There seems to be an abundance of "Year Of" posts, so I am drinking the Kool-Aid, jumping off the bridge, and doing what all the Cool Kids are doing and posting my own version. Some are my own outfits, most are made for others, and several more almost drove me to the brink of insanity in their persnickity-ness (is that a word?). So here we go!
| Etsy Buy Handmade accidentalseamstress |
Layla's surgery was scheduled for 9am, and I got a call right around 1pm telling me it had gone well, and she was in recovery. She was the second smallest dog the surgeon had ever operated on, and yet still required EIGHT coils in her shunt. Go big or stay home is the family motto, and it would seem she took that to heart. She only has the one incision in her neck from the catheter placement, and was up and eating pretty quickly after surgery. Although she did make them hand-feed her, which may or may not have been a bit of superior manipulation on her part. She also had her very own heat lamp and she made a big hit with all the med students and residents. I have no doubt she batted her big brown eyes at them and tried to snuggle with every person who came near. Plus she is small, cute, and very soft. I don't think she made the monkey noises there, as typically people mention that ("Did you know that your dog makes this high pitched noise that just sounds so disturbing?" "Why yes, I do. Particularly during dinner.").
There was a packed crowd for the surgery, and they took lots of pictures, and are taking more today. I got a call from the resident this morning at 6:15, and of course my first thought was "Oh SHIT. She's dead." Which, luckily, she wasn't. He was just getting on his shift and wanted to call before he went into surgery. She did well all night and is ready to go home today whenever I can pick her up. We are much relieved. She needs to be watched this week for possible hypertension, but otherwise we change nothing for a month. Then she has her blood taken again and we start cutting back on the meds and then the diet until finally she is free of all that. Then we just check her blood twice a year, and bile acids yearly, and hope all is well. Apparently 1/3 of all dogs need an additional couple of coils put in, but 1/2 of all dogs never have problems again. We are hoping she is in that 50%.
She and Roxie need to be kept apart for a week as they both recover, and we have to be careful of the incision in her neck. Otherwise? She is good to go. Which is amazing, considering her previous surgery involved a 6 inch incision on her tiny little 4 month old belly. She is such a trooper, and I can't wait to see her start to put on some fat on her tiny self, and get to enjoy actual protein. I think she is going to be rather fond of bacon. Roxie will no longer get to enjoy all the spoils of things that drop on the floor...
I can't thank the medical team enough, or Dr. Beal for flying down to perform the surgery, and especially Dr. Vicki for finding the funding to cover half the surgery. I know she worked her ass off to make this happen and we are forever grateful. We are also so thankful to all the people who bought dresses in the "Buy a Dress, Save a Puppy" campaign, and to each and every person who participated in the Six Wives Project and donated their time and energy to making this happen. As a family we are truly thankful. I hope that all goes well over the next week, and that we have nothing but good news to report for Layla in the new year. (Roxie has taken to trying to escape lately, so no good news there, naughty thing.)
Thank you again! Layla thanks you too.
Ellen finds a clue!
So when MNRF was over at the beginning of October, our little Posse decided that Steampunk was the next logical step in costuming evolution. We found two fall events to attend: Steampunk Kaposia's Mystery Party and the Dickensian Yule Ball.
Because all of us had no Steampunk clothing at all, (or anything even remotely approaching Steampunk clothing), for the first time I was not the only person scrambling for an outfit. Everyone who attended the Mystery Party had multiple accessories and killer hats. Except me, of course, because my outfit was again last minute, and I wore the tiny little tophat I had bought at Michael's and decorated eons ago. It also reinforced to me that I am not a tiny hat girl.
We did quite well in terms of using thrift store items to fill out our outfits. The evidence below:
We had a rather large group go to the Mystery Party, at the Alumni House at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. The house was really very nice, and the mystery was fun.
The Posse, representing.
Miss T, Chum, MamaRox, Me, DJRenee, Probie, and DME.
Putting a little hustle in our bustles.
DME the Motorcyclist/Airship Driver/Mechanic wore a jacket I found at the thrift store, a leather belt from a leather jacket I own, Princess A's Harley saddle bag, some brown faux-suede bloomers a la Jen Thompson's Zouave pants, some fingerless motorcycle gloves, and S's black riding boots and white scarf. I also made her a little leather airman's cap with swim goggles on them, but it wound up being much smaller than expected. She looked terribly cute in it, though.
DJRenee wore an old Boy Scout top she found at the thrift store, green khaki bloomers she made, a leather belt and gauntlets (also made by her) with an old boy scout belt on top. She wore some very cool skull socks and black boots. The best part was the red fez that belonged to Chum. Because apparently everyone needs a fez.
Probie found her cute black shoes and short sleeved blouse at Value Village Thriftstore, as well as her $14.00 leather jacket. Her purse is an old Brownie camera which has an amazing amount of space inside for storage. She made her hat from the Threadbangers pattern, her corset from a Simplicity pattern (which is grommeted in back), and her lovely fishtail skirt from instructions from Learningtofly here on LJ. She also made all of her own jewelry using various gears and parts she found at Ax-Man.
MamaRox was the lucky recipient of an actual wool tophat because her's was the only head that fit it. She decked it out in taffeta, feathers and flowers. Her vest and shirt were thrift store finds, as was her underskirt. Her bustle was a taffeta formal skirt from the thrift store that I pinned the bustle shape into and she sewed into place. Her fingerless gloves were I believe from Claire's. Shoes from the thrift store as well. Hair courtesy of her husband's flat iron.
Miss T had an amazing green coat with all kinds of intricate detail that she bought back in the 80's from Ragstock. We called this her Fagin Look. The black buckle belt is from Target, the accessories from Chum and MamaRox, and the boots are also items she purchased back in the 80's. The striped socks are my favorite.
Chum had a mix of stuff as well. The black blouse was from the thrift store. The hat was a little bowler hat MamaRox found and dressed up with some tulle and ribbon. The corset was given to me by Countess Ang, and found to be a very good fit for Chum. The black fabric had bled onto the white when it was washed at some point, giving it a very cool grey effect that worked well with the outfit. The boots are Born boots she bought retail (and wears everywhere, thus getting Her Money's Worth) and the scarf is also a personal item. The white eyelet underskirt was an old skirt she wore out at Fest Back In The Day, and we shortened it and added an elastic waistband. The overskirt was a stin ballgown skirt with tulle underneath that has previously been worn as part of a zombie ensemble. I sewed channels in it and we put ribbon through it and ruched it up. The tulle was then cut to length. I like to think of this as her Can-Can Girl/Mae West outfit.
I was pretty much an epic fail at thrifting. While the cool purse is actually a vintage binoculars case, and the shoes and blouse came from the discount store, everything else was either purchased full price or made from scratch. The skirt is black linen over brown linen, using Learningtofly on LJ's basic instructions for a ruched skirt, and then taking off from there. The bodice/corset is a Simplicity bridal pattern that I covered in fabric from Joann's, and leather buckle straps I found at Ax-Man. It is bound on the edges in brown leather, with a brown leather modesty panel in back. It was terribly comfortable in comparison to an Elizabethan corset, but as I like to make new things for new events, it is now for sale in my Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/accidentalseamstress.
We had a great time trying to solve the mystery (though none of us did) and then went over to W.A. Frost, a restaurant with a Steampunk-like atmosphere to eat. Our waiter was a (currently unemployed, someone should hire him, he's fabulous!) opera singer and he sang a little bit of Tosca for us before we left.
This particular adventure made all of us Steampunk converts, and now instead of looking at jewelry in stores and thinking, "Wow, this would make a fabulous girdle!" we are looking at plastic guns and thinking, "I could totally mod this!"
Next up - the Dickensian Yule Ball.
And then I turned it over and had a thought:
If this book is about Elizabeth of York and the late 15th Century, why was there a picture of Eleonora di Toledo, wife of Cosimo d'Medici of Florence, in the 16th Century? Surely someone would have noticed there was not only a century's difference, but also the fact that one person was Italian and the other was English?
Just for comparison - here is the original of Eleonora:
And here is Elizabeth of York:
I think that while Eleonora's gown is lovely, it probably would have been better to put a picture of the ACTUAL PERSON THE BOOK IS WRITTEN ABOUT on the cover.
