Julie's Dress Diaries

Fairy Wings

2009-02-13T23:24:00.008-05:00

As I did in 2007, I will be helping the HMHounds group at Spoutwood Fairy festival come May. I have to say...I'm still embarrassed by the last "costume" even though I really like the crazy color combo.

This year, I wanted to try to be at least a little better. I still have no idea what outfit I'll pull together, but I've been wanting to experiment with dreamcatcher-inspired fairy wings for a while now, and figured I'd give it a go. The frames are coat hangers (4 total), straightened and reshaped, covered in black ribbon, then bound together with black cord and more ribbon. The cob-webby silver (~ 4 yds/wing) is woven from a travesty of a trim I bought for historical costuming based on a very nice looking picture--there was much disappointment when this actually landed on my doorstep. I'm glad that I found an alternative use for it.

They're certainly not perfect, but I think the experiment at least proved that the theory of dreamcatcher fairy wings is sound. And that's one less costume-y bit that I have to think about come May...

I need to think of some sparkly spider-inspired fairy name. How very Goth of me!

Damn, that window needs some windex action!

A Pretty Pirate

2007-09-16T23:29:00.001-04:00

Wednesday, Sept 19th is "talk like a pirate day." And since I happen to have a handful of eyepatches from my eye surgeries lying around, I thought I'd cover one and make a fancy eyepatch. I figured, what the heck, might be fun...

Of course, I'd not be content without a wee bit of historical research on the topic, right? To my delight, I found information on Ana Mendoza, a spanish noble lady complete with embroidered eyepatches:

Her's is a rather small patch, smaller than the bases I had at home, so mine is obviously larger. I liked how she wore the strings up towards the middle of her head, rather than across her whole face. I rather think she may have pinned it into her hair, given the slackness on that top string...

Anyway, here is my bit of pirate fun for the day:

The design is a stylized pirate dagger, taken from some of the old jolly rogers, like the one used by Stede Bonnet. And I added swirlies, since I can't seem to resist them. The embroidery is pretty shoddy, but it was a fun little project for a day. ;)

Orange is my favorite color!

2007-05-15T11:27:00.000-04:00

Anytime someone asks me my favorite color, I think I give a different answer. But this weekend, at VARF rehearsal, for the purposes of filling out an "about you" form, I decided it would be orange.
And seeing as I deemed orange to be my favorite color of the moment, I'm posting a small homage to orange.

First, my new hat:

Its supposed to look like a spanish style, not quite a flatcap, but similar. Its a buckram and wire stiffened brim with a large circle of fabric pleated to it for the crown. And a beautiful huge ostrich feather courtesy of Auntie Tina, of course. Thank you again! Its comfy, stays on my head nicely (okay, its a bit tight, but nowhere near as tight as the mad hatter creation), and provides a bit of shade unlike the heart shaped bonnet. I'm going to reserve the bonnet for overcast days. I got tired of squinting at the NC faire.

Second, Beth and I have been talking about decorating our parasols for faire. The original plan was to cover in silk/fabric of some sort, but as faire starts next week, the quick fix was a bit of (orange, of course) paint and a period-ish looking stencil:

Not sure if you can see the stencil design well, so here's a closeup. Of course, I learned that I'm a fairly blobby stenciler. This is actually one of the best ones. ;)

I also worked on some jewelry bits last night, but those'll have to go up later, since they're not orange. ;)

Utter Silliness

2007-05-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

The HMHounds group is participating in the Spoutwood Farm Faerie Festival this weekend.

The problem: I found myself fresh outta fairy gear. Fairies just aren't my speciality, and I've never made a fairy costume in my life. Its probably pretty obvious that I enjoy doing reasonably well researched and somewhat documentable costumes, so this is really out of my realm. I'd love to do some research on fairy stories and look at some great fairy images before doing a project like this, but with about 6 hrs to devote to making a costume for this event, that'll just have to wait. Maybe if we do the fairy fest again next year.... I'd love to do some sort of water nymph.

The solution: My fearless hounds leader, Jen, lent me a wonderful chemise-y dress. Its that wrinkly cotton material, the bottom is two layers, cut jaggedly for that nice fairy effect. Its frilly, fun, and oh so comfy. But I needed to have at least a bodice for supporting the gals, if you know what I mean....
I used the corset from my venetian days (its never getting worn again, seeing as i have the spiffy and lighter weight effigy now) for a bodice. I added an oh-so-stylish orange strip to the neckline.
The problem then was that the tabs weren't very stylish.

To the rescue: an old sheer curtain and some changable silky fabric that was gifted to me were what I had on hand (okay, I have plenty more on hand, but this was what I was willing to sacrifice to a quick and sloppy project). They colors don't match at all....um, unless I'm some sort of "dawn" fairy....

So I made skirts for covering the corset tabs--there are two skirts, one that is two layers of scraggy cut periwinkle sheerness (thank you old bedroom curtain), and one shorter skirt that is a layer of firey orange with a little scraggy-cut periwinkle tutu. Its well...fluffy and silly. I also made arm cuffs with frills on it, cuz, well, whythehecknot? ;) Here is my best attempt at looking like a playful frilly fairy ballerina person:

Avoiding Smocks

2007-04-19T17:06:00.000-04:00

Oh, how I hate sewing smocks. That is what I SHOULD be doing, but just couldn't stomach the idea. I was gonna distract myself by making a hat, but I couldn't find my wire, so I finished up a project that I'd started in NC--a little caul made out of leftover jacobean jacket fabric (lined in wool--perfect for summer-wear, right?).

I was also having an ugly day, so I found a more attractive model (thank you beth, for the inspiration):

Whelp Book

2007-03-23T00:14:00.000-04:00

As Beth mentioned in her last post, she and I will be joining Her Majesty's Hounds and playing in the Virginia Renaissance Faire for its 2007 season. This was the same group that we volunteered with last fall, and it clearly made a good impression. I'm very excited to be joining them and their cause full time. Since Beth has already covered this, you've probably guessed what's coming...the decoration of my charge book for the group:

Its a pretty simplistic little book, covered in lambskin and bound with embroidery floss. I'd like to decorate the leather, but couldn't get hold of my dad's leatherworking kit before this particular assignment was due (procrastinate, me?). I might try to posh it up in the future, but i'm so in love with the texture of this lambskin that maybe I won't... I do still have to braid and bead the second bookmark string, but I figured that'd be good car-work for later.

More Underwears!

2007-03-06T19:55:00.000-05:00

Just finished the red silk petticoat that I've been wanting. Its red silk dupioni, that I machine washed, so its not crisp silk anymore, more flowy. I kinda liked it better crisp, but I think having it be easily washable will make my future easier. The guards are a wine wool gabardine. I really like it paired with my jacobean jacket:

It looks pinker here than in person. The front has a bit of a swoopy wrinkle in it (funny how i'm ommitting that picture, eh?). I'm not quite sure how to fix that, and i'm also not sure if it bothers me enough to try. We shall see....

