I was very excited when the intro guide to our cottage for our Sew & Eat Historical Retreat said that we could put all the food scraps in a bin for the pigs. I’m always a fan of anything that keeps food out of the rubbish (food waste is a huge contributor to climate change – food rotting without air creates carbon). I was even more excited when we arrived, and it turned out that the pigs were pet kunekune pigs, not farm porkers destined for the slaughterhouse. And we could feed them and pet them! Happiness! Kunekune pigs are descended from domestic pigs that were brought to New Zealand from Asia by whalers or traders in the early 19th century. They are now a unique breed of their own, from isolation, or crossbreeding, or because the breeds they descended from have since gone extinct (as has happened with so many breeds of domestic farm animals in the last 200 years). Kune means plump in te reo MÄori, and when you double up a word …
How it works: The HSM 2019 is a monthly historical garment challenge. Every month in 2019 will feature a themed challenge. Sew (or knit, or crochet, or tatt, or embroider, or milin, (or whatever it is you call making a hat), or otherwise create) a historical garment or accessory that fits the monthly theme. We’d love it if you did all 12 challenges, but how many you complete is up to you. Push yourself and participate in all 12 challenges, do a half-marathon with 6, or just pick and choose the ones that fit your sewing schedule. Your HSM 2019 item can be as basic or elaborate as you want, from a simple fichu to fill in the neckline of a gown, to a full ensemble from the undergarments outward: whatever you need and are able to do time and skill-wise. However, each item should be a complete, wearable item on its own: so an Elizabethan sleeve, which could be moved from one outfit to another, counts. A Victorian sleeve, which was permanently sewn into …
I can’t believe 2018 will be halfway over in a month in a half! It seems like it just started. I’ve been very busy, as evinced by my slightly slower blogging rate. I’ve kept you (mostly) updated with my sewing (lots of shorts, Georgian accessories, and Regency unders), Scroop Pattern-ing (Otari Hoodie & paper patterns!), historical research (swimming in Edwardian wool swimsuits), and photoshoots (30s blouses, geekiness , Edwardian, and bathing suits). But we’ve been working on a lot of other stuff too. We’ve had the kitchen that was destroyed in the Great Black Bean Pressure Cooker Explosion of June 2017 fully fixed and replaced – ceiling done, walls painted, floor replaced. That took lots of organising and following up, so ate up huge amounts of my time. And it turns out they used the wrong kind of paint, so I’m going to have to repaint it. Grrrrr…. But it does look lovely! We’ve also been doing our own home renovations. We sanded back the terrible old blue door, and filled all the gaps and …
