A Weekend Sewing Retreat

This weekend, our Distaff Coordinator R hosted the ladies of our regiment for a two-day sewing retreat!  We quickly realized the last time we gathered together to sew that one afternoon will never, ever be enough to get anything substantial accomplished; when you gather all of us into a single confined space, we tend to get just a little bit chatty...just a little...;-)  So R's solution to this was to invite us all over to her lovely restored 1750s home to stay for a full weekend of indulgence in good company and lots and lots of fabric.

Stitiching away.  That's my gown draped over the back
of the chair in the foreground.

Early Saturday morning, seven of us ladies arrived at R's, each of us with multiple baskets of in-progress projects in tow.  On our last sewing day, W was just finishing up her new raspberry linen gown, so much of her day yesterday was spent working on the matching petticoat.  She also began working on a blue checked apron and kerchief.  When these few things are done, she'll have her first completely hand-sewn outfit.  Huzzah!

Enjoying the natural light - there's nothing better for period sewing!

K came armed with what was probably the most impressive in-progress pile, but, as we quickly assured her, every project she had was more than half-finished, so in no time she'd have a very satisfying collection of completed items.  After working a bit on her husband's regimental coat, she turned to finishing up a cloak and bonnet from earlier workshops she's taken.  With everything pinned into place on these two, we then taught her the art of pleating a petticoat to a waistband so that she could repair an old one to ready it for the coming season of events.  And as if that wasn't enough to accomplish, she also worked a little magic with two small, rectangular pieces of very pretty printed linen to create two beautiful new neck handkerchiefs.  We tried to talk her into starting a gown, but she's resisting...for the moment...

C, our newest member, also came with a potpourri of projects and questions, but by the end of the weekend, we had her well on her way to being completely outfitted in her own hand-sewn, perfectly accurate outfit (including stays!) by her first big summer event!  This weekend, she jumped around from working on a shift, to cutting out a new cloak (obviously not for summer wear, but it's such a quick project and she already had the fabric, so why not?!) and jacket, to beginning a cotton print bedgown and trimming a hat.  She purchased some gorgeous deep purple wool for her cloak and was so worried she wouldn't have enough fabric.  After cutting out the cloak, she had a couple of decent sized, oddly shaped bits left and was ready to relegate them to the scrap pile.  Enter 18th-century thrift to the rescue!  15 minutes and a bit of creative fiddling later, we managed to squeeze a jacket out of the leftovers.  Not bad for 3 yards of wool, so we were both pretty pleased with ourselves over that accomplishment!

P spent the day working on a gown.  We got her sleeves and shoulder straps in place, and she's very nearly done, with only the skirt left to pleat into the bodice!  B, who began work on a new pumpkin-colored linen jacket last time, continued diligently forward on that.  She's hoping to have it finished for summer wear, and it will be so cute when it's done!

Sleeves in progress...

As for hostess R and me, we spent Saturday morning and early afternoon beginning work on R's new striped silk gown.  I had purchased the same silk but haven't yet decided precisely what I want to do with it, so as we worked on designing hers, we had fun brainstorming ideas of the many little ways we could possibly make our gowns different.  By early afternoon yesterday, we had finally conquered the stripes and wrangled them into a very eye-catching chevron.  Because the stripe widths aren't all identical, and because there are so many different stripes to work with within the pattern, it took a bit of time and lots of trial and testing to figure out which option we liked the best.  By lunch time on Sunday, R had cut out her front bodice pieces and I had fitted them on her, giving the back a quite lovely effect indeed.  I can't wait to see this finished!

I've had major sewing ADD lately, working on a couple of different things on and off, so I brought the pieces of a new Dutch chintz gown with me, and the silk for the petticoat intended to go with it.  R fitted my bodice pieces on Saturday morning, and then I spent the rest of the weekend concentrating on the petticoat, which is nearly finished.

This would be a lovely period picture if we were in costume,
but the 90+ degree weather rather dampened that idea! 
That, and the laptop on the table...:-)

It was a prodigiously enjoyable weekend for everyone, with good company and good conversation in abundance, and we even managed to get a spectacular amount of work done this time around!  On the whole, a highly successful venture indeed!  Thank you again to our lovely hostess, and we all must plan to do this again very soon!

Coming Soon: Downton Abbey Costume Exhibition

Many thanks to Burnley and Trowbridge for the tip-off yesterday about this exciting upcoming exhibition!

Image linked from Winterthur's press release for the exhibition.

