Luxurious....

My new black silk satin:


I thought I was buying almost 7 yards of 54" wide, and had all these grand spanish gown plans.

Sadly, when it came it was only 4 yards at 45" wide....BUT, its still lovely, and I'll no doubt find a use for it. I was reimbursed for the diff in yardage and the inconvenience, and the final price including shipping was $5.55/yd. For silk satin, I couldn't hope to beat that, so i'm thrilled. Disappointed that its not enough to do the black slashed spanish gown, but still thrilled. Its a lovely piece of fabric--lighter weight, so i'll have to back it for support, but heavy enough that it takes slashing/pinking well:

silk slash

So now.....what do I use it for?! Surcoat (is 4 yds enough)? Fancy kirtle? Doublet? Convince hubby he wants all black fancy pants (fat chance of that--I already tried)?

A shade of doubt....

So, the costuming bug has hit me again after a long hiatus. Only, instead of diligently sewing the sleeves on hubby's flemish gear (a terrifying prospect of armscythe frustration), i've been fabric hunting and portrait viewing. I already know what my next dress will be....but shhhh, its a secret (for now). But what about the project after that? A girl must think ahead, afterall.....Then, in a massive explosion, my fabric hunting and portrait viewing collide!!!

Now, I've known I've wanted a spanish for a long time. And I was fairly certain that I wanted a spanish of the dark-somber color variety since they are so overwhelmingly prominent. But then I saw this portrait....


claraeugenia

And remembered seeing this fabric:

fabric

So, the fabric is a little wrong--its got the background leaf pattern on it, but wow, its *SO* close.... Too bad I realized this AFTER I ordered my swatches!!!! I have not idea if the patterns are similar sizes. But I MUST find out. A white dress at faire....ooh, that sounds scary, indeed. But isn't it gorgeous? Maybe I need TWO---one dark and somber, one gold. ;) Pretty soon I'll have more costumes than real clothes.

The problem is, I really want a black dress. Particularly this one, which i'm in lust with for the slashing:

infanta

Oh dear, what to do?

New Arrival

I ordered tracing paper for all my pattern making and adjusting needs. 20 yards of it, 2 feet wide. The little things excite me. Yay!

paper

Also, updates on the flemish man.

The Web Magician

My lovely husband has given my blog a makeover. I love my new navigation buttons. Thank you, sweetie!!!

New Project!

I recently had eye surgery and am stuck at home for at least another full week. I decided that one of the best ways to spend my time would be sewing--its been a long time. Lets just hope that lack of depth perception doesn't interfere with sewing too much... ;)

I just started a new diary for a Flemish working man's outfit:
http://juliesflemishman.blogspot.com/