On "The Millionaire and the Bard": A Book Review

Title: The Millionaire and the Bard: Henry Folger’s Obsessive Hunt for Shakespeare’s First Folio

Author: Andrea Mays

Genre: Non-Fiction

About the book… 

Andrea Mays gives a through look into Henry Folger’s obsession with Shakespeare folios and how it ultimately led to the creation of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. 

What I think… 

This is an excellent book!

I loved the first portion of the book, which is devoted to giving background about the Renaissance. This includes not only biographical information about Shakespeare and his plays, but the general running of the theatres, who would have attended the plays, and information about some of the actors. It then goes into what is known about the printing history of the first folio (as well as other not so official printings) and into, what I considered, a fascinating account of the process of printing something so large. This, in fact, was probably my favorite part of the book. 

The later portion about the Folgers’ acquisitions, was also quite interesting (although not quite so much as the first part, in my opinion). I really liked how Mayes went into detail about how Folger’s work life affected his collecting and the role his wife took in cataloguing the collection as it continued to grow. Getting bits and pieces on the background of Standard Oil Company, also gave a good understanding about the economics of the time, as well as a look into what Folger was like as a business man. 

There were a few parts that were somewhat tedious to read as they were more listings of the folios and their prices than about the items and what he went through to get them. Overall, though, they were well integrated into the text and very informative. 

To sum it all up… 

A great read for those who are bibliophiles, enjoy Shakespeare, or are interested in either the Renaissance or certain aspects of big business! ♥

On the Butterfly and Lilly Pad Skirt

Or the skirt with the nightmare to read pattern instructions.

Uncooperative bow...

I bought some whimsical bird fabric a while back and since it’s a one directional print needed to find a pattern that would work in a way that would keep the print the right direction and not disrupt it too much. Up until this point, the only pattern I used that fit this description is the one that I used to make this skirt as well as one other one I haven’t shared yet. I’m okay with this pattern, but it’s not an absolute favorite for multiple reasons. One, it’s so gathered that wearing it in warmer weather can be disgustingly sweaty around the waist (and that’s without the petticoat!). Two, I don’t always feel that heavily gathered skirts are the most flattering on me.  Three, it involves three separate panels, all which need to be shortened, and require more fabric than I had. 

That being said, I started riffling through my train cases in hopes that I could come up with something that might work. Then I remembered I had this pattern with the third version being just the skirt part of the jumper.

It works for one directional prints, it only involves three primary pieces (cut on folds), and while gathered, it’s not overly excessive. Plus, it has sash! 

At this point you’re probably starting to wonder why the subject of this post has seemingly nothing to do with what I’ve talked about so far. Based on the previously listed reasons for my hesitancy to make the other skirt pattern, I decided to make a test skirt. I can’t remember if I had a pattern in mind when I bought this print (I’ve had it for over a year), but there was about the same amount of it as my bird fabric, so I went with it. 

Thinking it would be a supper simple and quick project, I pulled everything out of the envelop, found the pieces I needed, and then unfolded the instructions. The majority of the sheet looks like this:

I'm actually finding it a little easier to read at this size, which I'll have to keep in mind if I ever do the playsuit.

They aren’t so easy to read and while the piecing together is pretty straightforward, the measurements within the instructions are important, since they don’t all match the seam allowances.

After a lot of trying to make sure I was doing what made the most sense (offset by watching a great deal of Ray Bradbury Theater), I had everything done (hem included) except the pockets and side closure. 

Some of my markings for the pocket placement got lost in the gathers. I wasn’t entirely sure they ended up in the right spot, but as far as I’m concerned they look pretty good. 

The instructions called for a snap closure, which I was going to ignore (I didn't have the right size) and replace with a zipper. At the last minute I changed my mind, though. In some cases, I really do think this is the easier route to go because you don’t have to worry about the seam allowance, just that the placement of both parts of the snaps match up. 

Going back to my original reason for trying this pattern, despite all the issues, I think this will be a pattern I’ll be returning to in the near future. It's comfortable, has pockets, isn't too gathered, and would be easy to alter for a different waist band or to leave the sash off altogether if I felt like it. 

And my jewelry choice for the day....after all the work on this, it was time to break out the Simplicity Sewing Prize pin I found on Etsy!   

  ♥ ♥ ♥