From March 1st, 2014 through January 4th, 2015, Winterthur will be staging an exhibition of 35 costumes from Downton Abbey!  According to the press release, the exhibit will also include "photographs and vignettes inspired by the fictional program and by real life at Winterthur."  Winterthur, a 175-room mansion, was completed in 1932 as the home of the Du Pont family and is the fifth-largest historic house in the country.  Now a museum of decorative arts, it features both its original period rooms and gallery space to display over 90,000 objects produced or used in the United States between 1690 and 1860.

I sense a road trip approaching... :-)

"First Ladies: Influence and Image" on C-SPAN

C-SPAN is currently running a series which delves into the lives and legacies of our First Ladies, "First Ladies: Influence and Image", which explores the extraordinary women who have graced the White House.  I have been thoroughly enjoying this opportunity to learn more about some of these remarkable ladies, and have particularly appreciated being introduced to some whose names I am ashamed to say I barely recognized!  Each episode focuses on one or two of the First Ladies and features discussions with historians who share their knowledge and views.  The companion website for the series has a brief biographical sketch for each First Lady, as well as a collection of videos discussing various aspects of their lives.

This Monday night (May 27 at 9:00pm EST), the program will focus on Frances Cleveland and will feature historian Dr. Taylor Stoermer and author Annette Dunlap.  In preparation for the episode, C-SPAN has put together a little preview, tempting us with some of her fashions!  The First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History is 100 years old, as Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator, explains in this short video.  Watch as she shows some of Mrs. Cleveland's sparkling fashions from the collection drawers:

In a post we did a few months back about this collection, and the wonderful opportunities to view pieces of the collection online, I noted how I particularly adored Mrs. Cleveland's gowns!  As a featured item on the companion site for the show, Ms. Graddy also shares a stunning bonnet.  Enjoy!

"Threads of Feeling" Opening and Update

I was fortunate enough to find some time after work this evening to visit the new "Threads of Feeling" exhibit at the DeWitt Wallace Museum at Colonial Williamsburg, which formally opened today.  As I mentioned in my post from yesterday, we have both been looking forward to seeing these billet books for some time.  Learning all about the London Foundling Hospital over the past year or so has been a fascinating, albeit often sad, exploration into a part of the 18th century that I had not really considered much in the past.  That, combined with the chance to see how these textile tokens offer an unprecedented glimpse at some beautiful period fabrics, make this an extraordinary and very moving exhibit experience.

The exhibit provides some explanation as to how the hospital was founded and how children were chosen and then entered into the care of the hospital.  Connections are also made with several of 18th-century Williamsburg's well-known residents, including Thomas Everard, an orphan from the London Christ's Hospital, who later served as Williamsburg's mayor.  The billet books are laid out beautifully so that visitors can clearly see the text and accompanying textile token on each displayed page.  I was astonished to see how well-preserved the pages are, with the ink still stunningly clear and many of the fabrics so bright and vibrant.

This made it all too easy to imagine the scene as a baby was being brought in and his information documented with his token.  It is a truly special experience to be able to examine these pages so closely.  Gazing at the physical remains of these records only emphasized the reality of what each represents.  Standing in front of these precious pieces of fabric, so lovingly chosen, I couldn't help but tear up as I thought of the mothers and families who gave their children to the hospital.  How desperate they must have been to bring their child to a place where their future was still so uncertain.  Equally difficult was imagining the thoughts of the mothers as they chose which piece of fabric to leave with their baby.  So many pieces seem to have been chosen because they portray a message of where a baby came from, or because they suggest a hope for a better future.  Some have been cut into hearts and others inked with names.  It's heartbreaking to think about how these mothers might have felt as they prepared their babies to be separated from them, perhaps forever.

This exhibit shares a poignant part of history and I hope that many of you have the opportunity to share in this experience as well.  If you are unable to make it to Williamsburg (or while you are waiting!), be sure to visit www.threadsoffeeling.com, where you can view a gorgeous online exhibition.

"Threads of Feeling" is almost here!

Many of us are anxiously awaiting the opening of the "Threads of Feeling" exhibit tomorrow, May 25th, at the DeWitt Wallace Museum of Colonial Williamsburg.  The exhibit will run for a full year and will be the only presentation offered in the US.  This remarkable display, curated and organized by John Styles and The Foundling Museum, brings to life the stories of mothers and children separated by circumstance in 18th century London.  When mothers brought their babies to the London Foundling Hospital, they were asked to leave behind a token: a scrap of fabric, a ribbon, a button, anything to distinguish one child from the next.  Each token was carefully preserved with a description of what the child wore upon entering the hospital, to assist in a reunion if the mother should ever return.  These records were collected into billet books and maintained so meticulously over the years, so that we can now witness a glimpse into the lives of these young children hundreds of years ago.