Just a thought.
We are very excited that this will fix Layla's problems, and the kids are very excited to feed her bacon one day. Heh. Thanks again to everyone who participated in what was Project Tudor, but was really more Project Layla. My entire family appreciates it.
(Layla, after her haircut, looking more like a Cockapoo than a Welsh Terrier.)
I will update more after her surgery.
On a cart near the front door was a whole bunch of sale books. Sitting right on top was "Fashion, The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute." For $19.98.
I know that this book used to run MUCH higher than that, and with my BN member card the book was only $17.98. Online right now you can purchase it for that amount if you are a member, but you will have to pay shipping. (Apparently a new edition is coming out, and they are clearancing out this one - so get it while you can!) Either way, it was a great find, and I am REALLY excited to spend an evening or two leafing through it.
And if everything works out well, I will get to go SEE the Kyoto Costume Institute in another year. Visit my brother, sister-in-law and The Prince, check out the fabric district in Tokyo and then take the train to Kyoto. How awesome would that be???
For example, I do not like making wedding dresses. Not at all. Particularly modern ones, as I have some sort of aversion to putting in zippers. I can do it, but I don't like it. And yet while I may dislike making wedding dresses, I have never had a problem with the brides. They have always been really great people. I have been terribly fortunate in this. Maybe because the vast majority of brides were second wedding brides, or later in life, etc., but they have been far more laid back and relaxed than other clients I have had. (And I worked the Bridal Registry dept. at the local dept. store while in college, so I have seen my share of "Bridezillas.")
Why don't I like making wedding dresses? Well, first of all, they tend to be in colors that just seem to attract things like smears of whatever, blood, etc. that then show up so brightly on them. Secondly, I feel so concerned that I make the dress as perfect as possible for what is going to be their very special day that it takes a lot of the fun out of making the dress for me. Stressing over it does not equal fun.
Because of these admittedly personal issues of mine, I tend to not take on wedding dresses as a whole. I have a handful of friends who have told me that I am making their wedding dresses when they get married some day, and for them I am willing to grit my teeth and deal with the zippers. And recently one of them called in her IOU and is getting married in 2010. I am so terribly thrilled for her, and excited about making the dress, but once again nervous about making it as perfect as possible. Another new client wants a fantasy/historical wedding dress and as soon as she said "grommets" I relaxed. (I really do need to do something about this zipper aversion.) So I went from OH HELL NO to OK in less than a week. To TWO dresses.
And then two friends came to me separately and said they wanted to take their old wedding dresses and repurpose them. What could be done? Neither of the dresses really fits their wearer anymore, but they were both made of beautiful silk and had YARDS and YARDS of it.
Now this is something I love to do. Take something and remake it into something even more fabulous. So we are going to take a Jessica McClintock dress from 1995 and turn it into a Victorian ballgown (it already has beautiful cutwork leg of mutton sleeves on it). It is going to be dyed (by the lovely Sassy Art Goddess) from cream to burgundy, and will have a full crinoline or bustle type undergarment under it. The other wedding dress is still under discussion, but the owner is particularly enraptured with the Elizabethan time period and I think between her 12 foot long train and the fabric from the gown itself we can make something happen. Plus, it is silk duchesse satin. I just want to make pillowcases out of it and snuggle up to it everynight. SO soft.
So professionally my whole focus has changed. Tudors? SO yesterday. Wedding dresses? You betcha. My sewing room is awash in light colored fabrics/dresses that kind of make me twitch a little. But far less than the last month of the Six Wives Project where the room was filled with white cotton and jewel toned velvets. A little variety is a good thing.
I also had a bit of an epiphany a couple of weeks ago in regards to costuming in general. I went to Costume College in August mainly to take classes in historical costuming. I knew I needed to learn more about German for Anne of Cleves, I needed hat classes for the Gable and French hoods, and I really wanted to learn more about 18th century French simply because the dresses in the Marie Antoinette movie were so delicious looking. And I enjoyed the classes, and learned a lot. And while I was there I wandered into a class called "Steampunk 101." I had heard of Steampunk and briefly read a bit about it, and my buddy www.thecheapchick.com was such a fan that I decided to check it out. And I LOVED it. Not because of the gadgets, or the modding of weapons, or any one thing in particular. I loved it because THERE WERE NO RULES. Anything goes in Steampunk, while still maintaining a historical flair.
