Kalamazoo - Prep

 I've been preparing for The Kalamazoo Living History Show since I got home from The Feast of the Hunters' Moon last October. Since I do all the sewing, if I want clothing to sell, I have to make it myself.                

The Kalamazoo Expo Center. (Photo from Expo Center's web site.)

And I don't just sell clothing, I sell other necessities and acountrements from the 18th century, too.

Such as dish towels.

Which all need to be counted and inventoried before being packed into my sales tubs.

The clothing needs to be tagged for size, price, and whether the buttons are made from horn or bone, and then I record how many I've made of each size.

(I love the elephants on this block print from India - believe it or not, that is a current pattern from the 18th century.)

The bed gowns (which were actually a form of day wear for both men and women)

and the women's short gowns go through the same process and then are packed in tubs. (They were pinned shut which is why you see a pin at the neck.)

A last minute addition to my sales stock was toques. (Pronounced with an oo as in "tooth.")

Made by my friend Frannie (I taught both her kids when we lived in Illinois),

Frannie is a professor at Marquette University and knits for fun. Her work is beautiful.

I counted and recorded the body powders that I sell (people did not bathe much back then and covered their body odor with perfumes and powders - if they could afford them.

The hussifs (pronounced "housewife") which were sewing kits

and were checked to be sure they had their pins, needles, sewing beeswax, and thread and then folded up with their ribbons tied neatly.

And the fans counted

and checked for damage. (Fan photos from Etsy.)

But inventory and packing weren't the only things I needed to do - I had to check and repair my period clothing for missing buttons, tears, and loose threads.

This bodice was a mess and I had to reattach all those tiny buttons before it could be worn.

As you might imagine, all this took me several days, and then I had to carry the tubs downstairs and pack them in the car. I drove up most of them to Leslie's farm - she and Rick were taking their things and all the office and show supplies to Kalamazoo in a trailer and offered to take a couple of my tubs in some extra room that they had after packing their own supplies.

Lisa and I left late Friday afternoon, excited and anticipating meeting up with dear friends in just a few hours. Set up was Friday evening until 10:00 PM and Saturday morning until 9:00.

And then the show would begin!

Just for fun - Craig and I lived in Michigan the first two years we were married. A fan of Big Band music, he used to sing this song to me a lot . Lyrics begin a minute into the song. Enjoy!

Tomorrow the event begins - stay 'tooned!