Oh, no doubt about that. I was looking more at making and mending, not fine needlework. I admit that is a whole other category, and it could be that some of the generic "sat at work" references were, as you say, fine needlework. But there were plenty of references to specific projects to clothing both mundane and not so mundane, albeit likely in a family or intimate friends setting. For example, we don't know much at all about Frances Baylor Hill's surroundings when she sewed. We know very little about her at all, unfortunately--not even how old she was.
Ann Wass -----Original Message----- From: Lavolta Press <f...@lavoltapress.com> To: Historical Costume <h-cost...@indra.com> Sent: Thu, Dec 17, 2015 3:39 pm Subject: Re: [h-cost] Is h-costume still going? 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.FranLavolta Presswww.lavoltapress.comOn 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._____________________________> __________________h-costume mailing listh-costume@mail.indra.comhttp://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume> _______________________________________________> h-costume mailing list> h-costume@mail.indra.com> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume>>_______________________________________________h-costume mailing listh-costume@mail.indra.comhttp://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume>> _______________________________________________> h-costume mailing list> h-costume@mail.indra.com> http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume>>_______________________________________________h-costume mailing listh-costume@mail.indra.comhttp://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
