Here are two more pictures of the August show & tell.

This antique embroidery belongs to Nicole. This weekend is the first time Nicole has joined us; she’s already planning to come back in September.

Nicole bought this piece; it’s dated to about 1875 – 1900. It has a French title, A L’amitie Filiale, which means something like the love of a daughter for her parents. It may have been done in a convent school. It reminds me of one my great-grandmother did, but hers is coarser, and was probably made in the mid-twentieth century.

Here’s a picture of Betty-Anne admiring it, and asking Nicole some questions about it.

On the table in front of them is one of Mary-Denise’s hats, which date from around the end of World War I.

One of my very favorite parts of these embroidery sessions is getting to see all the beautiful items our talented volunteers bring in for show & tell day.

First up is a piece of bobbin lace Carolyn W is working using some Redde Gilt Sylke Twist.

In the second picture Carolyn is removing some of the pins.

Here are a few pictures of Lacey fixing Rebecca’s hair.

In the early 17th century working-class women (like the Plymouth Colonists) wore their hair up and covered with a white linen coif. Modern female interpreters may or may not have “period-correct” hair, but either way they have to get their hair under a coif with no bangs or other bits showing. Rebecca has gorgeous period correct hair, by which I mean long and unlayered.

Some women with long hair put their hair up in a simple bun, some braid it. Here Lacey is braiding Rebecca’s hair in a style thoroughly illustrated in The Tudor Tailor. This book shows Jane, one of the authors, braiding ribbons into her hair starting about halfway down each of two braids. The ends of the ribbons hang down beyond the end of the braids. You then use those hanging ends to tie the braids up over your forehead.

The first time I tried to do my daughter’s hair that way, the ribbons pulled right out of her slippery fine braids. I thought about it for a minute, then cut a long ribbon, folded it in half, and placed the fold at the back of her neck. I began to braid one end into half her hair. The other end got in my way and I pushed it forward over her shoulder, saying, “here, hold this end”.

Then I had a flash of insight – in the book Pride and Joy: children’s portraits in the Netherlands 1500-1700, there’s a 1596 portrait called “Hilleke de Roy and Four of her Orphans”. Hilleke de Roy was the matron of an orphanage. In the portrait she is combing a girl’s hair. One half of the girl’s hair is already braided, and you can see that a ribbon is braided in. Hilleke is combing the other half of the girl’s hair, the unbraided half, and the girl is holding the end of the ribbon, which goes up and around the back of her neck – just as I asked my daughter to do. I love when stuff like that happens.

Penny knitted another awesome hat, this one for Emily. The pink is yarn Emily dyed with cochineal, which are indeed little bugs. Penny duplicate-stitched a skull, because Emily has a pirate aura.

I suppose going back to school is an acceptable excuse for leaving us.

In the comments Meg asked about the small knitted bags several of the female interpreters wear suspended from a belt. In the early 17th century pockets in clothing weren’t as universal as they are now (although Janet Arnold’s Patterns of Fashion 1560 – 1620 has several examples of extant items with either pockets sewn in or evidence that there used to be). People, men and women both, often carried a pouch or bag on their person to hold small items.

We base the bags used on our sites on one found on the Gunnister man, a late 17th-century body found in the mid-20th century in a peat bank in Scotland. The Gunnister man’s knitted possessions are described in Richard Rutt’s book A History of Hand Knitting, and also in an article by Deborah Pulliam that appeared in Piecework magazine.

About 20 years ago Plimoth Plantation, in conjunction with the Weavers’ Guild of Boston, published a booklet of knitting patterns, including one for this sort of little bag. The booklet is out of print, and most of the patterns have been vastly improved through further research in the intervening years. A few years ago a former wardrobe department tailor developed a pattern for a bag the same size as the Gunnister man’s but with a different pattern. I’ll find out if it is available through the museum gift shop and let you know.

Tomorrow is Emily’s last day with us. She did great work this summer, as did Lacey, who arrived home safely a few days ago. We’re going to miss them both, especially since we’re only in the middle of the process of finding a replacement for Shaina, who departed in June. This autumn will be a major transition time for us.

Kandy asked about the exhibit opening in May. I guess I have neglected to mention that much, since we won’t shift into high gear on the planning and implementation of that for another couple of months. We are planning to open an exhibit which will include the completed jacket in May of 2009. I will of course share the details as they develop.

I also have more pictures of Rebecca transforming into her 17th-century character – on a disk at the office.