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History Unstitched to close down

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History Unstitched is not working out.

When it was launched at New Year, the site quickly attracted a solid core number of members, but that number has not changed significantly. We are not seeing excitement, we are not seeing word of mouth, we are not seeing growth; HU continues to be carried, financially speaking, by the other two sites.

Furthermore - and most importantly - we have some wonderful writers who have produced some extraordinary work at History Unstitched, but we are having a surprising amount of difficulty attracting *enough* great writers to make it an outstanding resource that is sustainable in the long term.

And we really, really want to create outstanding educational resources that are sustainable in the long term.

This is unfortunate, but it's not a disaster. We still have two very successful websites in Your Wardrobe Unlock'd and Foundations Revealed, and we have more ideas up our sleeves too (I will soon begin blogging about the huge wealth of information you gave us in our big reader survey last month, and how the sites will adjust and develop as a result).

Ultimately, as far as I'm concerned, if you're not doing some things that aren't working, you're not taking enough risks. So I'm proud of what we've done, and I'm ready to move on.


What does all this mean for History Unstitched members?

Here's what's going to happen over the next six months.

The last new article will appear on the site on September 28th. Anyone who wants access to the existing resources on the site can now buy a lower-priced subscription to what's about to become a static website. Those who have been paying members for most of the time HU has been around (effectively, the people who paid for the site to happen), will get this access free.

After that six months, when the writers of the articles officially have permission to re-publish them anyway, we will re-evaluate what to do next. We want to give the members space to think about what they'd like us to do, or space to revive the site if there is a sudden groundswell of support. It's really up to you.

Although we're always available for your customer service queries, it'll be hard for us to keep up promptly if all of you email us for help at once. So here's how to fix your HU membership for the next six months yourself:

  1. Obviously you need to cease paying us for History Unstitched. Payments will not cease automatically. Paypal is not that smart. You'll need to cancel your subscription and re-subscribe, if you wish, to any other sites of which you'd still like to be a member. For example, if you're a subscriber to all three sites, you'll need to cancel in Paypal and re-subscribe to Foundations and Wardrobe only. Instructions on how to do this can be found on the FAQ page, question 8.

  2. All those who have been paying members of HU for more than half the time it's been running (ie four monthly payments or more) have been subscribed to HU automatically for the next six months, free of charge. If you are one of the 114 members who qualify for this, your Member Page will have "History Unstitched Free Membership" under "Active Subscriptions". If it doesn't, and you think it should, email us at info at harmanhay dot com. You will still need to cancel the old membership in order to cease being charged - instructions on the FAQ page, question 10.

  3. Regular subscriptions to History Unstitched have now ceased to be available.Subscriptions to the static, no-longer-updated site have now gone on sale at $3.97 per month (although you'll still get to enjoy the last few new articles as they go live, with our compliments).

Feel free to discuss these changes and ask questions in the comments below.

Acknowledgements

Finally, I'd like to heartily thank everyone who's been involved in the History Unstitched project:
  • Marion McNealy, who has worked so hard to set up the site, find writers, and arrange and edit the articles each week;
  • Our highly gifted, hardworking writers, without whom it cannot exist;
  • Liz Licata, who formats and uploads articles every week;
  • Noelle Paduan, who is the webmonkey who makes the small details work;
  • Polly Aron, who is our customer service wrangler and my long-suffering assistant;
  • ...and of course, the 307 members out there who have at least given it a try, and thereby paid for the site to keep running as long as it has done.
My abundant gratitude goes out to you all!

Home, part 4: San Jose

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A few thoughts as the sun sets on this trip.

The view that you can see at the beginning of this video, as I say, is a surprisingly accurate reflection of my childhood dreams of what California looks like. And it brings to mind another memory.

I've told you how my dreams of this part of the world go back to my teenage years - well, I was lying.

I grew up in a little English village, replete with old, old houses (ok, a few old houses) and thatched roofs (ok, a few thatched roofs). My best friend lived across the street, and there came a time when she and her family went away to live in the mythical land of California for two years.

When they returned, they brought notepaper with little drawings of Knotts Berry Farm and Mount Shasta and other supposedly notable locations, and in their kitchen there was a big tray with a cable car on it.

They were tanned. Their smiles seemed wider than before. They seemed open and relaxed and friendlier than before. And my six year old self looked at them, all quizzical, and thought the six year old equivalent of... what are you on, and can I have some?

[1908 dinner dress] The complete look

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All photos © 2013 Jeremy Tavan. Many thanks to both Jeremy and Laurie for their help and support with this shoot!













Home, part 5: Trans Atlantic

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Here you go - five thousand miles in four minutes. I talk a lot more once I sit down at Demi's house, but it got long, so this is just the journey, and the blathering will come next time. It's kind of appropriate how quiet it is, because when you're travelling alone you do tend to be mostly rather quiet, looking out of windows for a long time.

So here you get to see San Francisco from the air briefly, and a bit of Nottingham in the rain. Come back to England with me!

[I recommend clicking through to YouTube or going full screen - the captions are rather small this time, and some get cut off when shown in a small size.]



The story so far:
Home, part 1: Fairfax
Home, part 2: Sausalito
Home, part 3: Alameda
Home, part 4: San Jose

Home, part 6: Demi's house, with bonus kitteh

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So this is the rest of what I filmed when I arrived at Demi's house in Hucknall on Friday, within five minutes of getting through the door.

Two caveats: firstly, apologies to my British friends. I am in love with California, and in this film, especially towards the end, I find myself talking to the American friends I've just left behind.

Secondly, this is longer than usual, but you get added kitteh, which should ease the time commitment.




The story so far:
Home, part 1: Fairfax
Home, part 2: Sausalito
Home, part 3: Alameda
Home, part 4: San Jose
Home, part 5: Trans Atlantic

Home, part 7: Bath

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This isn't so much a commentary on Home - this week you get a break from my navel gazing as I take you to Bath and show you a little store where you can buy original 18th century silk; original 16th century lace; antique tapestry, crewel work, and quilts; Victorian and vintage silk ribbons; real Regency metallic trim.... do enjoy all twenty droolworthy minutes of this at your leisure. :)

I particularly love the way you can hear Constance giggling in the background at how blasé Joanna Proops is about some of her incredible stock... the old, old laces are waved away with "Oh, there's masses of stuff under there..." and as I focus in on the incredible work on an Edwardian wedding dress, she comments that actually, the dog's been sitting on it....



Every time I go in, I try to buy something to help ensure that Antique Textiles of Bath will still be there when I return. If you root through the baskets of lace near the door, you can pick up a bit of something for less than $10. This is what I bought this trip, which was just over $50: Edwardian lace, just under 2½yds of it. I think it'll make lovely engageantes (cuffs) for an 18th century gown - even though the edge is straight, when it's gathered up it won't be as noticeable.



It's a heck of a climb up that hill, but it's oh, so worth it. Unmissable, next time you're in the city.

The story so far:
Home, part 1: Fairfax
Home, part 2: Sausalito
Home, part 3: Alameda
Home, part 4: San Jose
Home, part 5: Trans Atlantic
Home, part 6: Demi's house, with bonus kitteh

A final look at Haiti, and the beginning of the Peacock Dress

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Random Acts have made a great wrap-up video about the Jacmel Children's Center, now that it's all over. Here it is in all its glory. The opening titles state that the project raised a total of $400,000 to build this thing: you, gentle readers, came up with six per cent of that; you raised $25,000 total on behalf of myself and Demi.

What a team. :) I'm so proud.



And what of the other half of this deal?

Well, still no reply from Germany/India; I'll be hooking up with Ninya Mikhaila when I get back to England to check out another possible source for the embroidery for the Peacock Dress. Meanwhile, I have the fabric for the underwear, and a Pinterest board of exactly what I'm planning to begin with. The plan is to make the outfit from the skin out, in the same order as the goals for which we raised the money.

I have a couple of overdue projects to finish when I get back to England, and then it's full steam ahead with the Peacock Dress.

Home, part 8: London St Pancras International Station

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Lots of you have been to London and seen the sights, but you may not have seen my favourite.

London St Pancras International Railway Station is a wonderfully ostentatious example of Victorian gothic architecture. It was built in 1873 not only as a railway terminus, but also as a grand hotel.

Unfortunately, while the station continued to be a major feature on the London transport map throughout its history, the hotel has been derelict since the 1920s... but in 2012 it was restored, re-opened, I'm happy to say, and lives again, and I love the place - while I haven't slept there, I often pass through, and I adore the style and the buzz of the place.


