Tea and Textiles
with Caroline

Learn what textiles can tell us about patriotism, fashion, and flags during “Textiles for the 250th,” a virtual symposium on Saturday, January 31, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm ET. This 2026 edition of the Schwenkfelder Library &  Heritage Center’s annual online “Tea & Textiles with Caroline” offers three hour-long lectures.

The afternoon kicks off with a lecture by independent scholar Lynne Z. Bassett on “Federalist Fathers and Republican Mothers: The Fashions of John and Abigail Adams.”  Collector Dawn Cook Ronningen presents new research in “Evidence of Patriotism From the Sewing Box.” Dr. Marla Miller from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, looks at "Betsy Ross: The Life Behind the Legend"—the legend of the seamstress and real-life of the Philadelphia upholster and flagmaker Elizabeth Griscom Claypoole. Continuing the flag theme, a free mini-lecture by Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center curator Candace Perry will examine “Sewing the Symbol: A History of Flag Factories in Southeastern Pennsylvania.”

The cost of these virtual lectures will be $20 each, with all three for $50. The free bonus lecture comes with any purchase as well as a tea bag and recipe card (so that you really can have your tea with your textiles). In addition, your ticket purchase allows you to receive a recording link so that you may watch the program up to one month after the event.

$50 for all 3 lectures

Lynne Bassett will discuss neoclassical fashion from the perspective of John and Abigail Adams, using their letters as well as images of surviving garments, portraits, fashion plates, period satirical cartoons, etc. John and Abigail both expressed their personal and national character through their choice of clothing. Their judgment of others’ choices in fashion, though, brings some levity to the subject!

Explore patriotic symbolism from pin cushions to sewing tables with Dawn Cook Ronningen.  See objects and textiles exhibiting American patriotism with loyalty, duty and opinion.

3:30 - 3:50pm ET Sewing the Symbol: A History of Flag Factories in Southeastern Pennsylvania

Candace Perry, Curator, Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center

Free with the purchase of any lecture.

A cornerstone of popular historical imagination in the U.S. is the story of Philadelphia needlewoman Betsy Ross creating the first American flag. The truth is far less certain -- and far more interesting. In this talk Marla Miller, author of Betsy Ross and the Making of America, describes how she came to research and write the first scholarly biography of Ross, who she calls “American’s most misunderstood craftswoman.” The story she uncovered is a richly textured study of Ross's long and remarkable life, which included three marriages, several children, and a long and successful career as an upholstery seamstress and flagmaker. In her talk, she will share what she learned about the world of Philadelphia artisans, and provide insight into the world of middle-class craftswomen like Ross, and the meaning that the experiences of Ross and women like her hold for historical understanding on the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary