I hunkered down in front of the TV tonight and finished my green bodice - pictures to come. I was proud of myself for finding a complimentary color of cording to lace the bodice, but when I tried it on tonight, I found that it’s not long enough to tie. Drat! I’ll find something pretty. Now I’m torn on finding something to wear with the blasted thing. I have enough left over to make a weird overskirt sort of thing, but I just can’t justify it yet. I’m still stuck on making a cute little pair of bloomers–I’d have to find cotton broadcloth in the right color for the backside and use the remaining embroidered fabric for the front. Decisions, decisions.
I’m currently planning a trip to Jomar’s for test fabric for the prom dress…and whatever else I can find.
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UPDATE 2/03/10: The bodice post is on the Small Projects/Pattern Reviews page.
I’ve been happily jumping from hobby to hobby without stress since the new year started. Over the last few days, I’ve been working on the green bodice, which will be posted on the Small Projects page. I’ll be consolidating a few tiny pages into that one for easier navigation. I’ll reserve full pages for ensembles and longer projects. Back on track…I’ll stitch the eyelets for the bodice next week, and make straps. I also need to find a strong cording that’s worthy of the colors in the bodice, and I also need to decide what to do with the remaining piece of fabric. It’s much too small for courtesan-style bloomers, but I could probably make a frilly sort of skirt ruffle thing. I’ll sketch some ideas, but there’s no pressure since this is a “just because” piece. The binding is brown satin, but it blends with the green in the picture.
The bodice is waist length, although, it’s a bit shorter than I planned. The back will look like a racer back when the straps are in place, since they’ll jut out from the center.
This weekend, I was introduced to the world of doll crafting. I picked up some patterns from a craft-mom, and will start working on a tiny model who can wear my remnants in true Elizabethan fashion. I *so* want to make an Anne Boleyn with a severed head. My issues have no bounds….
Anyway….
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I completed the plum cropped chemise today–almost record time for me. A new page has been created for miscellaneous pattern reviews, and the chemise is there. I have updated the Odds & Ends page. My last holiday gift, The Art of Manipulating Fabric, came in the mail today. After a quick scan, I realized that this was an excellent gift card purchase, and I believe that my creativity in costuming will be greatly boosted.
I’m thinking that either the green bodice or beading on the new bag will be this weekend’s project. I really need to plan a trip to Jomar’s to get started on the prom gown project.
- This will be a bodice one day soon.
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So, I was going through my supplies the other day and, while sorting my craft receipts from the last three years, I noticed line items for fabric that I forgot I had. I went through the fabric bins and got motivated enough to start taking stock on bundles I need for my MA Tudor. During the expedition, I got distracted and pulled out brown vinyl (faux leather for my purposes), plum gauze, and embroidered, iridescent green polyester (I assume). If we decide to attend RenCon in April, this will be the beginning of super cute fantasy garb. I started making a cropped chemise from the gauze this evening, and I hope to do a strapless bodice from the green, bound with strips of the vinyl. The two pieces won’t be worn together, but they’ll start as a jumping off point for two low-stress outfits. I’m considering some sort of light and flowy split front skirt and bloomers for the bodice, and a cropped bodice with a tiered skirt for the chemise. I did find out that I only need lining for the Tudor–I have everything else and can get started whenever I’m ready. I also gave a good look to the wool that’s still leftover from my cloak–it’s begging to be a fitted kirtle.
Feeling crafty….
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P.S. Odds & Ends has been updated with more sleeved-blanket pictures–two left to make.
My holiday gifts included a few books that I’ve been holding out on for a few months now: Patterns of Fashion 4, Beading on Fabric, and The Art of Fabric Manipulation. I am so happy to welcome the selections to the craft shelf, and I cannot wait to find time to tear into them.
I made a faire-inspired pouch last week, to break in my new bias strip toys. I’ll be finishing this year with 4 sleeved blankets for various friends and family. The 2010 first quarter project is a prom dress for a family member. She asked, and I couldn’t say “no”. I suspect that I’ll finally have ideas for our faire garb shortly after the dress is completed. I am interested in making fabric dolls to work on my handsewing and ideas for faire, so I hope to find time this winter. April through October will, as always, be devoted to faire and Halloween. I’ll search for normalcy until the end of the year, in preparation for the creative season to resurface in the spring. It’s a cycle that I can deal with. Oh, and the hubby and I came up with a monthly craft budget after a particularly rough trip out for fleece. It looks like I’ll be making more trips to various discount fabric areas in addition to scouring the web for deals. It’s really better this way–crafting makes me forget that there are bills to pay.
Happy Holidays, and thanks for stopping by!
