jennylafleur | Entries tagged with books

My current book du jour is Patriotic Treason, a biography of John Brown. It's pretty good so far, especially interesting for someone who lived in Lawrence, Kansas for a while. I'd love to go back to Kansas and do some serious museum hopping now!

I was surfing the net for pics, maps and things to compliment my reading and stumbled onto some online frock pages from the Kansas State Historical Society. Forgive me if you'd already found these but I had to share - pretties! I really love this black & white 1911 number, owned by the wife of Fred Harvey of Harvey House fame and this late 1920s frock – so fun!.

I was also particularly interested to see some good pics of this 1865 Inaugural outfit. It was on display in the DC Portrait gallery when I visited last year - very cool in person!

I really don't know what is wrong with me, I have actually been reading! Like a real book with pages and everything. Most of my literary pursuits the past year has been via audio book (while I sew, clean ect). It's been a while since I really sat down and read something cover to cover.

Ahh, it takes me back to my childhood, when I used to read for days at a time. Our curriculum was literature based (I love homeschooling!) so I read A LOT. I miss the pure time I used to have to do that. My only consolation is that I knew at the time that I was living a privileged life and I tried to take full advantage of it.

So what has inspired this feat of paragraph devouring? The Duchess (formally published as Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire). I really enjoyed it, finding it far superior to the film (surprise, surprise). I know what Hollywood is like but even still I'm actually a little shocked at how fast and loose they played with the timeline, facts and people in the story. If they had just filmed what happened I think it would have been much more engaging (plenty for this gal to fast-forward through too). But then again I apparently enjoy "dry" books (I thought the reviews for this book were pretty entertaining).

Next up is Manhunt: the 12-day chase for Lincoln’s Killer. I discovered this book last year via audio book and have actually listened to it a couple of times since. I got out the paper-book in Dec, just to look at the pictures, and discovered that what I’d been listened to was abridged! Ahh! I’m torn between being ticked off at books being abridged (SO annoying) and happy that there is more to read/learn!

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've only read 6 and force books upon them :>

( read on )

Not too shabby, but then I had lots of time for reading when I was homeschooled. I found it got me out of a lot of chores (oh Mom I'm doing school!) and then I grew to love reading for it's own sake. Still do.

This list is interesting. Several of my most favorites with several I would never even touch let alone read. Wierd.

I've found the perfect necklace for my Pearl Dress, it's exactly what I've been looking for! It's just a *little* bit out of my price range. Moo.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170194768292&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=007

Speaking of period jewelry, I recently recived an e-mail (thanks again Kristin!) with a book reccamendation: http://www.georgianjewellerybook.com

I'm now lusting after the cameo and gold chain necklace on the first sample page as well. It's probally out of my price range though too. Double moo. If I weren't going to CC this year I've have already ordered the book as a consolation but for now it's just on my Amazon wish list. Oh well.

I'm always listening to something while I sew, music, a sermon, an audio book. This week I've been "reading" Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. It was really good, both the book and the audio performance. Well researched, well written and quite gripping actually, even though I knew the end of the story. The interview with the author at the end was cool too, you can tell he has a passion for the subject.

( discoveries )

I sometimes forget how spoiled I am living were I do, so much American history happened in this area. People travel miles and miles to see these sights but I live here. I drive past major Civil War battlefields, Washington family homes and President's houses in the course of my daily life. After a while you stop seeing them. I've barely stratched the surface of the "major" sites let alone discovered the out of the way pieces of history to be found tucked away here and there.

I really need to be better about taking advantage of such things... especially since I don't want to live here forever. :>

sites of interest:
http://www.fordstheatre.org/
http://www.fordstheatre.org/visit/virtual-tour.htm (virtual tour, including artifacts)
http://civilwarstudies.org/OnlinePrograms/Thumbnails/Boothtour/start.htm http://www.civilwartraveler.com/EAST/MD/booth.html
http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/Lincoln.html
http://www.historicportroyal.com/index.htm
http://www.co-opliving.com/coopliving/issues/2005/February%202005/Images/feb05%20down%20home.pdf

Well you will all be excited to know that I got notification from Amazon.com that the replacement for my Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail has been shipped! Yeah, that would be the book I ordered in January with Christmas money, the one that was damaged when I received it.

This is so ridiculous. I was just wondering about this the other day, thinking I needed to go back and check my CC statements to see if they had just returned my money without letting me know or if they still owed me the book before I wrote a very frosty e-mail. It was on my pre-CC list so I would know if I should just replace it in the Marketplace.

I guess that question has been answered.

So the lesson here is that if you ever get a fashion book from Amazon.com that is damaged just ask for your money back and re-order it later. What do you want to bet they have filled an order or two for that book in the past 6 months? *sheesh*

This has really not been a good costumer service week.

