Kalamazoo Week: Packing & Stitching

Leslie asked me to bring my tubs and boxes up to her farm in Brookston yesterday afternoon. She and Rick would be packing the trailer with their things and had offered to take my inventory with theirs. Because they own the event and are in charge of all aspects of it, they have to be in Kalamazoo Wednesday to begin set up.

I was glad for their offer and even more glad that I had taken inventory last week and that my tubs were packed and ready. But, getting those things downstairs was going to be difficult. Craig and I both have back issues, and currently his are worse than mine. I would have to tote them all downstairs and then out into the garage and load my car by myself.

I got the first tote and two wooden trenchers downstairs and into the laundry room and had to stop. My back was already in pain and I had to sit down and stretch it out. There were still four more totes and three boxes of inventory upstairs to carry down and out to the car. There had to be a better way to do this.

I decided to move things in short segments and take a break between each one to rest my back. First, everything was carried out of the horse room and stacked at the top of the stairs. Then, I carried each tub and box downstairs one by one and stacked them in the foyer by the front door.

Light bulb moment - why carry them back through the house and into the laundry room when I could take a shortcut out the front door and into the garage, using my wagon to carry the load?

Bingo! (And probably saved my back.) I got the car loaded and headed out of town to Leslie's.

We loaded my things into the trailer and then I went into their shop and helped gather a few more things that needed to be loaded. 

The Peeps tub was left in the shop for now - it will be put in the trailer just before they go. Why Peeps at a living history event?

I am not sure how the tradition got started, but ever year several volunteers put up a Peeps display of some sort. Usually they are humorous - last year they created a "Peeps-henge" from them.

But sometimes they are a bit more sobering - two years ago the Peeps display honored Ukraine which had just been invaded by Russia.

The Peeps tradition is a wildly popular part of the event despite the fact that it is totally unrelated to living history. Leslie has no idea what the volunteers will create this year, but I am looking forward to finding out.

Robe a l'Anglais Update

I made good progress on Lisa's gown yesterday and I am starting to think I just may complete it in time for her to wear it at Kalamazoo. (The navy color is off in some of the photos because I have three bright lights directly on the fabric while I work.)

The back pleats are finished and stitched down. (I will remove the chalk marks later.)

Some 18th century living history re-enactors sew their garments entirely by hand, and actually all the directions for this gown are for hand stitching. I don't have the time for that, so I am using my machine. There are some areas (circled above) where I don't have a choice and must hand stitch.

The pleats completed, then the bodice must be cut out and attached.

The bodice back lining which was pinned over the pleats before I stitched them down is used as a pattern to cut the gown fabric. 

Another scary part in the making of this gown - if I cut wrong, I'd have to start over from the beginning. I read those directions multiple times before I grabbed my scissors. Sigh of relief, I got it right.

Finally, I cut and stitched four more skirt pieces. These will be attached to the pleated back and then be pleated themselves. 

Still lots to do, but I am making headway. We volunteer twice a month in Indianapolis, and today is one of our days to go, but I can still get several hours of sewing in before we leave.