Sir John Betjeman called this Gothic treasure “too beautiful and too romantic to survive” in a world of tower blocks and concrete. Its survival against the odds will cause wonder; the building itself will take your breath away.

After years of devoted restoration, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel is being hailed as London’s most romantic building. Its glorious Gothic Revival metalwork, gold leaf ceilings, hand-stencilled wall designs and a jaw-dropping grand staircase are as dazzling as the day Queen Victoria opened the hotel in 1873.


- from the hotel website

There's a photo gallery of the stunning interiors on the hotel website, and for candid daylight pictures of the exterior, do a little Google image search.

Look familiar? You've seen St Pancras many times in movies and TV. Here's where you're most likely to have seen it, and before its restoration, you'll have seen a little of the remaining interiors in the debut video of a certain then-unknown British girl band. You have seen it recently too... when Edith went to London to see Gregson in the first new episode of Downton Abbey.

Let me show you around in the dark, as best I can...





The story so far:
Home, part 1: Fairfax
Home, part 2: Sausalito
Home, part 3: Alameda
Home, part 4: San Jose
Home, part 5: Trans Atlantic
Home, part 6: Demi's house, with bonus kitteh
Home, part 7: Antique Textiles, Bath

Look, Mum!

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I have a BlogTM. And now that I do, I see exactly why you all said to me that I still need an LJ too.

I have been on Livejournal for ten years, and I'm used to the old girl, and I can come on here and post about what I'm having for dinner without thinking twice. (In fact, I've been knocking around here so long that I rate in the top 50 journals).

But by God, I edited Fisher Price My First Real Blog Post to death. I was actually nervous about it, which is ridiculous considering that the same eyes are looking at that as look at this. (Well, apart from the three thousand people on our reader database who just got an email about it, that is. Gulp.)





You'll have to read the post to know what made me think to add Fred and Ginger. :)

Shoot for the moon, Land among the stars: Home Edition

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Go on, admit it. You've done it too. The affordable property pages aren't half as fun as the ones with residences on the market for over a million. I love to look, and keep my eye on a few favourites, and as a result I might be about to move into my dream house. Yes, really. (Well, technically.)

So a couple of years ago, among all the bad taste footballer's mansions with plastic statuary and Olympic swimming pools, I found the perfect place for me.

It's only a few miles from Demi's house. It's a huge Victorian Gothic country house out in Sherwood Forest, next to a lake. And you know how I love the woods.

It was designed by one of the most influential architects of the period, and has impressive literary connections - Lord Byron is not the only famous writer from around here. A local lad's very famous early 20th century novel was set in the grounds of what I'm going to call Belvoir House.

I wish I could be more specific. The photos, the property listing, the history of the place are all right here online, but telling you much at all will be a neon sign potentially giving the Internet my soon-to-be home address, so I'm afraid I'll have to fictionalise it as best I can. The image above is a drawing by local Victorian architect Watson Fothergill of a building in a similar style. (Anyone who knows me well - I will totally email you the details.)

Belvoir (pronounced Beaver) is a local name from a different part of the East Midlands of England, but it will do nicely here.

oOo


So the curious thing that I noticed about Belvoir House is that it went on the market for about a million and a half, a good couple of years ago - and despite its being drop dead gorgeous, it's still for sale now. The price has dropped and dropped to £800,000. Why?

Well, when I first found it I might have accidentally called the estate agent to try to arrange a viewing. They saw straight through me and didn't return my calls, but before it got to that stage, the agent revealed the problem.

As you might imagine, the house has a number of outbuildings tucked in its shadow - the original stables, coach house and so on. And when the present owners bought the house, they declined to buy the outbuildings. The outbuildings were converted into residences. And let's face it, anyone who wants to spend £1.5 million on a country house in the woods does not want neighbours.

Fast forward two years, and not only are the owners now clearly getting desperate to sell, but they've even put it up for rent. When Demi's girlfriend and kids came up to stay last weekend, and I began to get that time-to-move-on feeling, I found it there on the rental pages and began to try to figure out how to get my mitts on the £2750 per month that I'd need to live in it.

And after I sighed and went to the homes I *can* afford, guess what I found. For the first time in years, one of those outbuildings had come up for rent within the last week.

Did I go to view that? My dears, I was on that phone at the ass-crack of dawn the following morning. :)

You can imagine the driveway up to Belvoir House. You turn off the main road and drive up half a mile of woodland, giggling manically, before you find the house - and behind it, the stables, and "my" cottage.




I could hardly get out of the car before I saw my first deer.




Here's a photo taken from the woods - you can see a bit of Belvoir House at the far left, my place in the middle, and the rest of the coach house and stable on the right.

I first went to see the place for an official viewing on Tuesday, but stayed so long having tea with a neighbour that I ended up back there just about every day this week. I can't stay away. I love it. And the neighbour seems to want me there.

It just so happens that my neighbour recently got into a little bit of re-enactment and has got involved with a sewing group who insist on authentic, hand sewn costume, but won't give her the help she needs as a relatively new sewer.

And then I showed up. She thinks it's meant to be. :)




Later in the week, this neighbour helped me blag my way into "Big House" for that viewing I wanted two years ago - this photo (above) was taken from one of the (much) higher floors. My place is at the bottom of the picture, and that's the edge of "my" garden on the right.




And here are the woods at the end of the garden. My cottage has a wood burning stove, and according to the neighbour, an ancient law gives us the right to bring home as much fallen firewood as we can carry.

Why have I not snapped it up yet? Broadband. No frickin' cable broadband (I have an online business, remember), and the cellphone signal is weak. I have ordered some kit on a sale-or-return basis that should boost it, and I'm taking it over there on Monday to test it.

Also on Monday, I'll be meeting with the handyman who is going to decorate the entire place before it's let again. If I pay for the paint, I can pick the colours. So I'll be over here on Pinterest looking at interior design...

Oh - and the punchline? My cottage isn't actually a stable or a tack room or any of that. Curiously, it has two windows that overlook the gardens of Belvoir House, and one that overlooks its private courtyard, and a locked door onto it. It is part of the house, and a bricked up doorway gives it away... on the other side of that doorway is the dining room.

My cottage is the original kitchen.

So technically, in about three weeks I might be moving into my dream home.

It's like I said, kids: shoot for the moon, and you'll land among the stars. :D

Broadband test results at Belvoir House

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16MB is what I'm used to at Demi's house via the underground fibreoptic link.
10MB is what I got using the new equipment at Demi's house.

1-3MB is what the ADSL link is reputed to offer at Belvoir House. I decided I'd be ok with 5MB.
The actual speed I got when I tested it over there this afternoon was.....

11.2MB!

*bounce* *bounce* I am SO moving in. It's happening, people. I'm signed up and the keys will be mine on Friday, November 1st. Dreams do come true.

PS, the photo is the picture of the driveway that I denied you last time. I was so excited, I backed the car into a tree as I left today. :D

[Sherwood Lodge] Week One

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I've been in the woods a week, and it still feels not quite real. I never received the phone call saying that it's all a big mistake and I need to take all my crap back to Demi's. I think the awesome police have forgotten about me - or maybe it's just the crappy cellphone signal and they can't get through. :D

I've got so many things to tell you about, mostly composed of hugely awesome interludes and magical moments interspersed with the inevitable crazy-making teething issues of moving house (which are magnified by moving on my own, meaning I'm doing everything!) So I will let you have both, composed from my list of one-word notes.

Match - I have a range cooker here, which is intensely cool and very fitting; one day I will have to do Christmas lunch here. It's part gas and part electric, and since the gas ignition switch packed up in the first few days, I've been lighting it with a match. That somehow makes it even better. More olde worlde, if you will.

Cleaning - Jesus H Christ, this place is filthy. The smell of wet rottweiler hits you as you walk through the door. I thought that the basic initial jobs of getting the bathroom and kitchen clean would be simple, but no. Bathroom is done, but the kitchen is only clean from ceiling to worktop on one side. Fifteen scourers and counting, and dishes and saucepans everywhere because the cupboards aren't yet ready for new residents.

Pheasants - Three of them, as I cleaned my teeth the other morning, minding their own business in the garden of Belvoir House (which my bathroom window overlooks). Magic!

Moon - Half moon, hazy though leaded windows, as I ran a bath last night. A magical movie moment.

