While we were in Maryland we visited the National Museum of American History in DC.

Some of you probably heard of the metro wreck on June 22nd.  This affected out journey quite a bit, since we had to take the metro, and the closed section of the metro was in the middle of the Red Line (our track).  

So we rode the metro for two stops then had to get onto a shuttle and be shuttled down the line to the next open station.

Then there was some confusion with our tickets, but they eventually sorted it all out. 



When we arrived at the DC Mall it took us awhile to locate the museum and we ended up walking 2 miles that day. There was some sort of festival going on at the moment, too, so it was rather crowded.  We didn't stop to see any of the monuments (seen 'em before), but I saw them from a distance.

It took us a total of three hours to get from my grandpa's house to the museum.  A bit ridiculous, considering the how close they are. 

We got to see my friend Sarah (Owl) and talk with her for a bit and then we saw the Star Spangled Banner display, saw the flag, and then saw a skit(?) put on by a lady who pretended to be the woman who crafted the original star spangled banner.


Did you know it was originally 42 X 30 feet long?   The flag has lasted through the years but it's not about 32 X 30 feet long and is missing a star.  People took snippets of it as mementos after the war and it's disintegrated a bit over the years.  It's now in a dark room under glass in the Smithsonian.  No photography allowed, though, we saw plenty of people who either couldn't read the signs or just plain didn't care.


Outside the star spangled banner display there were three ladies demonstration bobbin lace making and tatting.  Really cool.  One lady had a really complicated bobbin lace pattern going and another was doing a very simple one and letting others try it.  The lady who was tatting had some really pretty bookmarks.  She says she makes her students tat a whole yard before letting them move on to anything else.  I really need to find my tatting shuttle.


We were going to go to another display that had a bunch of dresses the first ladies had worn, but the line was super long, and my mom wanted to go home, and I had a headache, so we ended up not going through that.

The ride home actually only took 1 hours because they had reopened the closed section of the red line.

It was a fun trip, but I wish it could have lasted longer, with all the effort it took to get out there.

I created a new skirt the other day. :)   Thought y'all might like to see it.

I worked on it on the way to Maryland. 

Here's my mom at a gas station on the way up.  I helped drive up here, btw.
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And here's what I did on the way, other than drive. I hemmed my skirt.  It's a huge hem.


Here's the finished product.  Sorry about the background. That's the carpet at my grandpa's house. Kind of old.

Close up on the embroidery on the side


I made this skirt to replace this skirt.


This skirt is about five years old and very worn out, as you maybe can tell from the picture.  It's my favorite skirt, or was, before I made my new one.

The old one was an elastic waist banned skirt and had an underskirt that was annoying to deal with. It was also calf length.

This new skirt is floor length and has different color tiers. The fabric is also thicker, requiring no underskirt, and it has a yoke and zippered waist.