Going out to eat tomorrow night!

Why? Because as of July 1st, concealed carry permit holders in Virginia may carry a concealed firearm for self-defense in restaurants that serve alcohol, provided they do not consume alcohol. Anyone else?

Death by petticoat - or how to do an 18th century patch job.

One of the prevalent reenactor myths is that the second leading cause of death for women during the 18th century was by what we call “death by petticoat*”, or women dying from their clothing catching on fire and burning them to a crisp. (With the leading cause of death believed to be complications of childbirth.) Those myths are busted here, but I can tell you from personal experience that your skirts catching fire is not an automatic death sentence.

I was assisting the costumer at a film shoot, dressed in my linen working gown with the back polonaised up off the floor. It was a bloody cold, windy day in December, and the cast and crew were inside one of the interior sets trying to stay warm while a couple of exterior kerosene heaters were going full blast. These heaters had the heating element/flame set up about three feet above the floor. I was standing about a foot in front of one, feverishly sewing one of the “talent” into her gown as the director was standing in the open door bleating “We must go NOW! We’re losing the LIGHT!” I felt what seemed like someone brushing against the back of me and thought nothing of it until the talent was out the door and a nice young man said to me “Ma’am – your butt was on fire. But I put it out for you!” Who said chivalry was dead? (And proof that at least once in my life I had a hot ... backside.)

Upon further examination, I found that my gown had some rather interesting holes burned in it. Had I been dressed in polyester, or some sort of poly blend, I would have been shrink-wrapped like a package of bacon. Wool would have shown less damage, as wool is self-extinguishing and won’t hold a flame. This is good to know if you are shooting anything that requires a priming pan filled with black powder. Wool is a good choice for your upper body garment.

Patching the gown was one of my projects this past weekend. In the 18th century, labor was cheap and fabric was dear, so patching was done a little differently – it was patched from the back.

First step is to find a piece of fabric that matches as closely as possible to the original. Or, at least as closely as practical for the character you are portraying. I had scraps from the original gown, and had my gown been old and faded I would have used these to show a subtle change of color. Since I was wearing for the gown for the first time when it caught fire, I found another shade of brown to use. I wanted them gown to be neatly patched, but still noticeable enough to use as a talking point.

Next, with the right side of the fabric facing up, place the patch behind the hole and pin in place making sure the garment fabric isn’t distorted. Try to match the straight-of-grain. Turn under a narrow hem (like about an eighth of an inch or less) and sew with tiny overcast stitches.

 

Partially done on the back.

Turn the garment over and trim the patch to about a quarter of an inch away from your stitching. Turn that raw edge under, and repeat with the tiny overcast stitches. Repeat for each hole.

Done in back.

Finished in front.

Five of the ten holes patched.

*Petticoat – what we today would call a skirt – a garment (usually at least two at a time) worn under your
gown (what we would call a “dress” today). Your skirts were the bottom portion of your petticoat or gown.

It’s not the heat, it’s the stupidity

Okay. So it was the heat this weekend. Friday was not unpleasant. We set up camp in the evening, and it dropped down to 75 degrees at some point that night. Nice sleeping weather. Saturday hit a high of 98 degrees – which was a bit rough. Saturday night reached a "balmy" low of 80. Even with both ends of my tent tied open, there wasn’t a breath of air moving. On Sunday it hit 103 degrees. Even the grass was hot to walk on. I knew it wasn’t 104 – a couple of years ago, it hit 104 and that’s when I found out the pointy bits of my elbows can sweat. But even with dry elbows, 103 was bad enough.

Time to cool off!

My favorite Tourist Stunt of the weekend happened as one family passed by, and the teenage son absent-mindedly grabbed a handful of grapes out of a bowl on the table where we had our lunch sitting out. That was actually pretty funny as you could tell the Dad was mentally calculating how much discipline he could get away with dispensing in public, and the son was properly horrified when he realized what he had done, and apologized profusely.

"Stay out of my grapes!"

We play the Palace

Why I think it’s a good idea to wait until the last minute to launch sewing projects – just in case my sewing muse returns – is a good idea is beyond me.

My old shift was in shreds, Sweet Daughter had outgrown hers, and I had a Banyan project that had been taunting me for close to nine months. SD now has two new shifts, mine is finally complete (I decided I had to sew the whole thing by hand. Even the interior seams that nobody will ever see), and I’m taming the banyan. The problem there was the “pattern” was a drawing with a few remarks written in French. I don’t read French, and I had no clue as to what the scale is supposed to be. With me doing the hemming in the car, it should be done in time for Chris to wear.

Did I mention this is all needed for an event in Williamsburg this weekend? Yup. It’s “Under the Redcoat” – the British Occupation of Williamsburg. The medical types get to interpret from inside the Governer's Palace. I'm stuck outside. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be busy. We’re going to be shorthanded this year. But we love it.

Unicorn - it's what's for dinner.

Blending the crushed unicorn horn into the meat adds delightful, crispy flavor notes in each bite. We are confident you will find a world of bewilderment in every mouthful of scrumptious unicorn meat.

The sparkles are what send it absolutely over the top. Can't wait to try some -- maybe this November. On Election Day!

New addition to the family

A coworker is going to be moving this summer and she thought Sweet Daughter might like their pet goldfish. Another coworker (who is Snow White reincarnated – she has a stray cat trained to sleep in a crate at night so it won’t bother the baby flying squirrels. She has a stingray she can pet.) donated a 10 gallon tank and filter. What I knew about goldfish could be written on the inside of a matchbook cover with a grease pencil, but I said “Sure! We’ll take Goldie!” After a crash course in fish care, ammonia levels, the evils of overfeeding, and spending an awful lot of money on “extras”, we brought her home. Did I mention this was an outdoor fish that lived in an artificial pond? Year round?

Goldie is about 8” long and clearly understands that he/she is now living the good life. This fish has lived outside in 100 degree heat in summer and under the ice in winter. It has survived eagles flying overhead and pre-adolescent boys roaming the neighborhood. It would be pretty tragic if it died now. Wish me luck!

Looking for an Ammo Geek

Shorter Half has an ammo question. He noticed ads for UAE produced “M193” 5.56 mm ball ammo, supposedly to US military specification – but he wants to know if this stuff performs like USGI M193. Does anyone really know what the exterior and terminal ballistics are like? Like, firsthand experience. Not what the cousin of your Shootin' Buddy's girlfriend says it is.