These tokens also offer us a valuable glimpse at some of the everyday textiles of 18th century England, and their examples are much more colorful and varied than many had expected they might be.  When "Threads of Feeling" opened in the UK in 2010, London Printworks reproduced a length of fabric based on one of the tokens from baby Florella.  The fabric was used to construct a bedgown as part of the exhibit in London, yet another unique and remarkable way the exhibit sought to make these "lost" lives from the past live again.

Colonial Williamsburg will be hosting a number of other events in conjunction with the exhibit.  Historian and curator of the exhibit, John Styles, will be presenting a lecture on Tuesday, May 28 at 5:30pm.  Tickets are required for the lecture and may be purchased online.  Another exciting event will be a symposium (which I've already registered for!) coming up this October in Williamsburg.

There have been glimpses of the progress of the upcoming exhibit from various sources, only adding to our anticipation to finally see these remarkable pieces of history.  The ladies of the Margaret Hunter Shop, for instance, helped to construct clothing for mannequins featured in the exhibit, and they shared on their facebook page some photos from the installation in the exhibit space.  One of the gowns has been made with a digitally reproduced fabric from a 1740s/1750s gown in the CW collection.

Also, when the billet books arrived last week and were installed in the exhibit, The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg shared some photos on its facebook page as well.

Billet books from the Foundling Hospital being installed at
the DeWitt Wallace Museum of Colonial Williamsburg.

Photo linked from the Art Museums of CW facebook page.

An article from WY Daily today gives us some additional views of billet books on display!

If you're interested in learning more, Linda Baumgarten, curator of textiles and costumes at Colonial Williamsburg, recently spoke to WY Daily to explain how some of the babies were chosen to enter the Foundling Hospital.  John Styles was interviewed for a Colonial Williamsburg podcast, in which he describes how the London Foundling Hospital came into being and how the tokens were used in the process of admitting babies.

Burnley & Trowbridge has shared some of their photos of the original exhibit on their facebook page.  Angela was also kind enough to share some stories and photos of their research with us during one of our recent workshops, making us even more eager for the arrival of the exhibit here!  There have been a few books published to accompany the exhibits at the Foundling Museum, and all may be found for sale through B&T.

Stay tuned for more!

Your Chance to Discover CT History with CT Open House Day 2013 on June 8th!

On Saturday, June 8th, the state of Connecticut will celebrate its ninth annual CT Open House Day.  This once-a-year event, sponsored by the CT Office of Tourism, encourages CT residents and visitors to discover the many historical and cultural treasures of the state with free or discounted admission offers, giveaways, and special exhibits and events.  This year, the list of participating museums, sites, and organizations is bigger and better than ever!  Some of the many featured special opportunities include:

- free admission to the Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. House Museum, which hosted us for a fashion program last summer, and which we visited for the first time back in 2010;

- special children's activities at the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society, home of one of Ashley's favorite 18th-century CT residents;

- half price admission to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Musuem, which we first experienced a couple of years ago, and which sponsors our Rev War regiment's annual Memorial Day program;

- free admission to the Connecticut Historical Society, whose extensive collections and impressive exhibits seek to narrate CT life throughout the centuries (we've given glimpses of just a small sample of what they have to offer here and here);

- and dozens and dozens more!

If you're in CT or within easy driving distance, please do consider visiting some of participating sites at CT Open House Day 2013 and experience some of the special things our lovely little state has to offer!  There's so much to see and I still can't decide where I want to go first...:-)

The First Oval Office: Beginnings

Stitchers reconstructing George Washington's tent.

Opening day at Colonial Williamsburg, 18 April 2013.

The Secretary's Office at Colonial Williamsburg opened yesterday for visitors to join in the excitement of witnessing the reconstruction of George Washington's marquee.  A talented group of historians and tradespeople have been meticulously researching the construction of the tent in which Washington slept and worked during his campaigns during the American Revolution.  A joint project between Colonial Williamsburg and the Museum of the American Revolution, the reconstruction project will take place over the course of the summer.  In 2016, the tent will be installed at the new Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

A 1/6 scale model of George Washington's tent.

You can follow the project via The First Oval Office facebook page.  There is also a CW webcam where you can watch the stitchers working live, Saturday-Wednesday from 9:00am-5:00pm.  The Museum of the American Revolution website also features a blog following the progress of the project. For additional information, here is a link to the CW press release regarding this exciting new project.