Wrapping up the Year

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: