Monday, October 21, 2024

Knotting? New Rabbit Hole!

 I had no clue this existed. I love when that happens. I'm posting this video for a few reasons:

1. Instructional How to Knot.

2. The history of Knotting.

3. The humoUr. 

4. The editing and production of this video. FANTASTIC.

5. If you're on YouTube, go subscribe to The Song Spinner.



Thursday, April 25, 2024

Victorian Hatpin Box

 A dear family friend, Christie, entrusted me with her great-aunt's silver hatpin box. The lace covers the hat pin cushion. I'm not sure if the lace is tatted or crocheted, but it's very delicate. 

Also, it was carefully pieced together, so it's possible that it was a collar or something that was re-purposed as a covering. You can see a faint, curved line on the lower right part:


Underneath the lace is the silk covered pin cushion:

Here's the bottom of the pin cushion. It was handsewn:

The pin cushion sits on a base of silver:

This box inserts into the silver part:

Here's what it looks like from the bottom:

The bottom of the box fits snugly, but is not attached:

Here's the silver with the box insert removed:

Here's the bottom of the silver box:




The saffron silk was a  later addition, covering the original silk, which was a light blue, which you can see on the hidden parts:


The Restoration

I cleaned the lace in Quilter's soap, which is recommended on antique fabrics. It came recommended by historical textile experts as safe. It also had good reviews on Amazon. If it had been a larger piece of lace, I would have tacked it onto a piece of muslin. Since it's small, I laid it in a shallow dish and let it soak (no bending or twisting or agitating!)  The water was a satisfying greige, and I laid the lace out on a towel to dry. However, the lace hasn't lost its vintage vibe:

I forgot to take a photo of the pin cushion without the lace! But you can see it in the video at the end of this blogpost.

Here's the new box insert. I re-used the wooden frame of the box and removed the red fabric. I replaced the bottom with acid-free book board. It fits snugly like the original, but can pop out and be replaced if needed:

Here's the inside bottom with the box insert removed: 


The original bottom was cardstock and badly damaged. I replaced it with paper-leather, which is very sturdy. It won't tear or crack and is also more pliable in getting it into place. The product I used is no longer available, but here's the same product from a different company.

Here's the bottom:

And here are the remnants:


Here is the "Before" video walk-thru:


Here is the "After" :




Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Jane Austen July Journal: A Few Pages

 Here are some photos of my Jane Austen July journal. I really didn't read or watch anything that wasn't Jane Austen-related for the whole month! Any movies mentioned, I've linked to their trailers, except for Mansfield Park because BLEH.  Okay, here we go . . . 

Here's the spine:
 I added a little "cameo" from Nik's Jane Austen July digi-kit

Commonplace journal insert:

First page:
Thumbnails for YouTube channel & first video. Below that is a 
comment from another Janeite on Nik's Jane Austen video.

I watched Bride & Prejudice. I print out a picture of the movie poster and use it as a pocket. Then I print out my favourite one-star reviews, which are often LOL-funny. 

On the right is a pocket I made with a carriage graphic, and I printed out info from the British Library on an article on how Jane Austen used carriages as a vehicle (harhar) for communicating wealth, class, and status. Another article is from John Mullan: Status, Rank, and Class in Jane Austen's Novels

Here are notes I took on a video I watched,
I do a hybrid of bullet journal/mind-mapping. I take notes in pen first. Then I go back and colour with  watercolour pencils and then I go back with a water brush and make it look watery.

I watched the 1999 version of Mansfield Park: 
Skip the movie, It was truly dreadful. 

On left: notes taken from Books & Things video on Mansfield Park.
Favourite synopsis of the book from Nick, Katie's husband:

"One woman's heartwarming journey to sleep with her cousin." 

On right, Love & Friendship movie:

2005 Mansfield Park:

I made a dedicated insert for Regency Fiction:

Here's my favourite book I read, Aurora. I print out a picture of the book cover, along with the summary of the book, and my own notes:

The cover for my list of books to be read:

This is another convenient graphic from Nik's Jane Austen digi-kit:
I write in the book and then fill in stars and add notes when I've read it. Very handy!

I'll do a separate blogpost/flip thru for the Quotes insert:

For a flip-thru video of the journal, click HERE

Sunday, August 6, 2023

Genuine FAUX Cabinet Cards

 My sister is spiffying up display cabinets in the university science building she manages. She's very good with arranging curiosities and artifacts. Some of them have been donated by the family of a member on staff. He had a picture of his great-grandfather holding a skull in medical school, and here's the skull:


So I made vintagey looking cabinet cards & calligraphed information:



There were other pictures included, so I made cabinet cards for them as well:

Here are some close-ups of the cards:

Dr. Charles Bennett:

In medical school in Milwaukee, circa 1899:
"Alas!  Poor Yorick!" (Shakespeare ref)

This is great-grandmother Pearlie Bennett, his wife:
Lookit those mutton sleeves!  Soooooo much poof!

I miiiiiight do a tutorial or something. We'll see . . . .  :-)

Here's a 3-minute video flip-thru if you want to see them.




Sunday, July 30, 2023

PART 2: "Persuasion" & The Regency Time Period

 The Regency Time Period    

I have been slagging through Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century by Mallory James. It's like doing Manners Math. A person's title determines their rank in society and thus, precedence. Precedence boils down to who goes first: who speaks first, who enters or leaves a room first, who enters or leaves a carriage first and where they sit in the carriage (forward facing or backwards facing), etc. Their title determines how they are addressed and how introductions are made--IF they may be made. Apart from the royal family, a duke is the highest rank. A duke and an earl in the same room is obvious. The duke is addressed as "Your Grace" and introduced to the earl (Lord So-And-So). Easy-peazy. UNLESS . . . there are two earls. Then the duke is introduced to the eldest earl--UNLESS, the older lord's family is more recently given the title of earl than the younger earl; in which case the younger earl is introduced first.  

I have temporarily DNF-ed (Did Not Finish) Elegant Etiquette and just binge-watched a bunch of Octavia Cox. She breaks it down and makes it easier to understand in What CLASS Are The Bingleys. Here's a summary of GENERAL RANKINGS: 

  1. Nobility/Aristocracy = own estates/land, titled.  House of Lords
  2. Gentry = own land/estates, but not titled. House of Commons (but elected)
  3. Trade/Merchants/Commercial People = often wealthy, but unless knighted, not called "Sir Anything."
  4. Common Trades = butcher, baker, blacksmiths, etc. 
  5. Peasantry = everyone else; many become factory workers in the Industrial Revolution.

RANKING of NOBILITY/ARISTOCRACY; members of the Peerage:

  1. King
  2. Prince
  3. Duke 
  4. Marquess
  5. Earl
  6. Viscount 
  7. Baron

"But I have lots of money!"  It doesn't matter.

Wealth was important, but even if you made more money than someone in the aristocracy, you still adhered to societal conventions. There were some professions in the middle class that were more desirable than others. For example, even if a tanner made way more than a lawyer, the lawyer had greater rank, status and privilege. In Persuasion, Mary objects to Henrietta's interest in her cousin Mr. Hayter because he wants to be a clergyman. He's educated, will inherit his family's estate as the eldest, but with no title, he's not high-status enough for someone related to her. She doesn't really care about Henrietta, it's Henrietta's association to Mary and her family that she cares about. On the other hand, if Mr. Hayter were to be an archbishop, then he would be higher up--not enough for Mary, I'm sure! 

                                                  "And all that remained was to marshall themselves and proceed                                                                                                    into the Concert Room, and be of all consequence in their power."

Speaking of Mary, let's talk ladies. Something that Jane Austen emphasizes is Mary's preoccupation with precedence over her mother-in-law Mrs. Musgrove, because her father was born a baron. So she was born into the aristocracy and thus, superior. This means she's the first to enter a carriage, the first to enter into dinner. She would be "higher" up than Mrs. Harville, who is only married to a sea captain, with no title or land. The same rules for gentlemen apply to ladies; the superior lady is introduced to the lower-ranking woman. But why would Mary be so obsessed?  Look to her upbringing. In addition to vanity, her father is obsessed about status, title, rank, and precedence. 

From the age of 16, Elizabeth as the eldest, was the lady of the house after Lady Elliot died. This meant that she was first after her father, UNLESS Lady Russell were present, in which case, she followed behind Lady Russell because she was a lady and older. Prior to being married, Mary would have lived for years having to trail behind Elizabeth as the eldest, but also Anne because she was older, too.  So there would be Mary bringing up the rear, which must have vexed her greatly. She would have felt a smug satisfaction on being able to go ahead of Anne after she married--not that Anne would have cared. 

When Anne marries, "She had something to suffer . . . in seeing Anne restored to the rights of seniority"  but she consoles herself that "Anne had no Uppercross Hall before her, no landed estate, no headship of a family; and if they could but keep Captain Wentworth from being made a baronet, she would not change situations with Anne." In other words, she's still better than Anne in status, and thus wins. Even if Captain Wentworth does buy an estate and thus establish himself as landed gentry, he's still not "as good" as someone who's titled. 