Meter - Previous tenant was not good at paying his gas bill on time. I have a top-up-as-you-go pre-payment system, fitted by the gas company after bad experiences with him. I am spending £7 [$10] a day to heat this place, twice what we were paying in Hucknall. They are coming round in a week and a half to change the meter, since I suspect I'm a subject of daylight robbery. Changing it costs £60 [$100], paid in advance. The timer on the boiler does not work, meaning that I have to creep downstairs in the freezing cold at 6am to adjust the thermostat. Must get it fixed before I return to CA, so that I can keep this place moderately warm and well looked after while I'm gone.

Cold - Is it the lack of ambient heat from other buildings? I don't know, but I think I just moved to Canada.

Snow - The drive down to the main road is half a mile of private driveway, meaning that no-one ploughs it in the winter. Three inches of snow and we'll be officially snowed in. AWESOME!!

Fire - On December 2nd, I've got to make sure I don't need to go out or get in between 8.30am and 11am because the local fire brigade need to do a practice exercise. There are no fire hydrants up here, so once every two or three years they practice running a hose up from the lake to Belvoir House to make sure they can put out a fire for us. Also kind of awesome.

Owls - Must look up owl calls online. With my window ajar at night, I'm sure I've heard at least three different varieties. At least, I think that screeching noise was an owl...

Directions - Gradually getting used to the detailed essay and Powerpoint presentation required to get visitors here successfully. I have one postcode for mail, and another for driver satellite navigation systems. A sat nav can locate the house with the postcode, but can't find a digitised road to us, so visitors tend to get sent up various local country roads in an attempt to get the driver into the middle of what the sat nav thinks is a remote field. We have to give a different postcode in order to get people to the bottom of the right road to find the driveway. It's still kind of awesome.

Seth - Watching my nephew look unconvinced about venturing out of the garden into the woods, then seeing him run off after Daddy once Daddy has deemed it safe and a great place to play with a torch [flashlight] at dusk.

Rail - One rail is up in the small back room which the letting agent optimistically termed the "office". I am not about to work in a cupboard, but it makes a fantastically huge closet. The important costumes are hung; the rest is laid on the couch for now, until I figure out the DIY challenge of a three yard rail on the other side of the room.

Sleeps six - What will be my bedroom will sleep two; two more if there's a sofa bed available with which to replace the cutting table in the workroom when necessary; two more on the sofa in front of the fire in the living room. I suspect the last will be the room that people fight over.

Stove - *sigh* Speaking of which, the fabulous woodstove. Landlord seems reluctant to consent to the safety check on which I insist before using it. They assure me that the last tenant had the chimney cleaned and maintained in July 2013 by a certain local sweep, and they consider this the end of the story. However, said sweep claims not to have been here in over a year. In any case, isn't maintenance of the chimney and heating the landlord's responsibility? Ian the chimney sweep (now an accredited member of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, no less, who can officially issue a safety certificate) can make it out here in four weeks' time, but will only do so on the instruction of the landlord. Until then, heating is all about the gas.

Dolly - I still haven't told you the ghost story, have I? Yeah. I have one already.

Money - It's a worry - my expenses just doubled, and they're unpredictable in this first month or two, but I will make it work. I'm sure the Americans in particular are wondering how much something like this costs here; it would be a fortune in California, I'm sure. And since I also worry that people are looking at my dream place saying, "So THAT'S where my membership fees are going", I'll just come out and tell you - I'm paying £700 [$1100] per month in rent, which is very reasonable round here.

The awesome is huge and the headaches are many, but one little thing at a time, it is getting done. My huge to-do list is overwhelming, and particularly so when it's all rattling around in my head and there's no-one with whom to share responsibility, but its impact is much lessened by the employment of a corresponding "ta-da" list of things accomplished each day. It feels like swimming through treacle trying to make this truly, truly comfortable and settled (and I'm still a little scared to walk around without lights on at night), but it will keep getting better, a little each day. When it is at least clean and unpacked, I'll make a house tour video, but in the meantime I must remember to rest sometimes - and with that, I will now employ my main secret weapon in this project, the one thing that has worked beautifully since I arrived, without fail - the huge, wonderful clawfoot bathtub!

Strange Goings-On at Sherwood Lodge

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So you wanted to hear the ghost story. Well, mine is a story of a strange occurrence and some amateur mediumship, but lower down the page, you'll get a full-strength ghostly sighting in the local area, just in case my story's not exciting enough for you (you bastards. I'm the one who's sleeping here alone at night, you know. :D)

Well. There I was, on the second or third night here, running a bath, walking around naked for the first time in my new home. (Buggers. They're nothing if not mischievous, and they know how to get your attention.)

Suddenly I heard a moderately sized crash in the next room, like a piece of my flat pack bookcase had toppled over. I went out onto the landing, and found that the hatch in the ceiling that leads up to the attic had spontaneously fallen open. Dust and debris were strewn across the carpet. Clearly it had not been opened in Some Time, and I certainly hadn't been near it yet.

Somewhat shaken, not to mention stirred, I vacuumed up the detritus and closed the hatch with a satisfying click of the catch, and as I did so I talked out loud about how I'm here to look after the place, I want to be friends, and so on. I was babbling in a somewhat nervous state.

(Meanwhile, the mathematician and skeptic looked for a reasonable explanation - was the weight of water in the bath making the structure shift subtly and cause the hatch to fall? I can report that a week later, after multiple subsequent bath-running incidents, nothing similar has happened again.)

When I finally climbed into the bath and got relaxed (and evidently, receptive) I said similarly conciliatory things again as I calmed myself down, and as my heartbeat settled, I added that I was actually interested in who they were.

I felt a sense of surprise and having flattered someone in the room, and the next thing I knew, there was a picture in my head of a bustling Victorian/Edwardian/Teens kitchen. Now, I realised that I could very well be making this aaaall up in my head, but when I considered this possibility, I got a vague sense of having offended someone in the room, so I decided to go with it and stay open-minded, and I thought, of course, you'd be the servants who worked here in the kitchen at Belvoir House.

Well, they didn't like being called servants! Again, I got a sense of the atmosphere in the room, someone being a little miffed, and as I babbled a bit and played with words, the phrase "in service" seemed to come across better and settle the atmosphere.

So I said, still talking aloud, who are you specifically, the person I'm talking to?

And she turned around - again, a picture in my head - and now I knew I was making it up, because I was seeing Mrs Patmore from Downton Abbey.

But no, someone seemed to be telling me, that's how it works, they'll use a frame of reference that's familiar.

As an aside, I used to go to mediumship demonstrations at Spiritualist Churches a lot, and I've seen this in action. Mediumship fascinates me - the romantic in me wants to believe in it absolutely, and the mathematician and skeptic wants proof. The conflict is stimulating! I received a lot of messages over the years, some convincing, some over-general, but one stand-out message absolutely floored me one time, and gave me the proof I needed. (Wanna hear it?)

What I did observe many times is that communication often happens in pictures, metaphorical or literal. Over and over again the medium would go to a specific person in the room and say something like, "They're showing me someone doing beautiful handwriting - does that make any sense?" When I said, on that occasion, that it made no sense, he continued that it was wedding invitations, and I still didn't register - until later, when I *facepalmed* and realised that my recently deceased grandfather was the skilled calligrapher who made my own wedding invitations.

I've not got great experience or skill myself - I tend to see pictures in my head and think I'm making it up, or I will hear a muffled voice as if they're in the next room; I'm sure with practice I could get better.

Anyway... Mrs Patmore. She makes total sense. The "other residents" at myladyswardrobe's home are the former owners. And this is a Victorian kitchen. And she is the cook. And this is her kitchen. So of course the cook, whoever she is, wants to know who's moved in, and a picture of a cook of about 100 years ago is automatically going to turn into Mrs Patmore for me!

So I'm starting to think that I hear the other side of a conversation, and I try for a name - always tricky - and I'm fairly sure it's Dolly or Dorothy.

Then I realised a weird thing - I'm a crappy cook, I have very little flair or interest, but earlier the previous day, in a kitchen with one clean surface and everything still in boxes, I had suddenly got creative and baked a piece of fish with herbs and lemon and butter, and it came out great without even trying, even in the range cooker that I was still getting used to. Last week I was telling mmcnealy how I kept seeing myself cooking and baking there, ridiculous for a dairy-product-avoiding green juicer and yoga nut living alone - and now I was seeing Mrs Patmore with arms crossed looking pleased with herself. "That was me."

I started telling her how I wanted to make a cake at the weekend for my birthday, but she didn't want to hear about my grandmother's Black Forest Gateau... she was telling me to make a cake that had orange in it, and fruit laid on top like a Dundee cake? I couldn't catch all of it. (Is she Scottish, I wonder?)

