For the past several months some writing friends of mine have been planning a Regency tea party, which started as three or four people, and expanded to fifteen of us (more had planned to come, but life happened and several had to drop out at the last moment). Since Sarah Eden’s living room isn’t built for that many visitors, we held the tea party at the Provo Library. This picture was taken only a few minutes before I arrived (late) after running like mad for the previous several days. I actually sewed the hook-and-eye closures onto my dress as we were en route to Provo.
No, hook-and-eye closures are not of the time period, but buttons are a pretty specialized feature that my sewing machine does not have, so I sewed the buttons on the top so it looks authentic. I figure that’s close enough. I still have a little lace to attach around the neckline, but my dress turned out cute. Since I’m a slacker, I didn’t get any pictures. But I know a few were snapped of me that day, and when I finish the dress I’ll take one of the finished product and post about it.
Anyway, we had tea (herbal) which was incredibly good, and hot cocoa, little cucumber sandwiches (because nothing says Jane Austen tea like cucumber sandwiches), fruits, English cheeses and crackers and lots of little goodies. Sarah, who writes terrifically funny, totally clean Regency romances (I highly recommend them if you like the genre) explained the way the fashions changed over the twenty years or so and how teas were conducted. And I got a chance to talk with some really terrific writers I hardly ever see, and several I’d never met in person (just online). It was a lot of fun, and we’re already talking about doing it again next year before the 2013 conference as well. I’m thinking my next sewing project will be a little purse–way easier than a dress!