Once I had finished up Project Tudor the first weekend in October and was taking a costuming and mental health break from that entire stressful, time-consuming, yet fun adventure, I started to make a list of costumes I needed for next year. For Costume Con, for Costume College, for the various Ren Fests, for the Day of Wrong, etc. For the new Victorian activities I was looking at doing. And for the Steampunk stuff. And I was a little surprised at how few of my outfits were historically accurate. Especially since I had been living and breathing Tudor Portrait Reproductions for 18 months.
And then I decided to make another Italian outfit for Midwinter Feast and found a portrait in Moda a Firenze that I wanted to recreate for it. (Luckily it only goes to roughly her armpit, so it is VASTLY open to interpretation). And then, while working on it, I had my epiphany: I wasn't a historical costumer. Certainly not a historically accurate one. Sure, I like to have things look "period appropriate" when in certain settings, but underneath? If velcro, snaps, etc. make the outfit fit better, go together faster and easier, etc., who cares? Does it matter if no one else knows? Does it matter if they do?
I realized it really did not matter to me. What mattered to me was trying new things, making outfits that flattered the wearer, and feeling/looking pretty and HAVING FUN. If I felt pretty in the outfit, who cared what everyone else thought. I wasn't out trying to win awards for historical accuracy. There are a great many other people who are exceptionally good at that (see the Eugenie Project from Costume Con a year ago for an excellent example of historical accuracy) and I don't really want to compete with them. Costuming for me really isn't about (historically accurate) competition, and it isn't about doing something a specific way. It is about dressing up and having fun. Yes, I started out trying to do historically accurate costuming and I tried to do this by learning from the best out there. By reading dress diaries and blogs and going to the best school for Costumers and taking classes. But when I realized a couple of weeks ago that I was having more fun planning my "twisted historical" for Day of Wrong than I was making my Italian Portrait Recreation, I knew I had to change my way of thinking about my costuming perspective and my costuming focus. That tag they gave me at Costume College that said "Multi-faceted Costumer?" Yeah, I should have really paid attention to that. I mean, I am SO excited about recreating the Salome outfit from the German portrait of her, but you know what is the coolest part of that outfit? THE HEAD. The severed head. Which kind of makes a bit of a statement about the outfit, I think. And about my costuming priorities.
Once I realized this about myself it made a huge difference in my perception of my business, and what sorts of things I wanted to devote my time to next year. For 2010 I fully anticipate making (and wearing!) some beautiful historically inspired things. But I am also going to wear Neo-Victorian outfits with GEARS on them. I am going to wear an outfit with a HEAD attached to it. I am excited to go to Costume Con and dress up as a spy, and then go to Costume College and take classes on Victorian clothing and accessories and hat-making and STEAMPUNK, and maybe even a few Renaissance classes with an 18th century class tossed in there for something a little different. And I have something really fun planned for the Costume College Gala. It involves a LOT of leather. And the lovely Suzette from San Francisco and Glynnis from DC and The Cheap Chick and I are working on our Twisted Historicals for the Historical Masquerade at Costume Con in Milwaukee (Midwest, Represent!).
This realization/epiphany/whatever couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was feeling burned out and uninterested in costuming and pretty darned sick and tired of Tudor, to be perfectly honest. Now I am excited, inspired, impassioned and I feel like I have found my niche. And as hard as 2009 was (starting out the year with heart surgery is never the way you want to begin the year), 2010 looks like it is going to be AMAZING. I have happy brides, modded Steampunkers, Victorian ladies and Renaissance Princesses to dress. What could be better?
Joann's (How Do I Love Thee?) was having a sale, and they had some lovely grey silk twill and some black beaded lace that really looked lovely together. Apparently a large majority of special order items are no longer being carried, and what they had in the warehouse was sent to the stores for clearance. At EXCEPTIONALLY good prices. These are going to wind up being my Edwardian costume (complete with big ole decorated hat) for the Twelfth Night Ball in January with the VSA. I'm not quite ready for full-on bustles yet, I don't think.