I can't quite believe I was suddenly able to almost have a conversation, and it's so difficult to tell what's really communication and what's imagined. I have begun trawling the local census records... results not yet conclusive either way.

oOo


But you don't want a mediumship story, do you? You want a full on scare-your-pants-off ghost story! I have one of those too.

My friends in the local area have been guessing where exactly I am living now, and the other day alice_mccoy was congratulating me on moving into the cottages at Newstead Abbey. That's a very reasonable guess - it's another historic property in the woods by a lake, also just a few miles from Demi's house, with cottages to rent, and it has local literary connections, being Byron's ancestral home, but Newstead is about 700 years older and grander than Belvoir House.

And it seems that its great age gives it way scarier ghost stories. (I am VERY GRATEFUL to be living alone here and not there.)

Last night I told my friend Julie, who lives across the road from Demi, the story I've just told you. I made the dress for her daughter's wedding, which took place at Newstead, and she told me that they actually know someone who lives in the cottages there.

"And Kitty, all of them over there, they've all seen the White Lady," she said.

"OH???" says I. "Do tell!"

Kitty reports that as you drive down the driveway through the woods at night at Newstead, and slow to negotiate the speed humps, apparently the White Lady can be seen rushing past the car.

You mean, a white mist, I asked?

Nope. An actual lady in a white dress. Apparently Kitty's father, a very salt-of-the-earth kind of guy, also admits to having seen her - and he will even admit to his friends that the experience scared the living crap out of him.

Apparently as you look across at the Abbey at night, she can be seen in one or other of the windows.

Again, I thank all the little angels that I am living alone at a mere Victorian country house, and not a 12th century Abbey. Because it is hard enough, people, to get used to a Victorian cook looking over my shoulder at what I'm typing. We have had repeated conversations about how I would LOVE to get to know Dolly better and GRADUALLY have more and more convincing experiences, but ONLY when I am ready. I do not want to be afraid in my own home, and I think she understands.

This evening I was down in the kitchen, my dinner warming in a saucepan on the stove, the radio on, and suddenly, the kitchen light went out, just like that. My back slammed into the kitchen cabinets. It was not pitch black - the light above the stove was still on, as well as the light upstairs filtering down the stairs, but in the half-light I stood and stared at the light fitting and laughed loudly and nervously. "Dolly, is that you?"

I knew I was being ridiculous, reading too much into a light bulb blowing out. After a minute to catch my breath, I went over to the switch.... flipped it... and the light came on just fine.

Feel free to offer alternative rational explanations. The light fitting in question is pictured above, and has two bulbs, both of which went out simultaneously.

I told her how much I appreciated her taking it slow. I need to build trust in her, and she in me, and I think we're getting on quite well so far. She did something that was not a weird, frightening sight or sound, just a phenomenon in the existing environment again, and she did it when some of my attention was elsewhere (on the dinner bubbling on the stove), so I didn't have too much extra attention with which to freak out. I think we're going to get along fine.

One more story from Julie before I go - Cedars Hospital, also in Nottingham, was established in 1897, and continued to be a hospital for many, many years before recently being converted into apartments. Patients used to ask the nurses on their morning rounds, "Who was that lovely, lovely nurse who was on duty during the night? She was so caring and sweet, and she sat with me and we talked for ages... but come to think of it, she was wearing a very different uniform from yours........."

[1908 dinner dress] Sleeves and hem

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© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery


And so to the sleeves. I'm into my last couple of days in my own sewing room, so I'm getting all the major work out of the way and leaving the finishing to be done in dazeoflaur's sewing room after I arrive in California next week.

Ah! More pintucking, down the outside of the sleeve, from shoulder to cuff (above).

It was, as with the bodice, pretty fun to try to reverse engineer how the sleeves were made. See if you come to the same conclusions as I did as I recreate them.

Firstly, there was clearly an understructure to the gathered sleeve.


© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery


Those pintucked rows were stitched to it.


© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery


The cuff is cartridge pleated on afterwards, and the placket finished and held together with tiny hooks and eyes.


© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery



© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery


First, I needed a plain white two-piece undersleeve as a foundation for the outer ruched layer. Silk organza was the obvious choice, since it's sturdy and very light, although I'm not certain the original was exactly the same fabric. I drafted from the 1908 instructions as before, joined the two pieces down the front seam (with a neat French seam, not that ugly thing they did in 1908) and finished the cuff edge, and marked the position of the middle gathered pintuck, down the outside of the sleeve.


© Cathy Hay


Next, I pulled five threads from a large, rectangular piece of silk chiffon, twice the length of the sleeve and plenty wide. These threads marked the outside edge of each pintuck, so that I could press a crease on each one and stitch ⅛" tucks, ½" apart, with a longer stitch length than usual.


© Cathy Hay


The half-way point of the middle pintuck was pinned to the central mark along the sleeve (ie the outside of the elbow).


© Cathy Hay


Gathering from one side....


© Cathy Hay


...and then the other. I pinned the central pintuck down the middle line that I'd marked earlier.


© Cathy Hay


Then I turned the whole thing over and tacked the middle pintuck down to the sleeve, then the outer one either side of it.


© Cathy Hay


I basted around the edges of the sleeves, through both layers, arranging the folds of chiffon as best I could, with the edge of the sleeve hanging over the edge of the table to simulate the curve of the arm. Then I turned it all over and trimmed the excess...


© Cathy Hay


..leaving a recogniseable sleeve.


© Cathy Hay


Turning in the cuff and placket edge, I handstitched the two together to finish them, then cartridge pleated a tube of silk chiffon to form a cuff frill; I'll be sewing that on tomorrow.


© Cathy Hay


Meanwhile, I've also padded the hem of the skirt. This is now basted down, ready to add the ½"-spaced French knots to embroider it down later. (Yes, really.) I've tested my method on the false panel at the front of the underskirt, ensured I bought more than enough floss, and I'll be doing that at Laurie's in California, the week before Costume College.


© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery



© Cathy Hay with the permission of Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery



© Cathy Hay



© Cathy Hay


Funny how my hem, like the draping on my bodice, is surprisingly perky; it didn't occur to me before quite how much the crushing and packing and aging makes a hundred-year-old dress very flat. I'm sure mine will be nice and flattened too after crossing the Atlantic in a suitcase. ;)

[1908 dinner dress] Last photos in England

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© Cathy Hay


Here is the dress one more time, before it goes into the suitcase. The sleeves are in, and the oversleeves will now be gathered up into the cap shape of the original and trimmed with braid. There's also braid on one side of the skirt front opening.


© Cathy Hay


The last-but-one piece is on the bodice, wrapping from the rosette at the front under the left arm and across the back. The end of this piece, where it hooks down to the back of the right armscye and hides most of the workings of the back of the dress, is partway done.


© Cathy Hay


Here's the kit that I'm taking with me. Clockwise, the ruffles at the top left are for the cuffs. There are two reels of Kinkame silk thread (highly recommended), the rest of the braid (there is JUST enough), and extra crêpe de chine remnants, just in case. Four hundred or so beads will trim the dress last of all, assuming I have time, there's embroidery floss for the French knots around the hem, lace and ribbon for the finishing touches to the inside of the bodice, hooks and eyes, and the piping that'll form the rosette on the front of the dress, made but not yet coiled into shape.

I go to London tomorrow, and I'll be flying to San Francisco on Wednesday. The next photos will be from the uber-fabulous sewing room of the drop-dead talented Laurie Tavan, with whom I'll be staying for the crucial last week before Costume College. See you then!

[1908 dinner dress] At Laurie's

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© Laurie Tavan


Anyone who knows Laurie will know that she's a great photographer as well as a great costumer, so just for once, you get pictures not just of the work, but of the worker. Here I am pinning the sleeves in place.


© Laurie Tavan


All is going well, but there is a lot to do. I've divided the hem into equal portions so that I know I need to do sixty half inch spaced French knots per day. I've found a bead store and bought the tiny seed beads I need, which I left behind in England. The sleeves are coming on, and the list of things left to do is mercifully short, although the hem and beads are big tasks. Now to stay focussed enough to do this when I'm surrounded by awesome people I could be hanging out with! (I'm doing that too.)


© Laurie Tavan



© Laurie Tavan



© Laurie Tavan



© Laurie Tavan

Costume College

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What just happened?

