If I Had My Own Blue Box:

As I was headed out the door this morning, I noticed the level of chill in the air and realized my sense of time of year is still off. Locally, parts of winter felt like spring, completely throwing off my seasonally sensitive internal clock. Now that wet spring is here, the norm of chilly mornings followed by warm afternoons feels off. I even felt it driving home in the sun yesterday. To top off my timey wimey state, I found I have been a full week off in my planner. Good thing I’ve been using pencil.

With all of this time and space scattering here and there, I feel the need to put together a summary of the bits and pieces I’ve been working on lately….

New Short Videos

I recently added a TikTok account. With this, I have created a few reels. I added some to YouTube. 

Book Study

A little bit ago, I started reading articles by Susan Ingalls Lewis who looks at the history of women, business, and employment in the nineteenth-century.  Upon starting her book Unexceptional Women: Female Proprietors in Mid Nineteenth-Century Albany,  New York, 1830-1885, I thought others would be interested in reading it as well. I started a book study group on Facebook. Currently, there isn’t much discussion in the group. I do hope that picks up as I find her research journey and work both fascinating and important to giving everyday women a voice. (Please let me know if you are interested in participating.)

Pockets

Somehow, I went from not having an April Pocket of the Month designed (because I pre-designed & scheduled several months) to creating 3 for this month. First came the embroidered Sun & Moon Pocket, a freehand design by me. I posted it to Patreon at the beginning of the month, so it would be available in time for people to make it for the Solar Eclipse. The pocket I made with the design got a little TV time, appearing in a local news story. Next, came the actual Pocket of the Month design, a Maze Pocket meant to be quilted or embroidered.  This was inspired by the mazes posted in the Time Traveler’s Rabbit Hole. Then, this week, I found myself creating an Owl Pocket as a bonus pocket design.  This is another freehand pocket design. It was inspired by what may have been a gag at work with owl faces coming out of the printer sporadically over a few days. I realize these most recent pocket designs have been freehand designs blending period inspiration and modern twists. I will make a point to include some purely historical pockets soon, possibly some patchwork.

Events

Now for more of the thinking ahead part (this has been muffled by projects at work and big grey area.) I think I need to break this down by month.

• May – I will be doing a program for GCVM’s Civil War Living History.  I will be moving to the Dressmaker’s Shop. My hope is that I will be able to pull off a good program in the midst of Regents planning and field testing without breaking myself.
• June – June is undecided.  I’ve been asked about doing a few things. I am hesitant to commit because I will likely be taking on more additional duties during exams.
• July – This month has multiple programs I am looking forward to, including Independence Day, a women’s clothing program, and a recreational clothing program.

Projects (the self accountability list)

I have several non-millinery projects in various stages, including:

• The silk globes from the Solar Spectacular. I have goals for each of the 4 that are started. I would like them to make a reappearance in October.
• I have slowly been assembling ribbons for a ribbon bag. This will be a bag inspired by an original given to me years ago.
• I keep wanting to make some patchwork cats (or just cushions.)
• I am researching local recreational clothing for a summer program. I have a good idea of what I want to make. I just need to identify which fabric(s) in my collection is the right material(s)

I think that helps for getting a better footing.

I made 2 pocket designs for April!

Hop over to Patreon to get April’s Pocket of the Month, a maze pocket design. This whimsical design can be quilted or embroidered. 

While there, be sure to scroll back to the previous post for my Eclipse themed pocket, a sweet hand drawn sun and moon design.

I am sure by now you have heard Western NY was blanketed in cloud cover for the April 8th solar eclipse. While those of us at GCVM’s Solar Eclipse Spectacular and other regional gatherings did not get to put on our glasses to watch the moon pass in front of the sun, we did get to experience the great darkening with a beautiful show of light and color.

The darkening of the Eclipse settled in as I stood between Hyde and Hamilton houses. While I originally planned to view the Eclipse from the village square, I am glad I was able to see the light and color display around the silhouettes of Hyde house and the Hamilton carriage house. My photos and video do not do justice to the dynamic &vibrant colors.

I spent the day in Hosmer’s Inn, a building I very rarely get to do programs in, working on silk globes based on those sewn by students at the West Town School, a Quaker girls’ school in Pennsylvania. These sewn, inked,  and embroidered globes were a for girls to learn geography.  To my delight, I met two groups of guests familiar with the West Town School, including one guest whose sister taught there.

