"Black Jack"

Below is a photograph of my great great great second cousin,
General John A. Logan.


















Fought at Bull Run, Battle of Belmont, Fort Donelson, where he was wounded, the Siege of Corinth, Vicksburg where he served as military governor after its capture, commanded the Army of the Tennessee at the Battle of Atlanta, and others. He also ran for Vice President of the United States and was responsible for the legislation creating Memorial Day!

How cool is that!?

Latest Project: Civil War Striped Day Dress

Fabric

striped cotton in fall shades

Design
Cartridge pleated skirt
Darted bodice
Modified pagoda sleeves
Satin bows instead of buttons
Pleated trim on bodice and sleeves
Sheer cotton voile under sleeves with lace accents

Patterns Used
Self-draped, based upon various sources

Additional Resources
Demode: extant women's clothing 1860's
Carte de Visites

Progress

Often times I am self conscious about my work or just plain lazy, but this past weekend I was inspired by my best friend to get moving on my spoon bonnet. Last year she attended a bonnet making workshop with several of the ladies from the Michigan Soldiers' Aid Society and came home with a beautiful drawn silk bonnet in the most gorgeous autumn colors. Well this past weekend she was putting some of the final touches on and inspired me to stop being so lazy in regards to my own bonnet. I still need a few more filler flowers which I will probably get from Timely Tresses but thanks to Linda I have fabulous orange poppies I was able to add. I just love the combination of the light purple and orange.

Ambitious Indeed!

Have I mentioned that I like to bite off more than I can chew? Not only am I in the middle of trimming my spoon bonnet, repairing my parasol, and creating a sheer day dress, I am also tackling my 1860's ball gown. (I must be crazy.) It needs to get done considering it was haphazardly put together in two days so I would finally have a gown to wear for the ball at Greenfield Village. Needless to say the construction can be improved upon. ;) I also have the time now to spend on fitting the bodice properly and making my sash and embellishing the bodice the way I wanted to from the get go. Here is my inspiration:

The Empress Eugenie Surrounded by Her Ladies-in-waiting

Yay for Treasure Hunting

Once again, I eBay! For less than the cost it would have been to pay for gas, buy materials, and go to a workshop on making a repo parsole period appropriate I was able to buy an original in great working shape! Woot woot! Take that sun! No more getting overly hot and sunburned. (Not to mention that it's super cute.)

Full Speed Ahead

Now that I recovered mentally from the disaster at Halloween, I have decided my next project will be something of treat for me as well as practical. I am in desperate need of finding a new way to stay cool during the hot summer reenacting months so a sheer mid-Victorian is on the horizon. Here's some inspiration:


I am planning on making it out of patterned or embroidered 100% cotton voile. I would like it to have a gathered bodice in the front similar to the second and fourth photos above, with some sort of lace detailing on the upper arm of the sleeves.

Note to self: Make a cute chemise so I am not embarrassed to show my underclothing.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears

A bit of an update:

Finally I finished the gown. Only one problem: I messed up the armholes so badly that I couldn't get the bodice on! And to make it worse I hadn't figured it out until 5 minutes before the party started. Bah! So alas, after all of that hard work Ann Boleyn will have to wait until next year.