I got my Catherine of Aragon ermine sleeves tutorial prepped, so that should be up soon. It is REALLY easy, folks, and looks passable.
I found a really nice floral beaded trim at SR Harris, our huge fabric warehouse here that matches the green boucle for my winter coat. The weather had been really cold and had even snowed already, and then suddenly it started to get up into the 60's here. No complaining on this end, mind you. I hate cold weather. But it is delaying my push to make the coat. Luckily I found a nice grey wool coat at the thrift store for $12.00 that after it was dry cleaned (for $15.00! How crazy is that?) looks beautiful with my Nagel pewter pin from Bristol. Enough to keep me warm till the green coat is complete.
Marti Potter's Elizabethan is coming along. I have been working on the sleeves and was trying to decide on whether or not to fray check the slashes or not, but ultimately settled on not fray checking them, and slashing them on the bias. Everything I have read has said this is the best way to do it, and with the limited use this dress will see, I think this should be fine. The color is so stunning, though.
I finished my plans for my Steampunk costumes for the murder mystery night for next week and the Yule Ball in December. I found some amazing boots by Mudd at Opitz Outlet for $15.00 that are very Steampunk looking. I'm going to post most of the Steampunk stuff in another post for Steamfashion, so not much else to talk about where that is concerned.
The green Italian doublet has the matching cording now, but I am still looking for the crystal beads that are on it. I am also not sure how the hair style is put together. I will have to spend more time on Bella's site checking out prior showcases and see if I can get any ideas or inspiration. (Check out this month, too - a double showcase with two different yet really wonderful outfits.)
Still no news on Layla's surgery. It is getting a little bit frustrating, as I had anticipated she would be having surgery this week or next, and we still know nothing. She has had some increased motor function issues, and falls down the steps and off of things. Her heart is willing, but her muscle tone is just not there. We have increased her meds and hope this will help. She really misses being able to play in the leaves with Roxie for long periods of time. (Who is, incidentally, insane. Now I know where the "Welsh Terror" quote comes from.)
It is not possible to get an unblurry picture. ALL of the leaves must be destroyed, as soon as possible. It would seem.
I should have actual pictures of actual garments tomorrow. Yay! Real work! Santa's bench looked great, and the new trim on his coat was a far better looking version than the old one. Go big or stay home, that is his motto. I just love him.
I have this huge list of To Do items and a spreadsheet for 2010 as well as the remnants of my spreadsheet for 2009, but I am just not motivated to do much of anything. I am working on Santa's Father Christmas coat and his "Sit on my Lap" bench cover, but otherwise nada.
I had planned to :
1. Talk about how I made the ermine sleeves on Catherine of Aragon (not too hard, folks)
2. Start my green wool boucle winter coat (lined, because wool and my skin do not get along)
3. Work on finishing the QE1 costume for Marti Potter - lots of slashes and ruffs happening
4. Finish getting some designs digitized so I can do more leather applique, this time Steampunk style
5. FInish planning my Steampunk outfits for the Yule Ball and the Mystery Night
6. Commit to a design (and sew it) for the Victorian Twelfth Night Ball for the VSA, since I missed the Danse Macabre. (I thought it was going to be far more formal than it turned out to be. )
7. Not to mention the already cut out items that could be sewed and put on Etsy...
8. Work on my green Italian outfit for the Midwinter Feast. Put together a new corset. Get realistic about what fits.
Sigh. And we have dog surgery coming up in two weeks, provided that the MI surgeon decides that she is a good candidate for it, based on her MRI results (and that pesky bent vena cava). It would be so awful to have gone through all of this and find out she can't have the surgery. I am just not ready to face up to that idea yet.
Hopefully tomorrow will be nicer (and warmer!) and I will get something accomplished and posted on LJ. At least I need to get the winter coat done, because winter has come to MN early this year. Even more of an encouragement to move out to CA once the kids graduate from school (5 more years!).
Hmm. Off to sew something and improve my mood.
