A quick fly-by: Something to look forward to!

It's shaped! (Pardon the messy desk)

Just a quick little post about something I finally got around to last night: shaping my hat! After I post my embroidery research, I'll show the process I did to shape it. Super easy to do, and it was dry by this morning. All it needs now is some simple trim around the crown and maybe some ties--I'll be using hatpins with it (see that piece of white next to my now-defunct Borders card? It's holding 3 hatpins!), so I may not add ties. It also depends on if I bought enough silk ribbon!

Wm. Booth delivers!!

Finally, after waiting what seemed like an eternity (it was 9 days), my bag of goodies from Wm. Booth, Draper arrived in the mail today. Like a kid in a candy store, I ripped into the yellow package to reveal my spoils ...

One pocket kit by my friends Hallie and Sam Larkin
(Sam illustrated these kits from extant examples),
remnant burgundy ribbon for garters & a cap,
silk thread, and 1/2 inch ribbon for my straw hat.

I'm saving the pocket kit for the Minute Man National Historical Park's open house and historic craft day, but I just had to open it up and see all the goodies inside.

The colors are way off, the threads are beautiful!

Methinks I need to find an appropriate basket to carry this all in! Any recommendations, dear readers?

Accessories!

My blank straw/chip hat from Just Two Tailors arrived in the mail two days ago, and this weekend I plan on shaping it. Silk ribbon has been ordered from Wm. Booth, Draper to decorate it, as well as a pocket embroidery kit by Southcoast Historical. Not sure when that package will arrive, hopefully this weekend, so I can show my haul here. I'm really excited about this pocket; my friend Sam illustrated it based on extant samples in private and museum collections, and she's a very talented illustrator. So talented that her designs have been ripped off! That means you're successful, right?

I've got a very special treat in the works as well. This past Monday I photographed an exhibit I designed for my portfolio, and the curator has given me his blessing to blog about it (he is also a close personal friend, so maybe that had something to do with it). Woohoo! The exhibit is called What's Under Things? Hidden Colonial Clothing, and is focuses on 17th and 18th century underwear (and one 19th century item, a busk)! I did the graphic design for the exhibit (with the exception of the labels) as well as consulted on the layout and flow of the cases. I'm excited to show this exhibit off, I'm very proud of it, and there are some great pieces--like an extant 17th century bodice with provenance to Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton Winslow, and an extant 18th century working class stays. So sweet! The tiny lace stomacher is also a great extant example, even though it looks like a certain type of women's underwear.

What's Under Things? is on display until December 31st, 2011, at Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, MA. 75 Court Street. Open 9:30 - 4:30 daily.

So, stay tuned! Some great stuff coming up!