Miss Fanny is pleased to announce the opening of her new business, Textile Traditions. Miss Fanny's emporium features the latest and greatest in reproduction fabrics for the serious reenactor and the discerning quilter. In addition to archival prints and solid colors from 1760 to 1960, fine quality cottons, wools, linens, silks and natural fiber battings abound. Visit the Yarn "Petting Zoo" to see and feel wool yarns in a delighful array of color and style.
The traditional crafter will be pleased to find old time tools and toys to delight one and all. Add realism to your role by presenting the textile traditions of our foremothers and forefathers at your next event. Located in the historic 1864 Comstock & Martin Building in Weaverville, California and soon to be online at www.textiletraditions.com. Come for a visit soon! Currently in development: a series of workshops and classes on traditional techniques by some of the best craftspersons in the West. Spend a weekend in an authentic Gold Rush town beneath the glorious Trinity Alps for a fun time learning new skills and crafts.
In 2006, Fanny & Vera were invited to contribute articles to the newly refurbished Citizen's Companion magazine. Now under the editorship of Connie Payne, the magazine has a new look, format and philosophy. This periodical is truly "the Voice of Civilian Reenacting" and is a great resource for any reenactor who wants to learn more about the art of presenting living history.
The Citizen's Companion is published 6 times a year by Lakeway Publishing, who also produce the Camp Chase Gazette, a periodical for military reenactors. For more information on subscribing to the Citizens Companion, visit their website or call 1-800-624-0281.
Fanny & Vera were pleased to assist the Civil War Preservation Trust's Teacher Institute Program by providing articles for use in the Teachers Resource Binder. This program helps to bring living history into the classroom and educates educators on the importance of the Civil War in history curriculums. Our best wishes to the CWPT for all they do to preserve America's history. If you are looking for a good cause to support, you can't do better than the Civil War Preservation Trust. Help save our battlefields and artifact heritage by donating to the CWPT
Fanny & Vera are still at work with the "Threads of History Project" at the Jake Jackson Museum in Weaverville. The ladies and a crew of volunteers are working steadily at updating artifact records and improving conservation for the hundreds of textiles at the museum. Over 1300 items have been cataloged to date!
Fanny & Vera have discovered several lovely Civil War era garments, as well as gorgeous garb of almost every era of California history. See them at the Trinity County Historical Society's "Threads of History" website virtual exhibit. Folks interested in donating to this worthy cause will find contact information on the website, or perhaps you would consider sponsoring one of these wonderful pieces of our past...
Part of the Threads of History Project supports conservation education. We have taken our "Caring for Antique Textiles" workshop on the road and presented for quilt groups and sewing shops around the west. This workshop is presented free of charge (travel stipend may be needed for out of area presentations) and has receive rave reviews. This workshop teaches how to preserve family treasure and private collections of historic textiles for no-or-low cost with easily found materials. Save our textile heritage and call soon to schedule a presentation for your group at 530-623-5211. Learn more about the workshop at the Threads of History website.
Fanny & Vera will be among the presenters at the "Autumn in the Alps" Quilt Show in Weaverville, California. F&V will present a workshop on preserving historic textiles and conduct a "Bed Turning" in the Museum. The bed turning will display historic quilts as they were meant to be seen-on a bed! Miss Fanny's rope bed will support a pile of antique textiles in the Museum foyer. View lovely textile art and learn the story behind the quilts--who made them, who used them, and why each is a unique window into the past. View the Autumn in the Alps Quilt Show Website for schedule and more information
Read below about our 2005 roadtrip to the Museums of Oregon:
The month of June, 2005 saw Fanny & Vera on the road to tour the museums of Oregon with our dear friend, Miss Tracy, along for the ride. We tried to visit every Oregon museum that mentioned a textile collection (12 of them!) on the way to our ultimate destination: The Latimer Quilt and Textile Arts Center in Tillmook, Oregon. The Latimer Center was devine! Our thanks to LaRayne and staff for the tour and hospitality. Be sure to stop in if you are ever in the neighborhood, and tell 'em Fanny & Vera sent you.
The Mission Mill Museum in Salem was another highlight of the visit. This complex houses an 1880's woolen mill and several historic homes. The furnishings and textiles were a delight. It was also a delight to have Miss Tracy along, as she explained the process of turning sheep coats into lovely blankets in detail. The nearby Asahel Bush House was Fanny's favorite, the house was lovely, but even better was that each room featured beautiful wedding gowns from days past. Sigh. The extensive button collection at the Springfield Museum was a fun stop.
A sleeper attraction that turned into a golden opportunity greeted us at the Monteith House Museum in Albany. Arriving in the midst of a thunderstorm (the downtown museum closed), we pulled up to be greeted by a period-costumed docent rocking on the porch. She led us inside to what is probably the most authentically preserved mid-1800's home we have ever seen. They only gave in to Victorian grandeur in the parlor, the rest of the house was humble and period appropriate, from the store in the front room, to the muslin ceiling, to the nicely primitive kitchen cluttered with period utensils and a stew baking in the fireplace ashes! Upstairs were adult and children's bedrooms, and a lovely 1860's silk dress. We did not want to leave! Thanks to the delightful docent who stayed late to accomodate our wide-eyed wonder.
Miss Vera has completed renovations on her wonderful old building! Not to be outdone in the collection of Civil War artifacts department, she has acquired a building in downtown Weaverville built in 1864.
This building suffered horibly from "modernization" in the 1930-40's and required a mammoth amount of work to return it to 1860's grandeur. The several layers of paint, wallpaper, plywood, plaster, drywall, etc have been removed to reveal the lovely brick work. The cleverly designed rafters are now visible and the skylights again admit light as they were originally designed to do. The "Comstock & Martin" building is a great example of Gold Rush building techniques. The 12 foot tall ceilings and brick mass keep the building cool in summer--the old timers really knew what they were doing. Stop by and visit when in Northern California. The Comstock & Martin Building is located at 555 Main Street.
The building has another claim to fame--owner John Martin was married to the notorious "Queen of Dynamite" Isabelle Hoffman Martin. Isabelle's career including murders, poisonings, arson, dynamiting and otherwise annoying her neighbors. Isabelle was finally apprehended after attempting to murder the entire population of Weaverville by dumping poison in the town reservoir. Alas, poor John died of terminal indegestion at his dear wife's hands years before (as did his brother Henry and their Mine Manager). We checked the basement carefully, and no other husbands seem to have been left there. When you visit, we'll tell you the whole, torrid story. Isabelle was a woman who took matters into her own hands--at least until those hands were handcuffed and placed in San Quentin.