I went into the Six Wives project trying to find a fun group project for the Wench Posse and also to challenge myself to do something BIG. Who knew it would turn into something even bigger in terms of the generosity of people I have spoken to all over the world?
Kathryn Parr is going to Australia. Lady Jane Grey went to CA. Others went to Florida, Texas, and the East Coast. Queen Mary Tudor went to a Wench Posse member who was unable to participate on the day of the Six Wives. And I am slowly finishing the Queen Elizabeth costume for the lovely Marti Potter who is completely recovered from her H1N1.
I am just so honestly grateful for the people who spread the word on forums, blogs, bulletin boards, Facebook, My Space, eBay, Etsy, etc. It is a huge weight off of us financially to know that the vet costs are covered, and that maybe we really can Save a Puppy.
We are waiting to hear back from the surgeon who is to do the surgery to tell us if he has the proper size coils that get put in the shunt to close it off (or has to order them), and if Layla is still considered a good surgical candidate based on the vena cava issue she has. We are crossing our fingers, as it would be heart-breaking to everyone involved to come this far only to not be able to have the surgery.
Again, I am so overwhelmed at the generosity I have seen displayed towards myself and my family. Costuming people really are the best people in the world. Thank you so very much for all of your help.
I have moved all but Katherine Parr's dress over to eBay to see if I can get a better response since the surgery is less than a month away. Go here if you want to make an offer: http://shop.ebay.com/theaccidentalseamst
Buy a dress, save a puppy!
Layla and the rest of us thank you!
( Read more of the insanity here... )
So check back around Oct. 1st and things should be happening around here.
Thanks for your patience!
Had a great time at Fest today in my Camo Elizabethan again. Third outing for that outfit, and somewhat of a record. I have only ever worn my Red pirate outfit multiple times - everything else in my closet is always a once-off and then sold somewhere and never to be worn by me again. Pirate Carol got permission from the lovely George to wear her Mardi Gras, and so it only seemed natural to wear my Camo, especially considering there wasn't much else in the closet... (note to self - make costumes for ME over the winter so I'm not having a Lady Godiva moment every weekend in August and September) But we had a blast, and people loved the outfit again. I still feel very much not the kind of personality to wear something that Out There in public, but its good for me - its good to get out of your shell sometimes. And that outfit certainly helps!
I've been particularly busy the last several weeks gearing up for October 3rd, and the Six Wives. Many people have asked me: "So have you finished any of the outfits yet?" And this is kind of a hard question to answer.
All of the undergarments are done. All of the bodices and skirts have been cut out. All of the underskirts are done. All of the corsets are done. The jewelry is complete. Henry is done except for a hat, Katherine Parr is done except for some rivits and beads, and Anne of Cleves needs some pearling and a hat. Its kind of an assembly line process rather than one at a time. And Tudor outfits (to me anyway) are not as complicated. No farthingale, no 45 yards of trim, no excessive beading ALL OVER, etc. They seem to be coming along pretty fast.
However, no woman is an island, and this wouldn't be possible without the help of my village, the Wench Posse. They have been instrumental in making certain that I have help, in cutting things, in sewing some things, in putting together jewelry, etc. That is why I call myself the Project Manager of this. While I have done the majority of the sewing, (The Cheap Chick having done the vast majority of the corset making and the cutting, God Bless her) everyone has chipped in to help in some way. Two people helped to assemble the jewelry. Another actually MADE the brooch that Jane Seymour wears, as well as fixing some jewelry errors on my part, and painting shoes for Henry. Another sewed more than her fair share of farthingales and partletts, and yet another made Henry's tights (no mean feat in scaling up small tights to fit a 6'7 man) and some other partletts. People have brought treats, made DQ runs, cut out cloaks, hand-stitched things, ironed, etc.
It might have started as my vision, with my sourcing the materials, finding the people, arranging the spreadsheet, etc., but it has turned into a group project of vast proportions. And there is no way it would be happening this coming Saturday if it wasn't for all of these wonderful people.
