Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference: Part 5

The Fancy Dress Ball
The last few conferences, Carolann has hosted a ball after dinner Saturday night. This year rather than just a ball, we had a fancy dress ball. I agonized over this for months before the conference. What was I going to go as? How was I going to get it all done? At one point Kimberly, Nancy and I were going to go as three graces, but family issues prevented me from getting it together. So I ended up taking my sheer pink cotton, buying some fake flowers at the marketplace and going as Spring...

 

Along with a couple of others. There were several seasons, a rose garden complete with thorny accompaniment, Cynthia Ann Parker, a queen bee and her keeper, several historical characters and other eras.

Music was provided by Smash the Windows. It was a lot of fun, but we only stayed through the costume parade and then went back to our room as Nancy had to pack up to leave on Sunday. 

Ladies and Gentlemen of 1860s Conference: Part 4

I forgot to mention my Needle and Thread purchase in the marketplace.

I love it. It's very soft cotton, very light weight but not really sheer. I only wanted 8 yards but that left only 3 on the bolt so I bought it all.

Saturday
The weekend programs opened with the presentation of the conference dresses. All speakers and workshop presenters are sent a length of fabric; ladies are asked to make a dress and men a vest. Previously the fabric has been a cotton. This year the fabric was a wonderful tropical weight Italian wool.

This year ladies were asked to make a garment. There were dresses, coats, a traveling dress and a bathing costume.

Here is mine. I'll have another post dedicated to the construction later.

 Gentlemen were asked to make vests.

The day's presentations began after the fashion show. The conference is split into two tracks, one track more female slanted and one more geared toward men. I attended the ladies' track.

The first presentation was K. Krewer "What's in a Name? An Attempt at Disambiguation and Taxonomy of Mid-Victorian Attire". In this talk, K discussed our modern day use of terms to describe dresses such as camp dress, wash dress, tea dress, traveling dress. She pointed out that camp and tea dress are not period terms, wash dress described the qualities of the fabric (washable) and the difference between ballgowns, evening gowns and dinner dresses are sometimes hard to distinguish in period magazines without the descriptions. She also pointed out that formality of an event had more to do with the event itself rather than the time of day. She also addressed some incorrect ideas such as the amount of light in ballrooms and the color of ballgowns. It was a very interesting talk and made me really think about "truths" I've always accepted about period clothing.

The next speaker was Patricia Grunwald and "Hemlock is a Natural Product: Health Care in Mid-19th Century America". In this talk, Patricia discussed the history of pharmaceuticals, medical training, and home health care. It was both interesting and a bit frightening to hear what was available at the time.

After lunch we heard Beth Chamberlain and "From Moths to Fashion: Metamorphosis of the American Silk Industry"; another very interesting topic. I had no idea there was a concerted effort to produce silk in the US.

The final presentation of the day was Carolann's "Merciful Heavens, It's Hot! How to Stay Cool at Warm Weather Events." During this talk, Carolann discussed making events more period correct in warm weather such as laundry activities occurring early in the day. She also suggested other activities such as eating outside, utilizing bodies of water that might be at the event or putting your feet in basins of water, hanging out in a root cellar or spring house, and of course, planning your wardrobe accordingly.

With the end of the presentations we were dismissed to prepare for the Fancy Dress Ball.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference: Part 3

Friday
Workshop day and they went well. The morning workshop was the largest with 13 people. Most everyone completed their pincushions.

There were several different end finishings.

Between my sessions we went to lunch at the Camp Hill Cafe, a small local eatery. It was full of locals so we knew it would be good, and it was. We enjoyed it very much.



After all workshops we went to the presenters' reception that Carolann hosts for the conference presenters. She provides sandwiches and drinks. It's a good time to sit and visit with fellow presenters. That served as dinner. On to the conference opening and presentations, the marketplace and the originals.

The first presentation was Nicky Hughes and the adventures of Senator Golladay. The continuing adventures of Senator Golladay have been a highlight of conference. Mr. Hughes uses these presentations to show the material culture of the period to great effect. This year Senator Golladay visited the army, showing the various items that can be used to make a home in a tent. These are always fun and enjoyable, especially with Killer the duck.

The next talk was from Emmanuel Dabney on "The Omohundros of Richmond: A Slave Owning and Enslaved Family". This was a very interesting and well researched presentation. It concerned a slave trader and his family. The twist here was that the "wife" was a mulatto slave technically owned by Omohundro. She was treated by Omohundro as his legal wife, presented with jewels and clothes. It is also interesting to note that there were at least two other similar family situations in the area. Omohundro apparently had a white wife previously who died and a mulatto wife who left Virginia with their children. Very interesting talk on an intriguing topic.

A few more photos of the originals and then called it a night.



Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference: Part 2

Thursday
I did not have a workshop to conduct on Thursday so I was able to attend Carolann's silk wristlet workshop this morning. This was a fun class and the wristlets are easy to put together. Carolann started off the class showing period examples of the wristlets. We had a choice of different kits. I bought the kit for the simple velvet ribbon with a clasp and a fancier on with ribbon decorations. The handouts included the instructions for all the different types of wristlets. I made the more complicated one in class.

Here is a picture of one of the other fancy version completed by another participant.

Photos of the construction process are included in the link in the Part 1 post.