Blind Eyelets

2007-03-01T22:19:00.000-05:00

I'm home recovering from yet another eye surgery, so what better to drive me nuts than to sew 40 eyelets into a corset when I can't really see them? Hubby was very kind to thread the needles for me, since I can't see that. Luckily, I've done enough eyelets by now that I can do them without really needed to see the fine detail. ;)

So, without further ado, the effigy corset:

Its got lacing in the back, too, with a gap to allow for weightloss, which I hope to have. Hehe.
I've been eye-ing Beth's effigy for a good while now, and now I definitley know what all the fuss was about. This is comfy and so very cute, if i do say so myself!

I Love the 80's

2007-01-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

You know, I love those specials on VH1 where they reminisce about 80's music, fashion and cartoons. Especially the cartoons. So, one day when I was in Joann's and they had 50% off their clearance stuff, I was looking for 50 cent/yd fabrics. I love getting those for mockups, as you can probably tell from my absolutely hideous and strange mockup fabrics. But that fateful day I found THE mock-up fabric of my dreams. Why, you ask? This is why:

I admit that strawberry shortcake was a childhood hero of mine. And while I prefer her in the old-school cupcake bonnet and fruffy dress, I can certainly accept this "hip, cool" SS in a pinch. And I do have a think for pink and green together. Cotton flannel strawberry shortcake fabric in pink and green....could it get any better?!

Well, yes, actually. It could get better if I used said fabric as a bloomer mockup and ended up with the coolest capri pj pants EV.ER. Witness the glory:

Oh, yes, and ignore the bruise. Apparently I stumble over trunks when I've had one to many apple martinis (which is equal to two martinis, apparently).

So, admittedly this pattern is a little wide-legged, but damn if it ain't comfy. I did take a few inches off the sides for the real bloomers (made out of the same poopy linen of my heart shaped bonnet lining). They're still roomy, but not quite as ridiculous. The real bloomers are so ugly and splotchily dyed that I can't bear to post their picture. They would pale in comparison to the glory that is the Shortcake. And the knees on the real ones aren't finished off yet anyway. ;)

Bad Hairdo Ahead

2007-01-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

I've been working on the heart shaped bonnet pattern from the Tudor Tailor. The structure is made of two layers of single ply buckram, and some wire I had lying about. I covered the brim and band in black cotton velveteen, and the caul is in black silk. I haven't been able to find a really good example of this in black in the portraiture--what I was going for was a middle class version of this or this.

Below, I've paired said bonnet a quick and dirty elizabethan 'do. I wrapped my hair around a hairbrush handle, bobby-pinned a few times, prayed for it to stay and carfully removed the brush handle. I just did a messy job of putting it up, but I'm amazed that it stayed so well--just 7 bobbypins and no spray, and it was quite sturdy an hour or two later. . Obviously I'll try to do a neater job of it for a real wear.

I'm going to need to make myself some hair rats to get the volume/bulk of those crazy elizabethan hairstyles. I'll be trying Mistress Isobel's directions for my next attempt of this style.

Please pardon the splotchy pimply face. Ugh. Its a special time of the month, if you know what I mean...

My critique: I wish I'd lengthened the headband a bit to completely cover my ears (my head is fatter than the Tudor Tailor's head, apparently--I had to redo the cap about 2 inches larger than their version), but the headband is really only a wee bit short, but the result is that the caul at the back shows the bottom of my hair. Not horrible, mind you, but a learning experience.

And here is the lining. I dyed linen for it. My intent was a slightly muddied golden brown. The result was ugly dingy grey-green turdy color. Quite like the fabric I dyed for the inside of Adam's flemish, actually, and completely un-intentionally. How do I manage to do that?! I have a talent for making ugly muddy green (splotchy) colors, I guess:
That is all for now. Next up: BLOOMERS!!!! And yes, they will be made out of poopy grey-green splotchy linen...how'd you guess?

Onto Bigger And Better Things

2007-01-20T00:41:00.000-05:00

Glad that's finished! Here is the caul--complete with swirly band, which embroidered really quickly. Pardon the quality, but its one of those arm-outstretched-hoping-you-aim straight pics (hubby was busy playing a video game). I'm relieved that it actually fits, since I didn't try before I embroidered the whole thing. Since it was based on Beth's caul measurments, I knew it should work, but there's always that naggling feeling....

What's next, I wonder? Corset, petticoat, gloves, headdress/hat, smock? So many little things to do before I can let myself start a whole new dress....

Gah, More Peas?!

2007-01-18T00:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm officially sick of posting about peas on this blog. But this pic is for Niter, since I know you wanna see the peas finished. They are officially embroidered and filled. I still need to cut the lining for the caul and the band to gather it into. I think I will have to embroider the band a bit to keep it from looking stark white against the rest of it. Any motif ideas? I might just do plain old swirlies. :)
Incidentally--Beth--these are the wools we ordered--I put the swatch of yours in for a color comparison, but I'll be mailing you things soon.

More Peas

2007-01-08T23:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone for your input on the pea design!

I ultimately decided that my favorite from the sampler was the triplet of peas, based on the extant Maidstone jacket. The problem is that a triplet design is rather large, and I inadvertantly shrunk several of the swirls while embroidering so that triplets couldn't fit. To make matters more interesting, several swirls were much too large to be filled by only one pea (my second fave design). A conundrum, eh?

I ultimately decided to go with variably-numbered sets of peas, so that I could resolve the "unequal swirl size" problem. I ended up taking bits from all the designs to breed "genetically superior" peas. Which is to say that I used the general canoe-shape from the triplet peas (#2), added some swirling vines and the chain-stitched edge from the single pea (#3), and made a siamese twin pea based on #5 out the #2/#3 hybrid. Four different designes made it easier to not have the same type next to itself at all, so I have sets of 1, 2, 3, and siamese peas.

Allessia rightly pointed out that a "variable pea" combo is not documentable as period. So, yes, we've left the realm of strictly documentable pea-ness. But it was the most reasonable way to accomodate my mutated swirlies (a clear sign of my fledgling embroidery skillz).

I also should point out that while there are plenty of extant blackworked coifs, I've not seen any extant blackworked cauls, so who knows how accurate this concept is to begin with? So, this caul is "possible, but not proven," if that makes sense. I suppose any english lass who had a penchant for peas could've made such a caul. But if it ever happened? Who knows! I shall feel like a pretty princess regardless. Hehe.

I must say, I'm rather relieved now that I didn't choose the maidstone pea design, because mine could never look as beautiful as the needlework that Mistress Isobel did for her recreation of the jacket in question. That is downright lust-inspiring. Thanks to Allessia for the link!

