The 101 Ranch Hat

Back around Christmas, in our shopping travels, my husband and I happened upon Colorado Mountain Hats, a custom hat maker. I probably would have never considered having a hat made (they did mostly cowboy hats), but my husband has wanted a hat like Wyatt Earp wears in Tombstone for ages, so we stopped.

Well, once I saw how the hat maker fitted you, I had to join in on the fun!

They start out with this fantastic machine that looks like something out of Jules Verne. It's a 19th century head measuring device. They still use the original because, like with so many things, the old way is just best!

A paper gets placed on the top of the device, then the top is closed (the cork piece) to hold it in place. The device gets placed on your head and the shape of your head displaces moving pieces inside the "hat," pushing corresponding pins through the paper into the cork.

Et voilà! The paper becomes your head pattern, which the hat maker then uses to recreate your head in his shop, to fit your hat to. I think he said they use a second antique machine to "read" the paper.

So what did I pick? Well, he had a lovely assortment of historical styles to chose from. I ended up picking a style copied from photos of the 101 Ranch Girls, who, in short, were performing cowgirls, from the 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. The 101 Ranch was a working ranch that did a show, much like Buffalo Bill's, around 1905. What with Edwardian cowgirls being a bit of a passion of mine, I thought this style was perfect!

And so we waited and waited for our fabulous hats to come, and they arrived this week! And, of course, it fits like a glove!

I can't wait to have an excuse to don my split riding skirt, some big Gibson girl hair, maybe a horse or two, and take some awesome pictures! :)

For a look at the 101 Ranch girls, and other inspiration for the hat, take a peek at my dedicated Pinterest board. 

"One man's trash...," they say. Or, why is corset busk in the middle of the desert?

In the middle of nowhere, miles even from the nearest ghost town, guess what I see on the desert floor? A corset busk!

And a button.

Why are these things here? Well, I've mentioned Goldfield before. It was a big deal city in Nevada during the mining boom in the early 1900's. The city was massive, and then it was basically leveled by fires in the 20's. 

Between a major flood in 1913, the fires in the 20's, subsequent rain and water flow, wind and the elements, and general dumping of garbage, during the period, the surrounding desert is scattered with 100 year old trash. And it's fascinating.

Owing to the remoteness of the location and the lack of population, the surrounding desert has been left untouched for a century. Over the years, as it rains, and things that were buried work their way to the surface, it's truly amazing what can be seen. 

And so why were we in Goldfield again? Well, we bought a historic building!!!

My husband and I are so jazzed to have the honor of restoring this gem and contributing to the history of this town, which we have so fallen for.

Below are some early pictures that were given to us by the former owner. It shows the building though some of it's incarnations. It was a bank and pharmacy, with office spaces on the upper floors.  Later it was a restaurant and bar. 

It was actually partially destroyed in a fire, in 1924, which shows in the photo below, and then rebuilt promptly after. In some of the upper rooms, charring from the fire can still be seen when you lift the windows and look within the framing!

We might even be inheriting a ghost! Legend says that Claudia haunts the building, after an untimely death in the 1920's. We shall see!

Can't wait to start this adventure! Happy Thanksgiving, all!

A Fabric Haul

There's something about period prints that I love. Any period. Solids are always appropriate, but somehow the hunt for the right kind of print is so much more fun. Probably because it is such a hunt.

One reason it's such a hunt is that cotton prints are so darn expensive. Sure, eight, ten, twelve dollars a yard isn't so bad when your getting a fat quarter for quilting, but multiply by ten for an 1860's dress and it's a bit of an investment.

So, yesterday morning I was thinking how I couldn't find anything good, and on sale. My husband and I were heading to Boulder City to get lunch and walk the antique shops, and I thought I'd stop in to one of my favorite fabric stores there and see what they had. They always carry a good selection of repro quilting designs.

Well, boo! We get there and there's a big sign in the window that said, "Shop Closing Sale." About 7/8ths of me was really quite sad, because there are barely any good fabric shops around here, but I must say, the last little bit of me was thrilled because everything was 45% off. Smile.

So I picked a bunch of bolts thats had pretty fabric. I even got about 6 yards of this 1830's repro fabric I have had my eye on for a while, but had no use for. Maybe I will have to make something out of it soon!

From the Mill Book 1835 Collection by Marcus.

I got some good civil war era prints and even some regency era, but only about enough to make maybe a short-gown, like this. The short gown fabric is on the right. The left is just a pretty sprigged. And the middle is just pretty!

Ooo...

One fabric, which I really liked, barely had enough on the bolt for a dress, so I picked up a second length of it, which was slightly a different dye lot. If I have to use it, I'll just have to hide it under the arms or something... Reminds me of this dress.

