I think the question is who a woman wanted (or needed) to impress, with
both her fine needlework skills, and with the evidence that she had
sufficient leisure to devote to those instead of mending and plain sewing.
Fran
Lavolta Press
www.lavoltapress.com
On 12/17/2015 12:13 PM, annbw...@aol.com wrote:
You are probably mostly right. However, Rachel Van Dyke did write once of taking her
"bundles" of mending down when a friend called and so had one bundle less at
the end of the visit. Of course, even those clothes in the bundle that needed mending may
not have been the most intimate ones, or, as you say, it may have been an intimate
friend--I don't think she specified. And yes, mending stockings seems to have been mostly
a solitary pursuit and may have added to the drudgery of the chore. Hard to know if Ruth
Henshaw was in company or alone when mending, but remember she was visiting away from
home.
Ann Wass
-----Original Message-----
From: Lavolta Press <f...@lavoltapress.com>
To: Historical Costume <h-cost...@indra.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 2:23 pm
Subject: Re: [h-cost] Is h-costume still going?
I get the impression that in the nineteenth century there was "private" versus "public" needlework. Unmarried young women, at least, tended to do mending and make underclothes (shirts fell into that category) only within the family
(when no callers were expected) or at most, only in front of intimate female friends. Their public, "fine" needlework showed off their skills in embroidery, netting, and so forth. When they made calls, they might be embroidering a flounce for a
dress, or embroidering a fire screen, but not mending stockings. Unpretentious matrons and mothers of large families might do plain sewing and mending in a more public way, but elegant married women, not.FranLavolta Presswww.lavoltapress.comOn 12/17/2015
6:38 AM, annbw...@aol.com wrote:> I have been getting the monthly reminders from indra.com, but I have to admit I don't read them.>>> I also have something to share--this is based on the paper I gave at the Jane Austen Society of North
America's annual general meeting in Louisville in October.>>>> http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol36no1/wass.html>>> Ann Wass>>>> -----Original Message-----> From: Robin Netherton <ro...@netherton.net>>
To: Historical Costume <h-cost...@indra.com>> Sent: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 9:33 am> Subject: Re: [h-cost] Is h-costume still going?>> I'm here -- but my first post saying so (from an alternate address by mistake) was rejected.On 12/17/2015
12:17 AM, Carol Kocian wrote:> Hi all,>> Is h-costume still going? I’m trying to change my e-mail address for it, but the link below does not work.>> Thanks!> -Carol>>>>>
_______________________________________________>> h-costume mailing list>> h-costume@mail.indra.com>> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume>>> _______________________________________________> h-costume mailing
list> h-costume@mail.indra.com> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume>-- Robin NethertonEditor, Medieval Clothing and Textilesrobin@netherton.netvoice: (314) 439-1222Life is just a bowl of queries._____________________________
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