The Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated the opening of Shop at TheBlu, a new art supplies thrift shop at BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake with a ribbon cutting. [Read more…] about Art Supplies Thrift Shop Opens In The Adirondacks
Fiber Arts - Textiles
The Silk Train That Killed Financier Spencer Trask
On the morning of December 31, 1909, Saratoga Springs philanthropist and financier Spencer Trask was just waking up after a night in a railroad sleeping car at the rear of the Montreal Express. The night before this southbound train had picked up Trask in Saratoga as it made its way toward New York City.
At 8:03 am, only moments after the express train had stopped unexpectedly on the mainline near Croton, Westchester County, New York, a train transporting bales of raw silk crashed into its rear, killing Trask, the porter in his sleeping car, and injuring several other of the passengers. While the direct cause of this deadly wreck pointed to a failure of signal equipment and railroad personnel, events leading up to the tragedy had been put into motion six thousand miles to the west seventeen days earlier. [Read more…] about The Silk Train That Killed Financier Spencer Trask
Suffrage Centennial Embroidery Exhibit Extended Through Summer
The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, Warren County, NY, has announced the extension of the current exhibition, Equali-tea: Suffragist Tea Cozies in Redwork: A Centennial Suffrage Exhibition through summer 2021.
The suffrage centennial exhibit is the work of embroiderer Tisha Dolton. [Read more…] about Suffrage Centennial Embroidery Exhibit Extended Through Summer
Featured Collection: Merchant’s House Costumes
The Tredwell Costume Collection at Merchant’s House Museum comprises more than 400 articles of clothing, including a remarkable 39 dresses documented to have been owned and worn by the women of the family. Many are outstanding examples of the 19th century dressmaker’s art, composed of fine and delicate fabrics and ornamentation. [Read more…] about Featured Collection: Merchant’s House Costumes
Artifacts: History’s Primary Sources
George Washington’s brown Inauguration suit may have been plain for the times, but it was tailored from American-made broad cloth. The majority of cloth used in the United States in 1789 was imported from Britain, said Eliza West, an expert on 18th century textiles.
Wearing a suit of British-made fabric would have been a faux pas in the young nation that won its independence from Britain, so Washington asked cabinet member Henry Knox, of Fort Ticonderoga fame, to locate a suit of American-made cloth. The irony, West said, is that the cloth was of such quality that many people would not believe it was American made, and accused Washington of political incorrectness any way. [Read more…] about Artifacts: History’s Primary Sources
Barn Quilt Class at TAUNY in Canton
The Town of Colton’s Tourism & Beautification Committee is set to present a ‘How-To’ Barn Quilt Class on November 1-3, 2018 at The TAUNY Center located at 53 Main Street in Canton, NY.
This class is being held in conjunction with the 2018 Artists’ Studio Tour across St. Lawrence County on November 3-4 organized by the St. Lawrence County Arts Council. [Read more…] about Barn Quilt Class at TAUNY in Canton
Ballots, Bloomers, and Marmalade: The Life of Elizabeth Smith Miller
Across the street from the home where Elizabeth Smith Miller designed the bloomers – the “most important dress reform of the 19th Century” according the historic marker in the yard, a biography of Miller will be presented.
At 2 pm on Sunday, September 25, 2016, at the Smithfield Community Center (5255 Pleasant Valley Road Peterboro, NY) Norman K. Dann PhD will speak about his research for his latest book on Peterboro history. Author of Practical Dreamer: Gerrit Smith and the Crusade for Social Reform, Dann has now turned to research on Smith’s daughter with the Log Cabin Books’ publication of Ballots, Bloomers, and Marmalade: The Life of Elizabeth Smith Miller. [Read more…] about Ballots, Bloomers, and Marmalade: The Life of Elizabeth Smith Miller
18th Century Fashion Show at Knox’s Headquarters
On Saturday, August 13th from 5 to 7 pm, Knox’s Headquarters presents a fashion show of 18th century civilian and military clothing.
Visitors will see elegant ladies gowns of silk, gentlemen officer wear and the patched and worn garments of the lesser sort. Learn who would have worn the clothing, why it is constructed in that manner, and what function it served. Accompanying the clothing display will be a power point demonstration and narrator describing the portraits and research behind the gowns. Staff members of the New Windsor Cantonment and Knox’s Headquarters State Historic Sites have painstakingly researched and constructed by hand reproductions of period clothing. [Read more…] about 18th Century Fashion Show at Knox’s Headquarters
Textile History Forum Planned For Hyde Hall
Hyde Hall, the 1817 Regency Mansion of George Clarke in Springfield, will host this year’s Textile History Forum April 29 through and May 1, 2016.
This year’s Forum will be a hands-on working project to identify, date, and catalog the surviving drapery fabrics and trims from the Dining Room and Drawing Room of the Great House. [Read more…] about Textile History Forum Planned For Hyde Hall
18th Century Material Culture Weekend Planned
Fort Ticonderoga will host its annual “Material Matters: It’s in the Details” the weekend of November 7-8, 2015. The event focuses on the material culture of the 18th century and is intended for people with an interest in learning more about objects of the 18th century and what they can tell us about history. “Material Matters” takes place in the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center at Fort Ticonderoga and is open by pre-registration only.
A panel of material culture experts comes to Fort Ticonderoga for the weekend to share their knowledge of 18th-century material culture in a series of presentations. Designed for those who want a deeper understanding of the everyday objects that help tell the story of life and the contests for control of North America during the 18th century, the weekend’s informal approach enables attendees to interact with presenters and provides an opportunity to examine 18th-century objects up close. [Read more…] about 18th Century Material Culture Weekend Planned