This is what I remember: I was at Laurie's, and then there was a long, long drive, and then this flash of COLOUR and NOISE and ENERGY and there was this kind of strobe effect in which I think I saw every single costumer I have ever known, and I didn't sleep for a week, and then CRASH, and then another long drive into a beautiful sunset, and now I'm in an attic in Alameda feeling like I've just been Tango'd.

And I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

For the first time, I arrived by road and not by air, and although the drive was long, the costumes were in garment bags and did not require me to spend hours in my room ironing. Score! However, I did find myself envying friends who arrived a day early, on Wednesday - I think that extra 24 hours might be useful even when I'm not fighting jetlag.

I know a lot of people and I always find myself fighting to fit everything in. Thursday night I made it to one party, but virtually missed the pool party - by the time I arrived most people were gone. And this is what I wore, with thanks for the image to Jen Thompson:



Friday I taught a great class - great because I realised at the last minute that my neat Powerpoint presentation wasn't going to be half as much use to a group of budding businesspeople as a much more interactive group discussion. I think they got a lot out of it, and I don't think they realised how much I got out of it too. I got a lot of ideas on how to move forward with them.

Friday night, again, was a mess of trying to do everything - I showed up early to the Ice Cream Social, but just a little too early to keep my promise to Jen that we'd have an open robe picture together. (The pictures are by Rebecca Maiten - I do have more pictures of this outfit now from the chateau to show you, when I get to it.)



And after dinner with my girls, the obligatory Pretty Princess Party, hosted by the crowd from the chateau. This is usually a hugely overwhelming experience with a lot of VERY LOUD PEOPLE in a very small pair of adjoining hotel rooms. My strategy in the past has been to duck through the madness and hide behind Francis at the bar, but this year was very different (I think I'm fixed.) I think I talked to just about everyone, and I was fine, and I didn't get panicky even once; I was totally at home among friends. (Thousands of them, in a matchbox). I left on a high.

Saturday morning I taught my "Conquer the World" class, which people also seemed to get a lot out of; I had about forty attendees again, which was very flattering, and they made complimentary noises at the end, so I think that worked overall, although I will make some changes if I do it again; that one needs to become more interactive and less about me talking.

Both Friday and Saturday afternoons I tried to take it easy, but this was not easy on Saturday, with the debut of the dinner dress imminent. It all went beautifully; even though I had not had time to try the dress on finished, it was just right, and even though I only picked up the wig an hour beforehand, the headdress fit with it beautifully. There's another post to come about this and the vast group project of which it was a part, but for now, here's a photo of the whole outfit, with thanks to Rebecca Rowan:



And that was the end of the classes and the expectations that the weekend puts on me. It was the end of the dinner dress project, and the first time I could truly breathe out since February, when I began sewing for the chateau. Within hours I crashed hard, and was lucky enough to be drawn into the warm embrace of a group of wonderful women, some of whom I only see once a year. I was a mess for about 36 hours, and that's ok; it's what I needed, and I'm finally relaxing and taking some time out.

So next year, I'll be scheduling more downtime during my projects. I'll set better boundaries and say "no" more often, in more contexts. And before Costume College, I'll be taking it pretty damn easy for a week or so.

And so, to the next post: the bigger picture of which the 1908 dinner dress was just a small part!

GISHWHES is back....

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Well all, Cherylyn, Claudia, and I will be checking out of our minds for the next week. We are participating (for the third time!) in the community social art project known as GISHWHES.

What the hell is that, you ask?

The Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen!

And we have the Guinness World Records to prove it...

"But," you say, "I am an artist with time on my hands, a fridge full of kale, and a desire to win acclaim for my feats of daring charcuterie clothing design. How do I play!?!?"

We have an opportunity for you... Hunt groups have formed but our team - High571! - is looking for folks who are interested in taking on one or more challenging public art projects to lend a hand.

What sort of projects, you ask?

The list is long (literally, last year was 157 items and the year before was more than 200) but they can include things like...

Documentary photos of two children under ten years old covering a VW Beetle in whipped cream...

Finding a local sauna that will allow you to eat a melting food in their establishment while snapping photos...

Posing as Eve at a bus stop, complete with fig leaves, snake and apple...

Building a tea house from recycled goods under a bridge and posing in Japonesque repose there...

Searching under benches in Sausalito or Singapore for secret missions, and then accomplishing them...

All of the above have been accomplished by Deputy members of High571 in years past. Do you have what it takes to join them? Are you crazy enough to do it again?

[With thanks to Cherylyn for the perfect wording]

GISHWHES: The List

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ALL of the Items below should either be captured as "images" (which are photographs) or "videos". IMPORTANT - Unless otherwise specified, ALL VIDEOS must be 30 seconds or less!

1. IMAGE: "GISHWHES Hugs the World!" We are going to break the Guinness World Record for the largest online photo album of people hugging. The current record is 69,004. DO NOT SUBMIT THIS ITEM ON THIS PAGE! Go to www.gishwhes.com/hugtheworld.php to submit an image of you hugging someone or someone you know hugging someone. Every hug image is worth 3 points and your team can earn up to 300 points. If everyone on your team submits 5 hugging images, that's an easy 225 points! 300 POINTS

2. VIDEO: Go order food at your favorite fast-food restaurant. Greet the attendant, explain how hungry you are, what you want to eat, and how good it will make you feel. One thing, you must speak as the Bard wrote. Place your order in Shakespearian verse. 42 POINTS

3. VIDEO: Modify a stationary exercise bicycle so that when you pedal, the spinning wheel powers a mixer that whips heavy cream into whipped cream. Make the whipped cream and eat it. You should be dressed in late 80's style aerobics wear. The finished video should look like a short infomercial. 113 POINTS

4. IMAGE: You know the expression, “Beefcake?” As in, “He’s such a beefcake!” Have you ever really stopped to think about it? What exactly is a beefcake? It sounds good, right? I think we should have beefcake for dinner. Serve frosted beefcake at a family dinner where at least 3 generations are represented. 39 POINTS

5. IMAGE: A stormtrooper at a laundry mat folding clothes. 56 POINTS

6. ITEM EVENT: Join Misha Collins to break another Guinness World Record! Show up in the northwest corner of Central Park, Burnaby, BC (part of metro Vancouver) on Thursday at 2pm for 2-3 hours. Exact location in the park and more details to be announced on the 'Updates' page early this week. You will need to bring at least 100 safety pins (each safety pin must be 1-2 inches long), a dozen+ pieces of paper (any type) and a pen or marker. Also (this part is optional but will guarantee you euphoria in the afterlife) bring a gently used coat or blanket that's in reasonably good condition that you are willing to say goodbye to. 20 POINTS

7. VIDEO: Make a “DIY” (do it yourself) instructional video on how you can repair a damaged marriage using only bubble gum, a stapler, canned peas, dental floss and a hair dryer. Your video must include demonstrations and caution statements. 31 POINTS

8. IMAGE: Dress your grandfather (or a man over 75) like a teenage girl from Jersey Shore. 16 POINTS

9. IMAGE: Let’s see you and a friend, seated side-by-side, donating blood or platelets. Wear something festive on your head to commemorate the occasion. 33 POINTS

10. IMAGE: Jennifer Kristiansen. While showing some sign of the dragon-attack on your clothing or body, panhandle on a sidewalk (NOT ON A MEDIAN IN TRAFFIC!) with a sign that reads: "A DRAGON BURNED MY CASTLE DOWN." Donate any money given to you to your local food bank. Bad karma if you don't. 47 POINTS

11. VIDEO: Try to eat a large sandwich in one of those simulated skydiving machines. Bonus points if it's a "sloppy joe" (up to 15 second video). 64 POINTS

12. IMAGE: In my town, the sanitation worker who hangs on to the back of the truck always dresses as the Velveteen Rabbit. What does he wear in your town? 0 points for overalls or standard sanitation uniforms. 39 POINTS

13. IMAGE: A fully dressed nun in her habit going down a waterslide or swinging on a rope into a river. 100 POINTS

14. IMAGE: You, dressed as The Flash in the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) tunnel. If this is too difficult, you will get full credit for dressing as The Flash in any actual, operational particle accelerator. 216 POINTS

15. IMAGE: Vonda Wright. What would a teddy bear hostage situation look like? 28 POINTS

16. IMAGE: Russian courts have recently imposed a 100-year ban on Gay Pride parades. Take a photo of two people of the same sex kissing in front of a Red Square landmark. 77 POINTS