INTRODUCTIONS

Introductions were a big deal. You didn't introduce yourself; you had to have a mutual acquaintance introduce you. And it would behoove that mutual acquaintance to take it seriously lest he besmirch his own name if something goes awry. You would need permission from the superior ranking person to make the introduction. If you'll pardon a Pride & Prejudice reference, this is why people didn't just go up to Mr. Darcy at the Assembly Hall and introduce themselves. And he was clearly not seeking to be introduced to anyone there. This is also why it was such an affront for Mr. Collins to introduce himself to Mr. Darcy at the Netherfield Ball. Such impudence!  Who did he think he was, just because his house was divided by "only a lane" to Lady Catherine's estate?  

There was also a whole set of rules for walking about towne. Lydia yelling out to Denny in Meryton was a clear indication early on about her lack of propriety and character. It's why she was admonished by her older sisters. Jane Austen was showing the reader her lack of good judgement and poor conduct early on. We knew Lydia was going to be in trouble!  

HISTORY HAPPENED

Beyond the accepted social customs and acknowledgement of rank, there is also history happening. Jane Austen never specifically mentions the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) but soldiers and naval officers "are in her head!"  Or at least peppered throughout her novels. Going into the navy or joining a regiment was a career option for non-first born heirs and men with no other clear career path. Jane Austen had brothers in the navy, so she was well-familiar with the jargon and culture of naval society. 

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER

Now that we understand title, rank, precedence, status and history, let us revisit what Jane Austen says of Sir Walter Elliot, shall we?

"Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall . . . never took up any book but the Baronetage." This book was a list of all the baronets in the country and was his source of pride and superiority over others. He was SIR Walter Elliot and it said so in this very-important book! Not only was his family listed, but he "improved" it by adding additional information of himself & family: births, deaths, marriages. This might not seem like a big deal, but this is what people did in their family bibles--which we know Sir Walter Elliot does NOT read! So the Baronetage is essentially his bible

He dismisses other people based solely on a lack of title; they are not entitled like he is. What Jane Austen and readers would have known is that the chest-puffery of Sir Walter Elliot makes him look even more of a vapid buffoon than he already is. He is not a baron (lowest of nobility/aristocracy), but a baronet. He's titled, and acts as if he's aristocracy, but he's not. In fact, there are two books: The Baronetage, and the Peerage, which is a separate list of the different levels of aristocracy. 


So what is a baronet?

A baronet is in between the aristocracy and the gentry. It is a title not in the ranks of the aristocracy, and has no political power. The Baronetcy was created by King James the First who sold this new title for a thousand pounds per man. 

King James:  It's 1611. I need money for the soldier thing happening in Ireland.  I know!  I'll send out a sales force to canvas the country and sell status to rich people. 

Joe Merchant:  I'd like a baronetcy, please.

King's Sales Guy: Do you have a thousand pounds? (269271.55 pounds or $346,156.33 today)

Joe Merchant: Here it is. And does this title inherit to little Joe Junior?

King's Sales Guy: Thank you, Sir Joe Merchant and, er, any future Joe Merchant descendants. 

Joe Merchant: I'll just be on my way to Parliament . . . 

King's Sales Guy: Nope. You have no political power. 

Joe Merchant: But I'm a baron!

King's Sales Guy: Baron-ET. But the knighted guy down the street can't pass down his knighthood to his son. YOU can. His son will just be "Mister." 

Joe Merchant:  Right!  Off to buy an estate of at least 500 acres so I can become gentry!

Sir Walter Elliot has a large house but he doesn't grow crops or manage land and he certainly doesn't have 500 acres. He is not landed gentry, he is not aristocracy. He is in between. He could stand to be a bit more humble and kind to others. That is one of the points Jane Austen makes about him. At the end of the book, untitled Captain Wentworth helps Anne's friend Mrs. Smith out her financial predicament. He does what William Elliot refused to do, and essentially caused. Sir Walter Elliot would never have even considered helping, because she was a nobody. This is not to diss a baronet, but specifically Sir Walter Elliot because he's such a judgey blowhard who thinks himself superior when . . . he's just not. He's just entitled--literally and figuratively!

For a few laughs, here's Eddie Izzard explain the royals:

MORE RESOURCES:

Video from Ellie Dashwood:

Octavia Cox:

The Order of Noble Titles: From Gentlemen to Dukes from Dr. Kat Marchant via Reading The Past:



 Status, Rank & Class in Jane Austen's Novels by John Mullan.

Now, in the 21st century, Sir Walter Elliot could consult the Debretts website.   

Historical currency converter

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Botanical Spiral Notebook

 This is a spiral notebook I made for a friend. I've covered her full name with a post-it note for privacy's sake. 


Video flip-thru:


Paper I use for spiral notebooks: Hammermill Printer Paper, 28 lb.
Free graphic to use for handmade projects (please don't use digitally in printable kits, websites, etc.)