Tiger Lily's Threads

2019 is finally coming to a close (whew!). As we all look forward to ringing in the new decade that is 2020, I want to look back on the projects that were done over the year with both sewing and public history. This year's sewing adventure was a challenge and a blast, as was all of the events and programs that I participated in. I cannot wait to see what awaits for me in the new year! Speaking of... On a very personal note, I feel very honored and blessed to have been able to participate in many wonderful programs, events, and projects over the year and want to take the time to thank everyone who supported me in every way. There's a lot that goes into what I do, and having a wonderful support group who has always been there with helping me gather research on specific topics, assisting with planning and development, with transportation and lodging whenever I'm working on a program locally or out of town, or showing support by attending the programs and events. I rea...

 Hey everybody! It's spring break and you know what that means. . . road trip!    To celebrate the peak of spring, Stephanie and I took a well awaited trip down to Colonial Williamsburg. When we arrived, we were met with what can only be described as a wall of pollen...I kid you not! Pollen was everywhere you looked. But that didn't stop us. Nope! We checked into our hotel, got dressed in our 18th century gowns, and went into the historic area to meet up with my friends Kelly and Emily for a picnic on the Palace Green. Afterwards, we took a walk around Duke of Gloucester Street and visited the new and improved shops (Tarpley's and Greenhow), as well as check out the exhibits and programs. One Exhibit in particular was called "Revealing the Priceless: 40 years of African American Interpretation".  Inside the Raleigh Tavern, the whole back room is displayed in a way that I'd highly recommend that you'd go see it for yourself to get the ful...

It has been a wonderful and yet busy last few weeks for me. From the 11th-13th I spent a few days in Colonial Williamsburg doing research on behalf of the Historic Londontown & Gardens museum in Edgewater Maryland, on how to best implement African American Interpretation into their regular programming.  As soon as I arrived, I immediately hit the streets of Duke of Gloucester in search for answers. I was given lots of helpful advice from the museum educators, Nation Builders, and actor interpreters. I was even given opportunity to shadow one of nation builders to get an idea of how to best talk about slavery (which in itself is a very difficult subject), by showing me how he spoke with groups of visitors who were coming into the Raleigh Tavern; he'd introduced himself as "Benjamin" for each group of people that came in, and start off with an ice breaker about what their favorite type of drink was, then he'd flip it around and say that due to the lack of inve...

!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2017 has come to a close (...good riddance) and now to welcome in the new year with boxing gloves, prepared and ready for anything 2018 has in store. I'm much wiser and ready.  That being said, 2017 has been a year of good challenges and opportunities. I was introduced to many wonderful people who work in the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation during my Spring internship, .I participated in some really cool reenactments in Yorktown and Londontowne, and I had the opportunity to of course challenge myself at new patterns that I've always dreamed of working with. And let me tell you, now that it's the new year, I am already setting up goals to reach and tackle. So without further delay here's the highlights of 2017.  SPRING  SUMMER FALL  WINTER

It's gotten a little colder these past few days, and from reports from the Poor Richard's Almanac, we're just getting started.  With the goal of keeping warm this winter for upcoming events, I looked to working with wool. I ordered wool flannel fabric from Renaissance Fabrics to make a 1777 jacket (will do a write up about that later), and then worked on a pair of long woolen mitts as a small project.  Using references from Linda Baumgarten's Costume Close Up (1750-1790) , I cut out the fabric pieces (well, franken-stitched them before sewing the actual pattern pieces together). Once I had the arms done, I added the thumb gussets by tracing the pattern on my computer screen with tracing paper and zoomed it into scale (thank you technology!). All in all, these were a fun little project to do. The only thing I wish I had done a little differently was used black thread along the bottom hem of the mitts rather than green. But at the same time, ...

Looking back at my internship last month at Margaret Hunter's Millinery Shop in Colonial Williamsburg, I recall seeing a lot of beautiful silk and decorated straw hats and bonnets. There was even this peculiar-looking bonnet called a Calash Bonnet which was modeled after a french 18th century convertible carriage with the same name. The Convertible Carriage This Summer, I decided to give one of my straw hats a makeover. I removed the red ribbon from my straw hat and replaced it by adding trim with some white tape and green bows made from fabric. I also added some paper flowers that I got from the Francaise Ball the year prior. I really love how this hat turned out. With using just fabric instead of ribbon, it gave the hat a new personality and I can wear it with most of my outfits rather than just one or two jackets.