Living Histor(ies)

I've been thinking of ways to better focus this blog.  It's harder to think of things to write when you've got your whole life waiting to be picked-through and written over.  But one aspect of life is easy enough to make a little public art of.

So, I'm selecting to emphasise the little hobby which has slowly-but-surely been taking hold of my life lately.  It combines two loves of mine - histoy & theater - without the tedium of the first nor the "drama" of the second (well, depending on your unit, I suppose).  It allows my storytelling side to craft a persona, my crafty side to learn new skills, and my geeky side to delve into reams of quasi-useless historical facts.  Did you know, per exemplum, that Loudon County, VA, grew almost no cotton or tobacco in 1860? 

Since plunging in to this strange world of canvas, gunpowder, and multiple-layers-of-clothing-on-hot-summer-days, I've learned the basics of sewing, spinning, Spencerian handwriting, soap-making, period-laundering, and giving impromptu historical lectures to curious high-schoolers, notebooks-in-hand.  I've danced, sung, and pitched my tent on ant-hills.  But there's definitely alot about the hobby I'm still learning and experimenting with, and I plan to use this blog to map the journey a little.

My first batch of hand-spun yarn.

Welcome aboard - the Laundress is In!



Ink can be a pain in the bustle.