Evenstar Designs

Our final day! I spent the morning trying to dry out my soaked shoes. I put the soles in the dryer, and blew dry the shoe (not sure if that was a good idea for the leather, but it survived). I also found a new way to style my hair that I quite like. My hair is 36 inches long and is a beast to stick under a cap. I curled the ends of a few strands of hair, then pinned them up, so just a few inches hung down below the cap. I braided the rest, then pinned it around my head. The cap kept it all together. I freeze sprayed the curls to make them stay put, then was ready to go! It didn't rain, but it was wonderfully windy. We met lot's of our friends from last time - I was surprised that so many people remembered us. Even the cashier at Tarpley's remembered us! Staying warm in my fleece cloak, and flannel mitts.  Liberty got a carriage ride :)  Our friend Jonah makes his clothing, so he offered to teach me a few things about sewing the proper 18th cent...

On day two, I wore the riding habit. It was overcast all morning, but it held off long enough for the fife and drum march - we got to see Clare again! Even if it was overcast, it was HOT, m ostly because of the humidity. Kristi and I retreated to the cool shade of the Carpenter's shop to play the harpsichord again.   Clare knew more about my riding habit than I did, and tied my scarf for me Never mess with a girl with a musket ;) Lunch at the King's Arms.  We got to see our waiter from last time - he remembered us!  Stuck a feather in her hat and called it macaroni! Next we decided to do something crazy. It started raining cats and dogs at lunch time. My parents went back to our hotel and left Kristi and I do have are adventures in the rain. We decided to walk to Great Hopes Plantation. Yeah. It's over half a mile in the pouring rain. We had one umbrella, but it didn't do much good. Our petticoats were soaked up to our waists, but ...

Official day 1 We went to the Cabinet Maker's and I played the harpsichord, then we went to the Raleigh Tavern for  Handle, Bach and Who . Guess what? They let us play the harpsichord in the Tavern!!   Waiting for lunch outside the King's Arms Tavern  The Midday Bill of Fare And a dish of beefy deliciousness  Because the upstairs just makes such a great place for pictures   and goofyness :)  Kristi (who is an AMAZING cellist) got to play a viola de gamba (which was the "lady's cello" of the 18th century) Then we took pictures behind the post office Remember our friend Clare we met last time? We waited for the Fife and Drum core to appear on to the street to surprise Clare.  Don't you love Kristi's gown?! When she walked out I waved to her. She did a double take, realized who we were then she  flipped out! I have never had someone so happy to see us! After ...

Look what's finished! I finished the habit shirt and made the collar from some black faux leather I found stashed away. I also added some fancy red trim onto the sash.  I made a cockade from black ribbon and an extra gold button.  I hope you like it!

After watching a Facebook live stream of the milliner's at Colonial Williamsburg making a Robe a la Francaise in a day, I was inspired to make a pet en l'air . What is a pet en l'air ? Glad you asked. A pet en l'air is similar to a Robe a la Francaise , but it is shorter. I guess you could call it the 18th century "mini dress".  Pet en l'airs were considered "undress" (   deshabille in French) or in other words, casual attire . One thing I noticed that the mantua makers in CW did was that they started the gown in the front, and worked backwards, whic h makes sense. (I've had great difficulties in the past getting a gown to fit properly in the front because I had already finished the back and sides.) So I draped the pleats in the back, basted them in place, then un-basted them a few days later because I didn't like the way they looked, and then re-basted them. Story of my life. Next I made the stomacher. It attaches with hooks and eyes ...

April 1st ~ This is quite a lengthy post, but it truly was my favorite day! It was slightly overcast today, but fortunately the sky held back, and it did not rain. We met the other family on the green of the Courthouse. The mom of the other family surprised Kristi and me by inviting us to go on a carriage ride with her girls. Thank you! While we were on the green, we decided to take pictures of us four girls by the cannon for Captain Innes - his “three pound cannons”.  We walked over to the lumber house ticket office to await our carriage ride. Our team drove up. It was a beautiful open red carriage with two brown horses - Eli and Jeremiah. An open carriage - that meant that we would be fully visible in our costumes. Many people were taking pictures and waving at us, so we just keep smiling and waving. The weather was perfect. It was windy, but it wasn’t hot or cold. As we rode up the palace green, Mr. Monroe was walking by. He greeted us and wished us safe trav...