OK, so honestly? When I decide to "blog the whole thing" for some of these collections, it may be hard to see the relevance to the Project, as such. And the real answer is that I like symmetry and follow-through. So if I've decided to "blog the whole collection" I prefer not to change my mind in the middle, even if -- in retrospect -- I probably should have just stuck to the two papers of obvious relevance. Another part of this is that it's hard to do anything between a one-sentence topic statement and a more detailed content summary. (Although there have been times when I've jotted down dozens of post-it notes as I read and then later decided to edit it down to that one or two sentences.)
And yet, I do believe there's a value for authors who want to write sapphic historical fiction in knowing the patterns of women's lives in general. Especially the patterns of how women interacted with women. Would your character have sewn samplers as a girl? (And save me from the stereotype of heroines who have to prove they're "not like other girls" by hating sewing.) Who would she have learned from? Who might her fellow learners have been? What might they have talked about while practicing their stitches? Parallel work is always a good time for sharing secrets and desires. All sorts of hidden messages were stitched into the designs of samplers. Fictional inspiration can be found everywhere!
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