The silk globes opened a discussion with guests about how girls and women could learn, expand, and express their knowledge through fancy work. We talked about how mathematics and geometry were essential for piece work projects and drafting patterns, and an 1870-1880s genre of fancy work incorporated flora, fauna, and an understanding of ecology. 

I spent part of the morning talking with with Adriana Loh of Spectrum News. She created a nice piece on women in science during the nineteenth century: Party Like it’s 1878. This includes an article and video.

The day prior to the event, I switched my wardrobe plans upon reading an article about the colors green and red appearing brighter and darker, respectively, as the eclipse begins. I previously planned to wear my warmer, grey wool dress. Instead, I opted for my summer, wool challis. I am pretty sure excitement & adrenaline were the only things to keep me going until a fire was built.

Despite mother nature’s change in plan, the day seemed to be enjoyed by all. Guests had the opportunity to celebrate with family & friends while exploring the museum. They could participate in a historic look at the eclipse without being overwhelmed by crowds. I found conversations to be rich as visitors connected with little balls of silk.

A quick video

March is coming to an end. Spring recess has started. I am home from getting my shoulder worked on. (I am trying to keep it relaxed and not pull up on it.) I am feeling pretty relaxed. This is nice.

Today, I had something fun happen. One of my Reels had a huge spike in views on FB this morning. Now that I am home, it looks like the views have slowed. As of nowish, a little over 87,000 people watched my 7 second video over 112,000 times. The vast majority of those were between 7 am and noon. This super short video was just a whim I created from the short video I did on my wool petticoats not being soggy:

That video was just a spur of the moment quick video in response to a comment someone made about petticoats getting soggy.

All in all, I am amused and pretty happy. While 112k is far from technically being viral, it isn’t bad for a little niche video.

It does make me wonder if I should post that boot scraping video from last fall. 🤔

Today marks 2 weeks until the 2024 Eclipse.  Living in the Path of Totality, there is a lot of excitement about the Eclipse locally.  An abundance of events are happening throughout the region, from museums to villages to drive-in theaters and beyond.

I will be spending this historic event at my favorite historic site: The Genesee Country Village and Museum!

Now, of course, this being Western New York, noone really knows what Mother Nature will throw at us. It could be beautiful clear sky. It could be partly cloudy. It could be an incredible spring storm. Either way, guests will have a historic experience at GCVM.

I have special project I’ve been working on for the event. It is a whole world of fancy work I’ve wanted to try my hands at for a while. This happens to be the perfect event for it. (Patreon patrons have had a sneak peek.)

I would love to hear where you are planning to spend the eclipse.

PS… Don’t worry, I plan to be ready for a very slow drive home that night.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how many people I would see today as I crawled out of my complex with the blanket of snow provided by Mother Nature throwing one last winter storm at us. This week was the winteriest winter we’ve had this winter.

To my delight, visitors arrived promptly at opening and stayed steady through the whole day.

I had some excellent questions, including some that will require me to do homework:

• What temperature were most homes kept at during the winter? I am going to look at this as “what temperatures were considered comfortable or acceptable?” as well as “what temperature differences would be expected in a house heated by a fireplace?“
• What kind of floral broach would Lizzie Borden have worn? (Young visitor with fascinating questions.)

My topic today was winter weather wear. This is turning out to be a staple topic that I enjoy talking with visitors about. Today, we also talked about floor coverings & how to keep the feet warm.

Partway through the day, a friend commented about soggy hems. It made me pause because in that moment I realized I wasn’t having that problem despite clearing my car of 5-6″ of snow, stopping at the grocery store, and walking into the village though 6-8″ deep snow.

I found a number of people wanting a this vs that comparison, winter verses summer. This makes me want to try a side-by-side sometime with 2 tables, one with winter wear and one with summer wear.

With the amount of discussion that went into living in the cold, I would like to dress the bedroom for winter sleeping. I would draw from my Keeping Warm in Winter article from years ago, with some updates.

Now that I am home and sitting, this week has caught up, and I may be out cold soon. Though,  I find this to be a very relaxed tired, the kind that comes with accomplishment. 

My next event will be the Eclipse Festival.  I have something extra special in the works for Eclipse day. (Patreon patrons have been getting a sneak peek.)

Did you know I have an assortment of short videos about 1850s & 1860s bonnets?

I do!

I just made another one.

Confession: I made this video because I am frustrated with seeing inaccurately made bonnets mass produced and sold to unknowing reenactors and interpreters. I don’t want you wasting your money or time on something that won’t meet your goals.

