March Hive -- Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Buzz at the Hive

10:30-12:00 -- Kit Tune Up -- Don't wait till the last minute to make sure your kit is in good shape for the season.  Take this time to reattach those buttons, fix blown out seams,  replace the collar on that shirt -- all those tasks that lots of us leave to the night before an event.  

Lectures

12:00 -- 1:00  Textile Tutorial -- Cloth in Pre-War New England

We'll be looking at common fabrics advertised for sale, mentioned in runaway ads, in probate inventories, and in period literature.  What are they? What do they look like? What were they used for?  And what we can still get today? We'll also look at some originals so you can see first hand what some of these fabrics look like.  Join Hallie Larkin, Steph Smith and Henry Cooke for this textile-o-rama!

Break out Sessions

1:30 - 3:30  

(pick two -- each session will run one hour and will be run twice)

"Touch This"
Sometimes what seems like a great buy turns out be a disaster to sew, especially when one shops on-line. You will learn the hallmarks of a good fabric by touch and feel. You'll quickly learn how to avoid the clunkers that don't turn out to be the bargains you thought they were.

Buttonholes
"It's the first thousand"! Besides practice, there are some secrets to creating great buttonholes. In this session, you'll learn the basics as well as some of the tricks of the trade.

Stroke Gathers
A seemingly easy technique that requires a little skill and a lot of patience. Used to attach sleeve heads to the body of a shirt or shift, as well as attaching a cuff to a sleeve, a well done stroke gather is a thing of beauty. 

Basic Stitchery
You might know the basics but may not know the techniques to create secure and consistent stitching. In this session we'll cover: running stitch, combination stitch, back stitch (several variations), underhand hem stitch. You'll also experiment with different size needles to find the right tool for the job. Bring your sewing kit.

Location: Minuteman Technical High School on rte 2A in Lexington, MA.  Follow the signs for the the Community/West Entrance.
The Hive is free for members of the living history community and those who are interested in volunteering at Minute Man NHP.

Coffee and Tea are available, snacks to share are always welcome!
For more information visit our website or email us at hiveworkshops@gmail.com

What's Up Your Sleeve Workshops: Sleeve Ruffles

Join us this Saturday, January 17th, at the Golden Ball in Weston for a day of sleeves!  The second half of the day will be spent making a pair of simple muslin sleeve ruffles.

Ingenious in their construction and simple in their beauty -- This project will also give you a chance to perfect teeny-tiny hems and work on mastering your fine hand sewing skills, which will come in handy next time you make a cap or shift.

The fee for the course is $45 and includes all the materials you will need to create a lovely pair of sleeve ruffles.

To sign up, email us a hiveworkshops@gmail.com
for more info: http://www.thehiveonline.org/current-workshops.htm

Sleeve Treatment Workshop - January 17th Details

During our morning workshop on sleeves we are going to learn how to make three common sleeve treatments, a cuff, a double sleeve flounce, and a puckered cuff. All three are common to the 1770's and are patterned from originals.

We'll start the class by looking at these three sleeve treatments as pictured in artwork and on original gowns.  In addition, we'll explore how these various sleeve adornments relate to the cuff of your shift and/or other accessories like sleeve ruffles.

You'll make each type, then learn how to attach them to your sleeve.  If you have a gown that you'd like add a sleeve treatment to, bring along some extra fabric and your gown so you can add the new detail to your gown.  In any case, bring your sewing kit.

The cost of the class is $30 and will run from 9:30 am - 12:30 at the Golden Ball Tavern in Weston, MA. If you'd like to sign up, email us at hiveworkshops@gmail.com

Hive Book Club - January 18, 2015

The first Hive book club will be held the morning of the January 18th Hive.  Our first book will be, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" by Laurence Sterne.  The discussion will be lead by today's guest blogger, Matthew Mees.  The book is available for free download at the Project Gutenberg website. 

Laurence Sterne wrote The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman from 1759 to 1767 in nine volumes. The book is episodic, digressive and includes some experiments with page layout and typography. Several chapters are written in Latin (with translation). Some parts of the story are described by squiggles on the page.

Tristram Shandy describes his life along with those of family members, family friends, servants and passerbys. Some characters describe the lives and events of people we never meet and there are a number of people introduced simply to illustrate a literary point.

There are several jokes in the book. For some of these, the punch line is obvious from the horizon; the Reader just does not know how the joke will be finally delivered. Some jokes sneak up on the reader; some are nearly lost within a maze of digressions; others seem puzzling.

There is bawdy and heartfelt sentiment as well as loving descriptions of absorbing "Hobbyhorse" interests.

John Adams, Voltaire and Goethe loved the book; Dr. Johnson said it was a passing fad and would soon be forgotten.

I read and reread this book because of the voices and narrative power. Sterne wrote to the reader, directly. The whole work is conversational and when reading, we can clearly hear the voices of people from many different walks of life. Sterne offers us an open door to his world, his world of family and village politics; love and economy;childbirth theories and fortifications; all to the tune of Lillabullero.

On the 18th, I plan to give examples to illustrate all of the above points and hope to produce several tableaux vivants, dramatizing striking events of the novel.

Please read the book, enlarge your family and see if it is indeed not full as well to have the curtain of the tennaile a straight line as a crooked one.

Sincerely,

Matthew Mees

February Hive

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Taking Needle to Fabric  

The Buzz -- 10 - 11:30

Book Club -- Book to be Announced

Sunday Morning at the Movies -- Barry Lyndon - Part 1

Lectures 12 - 1:30

The focus of this Hive will be to learn how to make good fabric choices, not only ones that are appropriate for the garment and time period but also fabrics that have the right feel, texture, etc.  The second part of this workshop will be to learn hand stitching techniques that will enhance the beauty of appropriate fabrics.

