What I did for Mother’s Day

The mechanical butterflies were on display among many other marvels in the Curiosities and Inventions room at the Gaslight Gathering, a Steampunk and Victoriana convention the girls and I attended this afternoon. Loads of fun: the costumes were every bit as fabulous as one would hope. We’re determined to have our own garb for next year’s gathering.

My hastily snapped photos don’t do these outfits justice. They were spectacular.

Even better than the clothing were the gizmos, trinkets, and wondrous creations. We sighed over cunning little pocketwatches and brooches, gear-necklaces and carved bone bracelets. We admired a very fine propeller-chair to be used for in-flight repair of dirigibles and peeked in at a make-your-own-carpetbag workshop.

My favorite part was a long chat with a maker of straw hats. He comes from a family of “strawbenders” and had a booth filled with the most gorgeous boaters, bonnets, and bicycle hats. It is possible that one of us succumbed, under extreme pressure from her daughters, and treated herself to a delectable blue bonnet trimmed with brown batwing plait. But I’m not naming names.