The Hat

 My absolute ultimate, ultimate-ultimate favorite project for the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop was recreating a hat from a painting. This painting, to be exact:

Lady Edward Bentinck, Painted by George Romney LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!!

The portrait is of Lady Edward Bentinck. The date on the painting, I could not find, although it would have had to have been after 1780 because Miss Elizabeth Cumberland married Lord Edward in 1780, thus taking his name and reference in the painting. The story on the portrait itself is that Lady Bentinck was trying on hats and picked up this “old fashioned one.” The painter, George Romney, saw her put it on and had to paint her portrait. Still, I cannot find the exact date.

The hat in the portrait seems to hint that it was a straw hat to begin with (seeing the slight ridges along the brim) and covered tightly with white silk, bunched silk gauze at the crown then finished with a lovely, large blue bow.

Working on the straw

I can’t tell you how much fun I had on this project. It always seemed to make me hungry. I always got comments that it looked like a wonderful dessert. It really does look like meringue…

That is a wool cherry 😉

mmmmmm…”Food” Porn.

The hat was lined with a changable blue silk which was also used for the bow at the side as well as the ties. I love it because it’s a surprise when you see the underside, the rest of the hat is so very white!

The lovely blue lining, all my stitches too!

Here it is finished, sigh. I’m definitely going to make another very similar. It now belongs to Doris, the Journeywoman Mantua Maker and Milliner, at the shop!

“The Lady Bentinck”

I’ll model it for you…

What do you think? I think it turned out pretty well 😉

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A visit from the ‘rents

While I was in Williamsburg, my parents came to visit me. I was sooooo happy to see them, as any person would be, but especially because they would be able to experience Colonial Williamsburg while I was there.

Daddy and I

First thing in the morning, I met them after getting dressed and gave them the low-down on the key areas to visit.

Mommy and I

They took my advice and really took advantage of the lovely weather we had that weekend. They visited each and every stop. Including the Millinery Shop of course!

Eliza and I working in the window of the Millinery Shop for light

it’s me!

Eliza and I in the shop

They really liked the gardens, too.

Mommy under the canopy

100 years of fashion in London

While stumbling, I found this cute little fashion vid. Enjoy!

Museum Adventures

While I was in Williamsburg, I had the wonderful opportunity to look at their museum exhibits. Here are the pics that I most enjoy:

WAISTCOATS!

ooooo

ahhhhh

Ohhhhh!

*swoooon* to see Devin in one of these….

My favorite pics are of lovely embroidered waistcoats, which apparently were very common.  Nevertheless, it’s pretty and I would like to make one. The second one, in particular, was so sweet looking. As I captioned the picture….I really want to see my dearest Devin in one of these. le sigh

TAMBOUR!!! While at the shop, Sarah showed me how to do a little bit of Tambour Embroidery, which is basically embroidering with a sharp crochet hook….. and I LOVE IT. I reaaaaaallly reaaaaaalllly reaaaaalllly want to make this men’s cap:

Downright purdy.

There were also some wonderful Calash bonnets that I desperately wanted to try on.

soooo muuuucccchhh ffunnnnnn

This one reminds me of an accordion.

 Then there was this gown:

What’s so interesting about this gown is that it is black and in superb condition. The black dyes tend to deteriorate the fabric, so to have a gown like this one, that is so well preserved, is an extreme rarity.

 The motif you see on the gown is actually embroidered to the fabric itself. A lot of time went into it.

Sorry for the shakey pics (museum lighting)

 Another interesting tidbit pertains to the trim. It is done by a series of knots, and to my knowledge, was an entire trade to itself. O.O There’s a bajillion yards of this trim on the gown. Can you imagine only tying knots/making this kind of trim for your career?!?

muy impressivo

 The last things I took a peek at were the tools on display on the lower level. My favorite…. The Waffle Iron…. I want it.

nomnomnom