I posted some more of the vintage clothes today on my ETSY site.  But I couldn't resist showing my blog followers this picture of Devan flirting in a Civil War Era bonnet.  You see this face?  That is all the explanation you need for why our family line has not died out.  This bonnet is one of the many vintage clothes I got from my Learning to Weave friend.  It is made of silk, lined with linen and I would swear that there is nothing but hand stitching in it.  It is also in perfect shape.    It is the kind of bonnet that would be worn in the house to cover your hair and then, when you went outside, you would just pop your heavy felted bonnet over it (in winter) or your straw wide brimmed sun shading bonnet (in summer).

Devan is looking more serious and demure in this photo, but don't be fooled.  The one above is far more typical.  She took these photos herself, somehow mysteriously knowing how she will look from in front of the camera.  

I have really loved having her go through and photograph these clothes.  It reminds me of when she was a little girl in Hawaii and used to dive into my huge straw stash basket many times a day and emerge swathed in lace, old clothes, scarves and random lengths of lace and fabric to be a Lady!, a Pirate!, a Scarey Ghost!, a Gypsy!  She is grown up now and does complex and responsible work (i.e., the picture taking, modeling, editing, internet posting) but I can see still that little girl peeking out of her eyes.

I recently became the slightly overwhelmed recipient of a treasure trove of vintage fiber.  There is clothing for infants through adults.  There are dozens and dozens of linen napkins, tablecloths, hand towels, pillowcases....  I am busily washing, drying, ironing, sorting and trying, basically, to get my head and hands around what I have and what I should do with it.  Some of it I will just keep for the household, although I think any sane woman would agree that 3 dozen linen napkins is probably more than enough.  I am going to have to do something useful and productive with the rest and, after consulting with my advisory board (Joe, my sister Peg and most especially my daughter Devan) I have decided to peddle some of it on Etsy.  If you click HERE you will go directly to my Etsy site.  Today I posted two articles of clothing.  This one is a cotton lace blouse from approximatley 1910.  It is from the era when women had just begun to have office jobs outside of the home, farm or factory.  Devan took the photographs of the clothing herself, and often of herself.  It is a wonderment to me how she can be in front of the camera and behind the camera at the same time.

This photo is of a beautiful cobalt blue lace gown with satin facings.  We decided to replace the missing buttons, which originally were almost certainly blue satin covered ones to match the dress facings.  We though the dress had a European/Asian feeling that would be perfectly complimented with some of the red enameled Russian buttons that I had gotten from Peacefleece.  They do look brilliant on the dress and Devan looks brilliant IN the dress and very calm for a photographer who had to set up the shot and then go around and get into position before the camera went off.