Studio day

I have designated Tuesdays as a studio/work day.  Today I am cutting out a silk bonnet to wear to class next week (I almost wrote a couple of weeks there, time is slipping away quickly!).  I am presenting on interpretation, ethnology, and museums for my 'objects' class.  I think my final paper will be on interpretation too.  I also checked further into the Fort Ti internship, the due date for applications is the first of April, so I may use this piece of writing as part of that application.

But first, bonnets, and next week's class.  I was hesitant on the whole bonnet thing at first.  I saw them as a fashion trend emerging within the re-enacting community when they first appeared.  I wondered how prevalent they would have been in period, and how many would be produced by reenactors to wear.  Would the silk bonnet eclipse the straw bonnet?  What about the calash?  The last few years have seen more and more information put out for the public to see, and I have to now admit that I am convinced.  Will I be wearing my bonnet all the time? Probably not.  It will be saved for working in, when the other hat options are not practical.  And probably not when it is too hot, as the straw is a better option there.

I am making mine out of black silk taffeta that my brother gifted to me a few years ago.  It is fine quality cloth, with no slubs at all.  I am constructing the brim with layers of hair canvas, pad stitched together to create the curve, then I'll cover the canvas with wool, then the silk.

Ok, this is me, getting my day started.

Thoughts on a wintery afternoon

We are in Montreal now, and I am starting my second term at the PhD level.  I am growing to really love my program, but I'm also looking at the future, and what I want to do once I'm done.  I really want to get into Interpretive Programming, at the management level.  Pierre and I have also made noises about wanting to return to Nova Scotia eventually, but even that is up in the air, depending on the job market.

I'm not ready for the job market yet anyway.  I have another school year of classes to take, then a year of comprehensive exams, then writing the dissertation.  But what can I, or do I want to do in the meantime to expand the interpretive background of my CV?  There's a summer internship at Ticonderoga in Interpretation.  There are opportunities at Williamsburg.  I will be spending the next month looking for other opportunities that I might like to take part in.  Broadening the horizon will make it easier to get work when I'm finished this degree, especially in Nova Scotia.

I am anxious though, that there will be pressures forced upon us to return to Nova Scotia before I am ready.  As much as I love it there, I think I would regret it if we go back too soon.  I feel like, for the very first time in my life, that I am able to do anything, anywhere that I may dream up.  Most people do things like this when they are in their early 20s.  I am turning 45 in four months.

In the meantime, I just finished the second of my two 'Christmas break' project outfits.  I wore the red smock last week to class.  The little brown and blue suit I will be wearing to a mess function at the end of the month.  I'll have my hair done up nice and will take a photo then.  next up for sewing projects is to get my striped linen 18thC gown finished, just on the off chance that I might have a summer gig.


fingers crossed.