And without further ado, the current progress:

I've learned some lessons already:

1) Next time I should concentrate on getting my swirls even!

2) Linen embroidery thread is not my friend. Its lumpy and tangles like a bi-atch. Those elizabethans had it right with the silk, and I really should've known that, but I was so keen on starting that I didn't want to wait for thread to come.

3) 'Tis better to not cut the circle out before embroidering. Getting to the edges this way is...unpleasant. Notice how I'm steadfastly avoiding them until the last? ;)

4) Fill patterns are fun, but probably look much better in evenweave linen.

5) Starting a project like this makes me incapable of doing ANYTHING else when I get home from work. I've been embroidering and watching the history channel for 2.5 nights straight!

Resurrection of the Pea

2007-01-06T15:56:00.000-05:00

Its been a while since I've done anything with the blackwork'd caul of swirliness. It lay forgotten in a drawer for many months, but I recently took it up again and finished all the swirls. Its pretty rough-looking embroidery, unfortunately. I think this is due to the choice of linen embroidery thread, but I'm going to go ahead with it anyway. I'm just taking the lesson home that next time I'd like silk thread.

With the swirls done, I must choose what to put inside them. In the original post, I was drawn to peapods, and that hasn't changed. But I was having a time trying to pick WHICH peapods exactly. Last night I threw together a quick and dirty sampler on powder pink linen to test a few:

pea test

#1--The open peapod is from a jacket at the V&A.
#2--The Triplet peas from a jacket in the Maidstone museum (pic from Gostelow's Blackwork)
#3--the curly-q pea is from an alternate sketch inGostelow's book, Blackwork, said to be taken
from a late 17th century blackwork cloth.
#4--is from a nightcap, also at the V&A museum
#5--the double sided peapod is from one of my many books, but now I can't find it. Whoops!

They all obviously need to be worked more delicately and carefully than in the above sampler (especially where the fill patterns are concerned), but this should give a rough idea. I'm quite certain that 4 is my least favorite. But other than that one, I kinda like them all. So...any opinions would be appreciated. Right now I'm considering two options:

1) Pick one and do it in every swirly on the caul. If i did this, which is your favorite? I'm leaning towards 2 or 3, I think.

2) Do a variety of peas, alternating in my swirl pattern (perhaps doing only the 4 I like). Do you think that these look okay together in my sampler, and would that look translate well to a caul?

Goldwork for Beginners

2007-01-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

Showing off more of my Christmas goodies.

A little backstory: My family was allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve. Hubby's family were taught to wait for Christmas morning. But it seems my tradition has won in this case, probably because I nag poor Adam about opening gifts so much its best to just let me do so and have me shut up (for a little while, at least).

So on Christmas Eve, the gift he let me open was a tudor rose goldwork embroidery kit from Berlin Embroidery. Here are its many parts:

kit

I admit that I was most thrilled by the gold spangles (lower left edge of paper). Hooray for period sequins!!!! It has everything I need to do a sparkly tudor rose (but I bought the scrolling embroidery frame at Joann's), and a very good set of instructions for a beginner. This is very important, since I've never done goldwork before. I was inspired by an online friend, Adele, after she very kindly gifted me with some of her gold threads, but I had no idea where to begin. Hence the kit. :)

Here's a closeup of my attempts so far. Its imperfect (drat seperating on the petal edge, showing my yarns), but I'm still pretty happy with it so far:

More christmas goodies to come (I need blog fodder, afterall!)

Christmas Goodies.

2007-01-02T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas seems to be a time where I ask for costuming goodies. :) And just like last year, I've been shamelessly spoiled!

First, my awesome mother-in-law gifted me with a new iron. You can see it here next to my old, weak, wussy-of-an-iron:

iron faceoff

Yup, my old iron was 1) small, 2) broken (couldn't turn it off or adjust the heat), and 3) deemed unsafe. The new model is digitized and turns off if I leave it on too long or if it tips over. Which is insanely useful for someone who has been known to leave the iron on for DAYS before noticing. And it irons so smoothly! I had no idea my old one was that crappy!

The crazy super-awesome costuming present of the day award, though, had to go to the dummy my hubby gave me. I think I shall call her Helga. Helga is a Uniquely You dressform, and after some research, I figured she was the best for costuming (since she is squishy and corsetable). I already put a corset on her to test--I couldn't resist.
But rather than post her here in flattering garb, I figured I'd embarrass her by showing nude photos of her and calling attention to her inhumanly pointy and perky boobs:

nekkid dummy

Those impossibly cone-like boobs were perhaps a bit embarrassing to open in front of the family on Christmas morning, but Helga made me super happy nonetheless!

And now, for Helga's modesty, a shot of her in her slipcover:

I haven't yet altered the slipcover to my own dimensions (which will be much lumpier than Helga's natural ones, no doubt), because the sewing machine is out of commission.

There's a little story behind that....

The sewing machine has a poltergeist. The spirit that inhabits it decided that it would like to sew at inconvenient times. Like when I have a project poised and ready but need to go downstairs for a moment. This leads to much cursing and seamripping when I return. But when the spirit decided to start when I was in the middle of threading a needle, it was the last straw. My finger got away unpierced, but frightened, so I sent Lady Janome to the maintenance shop for an exorcism. I'll hopefully have it back in a week or so--then I can recreate Helga in my own lumpy (and decidedly less perky) image.

I have more costume related Christmas goodies, but I shall have to take their pics and post them later.

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-30T20:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, not costume related, but this is what I did this weekend INSTEAD of sewing the things I planned. ;) I did sorta costume the witch, though. Hubby carved the Frankenstein.

dark

light

Even more Useless-ness!

2006-10-27T08:26:00.000-04:00

I thought the tippet was bad for useless accessorizing, but I am apparently not to be outdone. You see, I've got a faire to go to in two weeks, and its practically guarunteed to be freezing out, and I'm supposed to be making toasty warm things like cloaks and muffs and gloves. So what did I make last night? A feather fan, of course. What could be more useless in NOVEMBER? I swear I'll sew wooly warm things next week....

the inspiration (one of many). Here is Bess herself with an ornate fan of gold and what I assume to be ostrich feathers.

My local supply of ostrich feathers is low, but I did find these preassembled feather things at A.C. Moore in the autumnal flower arrangement section. I have no idea who makes feathery flower arrangements for autumn. Because what could be better when you're biting into that moist Thanksgiving turkey than seing its tail feathers in the centerpiece? Ew.

Anywho, they were already all nicely arranged on a metal stick, and I got 4 of em for $5, so it was totally worth it. I wanted 5, since I think it would've made for a fuller fan, but they only had four of the brown ones. The red were pretty, but just a bit fake. And the yellow and purple were even faker. So scanty brown fan it is!

