If I Had My Own Blue Box:

Looking back on 2025, this was a year of collection and reflection for me. In reflection, much of the year was spent collecting truths about myself, noticing what holds my attention, what fills me with a sense of contentment, and what brings me joy, event when time felt scarce or energy drained.

Some of the most meaningful work I did this year looked very different form my usual practice, or what I usually share. I spent part of last winter and spring working with students in a wood tech class – trading needle & thread for power tools, drills & saws. While the current trend in sewing calls for being in the moment, this work truly required full attention in the moment to ensure everything was done correctly and everyone was safe. It was exhausting some days. It was also fulfilling and reviving. By the end of the school year, as my attention had to shift to exams, I made a table with a chess board top, just like all of the students. This experience reminded me how content I feel when I am physically making something with my hands.

That thread of making, designing, and seeing things take shape ran through the year in different ways. While most years I make and create, this year felt different. My mindset began to shift. I suspect it will continue to shift further.

In recent years, much of my attention was on connecting my work with those who came before me; 19th-century milliners, sewers, and makers. At some point this year, I started to come back to myself, asking: where in the creating process do I find joy? Contentment? Fulfillment?

I realized what I love about creating is the discovery, the exploring, the puzzling out, the figuring out how something can go together. I also find joy in sharing what I learn or dream up. Late this year, I began sharing some of the little project thoughts, the ideas that come to mind, that I sketch up, but may or may not actually make, on my Patreon feed because I love the idea of someone making the things I dream up or someone taking my little thought and growing it.

As this year wraps up, I find myself less interested in measuring output of the past year and more interested in staying with me, continuing my collection & reflection. I am stepping into the new year with a clearer sense of what beings me back to myself: making with my heart as my hands, puzzling things out, and sharing the process along the way.

PS – Cats also thing self-reflection is important.

Photo Summary of the Year:

Since I know you love photos…..

Initially, one of my goals for the year was to do a few “modern” programs – meaning small group programs dressed in modern clothes, using a PowerPoint. In the Spring, I did just that. I packed up a portion of my collection, including bonnets and newly cleaned bonnet blocks, and headed off to share a look inside the millinery trade with the Antiques Society of the Finger Lakes as the Geneva History Museum. It was a nice night with a wonderful audience.

I learned a few things that night. First, I can keep talking on topic even when the power goes out. If it hadn’t come back on so quickly, I would have been okay working my way through my display items with a flashlight. Second, presentations that keep me out until after 10 need to not be on a school night. 5 am comes a lot earlier than it used to.

Cats vs Dogs was a complete divergence from my more serious norm. It also felt like a much needed one. In the end, my goals were achieved. Nearly every visitor that come through the door connected in some way with the cats and/or dogs. Some shared stories of their own pets. Some mentioned their allergies. Some shared memories of fabric cats their grandmother had. One even named the reddish-brown dog “Reddington” and wanted to be sure I would remember.

I am very excited this horsehair bonnet joined my collection. I realized after opening it, I may at some sub-conscious level been acquiring an assortment of display bonnets for presentations. I now have a plain, natural 1860s straw with the parts separated, a black straw mourning 1860s bonnet (currently still working on the repairs), a striped straw 1860s bonnet, an 1860s horsehair bonnet, an 1860s drawn bonnet, an 1880s black straw bonnet, and an 1880s squash (loofah) bonnet that can accompany programs. Actually transporting them still scars me though.

This image brought me joy when I first saw it and each time since. It feels like a challenge in a tintype.

It screams: Recreate me!!!

I would absolutely love to see a site recreate this as a photo opportunity for visitors or for someone to recreate the whole image. If you do, I will get a better resolution image for you.

Favorite millinery of the year? That would likely be these:

Just moving over parts of an old PowerPoint and notes. Images – Hats Worn ca 1858-1865

This past year, with the funds from Patreon I have paid for my WordPress platform & domains, two amazing collection additions, and a couple of Clara’s Chewy orders.

The shipping mishaps with the black straw mourning bonnet nudged me into trying my hand at repairing or stabilizing original straw bonnets. I already have several ideas and techniques I want to explore when time and funding allows.

In the coming year, I hope to find ways to share more of my research & collection, as well as spend more time writing both non-fiction & fiction. Your support through Patreon will continue to pay for both written content on WordPress & Patreon, as well as research & presentation endeavours.

I would love to add at least 3 supporters to each of my main Patreon tiers in 2026. Doing so would reduce my financial anxieties and allow me to give more focused attention to my work.

