Old Fashioned Fourth

The anticipation I feel for the Fourth of July I owe to my father, who raised me with his zeal for early American history. Because of him I have memories of looking down on Lake Champlain from the ramparts of Fort Ticonderoga, of hiking through Saratoga battlefields, of standing on the banks of the York River, and of walking through Independence Hall in the heat of a Philadelphia summer. But as much as Independence Day is history, it's also hometown and fireworks, summertime and night skies. It's red, white and blue bunting over the front porch, crickets in the back field.

For the July/August issue of Victoria magazine I took cues from these influences. My favorite projects to make and photograph were the vintage berry basket favors (with tags to download and print here), and mix and match cocktail napkins sewn from ticking, plain cottons and reproduction feedsack. Timeworn and country simple.