Onto making the base...the handle is a bbq wooden skewer with 5 "vases" from Joann fabrics slid over it. I guess they're little wooden vases for doll houses? They came with drilled holes that just happened to fit my skewers. The fan base is made of wooden "decorative accents" from home depot. Something like the things you put on fireplace mantles and the like. They conveniently came in a two pack. I put a wad of evenly rolled out sculpee between, poked the holes needed for handle and 4 feathery bits, added an extra hole for a peacock feather of decorativeness, then removed all the wooden bits and baked the clay.

Once it was baked, I glued it all togehter and spraypainted it gold just like the tippet. I would've loved to stain it, but well, hideous yellow sculpee wouldn't take up stain, would it? I did, however, resist the urge to bejewel it, cuz I'm not sure that'd go well with my middle class wardrobes. I'm sure Beth is proud. ;)

And here are the results:

Its actually rather huge, so I might try my hand at making a more dainty one later. Though the huge does kick up a good bit of wind, which is so uber-useful when its freezing out, eh?

Coming soon: a better set of directions for how I made the tippet head of creepiness (for Allessia) and anyone else who is interested.

Useless Accessorizing!

2006-10-25T18:41:00.000-04:00

Apparently flea furs, or fur tippets, or sables, or whatever you prefer to call them were all the rage in ye olde times, and I've decided that I need to have one. And since the mink I found on ebay came with very creepy little plastic eyes and an even creepier little crookedly set nose, I decided I needed to gussy it up (in other words, hide its face to make me feel less guilty for carrying around a little dead thing). In my defense, I bought a vintage fur, so the poor things were already long gone before they got to me....(ducks PETA).

Animal cruelty issues aside, this is a pretty awesome looking accessory:

unknown lady, by Segar

Onto the process: I molded a bit of sculpee around my mink's plastic wrapped head:

tippet bottom

tippet top

So, um, possibly the glowing bejeweled red eyes are creepier than the little plastic eyes the thing came with, but they're certainly more festive. After I made indentions for the jewels, I baked the clay, spray-painted it gold and glued all the gems back in. Its pretty creepy, but also exactly what I was going for:

my tippet

zoom from painting

Of course, to have it be more like the painting I should do matching guilded paw-covers. But seriously, those kinda creep me out (more than glowing red eyes), so maybe I won't. Also, I'm lazy.

That is all my guilded creepy animal news for the day.

More Thank Yous!

2006-10-17T22:39:00.000-04:00

It seems that I've been posting copious thank-yous on this diary of late. I'm lucky to have such generous family and friends, and today is no exception. I want to squee a little bit (okay, a lot) over a recent gift from my bpal switchwitch, kakiphony (kinda like a secret santa, but without christmas dictating the time of year! ;)) She's spoiled me to pieces, with many wondrous gifts, but this one in particular needs a special home in my costuming mania pages....

Its a pendant from Raymond's Quiet Press, and its absolutley exquisite. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I gasped so loud as to alarm my husband when I opened its box. Its better than I ever hoped, and I've had my eye on it for so long that finally having it in hand was so special! I immediately replaced the dangle on my previous pearl necklace with this beauty, and you better believe that this will be adorning my bosoms (hehe) at the fest this weekend.
Even better, this charm will be oh-so perfect when I finally get round to recreating the da Brescia portrait I've been lusting after for so long!

Thank you so much, kakiphony, I love it to pieces (not to mention all the other lovely things)! *hugs*

Caulling

2006-10-11T10:46:00.000-04:00

After Beth let me wear her beauteous caul at our recent VA Faire trip, I knew I had to have one of my own. So as to adhere to our unwritten "similar but different" costuming rule, I have been searching for a cool (but simple) blackwork design that is not a grid. I don't have much time before I need to wear this (2 weeks in fact, but who's counting), so I want something simple that I can gussy up "later". I did my best at freehanding the swirling stems from this hood (at the V&A museum, pic taken from Gostelow's Blackwork)

I figure I can just embroider the swirls for now, and fill them in when time permits. I'm actually thinking that I'll fill them in with a peapod design, since I've been drawn to ye olde peapods for quite some time! Here is an example, though I think I'll probably do only 1-2 peapods with more fancy stuff instead of 3 "simple" ones:

jacket embroidery in maidstone museum, this pic also from Gostelow's Blackwork

So, here is my anticipated swirly design (pattern on left, beginnings of my work on right). I'm going with a simple Holbein stitch on the swirls (I originally wanted to do stem, but habits are hard to break). I'll figure out some peas to fill it in later (likey over the winter?):

caul design

I've Been a Naughty Poppet...

2006-09-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

..And started a new dress diary: Jacobean Jacket.

I also went fabric store shopping this weekend to pick up a few goodies.

First, I went back for a remnant that I was kicking myself for leaving at the store the first time (Beth was kicking, too!):

There are about 2.5 yards of it, and I think I can definitely get a forepart/foresleeve combo for a tudor that's coming down the bend. On an interesting note, I'm going senile, cuz my mind remembered this as being a blackish green and gold,and its actually brownish green and gold. Yup, I'm crazy. I really can't decide which side I like better, but no rush.

I also picked up this purple and gold brocade (fiber unknown), though I'm not sure what for (its only a teensy bit more than a yard):

purple gold brocade

Beth--you had asked me to keep an eye out for tudor gown fabrics. I didn't see anything that caught my eye with the gold/textural interest criteria that you mentioned. However, this made me think of your dress/colorscheme, so if you're interested in it (or in the purple one, for that matter), its yours:

Its more detailed than I think you wanted, but because the print is small, it comes off more as a textural thing than a crazy design. Anywho, its a bricky-mauve and the background is a very dingy antique gold brown--much less shiny than the flash would have you believe. There are 1 1/8 yards, fiber unknown (a bit on the small side for your needs, but a remnant is a remnant). Colorwise, it looks quite pretty next to the velvet in question, but I'm not sure what'd look like next to your other fabric. But no pressure either way--lemme know if you're interested and I can mail it to you so you can see in person. And if not, it'll find life somewhere along the line.

Lastly, I picked up a 13x26 fabric sample of an embossed velvet. I'm thinking the shape/size will lend itself very well to a muff, and heck, it was only 75 cents:

redvelvet

Silky Goodness

2006-08-09T10:17:00.000-04:00

I've been eyeing silk embroidery threads for sometime. Laren provided me with some very good advice, and I ended up purchasing several bundles of threads from an ebay seller for a reasonable price. I couldn't be more thrilled with how beautiful they are:

Taste the Rainbow!