Fabrics of the 18th century -- Look at the wide range of fabrics that were available to the buyer of 1770 New England.  We’ll explore the advertisements, as well as the period swatch cards, and sources like Barbara Johnson’s journal.

Round Robin Breakout Sessions - Pick 2  1:30 - 3:30

“Touch This” - Sometimes what seems like a great buy turns out be a disaster to sew, especially when one shops on-line. You will learn the hallmarks of a good fabric by touch and feel.  You’ll quickly learn how to avoid the clunkers that don’t turn out to be the bargains you thought they were.

“Buttonholes” - As our dear Mr. Cooke always quips - "it’s the first thousand"!  Besides practice, there are some secrets to creating great buttonholes.  In this session, you’ll learn the basics as well as some of the tricks of the trade.

“Stroke Gathers” - A seemingly easy technique that requires a little skill and a lot of patience. Used to attach sleeve heads to the body of a shirt or shift, as well as attaching a cuff to a sleeve, a well done stroke gather is a thing of beauty.

“Basic Stitchery”  - You might know the basics but may not know the techniques to create secure and consistent stitching.  In this session we’ll cover: running stitch, combination stitch, back stitch (several variations), underhand hem stitch, whip gathers, and eyelets. You’ll also experiment with different size needles to find the right tool for the job.  Bring your sewing kit. 

Location: Minuteman Technical High School, Lexington, MA

Coffee and tea are available and as always, snacks to share are always welcome.

The Hive is free to the local living history community and is brought to you by the Hive volunteers, Minute Man National Historical Park and the generosity of Minuteman Tech for the use of their facilty.

The Hive -- January 2015

Sunday, January 18, 2015  Interpreting Battle Road

Sponsored by McAlpins Corp

The Buzz....






9:30 - 11:30 -- Come for the morning, get some sewing done, discuss a book, watch a movie or all three!

*   Hive Book Club -- Read and Discuss   -- The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne.  Discussion lead by Matthew Mees

*   Sunday Morning Movie -- "The School for Scandal" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (A Great Performances: Theatre in America production)

Lectures: Interpreting Battle Road







12:00 -12:30 Interpreting Hartwell Taverm
Park Ranger Jim Hollister will lead a discussion of topics and issues surrounding the interpretation of Hartwell Tavern: the family, the house, tavern operation and the Revolution.


12:30 - 1:00  Meet the Smiths
In 2014, the Lincoln Minute Men, after receiving a generous donation from the family of long-time member Wayne Mount, contacted Minute Man NHP about using the money towards furnishing the Captain William Smith House. You'll hear about this amazing project, why particular items were chosen and how we can use them to interpret this wonderful house and the fascinating family that occupied it.

1:15 - 2:00 Battle Road Combat and the Bloody Angle
The Bloody Angle, a curved stretch of road in Lincoln, MA is one of the best preserved and documented battle sites within the bounds of Minute Man NHP. Why did one of the sharpest actions on April 19, 1775 occur here? How do we know what really happened? We'll look at primary sources related to this action, discuss how the opposing forces engaged one another, and how the landscape may have played a key role.

Clinics: Fine Tune Your Impression

2:15 - 3:30

Newbie Clinic for Women - Whether you are just starting out or need to make some updates, we'll look at what you need to interpret New England early 1770's - the good, better, and best.

Refit your breeches -- Do your breeches look more like bloomers? Are your kneebands more like shinbands?  Time to get your breeches refit!  You will learn some tricks for getting your breeches to fit in a more 18th century manner.  Bring your breeches and sewing kit.

Replace or rework the collar on your shirt -- Collars wear out and most collars on ready-made reenactor's shirts are too short.  Take it off and replace it with one that fits properly.  We'll also take a look at how to properly wear your neck covering.  Bring your shirt and sewing kit and some extra linen (we'll have some for sale if you don't have any).

Pinking -- We'll look at pinking as a technique for finishing silk trim for a gown.  Try your hand at several pinking techniques using a pinking iron and other tools.

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Location: Minuteman Technical High School, Lexington, MA
As always, there will be coffee and tea available, but snacks to share are always welcome!

Sunday Hives are free of charge and are brought to you by The Hive volunteers, Minute Man National Historical Park and the generosity of Minuteman Tech for the use of their space.

Questions?  Contact: hiveworkshops@gmail.com
www.thehiveonline.org

Do you need a little diversion after the holidays. Forget the mani-pedi. Take a workshop!!! Get your gown ready for the Regimental Party & Dance Season with an adornment and accessory.  Join us for one or both workshops at the Golden Ball Tavern in Weston.

Saturday, January 17, 2014

Something Up Your Sleeve Workshops

9:30 – 12:30

Cuff & Sleeve Flounces

Dress up your gowns with a sleeve treatment.  In this class you’ll learn how to make sleeve flounces and cuffs.  Gussy up your silk gown with a pair of sleeve flounces or perhaps add some style to your chintz gown with a pair of cuffs.  Bring the left over fabric from your gown and make up one or both sleeve treatments.  Maybe you have a gown in your future – learn how to make and correctly attach these lovely adornments.

Cost: $30

1:00 – 4:00

Muslin Sleeve Ruffles

In the workshop you will make a pair of muslin sleeve ruffles patterned from an original 18^th century pair.  You can wear these with a fancy gown or use them to dress up your chintz gown.  This workshop includes all the materials you need to make a pair of muslin sleeve ruffles.

Cost: $45

Location: Golden Ball Tavern – Weston, MA

For questions or to sign up – email hiveworkshops@gmail.com