My family has also been amazingly helpful. Miss S glued literally hundreds of stones onto settings for the jewelry. Miss G is going to be a lady-in-waiting (i.e. slave) on Oct. 3rd, and even recruited some of her friends. And my wonderful husband has fed the hoards who have come over to help, and has kept me in a steady supply of Junior Mints. He has worn earplugs to block out the sound of the serger, and has pretended to show enthusiasm for something that really isn't his thing (just as I feign enthusiasm for poker - it works for us). He is supportive of me because he knows this is something I love.
So to my family and friends, I want to say thank you for all of the help you have given me. I couldn't do half of what I do without you.
And in October? I will be reading. Maybe watching TV. Hanging with some puppies. But likely taking a wee break from the sewing machine.... A massage sounds pretty good right about now...
Well, the frock coat is done. I really hated the pattern (Simplicity Captain Jack one) and because Marcus has generous shoulders and a narrow waist it changed the proportions somewhat and was challenging.
I used braided rope for the button holes and liked it tremendously in terms of texture and design. He wanted the plain buckles all down the front, although we are planning for something decorative around his neck at some point. He was trying to base this off of the coat Patrick Dempsey wore in "Enchanted" at the ball. It is also a much darker blue, but my flash was being off today.
Also finished the cobalt blue velvet Princess dress with "The Tudors" trim. And the huge scalloped sleeves. She was too excited to put her chemise/shift on first before modeling it. I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, as it is what she wanted, and this is for a theatrical Ren Fest. It was hard to take a good picture of the dress as she kept jumping up and down. It was pretty adorable.
That trim was a bitch-kitty to sew (the technical term being bitch-kitty). Yet tremendeously resilient for all of the beading it had on it. Everything the Princess wears needs a guard on the bottom because MN Ren Faire is so horribly dusty that you wind up replacing your guard almost every year. Also, she wanted long sleeves for more formal occasions and shorter hanging style sleeves for everyday.
She also made the jeweled girdle she is wearing. She found a chain of office at the thrift store (for $5.99!!) and removed the old jewels, spray painted it silver, and glued on pearl cabs. Then she attached it to a rhinestone brooch she had (she has a thing for rhinestones) and a chain with a large silver pendant on the end with a pearl drop. Which, I believe, is made by Avon and was also from the thrift store. She turned the leftover pieces into the necklace.
In our spare time this weekend our small family went to the State Fair (on opening day, YIKES) and several members ate their body weight in corn and cheese curds and bought cowboy hats:
This evening I worked on my leather bodice that I am wearing to the MN Ren Faire this weekend for Highland Weekend. I know this is not even remotely period appropriate, but at this point I don't really care. It is fun, our faire is known for being theatrical, and I need a break from Tudor stuff....
So tonight I appliqued red leather from an old leather coat (thrift store) onto a piece of black leather for the front of the bodice (from an old leather skirt, also the thrift store) and did a little embroidery along the outer edge with the machine, and VOILA! A rampant lion:
I fray-checked the living hell out of all of it, and used copious amounts of Sewer's Aid on the needle since I spray-basted the black leather into the hoop rather than hooping it and leaving a permanent mark. I am going to do Tudor Roses next, in three different colors of leather. Hopefully my machine can take it. (For another project, not along with this one...)
More Six Wives craziness tomorrow and a gathering of the Wench Posse on Saturday, and pictures from Highland Fest on Sunday. It just feels like Party Central around here.
I also have a possibly brilliant, possibly insane idea for my Costume College outfit for next year. It involves lots of leather....
Ok, not the real thing. But in recreating the portrait of Katherine of Aragon, I need fake ermine fur. And I can't find it anywhere.
I can find cheetah, cow, dalmation, etc., but nothing resembling ermine.
At this point it is going to be me, some faux white fur and a sharpie..... (I do have another way of doing it maybe...)
Anyone?
The French dress is done.
This started out as the dress that was supposed to come to Costume College with me and be my tea dress. Then everything got delayed due to actual work sewing, and it flew to CA, got partially constructed, and flew back home with me. Where it sat, in the corner, waiting.
I got it out of the bag two days ago and decided to just finish it already so I could get rid of it and sell it and make space in my sewing room. Because when am I ever going to be able to wear a French gown around here? (Note to self, talk to TC Costumers Guild...)