17. IMAGE: A rooster wearing a Gishwhes tank top. 62 POINTS

18. IMAGE: A dog that looks like a wolf wearing a Gishwhes t-shirt. Bonus points if it’s an actual wolf. 62 POINTS

19. IMAGE: Krista Keith. Attend a ballet class or "spinning" cycling class wearing full scuba gear -flippers, mask, tanks and all. 70 POINTS

20. IMAGE: Retrofit a wheelchair and its owner to look like a powerful superhero in a “Gishmobile.” 69 POINTS

21. VIDEO: Find an example of someone who engages in sustained generosity in your community and then do something nice for them. For example there is an 82-year-old Connecticut barber who always offers free haircuts to the homeless in exchange for hugs. You could find this barber and polish his shoes. Find someone similar in your own community and do something nice for them. In the video, you must describe what the person does for their community, and then show what your kind gesture toward them is. 32 POINTS

22. IMAGE: Alicia Graham. Model this summer’s hottest fashion trend. Let’s see a swimsuit made entirely from tea bags. 68 POINTS

23. IMAGE: Prom Night! Get dolled up or decked out in your most fabulous prom-wear and pose for an awkward prom photo next to your date holding their… side-view mirror. A car must be formally dressed as your prom date. 91 POINTS

24. VIDEO: From cardboard and other materials create a miniature movie set of buildings, skyscrapers and homes. The tallest “buildings” must be at least 3 feet tall. Now dress as the Wooster and demolish/attack the city. Submit a slow-motion of the attack including sound effects. 69 POINTS

25. VIDEO: Do a stealth act of kindness for someone in public or at work like leaving a flower on their windshield, or a “kindness note” at their desk, etc. Film them discovering it. 32 POINTS

26. IMAGE: Emma Brofjorden Chevin. Take a picture of you with someone who has won an Oscar. The Oscar statue must be in the picture with the two of you. One of you must be wearing a bald cap. Photoshop the name of the Oscar-winner into the image. 93 POINTS

27. IMAGE: Annie Houston. Get your ducks in a row. 4 of them. But they must be live ducks in movie theater seats. 73 POINTS

28. VIDEO: Go to work dressed as a robot. We must see clips of you getting ready in the morning, commuting, and arriving at work and doing your job. We must also see the reactions of people you pass on your commute and/or at work. 102 POINTS

29. IMAGE: You're a pirate, so dress like one. In addition to the eye-patch and other accoutrements you must have a live bird perched on your shoulder. You should be standing on your ship's deck, which in this case is neither a ship, nor a deck... it's a queue at the Department of Motor Vehicles. 75 POINTS

30. VIDEO: Roost on a busy sidewalk until your egg hatches. Announce the birth with a squawk (no more than a 15 second video). 29 POINTS

31. IMAGE: Miriam Weiss. Have at least six men in military, police or fire uniforms holding you over their heads as you sunbathe on your beach chair. 48 POINTS

32. VIDEO: The Scottish have their highland games that include an event where a man in a kilt throws a long wooden pole or trunk (caber) as far as he can. Let’s see this, but have the man in a full Scottish kilt throw a caber that is at least 10 feet long and is painted or adorned to look like a giant piece of asparagus or other vegetable. 59 POINTS

33. IMAGE: Laura Camanini. Dialysis treatments are long and boring. Entertain a dialysis patient during their treatment. 26 POINTS

34. IMAGE: A roach retirement home. Must have live cockroaches in it and must be sized to their scale, for their comfort and enjoyment. 56 POINTS

35. IMAGE: You’re naked and late for your day job of saving cities. You’re in your garage with no time to hit your secret lair. Get dressed using only auto/home improvement tools and landscaping items. 48 POINTS

36. IMAGE: (CALENDAR ITEM) Make yourself into a truly irresistible pastry or desert. Place yourself where we might find such a treat: on a countertop, in a display case, at a buffet, in a picnic basket, etc. 82 POINTS

37. IMAGE: An elderly couple holding hands as they crush grapes for wine the old fashioned way. They must be at a real winery in a real wine-grape-crushing barrel and they must be at least ankle-deep in grapes. 72 POINTS

38. IMAGE: Rage against the dying of the light. 22 POINTS

39. IMAGE: You car has taken a sudden affinity to trash. Oblige its indulgences. Decorate its entire exterior with trash. 43 POINTS

40. VIDEO: Kristy DeMoe. Dress up as a character from Supernatural and perform heroic crosswalk duties at a busy intersection. 19 POINTS

41. IMAGE: Have a pool party with at least three guests swimming. In this case, your "pool" shall be made from a large garbage can or dumpster. The party must also include towels, a BBQ, cocktails and floatation devices. All three people must be in the "pool". Bonus points if it's a dumpster. 80 POINTS

42. VIDEO: Film your team’s GISHWHES experience - you all communicating with each other via the Internet, doing courageous items in public, items at home, laughing, crying, screaming, running - we want to see it all. Include a couple of personal voice-overs or video clips of one or more of you commenting about how it affected you (bad or good). We want to see the journey. Edit it into a 2-minute video. 103 POINTS

43. IMAGE: Go to Jigokudani Monkey Park and, dressed like a “Snow Monkey,” pose with your fellow creatures. 124 POINTS

44. VIDEO: Valerie Grotto. Gel your child’s (under 6 years of age) hair kind of crazy and tussled like Einstein’s, then have them explain Einstein’s Theory of Relativity in his or her own words. 24 POINTS

45. IMAGE: Strike up a conversation with a homeless person, talk to them until you know their first name, where they are from, and what their favorite food is. Bring them that food and, if they give you permission, take your picture with them and their meal. 38 POINTS

46. IMAGE: A sitting member of the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate wearing a sock monkey hat. The congressperson must be photographed talking seriously with someone wearing a suit and tie in an office or hallway. Photoshop the name of the congressperson onto the bottom of the image in the following format: Representative John Doe, D-New York. 48 POINTS

47. IMAGE: Sell an eBook to Jeff Bezos. 104 POINTS

48. VIDEO: Create a simple two-player video game. Player one’s avatar is, of course, the GISHWHES 2013 mascot, the Wooster. Player two is the GISHWHES 2012 mascot, the Fograt (Google it). 77 POINTS

49. IMAGE: Take the road less traveled. 9 POINTS

50. IMAGE. Little Jack Horner, Little Bo Peep, Peter Pumpkin, Little Boy Blue and the Queen of Hearts at a late-night vice-ridden poker game. 87 POINTS

51. IMAGE: Alana Roberts: Host a diaper drive and donate the diapers to a diaper bank or homeless shelter. Take a picture of you delivering the diapers. 48 POINTS

52. VIDEO: Have elementary school kids perform the Ukranian Arkan dance or the Greek Kechagiadikos dance – we’re not prejudiced so either is acceptable. 63 POINTS

53. VIDEO: Using clips of West Collins that his parents have exploitatively posted online, lay down a rockin’ beat (electronic or human beat box) and create an original rap song. The lead “singer” will be West. You provide the dancers. 46 POINTS

54. IMAGE: Decorate your cubicle or office as GOTTWHES “Greatest Office Trap the World Has Ever Seen,” including an enticement to lure strangers in. Sit in it and wait. 27 POINTS

55. VIDEO: Erin Leigh: A preacher in church condemning GISHWHES and GISHWHESHEANS. 44 POINTS

56. IMAGE: Create an online dating profile for your pet on a real dating site. 25 POINTS

57. IMAGE: Start a twitter feed for your alarm clock. Get at least two hundred followers. At least once a day the account must post: “BEEP! BEEP! 7:00 AM.” We will be checking the twitter accounts to verify count. 46 POINTS

58. IMAGE: Give a concise summary of the proof of the “abc conjecture." 18 POINTS

59. VIDEO: Tisha Fay: Hold a pillow fight that involves 10 or more people all in pajamas. 22 POINTS

60. IMAGE: Safari time! Construct an animal you would see in the African savanna entirely from feminine hygiene products. 47 POINTS

61. IMAGE: Sidney Scott. CS Lewis once said, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one!'" Take a picture capturing this exact moment. The two must have something very visually unique about them. The photo must be taken in a crowd of other people who do not share this unique quality. For example, both could be dressed as cavemen at a crowded train station. 57 POINTS

62. IMAGE: Let’s see your interpretation of “helium pants.” 32 POINTS

63. IMAGE: Edit screencaps of 10 different instances of your team using the word, "abnosome" (or one of its conjugates) in online posts into one image. In other words, 10 images edited in a grid into one image. This will introduce the world to this new, and important word, which of course means: "abnormal in an awesome way." 38 POINTS

