Sidelined at Prairie du Chien Rendezvous

Doyle Got Me Flowers! I must be in Pretty Bad Shape!

OK, I hurt myself driving 2 foot tent stakes at Prairie du Chien Rendezvous. I have driven stakes many times, and it used to be my Husbands job, but since his surgery last Fall I have taken over this duty to prevent him hurting himself. I hadn't had a problem up to this point, but Prairie has a lot of old pavement under the site, and I think I hurt myself trying to blast through and old sidewalk!

Normally we have been corralling the closest strong back we could find to do this nasty but necessary job, but this time we were on our own and I was feeling frisky so I drove them all myself and ended up pulling some muscles I wasn't aware I had until this moment.

On a scale of one to ten, this was an eleven, and forced me not only to bed, but prevented me from working in the kitchen all weekend. It wasn't easy missing one of my favorite Events, I couldn't even get over to visit, it's Sunday and I am just now able to sit up and walk a bit.

 

Thank goodness also for Pat's Lund's Corsettes, I strapped one on the first day I could get out of bed, and it's stabilized my back better than most medical back braces!

 

I would like to thank everyone who stopped by the kitchen to wish me well and maybe pitched in to help Doyle during one of our busiest Events of the year! Connie came through like a Champ, taking over my duties and keeping an eye on Doyle to keep him from working too hard. we had a nice couple of young Ladies who also came by and helped Doyle out, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for being there for us!

The hardest part of hurting myself was not being able to visit with everyone we normally only see once a year at this Event. I thought about going over today and just hanging around the kitchen, but I puttered around the house yesterday and I woke up stiff and sore again today, I also think it would be impossible for me to just sit and watch, I would eventually get up and try to do something, which would only set me back and get my butt whooped by Connie and Doyle.

Now we will be down for a few weeks until Folle Avoine, I am really looking forward to getting there and working on my dress in the kitchen. I better be better by then, even if I have to resort to...DOCTORS..but I hope rest and a little Yoga will take care of it!

Thank you all again for supporting our kitchen and helping Doyle out, we appreciate each and every one of you good Folks out on the road with us, and may God watch over your travels until we meet again!

Reconstructing a Pre Contact Elk Two Hide Dress

We've had a week off, so I've jumped right into a project that has been years in the planning and research. I'm recreating an Elk Hide dress that hasn't been seen walking around in 300 or so hundred years.

I actually have three hide dresses in the planning phase, but this one just sort of came up when I got the hides and hung them on the dress form.

The hides were hung as they had been delivered, no cutting or trimming of leather was done to it.

It was supposed to be a Wampanoag over the shoulder dress, (Think Jane of Tarzan fame), but when I did the initial dress form fitting, this dress came out instead and insisted I make it.

Sometimes the hides just arrange themselves in such a way you just have to go with what they are telling you.

In early Native American Culture it was common to make a dress from the entire hide without cutting it in any way, just artfully arranging it to your form.

One second later, Slippers pulled the dress form over on top of her!

This was powerful medicine in it's day but was later modified to become a more taylored garment for a more active mobile lifestyle and redesigned to differentiate between different tribes.

What really surprised me is when I got things pinned up I began to see a garment that covered different cultures around the world also.

If one looks carefully, one can see the lines of the Kimono. If one squints a bit, a Medieval dress line appears.

Lets face it, at one time or another we all ran around in hides of one sort or another on every continent. We all wanted to look our best, (women have always been concerned about their looks, trust me on this, even in the cave there was some sort of fashion going on). 

I imagine considerable time was spent making the hides hang, "just so" instead of just tying a knot of any given smelly hide over one shoulder and marching on...that idea is abhorrent to women now as then.

Anywho...it's amazing to think that all long flowing dresses are essentially paying homage to the original two hide dress, the lines are obvious, the pattern clear.

We've just changed fabric for hides, added darts, zippers, buttons and cut away at the excess to reveal a modern line. It's nice to take a moment and take a good long look at our beginnings and see that even then, women had fine taste in clothing.

My Two Brain Tan Elk Dress Begins

Coming Along Nicely...

 My first fitting was just to find out if me and my dress form still agreed on size, which we did, but it was evident that just throwing the hides on the form wasn't good enough. I had to play around with the grain and hang of the animal to get it to drape properly.

I, of course, hung my hides neck down, which really makes a difference in how it hangs, those old world Gals knew what they were doing!

It really helped to let the hides hand an relax for a while, then I pinched, stretched and tugged until they started to see my way of doing things.