…to myself came early this year. Joann’s was having a sale that I just couldn’t pass up - buy one get one free on the Simplicity rotary cutting machine and bias tape maker! I got my circular with coupons last week, but didn’t get a chance to read it in detail until today when I was bored. I can’t believe that I almost missed the sale. There was also a 10% off coupon to sweeten the deal. Those were the two biggest things on my wish list, so I’m now officially in the holiday spirit. The last purchase will likely be season passes for next year’s faire.
I made a kick-*ss blanket with sleeves yesterday for a gift exchange. Now I have one to make for myself, the husband, and a few lucky friends. Pictures will be posted this week on the “odds & ends” page.
Merry Everything!
Thanks for reading.
PICTURE UPDATE:
The PARF was excellent during its encore weekend; although, I’m bummed that I decided not to go on Sunday. Oh, well, I’ll plan for next year.
I spent yesterday cleaning and reorganizing the costume sections of the closet. All clothes are in garment bags and are labeled. All fabric is in plastic totes, save 16 yards of next season’s Tudor, for which I have no storage container yet. I went through all of my plastic drawers and put every notion, piece of boning, and fastener in its place–I even organized my patterns by time period and probable usage. My only storage want right now is a hat box; I fear for the life of my straw hat.
I imagine that blog updates will trickle in once a month, while I revisit my previous interests. My holiday wish list includes a rotary cutting machine and a bias tape maker. I do have a project for a friend lined up which I plan on starting after the holidays. I’ll also be trying my hand at belly dance costume–nothing major, just hip scarves and perfecting rolled hems for veils.
It has been a great faire season, in my opinion. Our wardrobes have doubled, and we were able to share our day long mini-vacations with many friends and family members.
Here’s to a well deserved sewing sabbatical. Thanks for reading!
This year’s creative season feels like it’s been going on forever. Oh wait, it has.
I stayed up late last night for the last time this year. I am down to the last step or two on my friend’s tabard–adding detail to the emblem and stitching it onto the tabard. I think it looks excellent from about four feet away; any closer, and I can see that my seam lines are uneven. I blame my lack of a bias tape machine–working with slippery fabric does not bring me joy.
But, the point is that the time of year when my craft bins and costuming closet section get cleaned, organized, and put away is finally here. I get to vacuum the whole floor without hefting a fully dressed S.A.R…A to one side to clean and then back again. I get to put all of my fabric away, without separating one pile for the next project and a half. I don’t have to lay my MA pattern binder on my desk, table, machine, floor, or ironing board to keep the page–it is officially on the shelf as of last night. I can go to bed at a decent hour, go to the gym, and play video games with my husband again. I have all but resigned to wear my masquerade ensemble to work on Friday, but if things continue as they have for the last two years, I’ll be up Thursday night with the perfect costume for the annual contest. I really hope I get talked out of that.
Huzzah to the final week of the costuming year!
Thanks for reading!
I missed being at faire a lot this month, but not enough to deal with mud and crowds. We traveled down to the MDRF for closing day to spend some time with my newly-faire-addicted mother, who made her first gown for this weekend. [I’m so proud.] We sat in traffic for almost an hour during the last couple miles to the parking lot. That was not that surprising, since we basically experienced the same thing last season on closing day. While I was waiting in the ticket line after being cut off so rudely by a paytron and her kids, a wonderful woman came by and comlimented me on my garb. She then gave me a complimentary ticket; words can’t express how grateful I am that there are still kind people in this world. Once inside the gates, we were greeted by a mud pit topped with hay and throngs of people–not all of whom know how to stop gawking at playtrons and keep walking. We surveyed the area, talked with faire friends, had some grub, greeted my mom, got stepped on, surveyed some more, stopped for a show, and made our exit after about three hours. A woman stepped on my gown with her muddy foot, looked at her muddy foot on my skirt hem in the mud, and kept walking–I watched her, but she never met my eyes. On the upside, the short time spent there allowed me to avoid the port-a-privvies. We also got to debut our new ensembles, which will be cleaned and hung for the PARF’s encore next weekend–I can’t wait.
Thanks for reading my rant!
I’m over the sewing blues, and in a full speed ahead mood to get projects done for the last two weekends of faire.
- I need to re-adjust the decorative clasp on my doublet and hem my skirt.
- The hubby’s slops are done, minus hooks and eyes. I finished picking up fabric for his cloak and doublet, so I’ll adjust the pattern and start cutting tonight.
- I’m making a tabard for a friend, which, in itself, won’t take long. The tabard’s symbol, however, is going to have embroidery, metal studs, and layered pieces, which will take some time.
The priority projects are for faire, so they’ll be done by [or on] Saturday morning. I’m going to make the tabard body today and work on the symbol during lunch breaks this week, since I can’t do anything else by hand.
As much as I love October, November will be welcome in our home.
Thanks for reading!