I wrote a nice long update on the fire yesterday and then somehow deleted it - moo. Anyway, we had guests for Father's day so while the hardwood floors were cat hair and dust free I laid out the dress on Narcissa to shape the train. I'm waiting to hem it until I finish the stenciling (the red glitter spray should arrive today - yay!).

B got started on the embellishment over the weekend, adding sequins to the inner sleeves. She is using both large flat gold sequins (off a clearance bin belt), and small flat gold sequins (same as I used on the Polignac). They are just scattered around and to save time she is gluing them. Yay glue and paint – I love this costume! :>

I started work on the underskirt as well. The lining and zipper are done but when I started to seam the chiffon layer my tension starting giving me fits so I stopped for the night.

In other news... I was very bad last night and while at Borders found the book: A Dress For Diana The book is really interesting, a detailed description of the process of the making of the dress - from the first concept sketches through fabric sourcing, toiles, mock-ups, embellishing and delivery. Lots of lovely pictures too, which is what really sold me on it.

Of course if I had an extra £1000 laying around I could have gotten the special edition version with a scrap of original silk taffeta but well... I am saving up for CC. *LOL*

Well bummer! I ordered Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail with the last of my holiday Amazon certificates and it came damaged. *moo* Now Amazon is telling me they don't have the inventory to send a replacement right away. *double moo*

I was really enjoying looking through it too, Even more than I thought I would. I really got it out of self defense, you people keep referencing it as inspiration! Now that I'm interested in the bustle era (and the Regency) it was easier to justify of course. :> At least my Slipper & the Rose soundtrack came okay. *does happy dance*

Current Music: Secret Kingdom - Slipper & the Rose

Oh yes! Last night at dance class I was able to flip through 18th Century Embroidery Techniques. *clutches heart* Oh. My. Gosh. It was a struggle to keep the drool off the book!

Gorgeous! And not only full of period inspiration but line draws of the designs, the stitches used and other helpful info on period techniques. I also loved that there were full line drawings of the garments the embellishment is on. I mean those are drool worthy by themselves! High quality all the way around, similar to Costume Close-Up and Historical Fashion in Detail – only for embroidery.

I.Must.Have!!!! It’s so cruel of Amazon to advertise it for $15 but say it’s not available yet!! I might just have to break down and get it somewhere for more – I want it now!!

Also, I stayed up far too late doing it but I’ve updated my website. I’ve updated the current diaries and added some pics to the red stripe gallery. I also found a way to streamline the site a bit more by combining the diary and gallery pages into one. The other way was confusing to me, I don’t know about anyone else. Now at a glance you can see all my projects and whether they have a diary or a précis (short description or abstract).

In future expect to see more précis than diaries. I just don't have the time for full on diaries like I used to. Also most of my projects are simply new versions or building from projects I've already done diaries on. A diary for every covered hat or robe l'Anglaise just isn't necessary nor practical.

Forgot to mention earlier…

Went to the library the other day, to pick up The Art of Dress. My library doesn’t have a huge selection of fashion books but it does tend to round out my collection nicely. I have gotten the book out a few times but have not actually sat down and read the whole way through.

elizabethsdress has been raving about it lately so I thought I would take the time to do so this month.

While I was there I discovered my library now has What Clothes Reveal. Very cool! Another book I want but don’t have yet! I’ve had a chance to look through it a few times, shopping in Williamsburg, but not to read much of it. I started reading WCR first and have really enjoyed it. Quite interesting so far…

*sigh* So many books, so little cash and shelf space. :>

Yesterday I started work on my Rohan gown. It took forever to machine baste the velvet pieces to the cotton lining pieces. All the stories I'd heard about velvet are true: sewing the stuff is slow, meticulous work involving tons of pins. Very tedious. Make that very, very tedious. I listened to the book-on-tape of "To the Scaffold" (bio of Marie Antoinette ) so that helped the tedium. I love books-on-tape!

Today I put the dress together, sans collar, sleeves and a finished hem. I started out by just trying to pin well but in the end I resorted to basting each seam by hand before machine sewing it. It was the only way I could control the fabric. Even by hand control was a bit of a challenge. My velvet has the unfortunate combination of a pile (like all velvets) and a rather thick upholstery backing. Pins just wouldn't do the job.

So I got out my needles, thread and beeswax and plopped in front of A&E’s Pride & Prejudice. It didn't turn out to be a great choice as I frequently found my eyes on the screen and my hands idle. I guess hadn’t watched it in a while. :> By the end of the day both the main dress and the movie were finished though.

( the gown so far )

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Jenny La Fleur

adventures in costuming

bleeding Kansas

books & histories

the big read

the tempation of the cameo

pieces of history

a bad example of costumer service

Fire fun & a book for the Royal Wedding

Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail

Embroidery book & web site updates

yummy books

battling green fuzz

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July 2014

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