It's obvious from the dress I took the pattern off of that this dress was made on the person and not just thrown on the floor and sewed up. One must know where the median lines of the body are to get a proper drape!

I was shocked when it all came together, it resembled a Kimono in shape and contour! Now I'm so happy with how it looks I don't want to do anything more with it other than stitch it up and put it on! I'm seriously considering leaving it as is and getting more hides to make the off the shoulder version with fringe.

First Fitting

This would be an actual two hide dress as it was first conceived, and I have to say that it is lovely indeed!

We'll see.....

Wrong, wrong wrong...

Proper fitting

Proper fitting rear

Proper fitting side, note train

Proper fitting side

Chevron Or Rosetta Star Beads 1500-1900

My Collection, a Mix of Old and New Red, White and Blue Chevrons

My matched strand from the same cane

I always promised myself I wouldn't get hooked on Beads, but sooner or later you just have to have something to wear with your red, white and blue regalia and I just couldn't help but fall in love with these Chevrons I have collected over the past few years. I finally have them strung up in a useable and ascetic form and can't wait to try them on when I am all "Dressed Up".

My collection consists of a long strand of matched graduated old seven layer beads, a small strand of mixed old leftover beads and a modern strand of beads featuring a new bead I call the "Mirror Ball".

Here is some research I found on my beads, I found the sources very interesting and have provided links to the most interesting ones.:

CHEVRONS are probably the best known, oldest and most interesting historic trade bead. Often called ‘star’ beads or ‘chevrons’ by Spanish traders, these artifacts are quintessential fur trade relics - but yet they are rarely found in Canada and North US. They were traded here, but very early in the game.

Chevrons were traded with African tribes for slaves and ivory, and Native Americans, primarily in southwest Arizona. Blue and red chevrons are listed among the supplies of Coronado and his conquistadors in the year 1540 in what is today Arizona. These are prized beads - but they are rarely found in the fur belt. Some authors believe they were bought and traded by the Hudson's Bay Company early in the history of that venerated company - before glass making became common in England. There's also an interesting story which details how the exact recipe and process for making Chevrons (all fifteen steps) was one of the great industrial secrets to escape the Republic of Venice when several highly skilled glassblowers escaped from the Island of Murano to migrate north to Germany in the early 1600’s. The mills of Bohemia made the manufacture of these complicated beads more practical as a single necklace required hours of grinding – remember the beads start life as long sticks of glass that are broken into bits and ground into small spherical shapes.

The History of Beads Chart 

Chevrons - Chevron Trade Beads

Chevron Beads were traded throughout the world from the late 15th century. Christopher Columbus is said to have traded Chevrons when discovering the New World. They were introduced into Africa by Dutch merchants. The first specimens were created by glass bead makers in Venice and Murano Italy. Chevrons were originally called Rosetta beads, or star beads. The word Rosetta first appears in the inventory of the Barovier Glass works in Murano in 1496.

Massive Venetian Chevron  -  Circa 1480 1580 - Rediscovered in the Congo1983. Measures 7.7 cms x  5 cms. Weight: 288 gms.

Chevron beads were traditionally made up of red, blue and white layers. A smaller number of chevron beads were produced in green, black and yellow. (above) Chevrons were 'drawn beads', made from glass 'canes' created in specifically constructed star mould. Star moulds are known to have had between 5 and 18 points. Typically, four to seven layers of different coloured glass was added to the mould, conforming to the star mould. Metal plates were affixed to the hot glass which was then 'drawn' into a long rod called 'canes', by pulling from either in opposite directions. A bubble which had been blown into the centre of the original molten ball of glass formed the hole in the cane and beads perforation. The diameter of the cane or beads was determined by how thin the glass was drawn out. The cooled cane was cut into bead sizes, revealing a star pattern at either cut section. Each end was then ground or faceted to enhance and display the star chevron pattern. Star beads with flat ends are more correctly known as 'Rosetta star beads'.

The first known Chevrons typically had seven layers and six facets. Over time and through use, an inner layer would sometimes wear away. By the beginning of the 20th century, four and six layer chevron beads appeared on various bead sample cards. Small quantities of chevron beads continue to be made in Venice today.

Above, a selection of very large chevrons collected in Shaba Zaire (Conge DRC) during the most part of the 1990's. At the top is the largest 7 layered example we found. The centre necklace is made up entirely of seven layered Chevrons, while the outer two examples date to early 20th century trade. These beads were re-discovered individually. They would have entered the remote region through river sources, leading up from the mouth of the Congo River. Imagine the history they have seen!