64. VIDEO: A university professor giving a technical explanation of why the telegraph will inevitably be making a comeback. 58 POINTS

65. IMAGE: Have a group of children (the more the better) collect litter from a beach or park. Then have them make a sculpture or sculptures from the trash they collect. This must be two images edited into one with the images side by side: one showing the kids collecting the trash, and the other showing their final creation (with the kids posed behind it). 28 POINTS

66. IMAGE: (Four photos joined into a single digital image). Shoot a real life comic book page. In other words, shoot 4 photographs of something that looks like it would be in a comic book or graphic novel and arrange the photos like panels onto one page. This must be an original story with original characters and it must be staged, not photoshopped. You have to figure out how to make the thought or dialogue bubbles and lettering during the shoot. 162 POINTS

67. IMAGE: Use a smartphone or tablet computer to find water. You must be riding a camel. 92 POINTS

68. IMAGE: Viking rats. 32 POINTS

69. IMAGE: Toast for underwear. Butter and jam are optional. 22 POINTS

70. IMAGE: Go to Iguazu Falls holding an umbrella made from used aluminum cans and plastic utensils (forks, spoons, and knives). 89 POINTS

71. VIDEO: Dress up in your finest “steampunk” attire and get behind the wheel, rudder or other steering instrument of a steam-powered vehicle (train, steamboat, thresher, etc.). 66 POINTS

72. VIDEO: Time lapse: A family of at least 4 posed for a Holiday Card in full Holiday dress. It must be in a mall or similar crowded public place. You all must stand posed completely motionless for 5 minutes, smiling, with the video condensed to 20 seconds.66 POINTS

73. IMAGE: Create a shrine to an actor from a CW show. Pay homage to it. 56 POINTS

74. IMAGE: Create a promotional poster designed to market ukuleles to heavy metal guitarists. Ideally your campaign would feature Dan Spitz. 29 POINTS

75. IMAGE: “You are what you eat.” Prove it. 21 POINTS

76. VIDEO: Dance in the middle of a boring school class while your friend beat-boxes. Detention lasts an hour, the memory, a lifetime. 27 POINTS

77. IMAGE: FOR CHILDREN UNDER 12 ONLY! Paint or draw a picture of what you love most in the world. Then write what it is under the picture. Parents may provide the description if the child chooses not to demonstrate their genius penmanship that day. 22 POINTS

78. VIDEO: Two people in business suits at a small conference table discussing how fed policy affects mortgage interest rates. Use terms like, “quantitative easing,” “macro economic,” and “private equity.” The conversation must be rife with sexual innuendo. 55 POINTS

79. IMAGE: There was something you always wanted to do as a child but never did. Do it. 24 POINTS

80. IMAGE: Create your own homemade team uniform. Each team member must wear the uniform and have a photo taken. Compile the photos into a grid of photos with your team name at the bottom of the image.61 POINTS

81. IMAGE: A live mouse, as a passenger in Barbie’s car. 22 POINTS

82. VIDEO: Build a prototype for a WMD (Weapon of Mass Dictation). 33 POINTS

83. IMAGE: Mexico is famous for the perfect desert: the churro. We know churros are delicious, but what else are they good for? Improve on perfection by modifying a churro to serve an alternate non-food purpose. 27 POINTS

84. IMAGE: Three of you tour the Dali Museum in Spain. You all must be wearing large fake mustaches. 39 POINTS

85. IMAGE: There are Seven Wonders of the World. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_World) Claim one of them for your team by staking your team flag in front of it. 98 POINTS

86. VIDEO: Start a chant at a sporting event. Rather than chanting a player's name or an inspirational cheer, the chant should be "GISHWHES". At least 200 people need to be chanting. 123 POINTS

87. IMAGE: Host a seated traditional Japanese tea ceremony in an elevator to make the passengers feel more at ease. 48 POINTS

88. VIDEO: Let’s see a marching band playing “Carry on My Wayward Son." They must be in marching-band attire and marching in a populated school location or in a populated public area. A cosplay character from Supernatural must be leading them. 89 POINTS

89. VIDEO: Create a dynamic, documentary short film exposing little-known facts about your hometown (two minute video). 49 POINTS

90. VIDEO: Someone you know has always wanted something incredible. Get it for them. Surprise them. Catch the surprise on video. 81 POINTS

91. VIDEO: Pitch a quoit in your finest medieval ware at a popular dog-walk park. 28 POINTS

92. IMAGE: Jennifer Gutierrez. Cosplay “Gishbot” (www.twitter.com/gishbot) as realistically as possible in public. 66 POINTS

93. IMAGE: Sara Anderson. Release the Kraken. 19 POINTS

94. IMAGE: While scuba diving underwater, show us your spear fishing trophy kill. Today’s catch is not fish, however, it’s a large piece of man-made trash with the words “GISHWHES Sanitation” written or attached to it. 74 POINTS

95. IMAGE: We all know that colonels in the Russian army wear boxers, but we want proof. 39 POINTS

96. VIDEO: FLASH MOB! Musicians and singers playing and singing “Carry On My Wayward Son.” The performance must take place in a crowded place of people sitting and waiting: a large train station, a mall, a passport office, an airport, etc. The video must begin with all of the performers undercover, blending in with the rest of the public. Then, one musician stands and begins to play their instrument. Then the others slowly join in. Record the full song and 20 seconds before the song begins. There must be AT LEAST 6 musicians and 6 singers playing to a public crowd of at least 35.200 POINTS

97. VIDEO: Go through a fast food drive-through with an adult dressed as a baby in a car seat in the back. The adult must have a pacifier in his or her mouth and must be pre-verbal. The video clip must scan from the driver ordering food to the adult-child in the backseat to the fast-food employee at the window. FYI the adult-child will require extra napkins. 66 POINTS

98. IMAGE: Smoke a fake cigar and make a champagne toast as the proud father of a new litter of baby non-human mammals that are displayed next to you. 39 POINTS

99. IMAGE: Taxidermy animals dressed for and playing or doing one of the following: roller derby, doubles tennis in whites, a 4-some of golfers (must be traditionally dressed with knickers), cricket players in whites, disco dancing (in 70s disco clothes), synchronized swimming (with nose clips), or a karate class (black belts). 111 POINTS

100. VIDEO: Record the Nerdist.com theme song using anything but conventional musical instruments
or the human voice. (The song is "Jetpack Blues, Sunset Hues" by Anamanaguchi.) 78 POINTS

101. VIDEO: The CEO of a major corporation wearing a business suit dancing to the song “Single Ladies," using the same dance moves Beyonce did in the music video. 77 POINTS

102. VIDEO: Install a plaque commemorating a fictional historic landmark. 48 POINTS

103. VIDEO: Create the packaging for a “Pet Cotton Ball.” Get it put on a store shelf and sell it. Video must show the packaging, its location in the store and the customer buying it. Remember, we have expert criminal psychologists on staff who can easily tell if you’ve staged the purchase. 64 POINTS

104. IMAGE: Have a prisoner make a license plate with the Impala from Supernatural’s plate number. 57 POINTS

105. VIDEO: A military aircraft with Gishwhes decals. The video must depict take-off. You may not illegally or secretly graffiti the plane. 185 POINTS

106. IMAGE: Outfit a public statue of a celebrated historical figure with a knitted or crocheted Gishwhes cardigan. 53 POINTS

107. VIDEO: Jayne McKenna. Film yourself bungee jumping. You must start the jump by saying into the camera: "I’m doing this for _______!" (you fill in the blank), and then jump. Bonus points if you edit together the camera angle of you talking and another of your entire jump. Super bonus points if there’s also a helmet cam viewpoint edited in as well. 72 POINTS

108. IMAGE: Let’s see a flattering portrait painting of Star Trek’s George Takei or Felicia Day. Your materials will be sand. Your paintbrush will be your finger. 74 POINTS

109. IMAGE: Shawne Keevan. Make a suit or evening gown from watermelon rind. 39 POINTS

110. IMAGE: If Gishwhes were a fraternity or sorority, what would the initiation ceremony look
like? 43 POINTS

111. VIDEO: Time lapse item. Make a wig from your own hair. Wear it. 71 POINTS

112. IMAGE: Tweet genuine compliments to 10 people on twitter. The compliments must all be personal, true and thoughtful. Tweet them consecutively with the hashtag #poweredbyGISHWHES. Submit a screencap showing the 10 tweets. 18 POINTS