The colors are beautiful, and the luster of the threads when I unwrapped them made very, VERY happy. The texture isn't what I expected (but I've never worked with silk before)--it’s easily snagged. I'm gonna have to give myself a good manicure/lotioning so my hangnails don't catch on it quite so easily ;)

I will say that the green bundle furthest to the left is a lot brighter than I anticipated, so I'm not sure how well it'll fit into my scheme--maybe as some highlights here and there. And I do wish I'd picked up a bundle of black (duh), but it completely slipped my mind.
My favorite is the orangey pinks on the right (me, like orange?! there's a surprise). Anywho, I know this is certainly not enough thread to do my whole crazy embroidered gown, but it’s a start--I wanted to make sure I liked them before buying too much. :)

Thanks for the recommendation, Laren!

An Overdue Thank You

2006-08-06T22:33:00.000-04:00

Last month, I recieved an absolutely splendid package from a fellow online costumer, Adele. (I hope you don't mind a public thank you!). Some of you may be familiar with her from the many online costuming groups she participates in, and her work is always lovely. She was very generous to offer me some goldworking materials from Berlin Embroidery when I expressed interest in various embroidery projects.

You can see all of the golden gifts below. The bottom-most one is gold metal. The best way I can describe it (since the picture didn't get much detail) is that its very thin gold wire coiled very tightly into a spring of "thread". Its quite heavy, and really beautiful. I very much appreicate having the chance to work with it so I can decide whether or not to go the "real gold" route for my future embroidery/goldwork projects. She included extra wonderfulness in the form of gold lace trim and two different gold (non metal) threads. I kinda feel like Scrooge MacDuck--anyone care for a swim? ;)

goldwork/trim

And, as if offering me precious metals were not kind enough, she decided to include some leftover material from one of her latest costuming projects, a jacobean style jacket. Here is an extant example of one, it was Margaret Laton's, and Adele's version is a very close and impressive copy of it.

The absolutely stunning fabric is here, alond with the beautiful card and yummy smelling lavender sachet from the package. I am pretty certain that there is enough fabric here for me to make a very similar jacket, and I'm absolutley thrilled by the prospect:

jacobean jacket fabric
I think I even have the wool I'd like to use as the skirt/kirtle for the complete outfit. My goal is to use September to make the entire outfit and wear it to festival the last weekend of the month. Hope I can do it!

But wait, there's more. Oh yes, Adele is not simply generous, she is generous to extremes! She also included some crosswoven gold/red silk, which comes off as a firey orange. And since orange is one of my favorite costuming colors, I, of course, love it! Best part? Four of the pieces are already cut out sleeve patterns! Something soon will definitely have orange lined sleeves. :)

orange silk

Adele--thank you so much, I haven't forgotten about you, and I will find a way to return your generosity! I'm wishing you oodles of good karma in the meantime.

Dating Help?

2006-07-31T22:07:00.000-04:00

No, not that kinda of dating. I'm not single...but...my grandma gifted me this beautiful vintage coat and I'd love to know more about it. If anyone out there reading would like to venture their guesses/theories on more about it, I would be forever grateful. All that I know was that it was gifted to her by someone who didnt' know what to do with it, and thus it has passed to me. Its obviously vintage/antique. Everybit of stitching that I can get to is hand-done (the lining is stiched in by hand, the lapels are stitched onto the jacket by hand, etc, you get the point). Its a full length coat, in black velvet, lined in a grey floral damask. I'm not sure if the velvet is silk/cotton/other, but i'm pretty certain its natural fiber, and if forced to guess I'd say silk. From the way the lining is dryrotting, i kinda think its silk, too. Its got absolutely stunning embroidery in black thread down the lapels, around the botton about a foot wide, and would have it on the cuffs if they weren't removed (I'd guess the embroidery threads are silk or linen--leaning towards linen) . I don't know if its actually a coat, or if its more a dressing gown? I'm open to speculation. This is not the time period I usually do...I'd like to tinker in later periods, but haven't got around to doing any research on them....

coat front

This tag shows the maker. From what little I could find online, Hutzler Brothers was a department store founded in MD in 1858. I think they stayed open til the 1960's, so I'm not sure where in that span this particular garment would fit in. See how the tag is hand-herringbone stitched into the lining? The little things make me wiggle in pure glee!

manufacturer

And just for eyecandy, here are a few detail shots:

collarback

bottom embroidery--This has this lovely embroidery all over the bottom. The wider tapey strips are some sort of thick braid/ribbon. The embroidery is a wonderful tutorial for my upcoming embroidery projects: it uses grids, french knots, herringbones, fishscale and stem stitches, and others that i don't know the names of. Its truly eyecandy. If I had the heart to disassemble it, this bottom would be made into a cape for hubby (doesn't it look like one of the janet arnold cloaks?--the red one with yellow appliques in a similar motif?). But no, i don't have the heart.

here's an adorable detail: Check out the pocket inside:

I am so going to try this in something I make. Isn't it pretty? I mean, if you can even make an inside pocket pretty.... *wistful sigh*

So, as lovely as this would be incorporated into a renfest costume, well, I just couldn't bear it. Here's the kicker: the coat FITS me. *jumps up and down*. The lining is sadly majorly ripped and suffering from dry rot....so I'm kinda thinking I might make a new lining for it. The velvet has a few patches where the pile is worn down/off, mostly around the bottom hem. The sleeve cuffs were unfortunately sacrificed to some project before my grandma got the coat--it came with one detached cuff. From the one I have, it would've looked like this:

unattached cuff

That's all for now. More fabric/costuming gifts to be featured soon....

Masking Non-Productivity

2006-07-14T11:31:00.000-04:00

No, I haven't been sewing. But I have been giving some TLC to my sewing room so that I can prepare to sew.... I took this past weekend to go through and organize all my fabrics/patterns/notions/accessories/costuming bits. I found many a "missing" seamripper/measuring tape/fabric pen.
I even cheered the room with some wall hangings--it was pretty sterile before. Here are the results of my ministrations:

Yes, its still cluttered/messy/sterile, but less than before. ;) Also, with the wood tables done corner to corner, I have a nice ledge in the room (so i can junk it up, of course!). Even more important, though, is the increased floorspace for fabric layouts, which is critical!

The tour de force is my fabric stash. I refolded all the messy bits, and played at organizing it. Its nicely divided into silk, wool, linen, velvet, "stiff linings", mockup fabrics and "other/embarrasing". :)

Extra closet space (and there's more than shown!):

I'm sure I can fill this with costumes, right?!

Old and Influencable....

2006-07-13T10:39:00.000-04:00

Beth lent me her copy of "The Autobiography of Henry VIII : With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers." Its quite an enjoyable book, historical fiction (no, Henry didn't actually write it). I have no idea about the accuracy of certain details, but its a good read.

Anyway, he's constantly drinking wine flavored with woodruff. And what should I find at my local farmer's market last night....sweet woodruff plants! I couldn't resist, so one came home with me and was quickly used as an excuse to uncork a bottle.....

