Tiger Lily's Threads

Earlier this month, I had the honor of performing for the Center For Education Reform at the George Washington University Jack Morton Auditorium. TCFER is a foundation based in Washington DC whose mission is to "expand educational opportunities" for students all over the nation. The program in which I participated in was called "Why America". This program is an interactive field trip in which students and teachers use resources in and around the Nation's Capital and is broken down into 5 categories  The Constitution & Its Origins  Hamilton's Vision  The Father Of Our Country & Presidency  Women Abolition & Suffrage Movements In The President's Neighborhood   Military Memorial & Flag Days "The Father of Our Country & Presidency", spotlights the executive branch of government and why Congress made the imperative decision to elect George Washington as 1st President; why was he the perfect candidate to lead the new ...

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...

About a month ago, I participated in a very awesome experiment at the Museum of The American Revolution in Philadelphia. The program is called,  Meet The Revolution  a series featuring myself, Cheyney McKnight , and Joel Cook  where we would share the experiences, opinions, traditions and the day to day lifestyles of the African-American peoples during the time of the American Revolution. Through this program we would be giving our ancestors the voices that would have otherwise been untold.  From June 18-23rd, I reprised my role as Ona Judge and would interact with the museum's visitors as well as perform my show "Freedom on The Horizon". Coincidentally my residency fell on the week of Juneteenth   (which is a very important day.) Anyway, the day would start as early as 9AM for the morning briefing with the education department on what we'd all be doing during hours of operation, where each member would be, where I would be stationed, what groups wo...

Looking back at all of the projects (sewing and interpreting) I've done this year, all I can say is Wow! Time definitely flew! With that in mind, I wanted to feature some of the top projects I've done as well as the future projects I already have planned and on the dress-form as we speak.  2018 Flashback Sewing Plaid 1880's walking dress 18th century half-boned stays  1770's Silk Gingham gown  Blue Silk Round Gown  1780's "Blossom " Powerpuff Girl Cosplay  1785 Green Pieriot jacket  1790's green linen dress aka "Ona Judge's gown" Steampunk Vest & Skirt 1770's Yellow Woolen Caraco  Interpretation Winter Immersion Weekend (Beck) Journey to Judge: Ona Judge Series Omohundro Institute Ben Franklin's World: Episode 212 (Voice of Ona Judge) Colonial Market Fair (Jemima Banneker) 2019 Projects 1785 Chintz Round Gown 1799 Copper Sari Round Gown 1890's Walking Dress ...

Hey everyone, sorry it's taken so long to update. I have so much to tell you about what happened on the debut of the program. Upstairs of the Brown House Tavern                  Saturday evening, September 1st, was the opening night of my program, "Freedom on the Horizon"   at the Historic London Town Museum, in Edgewater Maryland. When I arrived, there was another scheduled program going on for their daytime program, called "Uncertain Freedom" . It was phenomenally performed by the "Sons & Daughters of Ham" where they gave the visitors of the museum an inside look of the African-American experience during the tough times of the Civil War and the Emancipation. It was truly a moving and deep program.    After catching up with the Sons & Daughters of Ham, I went to the Brown House Tavern to get dressed in my 1790's gown and wait for Mr. Hosea, who portrayed Captain John Bowles for the program. We rehe...

"Whilst they were packing to go to Virginia, I too was packing to go, I didn't know where; for I knew that if I were to go back to Virginia, I shall never get my liberty. I had friends among the colored people of Philadelphia, they had my things carried there beforehand, and left Washington's house while they were eating dinner."  - Ona Judge Staines,  The Granite Freeman 1845 Hey everybody! Well this is it! After all of the research and development and promotions, it looks like we're finally coming into home stretch for this upcoming program. YAY!  Even Kermit's hyped!  So, to make sure that I had everything down packed, I practiced my script every day (I'm guilty for being stickler for perfection), and just in case I overlooked anything in my research, I referred back to my sources!  Which meant taking a field trip to George Washington's Mount Vernon!  On Sunday, my colleague Kyle and I arrived very early at the Plant...

Hi everybody! Sorry for such a long wait. I have been so busy with things lately, that I haven't had the time to make a post.  Now that I do have some time, I am excited to tell you of this past Tuesday's adventure. Recently I was invited to the Museum of the American Revolution , in Philadelphia, to participate with a very special project ; While I'm not at liberty to say exactly what my part is in the project just yet, once I'm cleared by the museum I will be able to talk more about it. Trust me, I am very excited and can't hardly wait! Of what I can tell you, my visit to the MOAR was by far the most amazing thing I've ever experienced! I was able to learn a little more about the life of Ona Judge during her years living in Philadelphia between 1793-1796. Philadelphia was a booming metropolis and had become the Nation's Capitol by the time the 1st First family settled in the newly renovated President's House on High Street. Philadelphia was al...

For this section, I decided to focus my attention on the wardrobe. What would have Ona Judge worn in 1796?  Now, here's the thing that left me a bit perplexed. According to the runaway ad, it described Ona had taken several nice dresses with her, but were too many for the Washingtons to recollect. Since Ona Judge was Martha Washington's personal lady's maid, this meant that she would have worn the nicest clothing compared to what a domestic maid or a field hand would have worn. So...this lead me to the age old question...what should I wear? Which style dress would best interpret Ona's occupation?  Looking up examples of 1790's fashion plates online and in my Kyoto Fashions book, this simple and yet elegant gown grabbed my attention and made me feel like this would be a good fit. The only thing I am not 100% sure of is whether Ona would have owned any taffeta gowns; If anything cotton or linen fabrics would have been selected for her in either a plain or ch...