Want more videos?

Here is my millinery Playlist.

Or click through these….

Some longer videos:

As this confusing winter hints of spring, this seems to be the year of the picnic.

I am excited to see several history minded picnics coming up this spring. It looks like people are planning both smaller intimate gatherings and larger events, as well as year specific events and timeline events.

As those with a picnic or two on their schedule prepare their picnic attire and neccessities, I am getting questions about picnic headwear.

In developing straw millinery pieces, I rely strongly on visual inspiration. In this case, seeing picnics, those attending, and their hats & bonnets. I keep a file of paintings, photographs, stereoviews, and illustrations in my phone to reference as I work.

These images show us women wore both hats and bonnets were worn during picnics. Some scenes also show women wearing sunbonnets.

These captured picnic scenes also show us the transition in millinery styles from the 1850s to the 1860s and through the end of the century. For the most part, the bonnets depicted in images follow the fashion norms of the time or year. Through the 1850s and 1860s, hats also maintain the basic shape and size norms but tend to have minimal decoration with a simple ribbon being most common. This difference seems to lessen in the 1870s with more adornment on some hats, while the variety of hats expands.

Selecting a Picnic Hat

1850s

The hats of the 1850s have shallow crowns and wide brims. The crown, the top portion that sits on the head, can be a curved dome shape or a flat top with tapered sided. This crown rises only a couple inches, making the hat sit high on the head. (This can feel quite different compared to a modern hat.) The brims depicted in paintings range from about a handspan on each side to as wide as shoulder width. (My shoulders are 15 inches wide. A friend’s are 17 inches wide.) These brims are shaped, dipping down at the front and back. Views from the side, the brim edge creates a soft C facing down. This curved shape is supported by wire sewn into the edge of the brim.

Paintings and photos show these hats trimmed with ribbon. Most often, ribbon encircles the crown with a bow centered at the back. Some hats are shown with loops or ruche of ribbon at the front or sides as well. A very limited number also show ruched ribbon at the brim edge, or a few flowers.

1860s

Hat crowns stay shallow in the first half of the 1850s while the brims become much narrower, spanning less than a hand width. This image shows two hats made with the same crown but different width brims, the top for the early 1860s, the bottom for the late 1850s.  Hat brims of the 1860s provide little to no shade for the face. As with the previous decade, these brims are shaped, dipping down at the front and back. Views from the side, the brim edge creates a soft C facing down. This curved shape is supported by wire sewn into the edge of the brim.

Those desiring a wider brim for this decade may want to consider a country hat. This hat has a brim that is slightly wider while doming down around the head.

Images show 1860s picnic hats trimmed with simplicity similar to that of the 1850s,  using ribbon as the primary embellishment. This is a style shape I see in photos of picnics and croquet. 

1870s

At the risk of over generalizing, it seems once we pass into the 1870s, the variety of headwear in picnic images increases notably.  Those depicted are fashionable for the season. More trims are evident on hats.

I will make a point to create hats and bonnets with picnics through the spring. Please check my shop for pieces available.

I will also be creating some pieces with rural cemeteries in mind as a new exhibit on The Rural Cemetery Movement will be opening in May. The millinery worn when visiting or picnicking in a cemetery is similar. Though one particular piece stands out on my to-do list:

Locally,  it feels as if Mother Nature doesn’t know what month it is, and to be honest, neither do I.

I mentioned last month that January and February tend to be slow sales months. While this holds true, I somehow managed to make 10 millinery pieces this month. With this in mind, my first thank you really needs to go to my massage therapist who keeps my hands working. I started seeing her a few years ago when my hands were so swollen and tight I dropped the iced tea pitcher, making a huge mess. My next session will need to focus on the spasms and knots developed this month.

I also want to thank each person who humored me in my last-minute planning for the Bookworm Retreat. Liz and Gina got nearly daily messages asking about progress. Meanwhile, Marna and Sara got squirrelly questions about frames and signs.

Thank you to everyone who ordered something this month. I am just one hat and one e-publication shy of my goal for the month. Not bad for a short winter month. I do want to remind people that in spring and early summer, it can become difficult to get the millinery piece you want because pieces sell faster.

You may have noticed a shop name change. Please help by sharing this new url:

https://amillinerswhimsy.etsy.com

I continue to be grateful to my Patreon Patrons and your on-going support. February’s pocket was a sweet romantic design. The coming March design is a quilted one taken from two original pockets.