Pique-Nique: Bastille Day

A group of friends gathered to commemorate Bastille Day but with the intent of raising a glass of champagne to those departed in the horrifying reign of terror that followed.  Our hopes were to have a beautiful sunny day.  The days before the event were overwhelmingly gloomy and cold, - yes, in July! Yet,  the weather Gods smiled on us and we had a fantastic afternoon of sunshine and warm but not hot temperatures.

We were a small gathering but a good group of like-minded people willing to gather in period fashion with all the trimmings of dining and enjoying each other's company.  Without further ado, here are some highlights from our day.

This wonderful lady has a habadashery shop called:  Renaissance Fabrics.  See link below.

We had a lovely time.  Many of these ladies have created their gowns various lesson learned at Costume College and from the wonderful ladies and gentlemen at Margaret hunter Shop:  Milliners and Mantuamakers in Colonial Williamsburg. http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/do/revolutionary-city/tour-the-city/milliner/  This link is to the CW site explanation of the Milliner site.  On Facebook look up Margaret...as written above.  You will see some of these ladies in the recent posts.

Another Link to share:  http://www.renaissancefabrics.net/

Next up:
Mainly hand sewing projects.  I want to finish my Kannik Korner Womans Cap (http://www.kannikskorner.com/)  that I didn't get done before the party.  I borrowed one of my friends.  I love my friends!  :)  I also plan to play with embroidery and hand sewing techniques for future use.

Dear readers:  I will try to post as often as I can over the next three weeks.  I will be moving over to my parents house in order to help and support my 84 year old Mother who is having her left knee replaced. Therefore it is likely that my postings will dwindle a bit as my focus will be on my mother's recovery and getting ready to return to work - I am a teacher and I need to work on my curriculum for this coming fall.  So, please be patient, check back often and please leave comments!  I love hearing from you all.  Cheers.

Hat success

The gaulle I had plan to make didn't happen.  Sigh.  However, I pulled out a chemise dress, ironed and starched it and accessorized it with black.  A friend of mine figured out how to use a crownless straw hat to make a Lunardi hat.  So, I made one and trimmed it in black and white.  Here it is:

The pouf keeps ballooning...not sure that is a good thing as I look like an air balloon!  :)  Seems a little big on me but I guess that is period, right? 

Also the wig turned out great for me.  It was lightweight and easy to wear and blend with my hair - (see previous blog post).  Uh, yes those are headstones behind me.  We have a lovely cemetry that makes a perfect - unpublic - picnic site for our group.  California doesn't really have 18th century sites to 'play' in but we try to find places that give us a nice back drop to enjoy ourselves. 

And one more of me...

It was a lovely day.  Our weather has been wet and cold but this weekend we had fabulously warm weather with a mild breeze that kept us cool along with the champagne!

We also made an effort to have period food.  We had a chicken galantine, fruit, pickled carrots and green beans and I made a peach pudding from Mrs. Randolph's cook book from 18th century Williamsburg, Virginia.