And lastly, a turn of the 20th century print, which will probably become a little Edwardian dress.

I am really very sad they are closing, though. I went to another shop next to my house last week, and they had cut the shop space in half. I feel bad not supporting local shops for fabric more, at least for cottons, which is usually all one can find, but it is hard, when they don't have the correct thing and there is rarely ever enough on the bolt. The internets just so much easier!

Where I was last weekend. No costumes, but lots of history.

Unfortunately, Costume College overlapped my husband's birthday, so we did a trip for him instead. 

Where I'm all over the map with my love of all things historical, my husband has a major affinity for Nevada's southern mining boom years. Especially the town of Goldfield, NV. We went with friends up to the town for "Goldfield Days," the town's festival, complete with parade and land auction.

Goldfield, today.

It really is an interesting era in history. And it's especially relevant since we have both been raised in Nevada.

In 1902, gold was discovered in Goldfield, which was barren desert, and by 1907, twenty thousand people populated the city. It was supposed to be the next San Francisco or Chicago. But all was not to last. The boom ended, with the panic of 1907, and the town emptied out, though it was not as drastic a story as nearby Rhyolite, which went from a population of about 10,000 at the height of the boom, to barely 600 by 1909. By 1915 Rhyolite had only 12 people and by 1924 the last resident passed away.

Goldfield's big blow came in 1923, with a great fire that leveled the town. The town is still peppered with historic buildings, some in very bad shape, some have been restored, and some have remained in use over the years.

Ooo this one hasn't fared so well over the years... Though it does still stand!

The famous Goldfield hotel is still in quite good shape,
though it hasn't been a working hotel since the 1940's.

The courthouse has been in continuous use since 1907.

We hope to purchase one of these wonderful buildings soon (one able to be saved, of course), and do our part in helping to keep the history of the town alive, but for now, we decided to have some fun at the land auction and see what we could pick up.

It was actually like a really fun scavenger hunt. We looked at the land lots and then went to the courthouse and looked up the titles. The recorder's office was amazing. The computer looked positively out of place, sitting atop the huge cabinets full of hundred-year-old deed books. Not to mention, the door to the office is basically a vault!

So, happy birthday! We ended up with a couple of lots, just down the road from the old High School, which is one of the original buildings that is currently being restored. There's nothing on the land now, but who knows what was there in the past! We plan on finding out.

The high school, built 1907.

I can't wait to see everyone's pictures from Costume College! Maybe next year I'll be able to make it!

I've been doing a lot of antiquing lately...

Ok. I'm officially a weirdo. I have unplugged the house phone and replaced it with this puppy. Bye bye, caller ID!

In all fairness, we never really use our house phone, so we really aren't sacrificing too much.

But I am so stoked! I found it recently and couldn't resist purchasing. It is an antique phone that has been rewired and cleaned up and now plugs into a regular phone jack. It sounds great and is so very fun to use!

It's also inspired me to get some vintage clothes going. Right now I have a 1930's blouse on the cutting table. I'm a little nervous, as I haven't ventured past about 1910. This will be my first historical sewing project, sans corset. Here goes nothing! 

I must say, I LOVE finding antiques that can actually be used. It's such a fun experience! Next on the list, a typewriter!

In the mean time, back to stitching. I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. Cheers!

A great new antique find. A 1920 Victrola!

I have been having way too much fun with this thing. Especially considering I have only one record so far!

Last weekend we went poking around the antique stores and came home with this bit of fabulous. It's a hand crank Victrola from 1920. I looked up the serial number. This type of table top style dates back into the teens. In fact, this model, with the little feet, first started being made in 1915. 

Fun fact, the little doors on the front are volume control. Closed and the volume is softer, open and louder. Nifty.

So far I only have the record the machine came with from the store. It is a good one, though. It's got a waltz on one side and a fox trot on the reverse.  

I must say, never having been into records, this is a fun new experience, though it does have it's drawbacks. Nothing bad, just a bit inconvenient compared to what we take for granted with music today. Things I never would have thought of, had I never played a record on an old machine. But that's part of the fun for me: the experience as it would have been.

First, for every song, you must crank. Second, the songs are short, so you have to run back to the player pretty often to pick up the needle. No playlist here. Third, it is recommended that for every play, you use a new needle, so you end up going through a lot of needles. But again, it's more for the experience and the fun, than modern convenience...

And in other news, we got a new puppy! He likes the Victrola, too!

I also found a new, well new to me, sewing machine at the antique shop. More to come on that when I take some pictures. Oh! And I have been sewing. I'm just so behind of photos. More to come soon. 

Happy weekend all!