soft hand
Linen — so many options, some unusual colors, multople weights, some lovely chambray weaves (lightweight, very soft, two-tone)
Silk — rich and pastel colors, some gorgeous woven with a matte sheen but plenty of deep glow and perfect drape, voile, wide (55”) dupioni

Picture for tax — wool crepe I sold last month.

02/19/2025

Is there anything better than winning thread chicken? 🥳😆

02/14/2025

Fiber tests! 🔥🔥🔥 A little addicting tbh 😅 What’s your favorite fiber to burn test?

02/03/2025

I sewed something for myself! This white wool hood, lined with my favorite bright pink linen, kept me warm and cozy in the cold and snow last month. I normally wear open front hoods with a brooch, but this particular one is asking for buttons, so I’ll be taking on my nemesis, buttonholes 💜 What kind of buttons do you think I should use? Glass, wood, metal, cloth? Let me know in the comments!

01/18/2025

Hoods galore! Heavy wool, light wool, pure silk, and some stunning pink linen 💖 Been having a great time at Peep the hanging rack Jesse made me 🥰

01/14/2025

Busy prepping for ! The weather looks chilly, so I’ll have a stock of softest, warm, wool hoods ❤️‍🔥