Past Event - Mother's Day Tea at Bacon's Castle

On May 9, the day before Mother's Day, the Regency Society of Virginia hosted a tea at Bacon's Castle in Surry, Virginia.  Several of us ladies volunteered to either serve the tea or act as hostess for one of the five tables of guests.  We arrived early to help set up: 

So many lovely caps:

I wore my very own brand-new cap, which is proper headwear for a married lady:

The chemisette was new, too.  Adding it to my Blue Day Dress and Sheer Overdress changed the look significantly, I think.  

We might be perfectionists.

The tables were so pretty!

An RSV member, Victoria, is a volunteer at Bacon's Castle.  She portrays various ladies who have lived in the house at different time periods.  For the tea, she was Louisiana Hankins:

We, of course, were fascinated by her futuristic fashion:

During the tea, she read letters from Mrs. Hankins to her daughters - in keeping with the Mother-Daughter theme of the tea.

This table had four generations of the same family (and one RSV hostess):

And they all had fabulous hats!

My table had a mother with three daughters: 

They were all very excited to be there, and we had some lovely conversations.  They had many questions about my attire. 

Kathleen played her beautiful Irish harp, providing a lovely ambiance for the afternoon:

After I got home from the tea (after cleaning up and packing away all the china) I had Brian take some pictures for me.  I wanted to showcase the cap and chemisette, plus the flowers out front were so pretty: 

The back of the cap:

I must blog about it soon. 

RSV Ladies' Retreat - Day 2 (Part 2) - Sewing, Dining, & Cards

(I had to split this post in two because I had too many pictures!  See Part 1 here.)

We arrived back at the house very warm, and were greeted by the delightfully cool air conditioning!  There are perks of 21st-Century living, after all.  :p  

Who needs rouge when one has exercise?

Jillian looks like she's asking me "Are you sewing again?"
RSV photo

By now it was nearly 2:00 in the afternoon, and almost time for tea!  

Cathy, me, and Jillian in the mirror
RSV Photo

We had scones (of course), egg salad and cucumber sandwiches, lemon pound cake, chocolate chip bars, and cookies.  The tea was lovely, and the company was pleasant.  The only low point was when somebody found a tick on her person, and then a few other people found ticks, so we all went to our rooms to change!  

Another wonderful aspect of this house was the on-site laundry machines, so many of us took advantage of this and washed our white underthings after the tick-hunting.  I was very glad to be able to launder my chemise and tanktop, as both were soaked through and I had no spares!  I changed back into my Regency pajamas and joined several other ladies in the library for sewing and movie-watching.  

Jenny, Cathy, Rebecca, Jillian, Bonnie (in front), me, Denisa
RSV photo

We watched Sense & Sensibility, and I worked diligently on my Yellow Sprigged Dress.  It had become clear to me by this point that there was no way I was going to finish it in time to wear it on Saturday, but if I sewed every spare minute I might get it done in time to put it on Sunday morning for a few pictures before we left the manor.  With this goal in mind, I sewed steadily until it was time to dress for dinner, which was had scheduled for 8:00.  

I re-dressed in my Blue Day Dress, which I had aired on my bed while my underthings were washed.  I left off the chemisette for the evening, but added my Sheer Striped Overdress and switched the cream satin sash and cameo brooch for a blue velvet sash and blue rhinestone brooch - another recent purchase.  I removed my cap, re-curled my bangs (borrowing my roommate Victoria's curling iron), and smoothed back any fly-aways with my LBCC Lavender Pomatum.  The bun and braid still looked decent, so I left the rest of my hair as it was.  

Jenny and me, dressed for dinner

I also wore my aquamarine earrings from Dames a la Mode, but sadly I could not find the matching collet necklace when I was packing for the weekend.  :(  I opted for a double-strand of pearls instead.  And I completed my toilette with more LBCC products - namely liquid Turkish Rogue on my lips and cheeks, and Rose Balm Lip Salve over top on my just lips.  
  

My full compliment of historical makeup and hair care:  Powder of Magnolia and Lemon Soap from Colonial Williamsburg; Turkish Rogue, Lavender Hair Pomatum, Rose Balm Lip Salve, and Burnt Cloves from LBCC; "Felicity" Jasmine & Rose perfume from RSV Fragrance Workshop; and gorgeous folding mirror from Austria - gift from Brian's cousin

Dinner was scrumptious!  We had chicken pudding (way more tasty than it sounds!), breaded & fried cauliflower, tomato and cucumber salad, fresh-baked rolls, and broccoli with pine nuts.  

Kimberly, who works as a cook at Colonial Williamsburg, informed us that everything but the broccoli was made from authentic 18th Century recipes, and it was all incredibly delicious.  And for dessert we had individual stemmed glasses with pistachio pudding.  

Everyone helped themselves to the exquisite cuisine

A good time was had by all!

After dinner (which was eaten entirely by candlelight) we moved some tables around in the dining room to create spaces for playing Whist.  We kept the candlelight ambiance going, and had a very jolly time of it!  