113. IMAGE: Run an ad in a local paper for the cult you are starting. Sell us on it. Make us want to join. Make grandiose promises. 41 POINTS

114. IMAGE: Let’s see a portrait of Chris Hardwick from the Nerdist.com made from dried fruit. 44 POINTS

115. VIDEO: Program a Commodore 64 (or similar vintage) personal computer to turn on a coffee maker and brew you a cup when you type in the command, “Rise and shine!” 84 POINTS

116. IMAGE: Serve salad in a soup kitchen. 52 POINTS

117. IMAGE: Narrow the prime gap to 47.23 POINTS

118. IMAGE: Make a cozy quilt from old dirty socks. Snuggle up in it alone or with your best friend. 85 POINTS

119. IMAGE: Type out your team’s one-page manifesto on an old, mechanical typewriter. The page must be legible and the bottom of it must be partially fed into the typewriter. 16 POINTS

120. IMAGE: Jessica Mejia. Let’s see your most dramatic interpretation of “Death by Chocolate!” 34 POINTS

121. IMAGE: Enjoy a burrito standing in front of a laboratory. The international laser-warning sign must be visible behind you. 81 POINTS

122. IMAGE: A Peugeot car in France with a French License Plate and a “Bush/Cheney 2004” bumper sticker. 51 POINTS

123. VIDEO: Create your own Sonic Screwdriver and use it to get you out of a sticky situation. 65 POINTS

124. VIDEO: Collect signatures in front of a health food store on a petition to: “Pave all of California’s beaches so we don’t have to get all sandy to go swimming.” Must have a printed form, vest, and clipboard. You must be extremely smiley and optimistic about the whole petition. 42 POINTS

125. VIDEO: Fold a paper crane whilst sitting outside, uncovered in a rainstorm. 45 POINTS

126. VIDEO: Is there an “unsung hero” in your life? Well, make them a “sung hero.” Write a short song about the person and why you appreciate them. Sing it to them. Record the very first time they hear the song. 34 POINTS

127. IMAGE: Make your country’s flag from food or food packaging. 49 POINTS

128. IMAGE: Write a haiku about waiting. Post it (no graffiti!) at a bus stop. 28 POINTS

129. IMAGE: Create an innovative piece of "sock monkey" apparel. It can be anything but a hat. Wear it proudly in public. 67 POINTS

130. VIDEO: Find a dog named, “Castiel.” Call it. Have it come when called. 46 POINTS

131. VIDEO: Time Lapse: Play the violin using a bow strung with your own hair. (If you are a horse, you may only participate in this item if we see you operating a pair of scissors to trim your mane). If you’re a human we must see video clips edited together of you cutting your own hair, stringing the bow, and then playing the violin with it. 74 POINTS

132. IMAGE: Create a stained glass window depicting a character or characters from a CW TV show.91 POINTS

133. IMAGE: (Screencap) Get Jared Padalecki (@jarpad) to compliment Misha Collins (@mishacollins) on twitter. The post must include a Username from your team. 201 POINTS

134. IMAGE: As you know, pink ninja sightings are common at Ayers Rock in Australia. Take a photo of tourists spotting one at the rock. 56 POINTS

135. IMAGE: Have your public service workers over for pie. Seated at the table, and eating their pie, are a fully dressed professional (not costumed) fireman, police officer, teacher and paramedic. 39 POINTS

136. VIDEO: Train a parrot to say “Jensen,” or “Ackles,” or both. Double points if the parrot chuckles after saying it. 48 POINTS

137. IMAGE: If Gishwhes were a moving or shipping company, what would its slogan be? Let’s see the slogan on the side of an 18-wheeler. Letters must be at least 3 feet in height. No illegal graffiti allowed! You must have permission from the owner of the truck and we must see the entire truck in the image. Feel free to decorate the rest of the truck as you deem appropriate. 82 POINTS

138. IMAGE: Design the graphic cover of a romance novel: Misha and the Queen of England in a torrid embrace or otherwise adventurous situation. Give it a creative title. 99 POINTS

139. IMAGE: In front of the most famous building or monument in your city or town, hold a sign over your head with what your town's tourism motto should be based on how you see it. For example: "Burkfields, MA! Where people used to have jobs!" or "Los Angeles, CA! Where everyone sleeps in!" 16 POINTS

140. IMAGE: Liv Heller. Recreate a recognizable piece of architecture or a landmark using only books. Bonus points for size. 31 POINTS

141. IMAGE: Make a picture book for preschoolers explaining the Pythagorean theorem. 22 POINTS

142. IMAGE: (Two photos in one image.) "Hell and back." In other words, we want to see a before and after photo of a GISHWHES 2013 participant. The first photo should depict the participant eagerly getting ready for the great, adventurous week ahead, and the second photo, what the participant looks like at the close of the hunt. 61 POINTS

143. IMAGE: Create a grammatically correct anagram sentence using the first names of each of the members of your team. The image must show both the first names of your team members and the sentence. 27 POINTS

144. IMAGE: Children behind the counter of a post office, dressed in postal wear, dealing with adult customers. They must look really bored. 52 POINTS

145. VIDEO: “GISHWHES” or a GISHWHES theme in skywriting. The plane must be in the process of completing the letters. In other words, we must see the plane, we must see the smoke leaving the plane and we must see the letters. Take photographs as well. You don’t need to submit the photos, just the video. 216 POINTS

146. VIDEO: Get your team’s new ice cream flavor on sale in an ice cream parlor. The new flavor must have a catchy new name and must be a combination of ingredients that we (the judges) have never before heard of in an ice cream. The ice cream shop employee must tell a customer what is in your ice cream and the customer must sample your new flavor. 58 POINTS

147. IMAGE: Go to Neuschwanstein castle in Germany and hold a seated séance in the front courtyard with 5 of your friends. Extra points if you have an Ouija board and are dressed as “traveling minstrels." 64 POINTS

148. VIDEO: A local TV news piece covering a local radio story. 49 POINTS

149. IMAGE: Let’s see you in a cage staring down an animal in a cage. The catch: your cage is in his cage. 61 POINTS

150. IMAGE: Let’s see a watercolor painting of one of your teammates leading the cavalry of a battle charge. The warriors, however, are not riding traditional horses, they are riding rocking horses. Give us a fitting landscape and weaponry as well. 30 POINTS

151. VIDEO: Start a chant at a sporting event. Rather than chanting a player’s name, however, at least 200 people must be chanting “GISHWHES” with enthusiasm. 123 POINTS

152. IMAGE: Surf's up! Let's see you surfing while "tin can" talking to another surfer on a different surfboard. Your tin cans must be connected. 70 POINTS

153. IMAGE: Get Alexander Misurkin, Pavel Vinogradov, Chris Cassidy, Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg or Luca Parmitano to take a photo of themselves holding up a sign that says, "Hey (INSERT ANY USERNAME FROM YOUR TEAM)! GISHWHES does space too!" or a similar slogan. As a side note, the preceding individuals are all currently on the International Space Station orbiting planet Earth. 334 POINTS

154. VIDEO: Project the youtube short film "Stranger Danger" or the Oscar-Worthy feature film, "Stonehenge Apocalypse" at an abandoned drive-in movie theater. 49 POINTS

155. IMAGE. Change a life! Random Acts (www.therandomact.org) and GISHWHESHEANS are going to change the life of someone and their family! Details will be announced on Tuesday (U.S.) on the "Updates" page. You will submit for it at that time. 250 POINTS

156. MYSTERY ITEM. To Be Announced. 51 POINTS

Alphonse Mucha and his Models

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I believe the idea came from claughter713, and it wasn't long after last year's Costume College - the idea was banded about when I was staying with her last August, so it looks as though we actually managed to keep the idea of an Alphonse Mucha group project a secret for a full year.

There was a Facebook group. There were headdress workshops. The team started out as about six of us, and ended up as thirteen. Many people picked a specific portrait to copy; some did a Mucha-inspired outfit of their own. For example....

 photo Cherylyn_zpsec000941.jpg
 photo Kris_zpse90cc241.jpg


I wanted to do my usual blogathon, so I picked an appropriate dress that I wanted to do anyway, but that would fit in. It was something that I could tell you all about without giving the game away. And I found an image that was near enough - I think the lady on the left is somewhat similar in silhouette, at least...



And here are some more images, courtesy of Rebeccas Maiten and Rowan. In a couple of weeks I'll be back at Laurie's, and there's a Plan afoot to do a formal photoshoot of this outfit, so watch this space.















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