Because I was still thinking Elizabethan when I attached the skirt, I sewed it on so that it comes all the way to the front edge, instead of back several inches on each side. SIGH. I am going to do some sort of decorative stitched attachment and configure it so it LOOKS as though it is sewn farther back.
However the polonaise came out lovely, the back point and seams were beautiful, and the flat front was easy to draft from the princess seam bodice I started with. Janet Arnold had a dress in her Patterns of Fashion with a very similar back. I had no experience with pleated backs, so I decided to go with this design.
Stephanie was a great model, and although we tried our darndest to get her hair into a hedgehog-esque design, it just doesn't like to curl. So we back-combed it as much as we could without loosing the little curl she had, and called it a day.
We used the paper parasol because it was hotter than hell and Steph needed a little bit of shading from the sun.
My cute new shoes that are going to go with my Steampunk costume, and a close-up of the underskirt pinked trim, and the very elaborate fluff I sewed on the outergown. I put the heavy black trim on over the ruched taffeta because I was feeling rather "Go Big or Stay Home."
I tried to get some good shots of the back of the skirt and the polonaise, but my camera kept telling me I needed new batteries after I had put new ones in. GAH.
We tried taking pictures over at the big cemetery near Lake Harriet (where Wellstone and Hubert Humphrey and every other big MN politician is buried) but got kicked out! Next time we are going to have to find some out of the way graveyard in a tiny podunk MN town. Luckily we got some good shots at the Rose Gardens.
Steph had just gotten back from several months in New Orleans and was fairly peeved. "They wouldn't kick you out of a cemetery in New Orleans!" she commented. I agreed that it was the uptight Scandinavian Minnesotans who had personal issues about their dead. I wasn't planning on having anyone's names on their gravestones in the pictures, would have been very respectful, etc. It is not like I was planning on having her straddle the gravestone for Pete's Sakes.... Sheesh.
Either way I am happy with the results of my first French outfit, flaws and all. And Stephanie felt beautiful in it, and I think she looked great. And the necklace Ashley made me from old bracelets, findings from Joann's and pearl drops from a vintage necklace looked stunning and finally got to see the light of day.
Now I can get back to work on the Six Wives....
So I have decided to turn lemons into lemonade and am declaring it a spiral lacing bodice, and this is why the eyelets are off. So there you go.
All of the eyelets have been fray checked, and need to be punched open this afternoon. Since most of the garments I make for sale are for people who just want to spend a day at Faire, or dress up for Halloween, or whatever, I typically do not use only the appropriate fabrics, construction methods, etc. I make them to be sturdy, festive, theatrical and easily cared for. And while I might not like shiny, some people do. (Although I generally draw the line at fake satin.) The Elizabethan I just finished is VERY shiny. It is a double-sided taffeta that when washed drapes like silk. It is flashy and the court at our faire loves flashy. Hopefuly it will find a good home.
I am starting work on my Elizabethan for the Six Wives project this weekend from Margo's patterns so as to hopefully complete it before the Iron Dress competition is over, and so I will have something to wear out at Faire. Because currently I own a very dingy old wench costume, a Camo costume, some chemises, a few pairs of bloomers, one farthingale, a red pirate-like bodice, a noble hat from La Paloma and one spectacular leather pirate hat with LOTS of feathers. None of which really amounts to one single cohesive outfit. (Except the Camo, and that really only has its place at the Day of Wrong.) Here is to hoping I don't go as Lady Godiva this year at Faire.
My plans for myself this year (in addition to the Six Wives stuff) are:
1. Flemish (have the hat and fabric)
2. German (outfit is cut out) in blue, pink and black
3. Elizabethan noble
4. Elizabethan middle class
5. New Venetian
6. Better looking Wench Wear
7. Scottish (?)
8. Basic Italian
9. Pirate skirts
10. A leather bodice (just because I want one).
It remains to be seen if any of this will get accomplished in light of everything else that is happening..... I think that list might get slashed in half at this point. Repeat to self - "You can wear the same thing twice to Ren Faire...."
Profile
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
accidentallarue- accidentalseamstress
- Accidental Seamstress
Syndicate