I actually think that the woodruff is traditionally used in white wine. But I didn't have the balls to commit to a 1500ml bottle (my only white)--I opted for a smaller 750 ml bottle of red. The presentation is quite pretty, and a really nice herbal flavor came out after a bit of "steeping."

wineplant

Next time I think i'll do a proper "may wine". A white german wine steeped overnight. And a friend of mine just told me that she does hers with white wine, woodruff, and strawberries!! steeped over night. Yup, definitely trying that. Its like renaissance sangria. ;)

Steals and Deals...

2006-06-22T21:49:00.000-04:00

For niter, since you wanted to see:

sun

flash

This is 65% linen, 35% cotton velvet...originally priced at $90/yd that I got for 7.50/yd. Squeak! I've got just the project for it....

Oh, that red/orange bit is a swatch I got on a whim--gold/red crossweave taffetta with velveteen pomegranate design. But its polyester....

Introducing...

2006-06-17T00:44:00.000-04:00

Yet another project. I'll try to actually finish this one, eh? ;)

And for niter, the VA Faire alpaca(s?--what's the plural, i wonder....). I meant to post more about the second day at the Spotsylvania, PA faire, but never really got around to it.
But the alpacas earned their moment of blog fame, so here you go:

Craft Finds

2006-06-16T10:10:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to post my little A.C. Moore find: linen embroidery floss. Well, the black ones are linen, at any rate. I didn't know A.C. Moore carried that. When I found the linen, I was hoping they'd have silk, too, but no such luck.

But, well...linen...I can live with that! The gold one is hard to see here, but its the first metallic one that hasn't jarred my senses. Its kinda muted metallic, halfway between gold and silver. I like it. I figure I'll be able to pull off some sort of design with a color scheme like this one. (Image from V&A. Its a 1600's caul blackworked/embroidered with black silk and silver gilt thread.) I've actually seen stunning recreations of this particular caul, and am not doing this one. But a similar embroidery/motif/colorscheme would be nice....

floss

Virginia's Flemish Invasion

2006-05-30T22:49:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday was spent amongst the gracious and welcoming Virginia Ren Faire in Spotsylvania County. It is a small faire, but growing, and chock full of interesting, knowledgable and interactive folks.
On Saturday, we donned our newly completed flemish set (well, at least, the menswear bit was newly completed), and paraded about in the coolness of linen. Well, most of us did, not Adam..he had a wool jerkin. I'm a mean wife, aren't I?

flemishfoursome--I am, of course, making a rather stupid face in this photo, and my husband has his usual photogenic eyes-shut pose. Beth and Aaron look lovely, though, don't they? I'm hoping that Beth has a more flattering shot of Adam and I. ;)

You can see our newly acquired parasols. They may not be quite peasant appropriate, but they were a godsend for the sunny faire, and we both have diabolical plans for embellishment. Or, at least we will, after we think about it for a bit.... We got them from a vendor after my own heart--she was selling bumrolls, reading Janet Arnold and blackworking by hand! I've never seen that at a faire, and I was mightily impressed. Sadly, I've already forgotten her first name--one of my biggest weaknesses...

Ah, and here are the manly men learning to handle their ample pikes....

pikingwithnorm

I also seem to have a thing for taking pictures of Beth's backside (that is from MD last year) and I happen to think that she and Aaron looked wonderful together, so:

More backsides! Huzzah!

Luxurious....

2006-03-26T13:15:00.000-05:00

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....

2006-03-19T03:14:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-16T12:47:00.000-05:00

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

2006-03-13T11:37:00.000-05:00

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

New Project!

2006-03-11T00:59:00.000-05:00

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/

I'm A Traditional Princess

2006-01-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I rarely do these quizzes, and NEVER put them on my blog. But I ended up being the one that sews, and it was too cute. So, with no further ado:

The Traditional Princess

You are generous, graceful, and practical with both
feet planted firmly on the ground. You tend to
be a little on the old-fashioned side. You
value home, hearth, and family life and love to
be of service to others.

Role Models: Snow White, Maid Marian

You are most likely to: Discover a hidden talent
for spinning straw into gold.

What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Christmas Was Good to Me

2006-01-01T12:37:00.000-05:00

Yup, I got some great costume/renaissance fodder for christmas this year!!! The middle item is now being referred to as "my baby." It was a total surprise that I got this, since amazon.com said that it was a 6-8 week wait, and I didn't tell anyone that i wanted it til well after that window had passed. I mentioned it to my hubby and Mom#2 (how I affectionately call my mother in law), and told them there was no way it'd come in time for christmas.

But they are crafty. Yes, wonderfully crafty!!! Here are some of my new toys:

Incidentally, the QEWU book is amazing (thank you beth, for telling me that, yes, i would want this book).

The two blackwork books are ones that hubby got for me. They are awesome, and I am definitely having a heavily blackworked chemise for my next costumes (one that will work equally well for elizabethan and spanish is my goal). The best part of the books? Already charted out blackwork patterns that are period and droolworthy. Some of these will no doubt end up scanned and posted here in the future (as I will need help deciding which ones to use!).
I think Adam got the books for me so I would stop asking him to map out patterns on his graphy program. I have a sneaky suspicion that this was his gift to both of us. Hehe.

My other complete surprise gift (from the beauteous beth) was a set of two lute music books that she miraculously happened upon. Look at the insides:

Yup, they had style! My favorite part of the Dowland (Jr) book is that in the intro, he basically says "my dad was a famous lutenist and musician, but now he's dying, so you should transfer his fame to me." How's that for renaissance logic? Of course, the way dear robert writes it is much more flowery and spelled with a lot more "f" in place of "s", but you get the idea....
With beth's additions, I now i have lute music books for dowland sr(john) AND dowland jr(robert). It will be really interesting to compare the styles of the two.

...And now for something completely different. I was at my parents house a while back, leafing through the mound of vintage clothes that make up my sister's room. She was a goodwill diva back in the day. I came upon a freaking awesome couched long jacket:

Here's a closeup:

I have to ask the sis, of course, but she hasn't worn this in about a decade, and i think it would make one the most delicious foreparts ever. And well, i'm lazy, and this couching is already DONE. The jacket is just long enough to be skirt length on my stubby little legs. Huzzah--being short CAN be a blessing! Mustn't get hopes up. Must ask her first....

Also: updates on the thunderhosen and green venetian.

Two State Faire Festival!

2005-10-03T19:24:00.000-05:00

This weekend, I had the joy of festing with Beth and her dress-engineer hubby. Friday night, we kept the boys up as we sewed the finishing touches for our flemish working class garb. Mainly, Beth marked my hems, I sewed them, and she had the chance to make her black linen sleeves. She is a very good guest to roll around the floor at my feet hemming after a 5-6 hour drive up here. Thank you!

