Tiger Lily's Threads

This past April I attended a Victorian-themed birthday dinner party honoring my good friend Chelsea of Sartorial Statement. It was a weekend long celebration that truly was memorable and a lot of fun. Saturday morning kicked off with high tea, while later in the evening we donned our Victorian & Edwardian evening gowns for an elegant dinner and dessert. Sunday concluded with a nature hike nearby.  While I couldn't make it to the other two events due to work scheduling conflicts, it was really great to catch up with everyone and celebrate the Lady of the Hour.  To make the dinner gown, I looked at several examples from the late 1890's and early 1900's to decide just how I wanted the design and embellishments to look. After searching around for sometime, I decided on loosely replicating this style below.  The 7 yards of peach silk taffeta fabric I have always held on to since 2020; originally this was going to be used for an Angelica Schuyler cosplay since Hamilton was ve

Last year, I attended my first ever Military Through The Ages at The Historic Jamestown Settlement in Virginia as a spectator. This year, as a presenter... well, what can I say about this year's MTA?  It. Was. Awesome!  This year, I participated by joining alongside the WW2 unit the British 1st Para and the British Red Cross as a member of the Women's Voluntary Services.  A little bit about The WVS: It was a voluntary organization erected by Lady Stella Isaacs the Marchioness of Reading in 1938 at the beginning of WWII; They collaborated with both the Civil Defense Corps and Air Raid Precaution Services (ARP) and were responsible for aiding civilians during the London Bombings. As they sheltered survivors in the Tube (London's Subway terminals), the WVS provided essentials such as food, potable water, medical care, and donated clothing to those in serious need. Over the span of 53 days, the WVS mucked in on pretty much all tasks such as ambulance transport, salvaging raw ma

Three years ago, I attempted to host my very first historical outing. However, this was at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic and the week before National shutdown. So... no tea party that year.  There was another attempt to have a gettogether in 2022 at the local beach... But we had to cancel due to a hurricane coming up the coast. Ready to give up, but I figured that maybe a this would be year to give it a final shot. . in 2023, Maybe the third time will be the charm? Thankfully a Sunday in late January was the best time to meet up, as everyone's schedules were open and conditions were favorable...ish. 😅 It started to rain some, but it bother us one bit since we'd be indoors. Anyway, the tea was held at a beautiful Bed & Breakfast called Peace Hill Farm, located in Charles City Virginia. I really love that everything was from farm-to-table, and has a "feels like home" aesthetic. I've visited here a few times last year, and each visit is always a wond