If I Had My Own Blue Box:

Woolies is the name I gave my little wool ornaments many years ago. I’ve noticed the name used elsewhere since. But, these will always be Woolies to me. These little ornaments used the smallest of scraps. I would sew these for hours as December rolled in. They were the sweetest little things to me. Being […]

Whimsy Wednesday: Woolies

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Kristen put together a gifting list for this holiday season despite being exhausted from her recovery while working. Take a moment to read her post and consider supporting in this coming year.

http://victorianneedle.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-tired-history-lovers-gift-list-give.html

“Baby, it’s cold outside!“

Which means it is time for a Winter Hood Challenge!

This January, I challenge you to make a Winter Hood. Your winter hood can be from any era, to meet the needs of your impression and region.

How to participate:

Join the Facebook Group: 2021 Winter Hood Challenge. There will be questions to answer so I know you are a real person. Group here.

We will begin discussion officially January 1st.

What to do:

Make a winter hood and share you progress. Your winter hood can be from any era and any region. *You do not need to use one of my patterns. But, it is awesome if you do.

Share your progress. This can include: pattern, directions, or inspiration piece, your material choices, and steps as you sew.

Rules:

This is for fun. Each person will choose their own goals for this project. I ask that we support each other in those goals. Participants may choose to do any era, region, and size sunbonnet. I also welcome those who wish to make doll scale.

If you have followed Don’t Paint the Cat or If I Had My Own Blue Box for a while, you may have already seen these FanU style gift boxes. I think they are so much fun to make, I had to feature them on this first Whimsy Wednesday of December. One of these could be just the right box for that special gift for that special someone.

Directions for the Gift Boxes:

Do you enjoy the free projects and templates, research articles and video? Have you been wondering how you can support my work?

Consider becoming a Patron on Patreon.

Patreon is a platform that allows Patrons a way of supporting artists, writers, performers, and researchers on a monthly basis. Creators often provide behind the scenes content or other material as a thank you for support.

My Patreon is currently set up with three support opportunities. These levels come with access to posts and updates on Patreon (I will be doing more of those this year) plus new releases of In Detail as they are published at the higher levels.

I could call this week’s video Stripes, Tree, and Hearts I suppose. I had every intention of having a super cute craft for you this week….. Then…. Well….. Flopped.

Here is the striped bonnet I finished this morning:

This is the white Regency bonnet:

Clara in an acceptable location under the tree:

I am snug in my flannels pjs, wrapped up under two fuzzy, with Clara on my stomach watching one of Cornell’s bird cams. We are relaxing after a much needed day in the nineteenth century. Me. Not her.

Today was Preparing for Winter at the Genesee Country Village and Museum. My topic for the day was handmade gifts of the nineteenth century. I thought I would have time to record a short video of my “presentation.” But, the reality was… I took this video and a few too quick photos… Then I didn’t stop talking for 5+ hours.

I talked about finding gift suggestion lists in period publications. I talked about why slippers were a popular gift. I talked about the differences between a wallet and a purse. I talked about what children could have made and sample projects from An American Girl’s Book. I talked about “those squishy pillow things” aka dressing table pin cushions. I talked about pen wipers, which led me to discover several visitors remembered them from childhood when the wrote with pen and ink. One in particular I wish I could have spent more time with as she was nearly in tears on the edge of her memory.

I have so much more to say about today, but I find I am tired. Possibly more later….

I had a solid plan: Post Office, then home to tell you fabulous things about the fishy! Well… Then I saw the maintenance man had changed the hvac filter. This meant I could move the utility closet boxes back from the millinery room. Wththat, I had a great idea to put some in the bedroom closet. I did bad. I dropped a box on my head. Corner right down on the top. It hurts. There is a lump.

Oh. The whole point of recording Tuesday was because Wednesday there is a big finals game in town that half the town will be live streaming.

Back to the fishy……

This is such a darling and incredibly well made piece. I am giddy honored to have it.

The detail in pin-keep is just amazing. It is smaller than most pin-keeps I’ve studied, being just under 3 1/2″ long. Some of the pins are set at an angle to fit. I suspect these pins are also shorter than usual. I don’t want to take one out because the silk and paper layers are delicate. Parts of the coloring appear to be ink. Other parts, particularly th scales on the dark blue areas, appear to be an opaque paint. I think the lace was added later. It probably was a good thing to help with handling. (then I go and drop it on camera.)

Today’s chat includes some reproduction bog oak bracelets and my current mini-project: toilet cushions.

The maker of my bracelets and broaches is Victorian Hair Workers International over on Ebay. Please go take a look at their work. The seller is very helpful in answering questions. I prefer the matte finish of the bog oak line over the Whitby jet line. I find the feel of the bog oak bracelets quite lovely on my wrists. I have yet to hold their other finishes in hand.

I feel I can not mention one artisan I am currently fond of and purchasing from, without mentioning another. (I did say I love this type of jewelry.) Please take a look at the work of Beth Miller Hall, who offers her work on Etsy. Beth shares her research and work processes on her Facebook page.

I do not know if another artisan I have pieces from is currently producing or not. I will check in and let you know if this is the case.

I finished up the blue on blue stripe cushion using the alternate method. While I am satisfied enough, I did find the corners did not fill out quite as well. I also found this method resulted in more puckering along the side. This puckering will be covered in trim, yet to be determined. I am hoping to find a pink or berry in my stash to ruche for the blue. I will make a button or rosette for the center of the blue as the in perfection of that 8 piece point in the center is emphasized when the cushion is filled.