After entirely too little sleep Friday night, our sordid threesome (my hubby was busy) attended the MD RenFest. It was enjoyable. We saw several very well made costumes on the patrons, and a few people even recognized us for the flemish women we were portraying, which thrilled us to no end.
Don't we look spectacularly like gossipy little busy-body peasants in this one?

gossipy

Of course, we were also recognized for Amish and Mennonite women, which was just plain amusing. We decided that from the back, this was rather true, especially with my admittedly amish-looking caul. I am going to take these comments as compliments, as it means our clothes looked REAL, rather than costumey, even to the inexperienced eye.

I have precious few flemish pics, since Beth assigned the dress engineer to be photographer for the day, but beth has kindly provided with many wonderous photos, including the one above (other good ones are on my flemish page). I will defer the rest to Beth's blogging. Here is the one I have that is blog worthy. Beth has the cutest peasant posterior known to man! And Aaron has a well turned leg. ;)

Day Two:
Sunday, Beth and I left the exhausted boys to a day of chinese-food-eating, pizza-munching, oreo-dunking, tv-watching, video-gaming, napping fun. She and I trekked up past Lancaster, PA and went to the PA faire in our Venetian garb.

I just want to publically state that it kicked A$$ on so many levels. Though a smaller faire, the players there are amazingly interactive and fun.
The acts were fantabulous. And the joust was audible ( I always have great trouble hearing at the MD festival's joust). And EXCITING--flames and blood and everything!! And the finale show had a lot of thought and creativity put into it. We had a lot of fun there. The almost 2 hr ride home was spent plotting our next costuming adventures and lamenting that we didn't live close enough together to have sewing bees.

Here are two very cute pics. The downside of having only 2 of us is that we are both too bashful to ask strangers to take our pics together. So all our pics are seperate:

beth is awesome for taking this!

Here is beth shopping .

And, speaking of wonderful baskets, below is what we bought. These very handmade baskets were so artfully done and exuisitely beautiful that we couldnt' resist. Beth's is left and mine is right. Aren't they cute? We promptly dumped our not-as-cool-joanns/michaels-baskets into my car and used these for the rest of the day:

Baskets!

My other big purchase of the day was from a man who was a wonderful salesman, as he knew to play to my costuming vanity. He was also a delightfully intelligent and knowledgable SCA member, with wares I think I got drool on. I must have more of his pieces. Soon.

For now, I got a thimble case. The awesome part of my thimble case is that it is decorated with SCISSOR motifs to symbolize my love for sewing! And not only does it hold a thimble, but alternatively, it can be used to hold scented sachets or scent-soaked cotton balls for a refreshing treat. I wore this on my girdle for the rest of the day, stuffed with a lavendar sachet that Beth had thoughfully stashed in her basket for the day. Isnt' it WONDERFUL?!!!

thimblecaseopen

thimblecase closed

Random: I had to put this pic up too, since Beth actually managed to catch me looking happy in my huge dress in the warm-enough-to-be-uncomfortable weather:

Now, I sit here rubbing my hands in anticipation of pictures from Beth's end. ;) Hint. Hint. Nag.

Long Time Away

2005-09-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

Oh, how the time stretches! I had no idea it'd been so long since my last entry. It appears that I have become a blogging fossil. If anyone still reads this, I'd like to say that I'm settling into my new job well thus far, and feel like I can go back to life as normal after the transition. I get home significantly later now, so that means less time for sewing, but I will make time, gosh darn it.

I've also been focusing a lot on my renaissance guitaring rather than my costuming, which my instructor no doubt appreciates. I wonder which my hubby prefers--annoying scale exercises over and over and over or my sewing spore that takes over the whole apt?

Anyway, this is a heads up to look for progress in my flemish gown diary, as Beth and I have decided we should try to finish them before our Oct 1 Ren Fest trip. No promises, but I'm gonna try my darndest. ;)

Fossils

2005-08-01T10:04:00.000-05:00

I felt uber mega cool this weekend when we were camping, as I proved to be an expert fossil-finder. Lets ignore the fact that the river is chock full of rocks with fossils, and that a lot of other people found some, too. I got four different ones, but clearly the one with the 3 nautilus shells is the coolest. :-) Fossil hunting made me happy, it was easier than finding 4-leaf-clovers, and they'll last longer.

Completely non-dress related, I know, but I just had to share my scientific discoveries with ya'll. On the dress front, I was camping, so all I did was bind some eyelets and put some pearls on my green venetian sleeves. Nothing too exciting, so no pics or updates on my other pages.

Is There a Secret?

2005-07-28T11:11:00.000-05:00

So, in my recent explorations into dyeing my linen, all my results have been splotchy. Not horribly so, and for my peasant gear, I'm really not all that worried about it. But I had been thinking about coloring more expensive fabrics for a few higher-class projects in the future, and the uneven dye just won't do. I've been using the fiber reactives from Dharma Trading, and I have prewashed in their recommended detergent to dissolve away oils and the like. And used calsolene oil to break surface tension in my dye pot. Still streaky. Any suggestions?

Three Cheers for AAA

2005-07-25T00:56:00.000-05:00

Yup, just got my membership about 2 months ago, and it certainly came in handy today. You could say I am my sister's knight in shining armor. The bad part is that AAA took a good 2 hours to arrive. Good thing I'd brought some hand sewing in my car. I sat on the Rite-Aid curb binding eyelets and listening to my i-pod-shuffle. Not the way I'd intended on spending my evening, but still enjoyable, considering.

Anywho, update on my flemish page. Partlet. Check.

Presents for Me

2005-07-24T00:02:00.000-05:00

I've been acquiring new bits of costuming stuff. First, a pair of awesome shoes I found at SRI shoe warehouse. They are just like the standard babydoll/china flats in style, but they are brown leather, and cutely gathered around the edge, a detail I think makes them look more period. And I can wear them in "normal" life. Bonus.

Also, I was nosing about on Ebay and found this mirror:

Its tiny--about the same size as a compact. And the holes on the filigree in the handle mean I can attach it to future girtles as a large bottom accent. Seems like a handy thing to have. Now, the design is of questionable periodness....but the people are clothed generically peasanty, and its not discernible of what period, so that seems a positive. I was just happy that it was so cute.

Excuses

2005-07-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

Of course I've got excuses for not sewing. Mainly a lackadaisical summer attitude. And job interviews (and I even accepted one! woot!), and reading Harry Potter, and some historical books and novels (elizabethan and florentine. ;-)) And I just got The Honest Courtesan by Rosenthal, about Veronica Franco and her writings.

So, while I'm not technically costuming, I do feel like I've been doing legitimate research. Right, that's it....

Mostly I'm just lazy. Anywho, I did the teeny tiniest bit of sewing to "ease" myself back in. Hopefully this will lead to a whirlwind of more activity.

See my flemish diary for my new caul. Not very exciting, but at least its something after this almost-month-long hiatus.