First we played open hands, for teaching purposes - a few of us were new to the game!
Photo by Heather Hufton

Whist is serious business.
Photo by Bonnie Britz

I shuffled for Megan when it was her turn to deal, and Stacy kept blaming me for her terrible cards!
RSV photo

My partner for the game was Cathy, and we won our first match against Stacy and Megan, but lost the second.  By that time it was getting rather late, and those of us who had not already gone off to bed gathered once more in the library and watched Horatio Hornblower!  


I took a quick shower, then rejoined the library party to brush out my hair and put it all up in rag curls.  It was very late by the time we went to bed, but I honestly could not tell you what time it was because I do not have a period-accurate watch.  :p

Victory Ball!

Yes, I got into Regency costuming so that I could attend fancy balls.  I'm not ashamed.

Cheers!

Caution:  This is a picture-intensive post.

I Could Have Danced All Night

Oh, the ball!  It was so much fun!  I wish I could go to one every weekend.  :)  But you want to see the pictures, don't you?  Well, wait no longer!  

My accessories for the evening - American Duchess stockings and my newly decorated slippers (blog post on those coming soon!), long white silk gloves purchased at the bridal store where I work, pocket mirror for last-minute hair touch-ups, gold necklace and earrings, a drawstring reticule purchased at the Michigan Renaissance Faire last summer, my invitation, and of course I couldn't go time-traveling without my sonic screwdriver!  

HSF Stripes Challenge - Regency Ballgown

When I left off with this project, I had two bodices for my two dresses, and the blue one had sleeves.  Now I have two completed dresses, even to the hand-sewn buttonholes!  It's amazing how much I got done in a day - and I do mean a 24-hour day.  I didn't sleep Friday night.  :p  I finished my ensemble for the ball at 8:00 Saturday morning, went to work from 10:00-4:30, ran home for a quick dinner and catnap, left for Lansing, MI at 5:45 and arrived at the ball at 7:02, after a quick change in my car.  But more on the ball later.  First, the dress(es)!

The skirts are just pinned in place to get a feel for length.

Regency Ballgown Progress

This project is actually two-in-one, as I am making both a solid light blue day dress and a sheer white striped overdress for the upcoming ball.  The day dress is almost done now; I just have to attach the skirt to the bodice and add a placket and buttons.  Easy-peasy.

The overdress, on the other hand, is a little more complicated...

Regency Blues

I'm having difficulties with my Regency ballgown.  The vision in my head is a sheer striped white overdress worn over a light blue day dress.  I have been inspired by several images, all found on my Regency Inspiration Pinterest board.

I envisioned the white overdress skirt to be the same length or just slightly shorter than the blue underdress, like in the above two fashion plates.  However, I do not have enough of the white striped voile to accomplish this.  The very first image gave me the idea to use my scalloped eyelet trim and a row of solid white voile puffs to lengthen the skirt.  I originally planned to add the eyelet in two rows, with the puffs above.  I had more than twice the eyelet I needed for one row, and I also wanted to add more width to the skirt to make it as flowy as possible.  To make up the extra width, I decided to add a panel of my solid white voile at the back of the skirt, with vertical rows of inset lace set at intervals to mimic the striped pattern of the main skirt fabric.

The stripe at the center of the photo is my inset lace joining the two fabrics.  The stripe along the right is not yet sewn in.  

The stripes will not be as close together as on the main fabric, but I'm ok with that.  I want the feel of the striped fabric, not a direct copy.  This panel will be gathered closely at the back of the skirt, so it should blend together relatively unobtrusively.

However, now that the bodice pieces are cut out for both gowns, I am unsatisfied with the fabric left over for the overdress skirt.  The blue dress should have plenty of width, as I have 102" remaining.  But my striped fabric, even with the solid white panel attached, is only 60" wide.  I want the overdress to be as full as the underdress, but if I make it wider I can only use one row of the eyelet, and therefore it won't be as long as I want.

(Is this making any sense at all?  I'm having a hard time explaining it.)  I've laid out the fabrics to better visualize it.  The blue fabric is folded in half along the right edge.

Option 1:

Imagine a row of puffs between the striped fabric and the rows of eyelet.

Option 2:

Ideally I would like the white overdress skirt to be this long, but then I'd need several rows of puffs and/or tucks between the two.  

Option 3:

I could leave the overdress intentionally short, to show the blue underskirt more.  

In case all of this is unclear, Option 1 would leave the white skirt narrower than the blue underskirt, but almost as long.  Option 2 would make it as wide and as long, but require much more extensive hem decoration than I was originally planning.  Option 3 would make it as wide, but much shorter.  Also, keep in mind I only have enough of my insertion lace to make five vertical rows, so they would either need to be much wider apart, or spaced between more rows of a different lace, if I am to make the skirt wider.  I hope this all makes sense.  I feel like I'm buried underneath a pile of decisions here.  :(