An Historic Occassion
On July 5, 1911, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands welcomed the French president for a state visit. The above photo captured their ride together through Amsterdam, but of course to a precocious...
AW
So What, Exactly, are Those Things?
After reading through the pattern instructions and looking at several examples of completed Hollandaise costumes, I'm left with a question about the "ornaments" on the sides of the headpiece. In the LSDS...
At Least SOMEONE is Happy!
So. It's been a while! I like the word "while". It makes me feel a lot less guilty than words like "months" or "over a year". And I don't even have a...
A Visit From St. Nick
Clement Clarke Moore was born July 15th, 1779, into a wealthy New York family. In 1798 he graduated from Columbia College, first in class, and went on to live a life of...
Boys’ and Girls’ Weekly
Frank Leslie was a British born illustrator and journalist. In 1848 he moved to the U.S. where he founded many newspapers and journals, including Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (1855), and Frank Leslie’s...
Why Bother?
It's hard to say which came first - my love affair with textiles or my descent into doll costuming mania. It's all a little bit blurry around the edges. However. What is...
Fabric Stabilization 101
As I frequently need to remind the girls, we are NOT a museum. In many circumstances we have to "make do" with fabrics or trims which are appropriate, if not perfect, for...
Textile Conservation
Handling and preserving antique textiles isn't overwhelming if you know what you're doing. This wonderful website has oodles of information on storing, displaying, rescuing, and stabilizing all sorts of fragile things. It's...
Sticking Points
Sometimes a project gets set aside because I can't find my way to making a key decision. This is such a project. And yet, with the time for wearing short sleeved cotton...
Where in the World?
Two staples of every school room, throughout history, have been maps and globes. I can't provide anything round and spinable for you here, but I was recently lucky enough to stumble upon...