If you are able, please consider supporting me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/AMillinersWhimsy

Procrastination bit me hard this month. In early October,  I told myself I should try on my clothes. As October became November, I told myself I really should try on my clothes. The first week rolled on and became the second. The weekend before Thanksgiving, I told myself I absolutely must try on my clothes. That is how two weeks before Holiday Open House I discovered my wool plaid winter dress didn’t close by a full 4 inches across the bodice.

This is how I found myself digging through my totes for an acceptable dress length and rush sewing a new dress during Thanksgiving break.

Luckily, I had a green & red plaid heavier cotton in my stash with 6 2/3 yards. While wool would have been preferable, the festive aspect had appeal. I debated between eras; fun with plaid battling speed.

While I drafted over the weekend, cutting commenced Wednesday morning. I sewed through from Wednesday to Sunday, with Thanksgiving, finalizing my divorce,  and changing my name in between. The dressed was finished enough to wear Sunday evening with enough time for a relaxing movie before going to bed.

For such a rushed dress and having not made myself a garment in a long time, I am pleased with the fit. I opted to treat the fabric as if it were wool rather than cotton because of the weight and the winter purpose.  Plus, the plaid wanted to. I went for a bit shorter skirt to save on fabric. Ironically,  I have enough left that I may add some bias either to the skirt or sleeve or something. The skirt is 4 45″ panels, gauaged to the waistband. The hem is faced with a reproduction cotton print and bound with red cotton tape, as I did not have a wool hem tape on hand. The front bodice pieces are cut on the bias to create the Vs. Initially, I pleated the bodice, quickly discarding gathers as an option. Seeing the bodice set, I decided to top stitch these into darts to help the bodice lay. (At some point, I need to readjust one side as it lays funky with excess fullness sitting above the bust. I have torso asymmetry following the gallbladder surgeries.) I wanted to do something more involved with the sleeve, but I also want to be done in time. (With several other projects pending.) I opted for simple one-piece sleeves cut on the bias. These are fully lined with plain cotton. The fit is comfortable for my arms with hereditary wings. I finished it off with quick hooks, cuffs, and collar.

I picked my Moonstone broach and earrings, not wanting to wear black, which is primarily what I have. My knit cap definitely helps keep my head a tad bit warmer and cold migraines at bay. I consider wearing a red ribbon belt, which has a gold slide buckle. But, it just looked jarring and not quite right.

Oh, shoes. Because of the snow, ice, and a fear of falling, I wore snow boots and changed into house flats. It is what it is. I just don’t bounce as well as I used to.

This is now my Holiday dress.

I couldn’t find my red wool petticoat, which I what I pictured under this. I went with my dark grey, which is meant to be worn over a cage. It is too long for this skirt and sticks out.  Adding to my hem drama, within 30 minutes of arriving I snagged my hem tape on a door  frame and tore off about a foot. So, it needs repair be the next open house.

If you’ve followed me for some time, you know that, for me, one of the most important aspects of creating a program is connecting with and engaging visitors. I love when some aspect of what I am sharing with people sparks a conversation, stirs up a memory, or opens the door for a visitor to share their story as well.

Some times, the littlest thing can be what catches a visitor’s s attention, draws them in, and helps them connect with the aspects of history I am sharing with them. The most simple object can connect with a visitor, such as small strawberry pin cushions and emories. These tiny objects brought special smiles to visitors’ faces as they shared stories of little red strawberries. from visitors.

True connection with visitors can vary. A visitor may stand over my shoulder mesmerized by the turning of a pinking machine. A pair of siblings may pull over a bench to sit and ask questions. A young visitor may hop up and down as they make a connection with something they saw earlier elsewhere. Yet, engagement isn’t always active interaction. It can also be the quiet, elderly visitor in the corner staring at pen wipes, waiting for the room to clear so she can pull back her tears and tell me about watching her mother write with pen & ink as a child.

In developing my program for this month, I knew with all the stress in my life and likely in the life’s of the visitors I will see, I needed to do something fun that nearly everyone will be able to connect with on some level. This year’s 19th century handmade gifts for Holiday Open House are all about

Cats & Dogs

My hope is visitors will engage with the various pieces of cat & dog fancy work I’ve created. Maybe, they will share stories of the cat or dog, or similar projects or gifts they made. By doing so, I can help connect them with the history of handmade gifts and the educational aspects of fancy work for girls and women.