And, because I liked this, and hope it will inspire my current peasant project, I thought I'd share:

"A fair and happy milkmaid is a country wench, that is so far from making herself beautiful by art, that one look of hers is able to put all face-physic out of countenance. She knows a fair look is but a dumb orator to commend virtue, therefore minds it not. All her excellencies stand in her so silently, as if they had stolen upon her without her knowledge. The lining of her apparel (which is herself) is far better than outsides of tissue; for though she be not arrayed in the spoil of the silkworm, she is decked in innocency, a far better wearing. She doth not, with lying long abed, spoil both her complexion and conditions. Nature hath taught her too immoderate sleep is rust to the soul. She rises therefore with the chanticleer, her dame's cock, and at night makes the lamb her curfew. In milking a cow, and straining the teats through her fingers, it seems that so sweet a milk-press makes the milk the whiter or sweeter; for never came almond glove or aromatic ointment on her palm to taint it. The golden ears of corn fall and kiss her feet when she reaps them, as if they wished to be bound and led prisoners by the same hand that felled them. Her breath is her own, which scents all the year long of June, like a new-made hay-cock. She makes her hand hard with labour, and her heart soft with pity; and when winter evenings fall early (sitting at her merry wheel) she sings a defiance to the giddy wheel of fortune...Lastly, her dreams are so chaste, that she dare tell them; only a Fridays' dream is all her superstition: that she conceals for fear of anger. Thus lives she, and all her care is she may die in the spring-time, to have store of flowers stuck upon her winding sheet."

I confess that I couldn't tell from the book I got this (called 1603, by Christopher Lee) whether the passage was from Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale," or Overbury's "Characters." Either way, it is prettily written, and I think is a nice balance of true and romanticized peasants.

Bummer

2005-07-05T21:43:00.000-05:00

So much for that silk habotai I mentioned yesterday. They're apparently out of stock. Guess they saved me from myself really. I don't NEED to spend that money. But honestly, it was under $4 a yard. Mayhaps that's why they're sold out...

Anywho, new corset pics up on the flemish diary.

Corsetry "Fun"

2005-07-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

Just updated my Flemish diary with some corded corset progress.

I also just ordered the last bits of fabric for Adam's doublet, so I will hopefully be able to segue into that as soon as my flemish gets knocked out (hoping to work that up pretty quickly after the corset's done). And along with his fabric, I ordered myself some lightweight silk so I could try my hand at making a silk camica for a yet-to-be-revealed project. ;-) Oh, the suspense....

I was so proud of me for not ordering even more from them. They had some very lovely things. But I'm on a budget, afterall.

Thrift Stores Are Heaven

2005-07-03T10:48:00.000-05:00

On my lunchbreak the other day, I managed to find 4 yards of very nice quality linen in the thrift store near my work. Its a pale yellow, and I only paid $12 for the lot of it (two table cloths). Thats $3 a yard! Woohoo! I also found a pearl and bead necklace for dissassemly and future use. I haggled for it all and saved 10 dollars! I've never haggled before. So proud of me.

In other news, I've just added a post to Hubby's Hosen about fabrics.

Happy 4th of July!

Oops

2005-06-30T11:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, I said I'd write on this main page whenever I've updated my others. Sorry, but I didn't keep to my promise, did I? Anyway, I've since updated the flemish gown with some adventures in linen stockings, and posted some new pics of my orange venetian, which you've no-doubt already seen if you keep up with Jen Thompson's site.

I promise (again) to update this page along with my others, so those of you with a blogline subscription don't have to sign up for all my frivolous pages. ;) I really am starting this new tradition. Right now. I swear.

Oh, and since I don't know where to put this:
I got the MOTHERLODE of fabric swatches (110 of em) last night from my kindly neighborhood FedEx man. He braved the raging thunderstorm to hand me a soaking wet envelope full of (thankfully wrapped in plastic and dry) fabric swatches from Silk Connection.

There are some absolutely wonderful fabric in the set (also some ones that could NEVER be used in period clothing hehe). They really only sell white (and a few black), so the fabrics are for those who don't mind white clothes or dyeing fabric. I'm up for dyeing, though dyeing silk seems a bit scary. I think/hope I can handle it. Already I'm eyeing some of the swatches for projects that are so far into my future its ridiculous to think about. Ain't that always the way. I love planning. I can do that fast. Its the execution that takes a while. ;-)

I sprung $14 for the whole set, cuz well, its only $14, and really i may find this incredibly useful now and in the future. I could return it for a full refund after picking what I want (which was the original intention). But what if i want other fabrics later? Nah, best to just keep them all and ogle my little squares of silky goodness.

Anyway, I hate going to the post office.

Problem Solved

2005-06-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hubby to the rescue. I knew marrying a web designer would come in handy. ;)
He has kindly altered my blogger template to include thumbnails and links to my past and current projects. What a clever boy he is! Thank you, love!

So, here is the deal, if you wanna look at any of my projects, they're right there up top. I will keep this particular page around as both a directory to my others (since people already know this address) and as a fun little commentary that may or may not be costume related, and will most likely mention if any of my diaries have been updated.

To that end, I've updated the orange courtesan and green venetian diaries with wrap-up posts. And I've updated hubby's site with some new designs and blackwork sketches. And I got some design concepts down on the flemish peasant diary.

That's all for now. Whew, glad that's all arranged and in order. Now I only have to worry about sewing and taking pics. ;-)

Pardon My Dust

2005-06-22T16:13:00.000-05:00

I has occurred to me that I have NO idea how to organize my dress diaries. I had originally intended the Venetian to be a stand alone sort of project. Only now, I've found that costuming is more addictive than expected. My list of costuming to-do's has grown exponentially--I've got

1) a flemish peasant in the works,
2) new duds for my hubby on hold,
3) a spanish gown appetite,
4) a surcoat fantasy (thank you janet arnold),
5) a dreamed-of reproduction of a portrait that I just drool over at every opportunity,
6) a german cranach lust,
7) an elizabethan urge, and
8) a tudor curiosity.

Oy! I fear we've created a monster.

That said, I think I need to create a more reader-and-user-friendly method of blogging. I'm too chicken to move from blogger--I'm completely html illiterate (okay, except for making tables, which hubby had to teach me no fewer and perhaps more than 6 times before i remembered correctly), and don't like change. But I also don't like the idea of my green and orange gowns getting lost in the far away historical archives of my fated-to-last-forever blog.

So, blogger it is. The plan is to have "oodles" of seperate diaries, and use this page as my mission control, so to speak, since people already know this address. From now on, this page will link to my other diaries--completed and/or in progress, and will most likely say when something has last been updated. This way people have a way of finding me, and finding their way to my current and past projects without having to learn a bunch of new website addresses or wade through the archives of this ever-growing page. Hope this works...