Lace sample received from Julie E. This and all the lace samples are just gorgeous. I get seriously distracted when a new one comes in, holding it up, watching the sequins tremble. . . getting a little nervous about sewing it all together. . .

Lovely green stockings received from Monique N. I honestly feel that knit stockings in the bin are like money in the bank. When someone wears out a pair they don’t have to be cold waiting for us to fix them. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone who has signed in to the forum. How cool is that?

I need your help again. I am working on a multi-media presentation on the jacket project (not just me, though, I am part of a team). As part of it, I’d like to hear from you. Would you share your thoughts on this project, what it means to you, why you think it has captured so much attention and enthusiasm, why you think it is important? You can send me email (jhall@plimoth.org) or regular mail:

Jill Hall, Colonial Wardrobe

Plimoth Plantation

PO Box 1620

Plymouth, MA 02362

I will set up a place in the forum, too. Let me know your name (first and last initial is fine) and general location (city/state or province/country should do the trick).

Your comments will be used in support of the project - for information packets, for fund raising, as part of the eventual exhibit, that sort of thing. Thank you in advance for what I know will be thoughtful, eloquent contributions to the cause.

I was planning to address some of the questions in the recent comments, but Robbin has done an admirable and really thorough job. Thanks, Robbin. I was a little swamped, with opening and then a come-to-my-house holiday in the same weekend.

The bottom line on the session schedules is - we’re flexible. I am scheduling the lacers carefully to make sure that on each lacer’s first day one of our two mentors/moderators/detail people is able to come. Robbin and Carolyn have generously offered to help us all stay on the same page and keep the lace looking as much like one lacer made it as is possible. Other than knowing what your first day will be, we’re open to people coming in early, leaving early, skipping a day, coming later, what have you. If you have specific concerns, just let me know. If you’d like to come for only part of a weekend, let me know so I can try to get another lacer to work the pillow the other days. But really, not to worry. These weekends are supposed to be a special treat for you to devote uninterrupted time to work you love to do and enjoy a community of people working together to accomplish a major goal. Be easy.

Hey, we have another toy! I mean tool. But aren’t they the same, really? Rich has set up a forum for us. Look at the top right column for the link, and register and start a conversation. Thanks to Kar who asked for this opportunity, and thanks to Rich who jumped on the idea and made it happen. I wrote to him this afternoon, that if anyone had told me last year that by now I’d be blogging and have a forum and doing all these other techno-things I’m doing I simply wouldn’t have believed it. It’s good to learn new things.

I’m looking forward to Friday and Saturday, when Carolyn and Robbin will be setting things up for beginning the lace. I should have some handsome pictures, too. The hurdles are falling one by one.

Today was opening day of the 2008 season at Plimoth Plantation. It was sunny but a little cold, with the wind off the water. It warmed up nicely, though.

Here are a couple of pictures taken by Penny at the 1627 English Village morning meeting. This meeting lasts only a few minutes and is sort of a check-in for staff on duty each day. As you can see, some of the morning’s work is to cover the tire tracks of the trucks that deliver animal feed, etc, after hours. That’s what the broom and rake are for.

You can also see lots of beautiful knitted goods! Thanks again to all the knitters who have sent finished items. Hopefully these pictures are encouragement to those knitters still plugging away - see how happy and warm everyone looks?

Part of the opening day festivities was a parade of rare breed animals. The rare and heirloom breed goats, sheep, cattle and chickens that represent the animals brought by the first colonists spend some or all of the winter behind the scenes in our modern barn. They paraded from the Visitors’ Center to their summer homes in the Village accompanied by 4-H club volunteers, museum staff and lots of museum guests. Well, the heifers and grown-up goats paraded. Several of the kids were carried, and one tiny lamb was carried in a blanket. The chickens rode in reproduction 17th-century bird-carrying baskets. They are not so much for either parading or being carried in arms.

Opening day is another of my favorite times of the year at Plimoth. Everything is fresh and new and full of potential. Here’s to another excellent season of living history.

Thanks for the comments, Cate and Marilyn and Carolyn. I will answer some of those questions Monday.

Tonight I have more pictures from the February 29th embroidery session.

Here is Ellen working a ceylon stitch worm in Gilt Sylke Twist. I love the worms.

And here are Ellen and Wendy looking at two antique samplers Ellen brought for show & tell. The samplers belong to Ellen’s family, and within a few minutes Wendy had found genealogical info about one of the embroiderers on the internet.

We have room for a few more embroiderers and one lacer in the April 11 - 14 session. We’ll also be embroidering and making lace May 16 - 19. If you’d like to join us, please let me know.

Thanks, Cate, for the information on using wood basket staves as a baleen substitute. I think I will look into that a bit more.

We received two pair of gloves from Linda F recently, and a pair of blue stockings from Martha D.

Kandy left us a note in the comments that she’s a new knitter, too, lured in by the jacket project. She said she’d tried it before but it never “took” with her, but this time it did.

Colleen asked if we’d ever tried hand pounded oak staves in our stays. No, we haven’t. We use oak busks, but that’s different. Where do you get them, and what’s the reference? I can’t remember seeing anything about using wood in stays at this period, but I may not have noticed it if I didn’t know what they were talking about; anyway, there’s hardly a great deal of information at all on stays this early.

We have room for another lacer in the first lacing session, April 11-14. It may be OK to come for just one day, depending on the day. Let me know. . .