I also hope visitors will have a little fun with this and enjoy voting for cats or dogs.

I added a new supporting tier to Patreon called Workshop Benefactor. This is something I’ve wrestled with for quite a while. It’s never easy for me to open a space where people can offer more support, and truthfully, I’m uncomfortable even allowing it. But to continue the research and writing I do, particularly with millinery and fancy work, I have reached a point where I need to carve out more time and resources to keep going.

If you’ve been following my work for years, you know how much care I put into every project and how much joy I take in sharing it. The Workshop Benefactor tier is simply a way for those who feel strongly about sustaining this work to do so in a more substantial way. It’s never expected. It’s never assumed. But it does make a real difference.

As always, I’m grateful for every kind of support, be it reading, commenting, sharing, or simply being here. Thank you for walking with me through this evolving creative life.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends & followers!

Whether you’ve been reading along with me for years or just recently found your way here, I’m grateful for the small community we’ve built together. Today can be joyful, messy, complicated, or all of the above, and however it meets you, I hope you find a pocket of calm, a good story to hold onto, or a moment that feels like warmth.

What happens when I break my “no buying” rule and put in an offer on a dreamy little bonnet when I really, really shouldn’t? 

The most well packaged box arrives on my doorstep when I am in the midst of a curl in a ball migraine. I brought the box in, set it on the table, took my meds, and layed on the couch in misery. 

Eventually,  I talked myself into going to bed. Or, maybe that was the cat. Against all sensibility, recalling the last straw bonnet I bought,  I decided to just open the top to make sure the inside looked okay.

I cut open the tape on the 14″ cube. Looked inside to see the cute sticker attached to the newspaper.  And curiosity won. I removed the layers of paper to find an air filled, clear plastic bag. Inside the bag was a vintage hat box. As I untied the bag, I thought, “Of course, this would have made a great unboxing, and I’m not filming.” The vintage hat box was darling, with a handwritten note on top. I was so grateful the seller took the time to take such care in packaging. 

I allowed myself a peek inside. This is where I knew I needed to stop. I could not trust myself to touch the bonnet while I had a migraine.

Fast forward 2 days. Yes, it took that long for the migraine to fully pass before I trusted myself to look at this bonnet.

This bonnet is almost entirely horse hair. There are multiple braids or weaves used. The main bonnet is a plait of black or dark grey and white, which is nearly clear. The plait sewn as straw plait would. The thread used is thicker than the hair used in the plait and accounts for the slight hue of light brown in the body of the bonnet.

A tubular braid/weave edges the front of the brim. It is set in a wavey pattern over a flat light brown tbd. The tubular braid is made with the same colors as the body plait, but of slightly finer hairs. The flat tbd is a width of light brown fibers that aren’t straw, look more hair-like but looks flat to the eye. The fibers are layed side by side and sewn across.

The neck edge has a narrow bavolet created from rows of plait, the same used in the body of the bonnet, and two rows of tubular plait over the flat tbd. The lower tubular plait is the same as what is used on the brim edge. The upper row of tubular plait is a brown fiber that is not straw and thicker than horse hair.

The bonnet is wired around the inside. This wire is intact. (Often bonnets stored flat have broken wire. The seller indicated this bonnet was stored flat.) It is lined with two layers of an open weave material. There is some firmness or stiffness to this material. (Visually,  this material is similar to what I’ve found in straw bonnets.) The bonnet is simply trimmed with a brown silk ribbon. There is thread evidence of ties previously on the inside of the cheektabs.

I almost forgot to write about its time frame. I prefer to loosely date, particularly when it comes to bonnets or hoods that have become misshapen over time or have lost their fullness. Loosely,  this bonnet is ca 1860s to 1865. With what I think I see in the lines from crown to brim and the tabs, it is likely 1864-1865.  It may even match up with one of my blocks.

I need to find my magnifying glass to get a better look at the unknown fibers in this bonnet. These are not something I will be able to put under a microscope, though. I would also like to do some side by side fiber comparison in photographs for people to see.

Whether you want to call it a Black Friday Sale, which is no longer on black Friday, or a Cyber Week Sale, I’ve decided to start it early.

Why?

I’m bored.

Students start their break today.

I bought an original bonnet I shouldn’t.

The Holiday Sale

25% off e-patterns,  e-books, & e-workbooks.

15% off Holiday Exclusives, Patchwork Pin Cushions,  & Straw Baskets.

15% off Straw Millinery.

Sale ends November 30th.