The Feast: Friends & Others Drop By

I have been selling 18th century clothing for several years now, long enough to have repeat customers who come and visit me at events. I enjoy seeing them and I love to see them wearing something I have made. 

Whitney was one of my very first customers. She has purchased several things and has become a friend. Her husband, too, has become a customer and a friend.

He was so excited to show me how the voyageur shirt I'd made him last winter looked. This was the first time he'd worn it to an event and he'd just bought that toque from me and was so pleased with how it paired with the shirt. (So was I!) 

This is the first shirt I ever sold. While I don't know this woman's name, she visits me every year to say hello. 

I do not remember this man at all, but when he walked into the tent, I recognized the shirt right away! (I was surprised at how well I could recognize my shirts several years later.)

I will never forget this man - last year he came into my tent and was so excited when he discovered that I carried his size. He found two shirts that fit but could not decide between the two. After some discussion with his wife (who is wearing a scarf she got from me) he bought them both. They are lovely people. 

That's him earlier in the day as the voyageur canoes begin arriving. He is sitting right behind the Catholic priest who is standing and blessing the voyageurs' landing.

A shirt of mine in the middle, pockets (the bags tied around their waists) by me, and the lady on the right asked me to custom make her another shirt. (I've already made her one.) The woman on the left did not have a chemise to wear under that beautiful gown, so she bought one from me after this picture was taken.

A brand new customer this year. He slipped this shirt on over his head to check fit and since I don't have a mirror, I take customers' pictures so they can see how they look. I hope he comes back next year and lets me see how it looks.

Vinny teaches 4th grade with Lisa and is also a good friend of mine. He bought one of Frannie's toques and insisted on wearing it then and there. (It was very chilly at this year's Feast.)

Friends also stopped by the tent to say hello. This gal, Nadine, and I were good friends in elementary school.

We reconnected over social media and she popped in to say hello.

Erin is a former student who is now a college grad and getting ready to return to grad school. I told her she was welcome to call me by my first name now, and she was absolutely horrified. "I don't think I could ever call you anything except Mrs. I.!" she replied.

As you can probably tell by the smiles, this is a very special lady. When I was working on my degree in education, Pam was a second grade teacher who invited me into her class my junior year to do a practicum with her.

Pam is an outstanding teacher and I learned a lot from her that I took into my own classroom. And when I graduated, my first teaching position was at her school so we became colleagues. She even did some mentoring my first year of teaching, too.

Pam had driven all the way over from Illinois; she said she'd never heard of the Feast until she saw my posts on Facebook about it and thought she'd come see it and me. I am so glad she did.

There were other friends and customers who dropped by, but I didn't get pictures of them all. One of the funniest was a friend who tried the maple cakes and came back three more times to get more. That fourth time I was helping another customer, so he walked over to the candy jar, served himself, and left his payment on the cashbox!

Changing subjects, I did a "stay 'tooned" a week or so ago that I never followed up on. I'd posted this picture and asked what you thought I might do with it.

In retrospect, that is kind of a creepy picture!

I'd bought some black satin at JoAnn's and played around tucking and pinning the fabric to the head.

And I made a toque holder so I could display Frannie's toques! (Susan Y, you guessed it right!)

There will be one last (and very special to me) blog post about The Feast tomorrow and then we will move back to the horsey world. 

Stay 'tooned!