After the workshop I met up with Kimberly and we had lunch at the hotel restaurant. Kimberly had a workshop that afternoon. I spent the afternoon finding my workshop room and moving the bricks from Maggie's truck into the room. To get the room it was necessary to go up a few steps and then down some stairs and it was at the other end of the wing from where the truck was parked. So loaded up the trunk of the rental car and drove around to the closest entrance. From there I took a few at a time down to the room. However, a housekeeping supervisor saw me hauling the bricks and pulled a couple of her male laundry staff and they carried the majority in for me. I was very grateful. I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging in the room waiting for Kimberly and Teri to get out of their classes to move the bran.  

Teri brought me 42 pounds of oat bran in two large bags and four smaller bags. Kimberly helped me move it from Teri's room to the workshop room. On the way we passed Carolann and K in the hall and there was a remark or two about irregularity. So all set up for the workshop.

             

That evening we had dinner at Perkins, across the parking lot from the hotel. Just as we were paying our bill, Nancy called and she had just landed. So off we go to the airport to pick her up. On the way back we stopped at the grocery to pick up some snacks and cleaner for the bricks.

We got Nancy settled and went down to attend the Conference reception and wrapper party. At this event, Carolann provides snacks and those who wish, can show off their wrappers and banions. This is a lot of fun; we get to meet up with everyone and renew friendships.

After the wrapper and banion fashion show, Carolann presented a few videos. The first was a Youtube video called "Stuff Museum People Say". Pretty cute. Then we watched the ball scene from "The Leopard". This is a great costume movie that takes place in 1860s Sicily. It was beautiful. Then the full Carol Burnett "Gone With the Wind" sketch. Hilarious!! We stayed for a little bit longer than went up to the room as we were all pretty tired but of course stayed up talking until late.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference: Part 1

I must start off these posts about the conference with some thank yous and kudos. First to Carolann Schmitt and her staff at Genteel Arts LLC. They do an amazing job producing this event and providing such interesting topics and educational opportunities. Next to Maggie Halberg and Teri Peterson for their help in bringing the bricks and bran I needed for my workshop. It made everything so much easier and saved me stress and money. Thanks to all.

If you aren't aware of the Ladies and Gentlemen of the 1860s Conference, it is held each year the first weekend of March in Camp Hill Pa. It consists of pre-conference workshops and a weekend of wonderful presentations on various material culture and 19th century life. In addition there are displays of original garments the participants can photograph. And then there is the marketplace hosting several well known and respected vendors of garments, books, music, accessories, head wear and jewelry among other things.

This is an event that I highly recommend. The educational opportunities are some of the best in the country and the networking and fellowship opportunities are wonderful. It is really great to spend the weekend with so many people who understand you. Since I very seldom get to events east of Texas I really enjoy meeting people I only talk with online.

So, this year's trip. If you just want the pictures you can find them at  http://s774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/netnet81/Conference%202012/. For some reason it won't link directly, so you'll need to copy and paste.

Wednesday
Because I was conducting a workshop I left for the conference on Wednesday. It turned out that I didn't have any on Thursday though. I left Austin at about noon on a smallish plane to Dulles International. My carry on roller wouldn't fit in the cargo bin so I had to gate check it. I had no seat mate so it made for a more comfortable flight than expected. We landed in a different concourse than where I was picking up my connecting flight. Since I had to wait for my gate checked bag and walk across the tarmac to the gate it made for a bit of a quick walk to my next gate. Dulles is not the easiest airport to get around, but I made it to my next flight on time. The next plane was smaller, but it was only a 22 minute flight; the attendant didn't even get out of the jump seat.

Landed in Harrisburg. I like this airport, small, easy to maneuver and it has rocking chairs! We had planned to rent a car on Thursday, but I decided to go ahead and get it when I got in on Wednesday. I got a Hyundai Accent...cute car, but really a slug. This was the first time since I had started going to the conference that there was no snow on the ground, not even dirty piles in the back of the parking lots. Very strange.

Arrived at the hotel; Kimberly had arrived a bit earlier. Nancy would arrive Thursday evening. The conference is held at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill. I enjoy staying here. A bit inconvenient without elevators and some rooms are showing signs of use and age, but I still like it. The hotel restaurant is ok, but there are plenty of other eateries in the area and fairly close to a grocery store. After all the years of having the conference there they are usually prepared for us and offer discounts at the restaurant.

Dropped stuff off in the room and went looking for Kimberly. Found her finishing up dinner in the hotel restaurant. I joined her and ordered a hamburger. Then Beth Chamberlain came in and we invited her to join us. Then a friend of Beth's joined us. A very merry party indeed.

Kimberly and I spent the rest of the evening talking, watching tv and getting stuff settled for the next day.

Sewing whites

My workshop stuff is done and ready, other than the handouts. So I started sewing on underwear. I really don't like sewing undergarments; but they are needful things. I'm using Laughing Moon #100. Elizabeth Stewart Clark's pattern instructions are great, I just didn't feel like making a pattern and then cutting it out. I'm being lazy.

I like the LM pattern. It goes together well, they are roomy, and they go up to my size! I've cut out 2 sets so we'll see what I get done before the conference. I have to have at least one. I'll need the other by The War at Home in April.

Turns out all my workshop classes are on Firday, so I am going to take a wristlet workshop on Thursday at the conference. I won't have a fancy dress for the ball. Family stuff has prevented me from getting stuff together.

Plenty of photos after I get back from the conference.

Garden update

I haven't written about the garden for awhile. Lost the cucumbers, carrots are coming up, beans are struggling, lettuce...well, they too are trying. But the radishes!