who-gives-a

It's starting to look like a dress! :)

2012-02-09T10:50:00.004-05:00

It took me two-and-a half-days to construct the completely hand-sewn bodice. I ended up using only one layer of canvas since I will be wearing my corset under it. (A corset is the only way for me to get a smooth line without the reduction surgery that I am considering. ;) )I pad-stitched the canvas to the wool layer, trimmed away the seam allowances, sewed on the outer fabric by stab-stitching through all layers, then slip-stitched in the lining. I spent yesterday morning on the straps (same construction). I cut my straps separately from the bodice front because I always have to fiddle with the placement and with this busy pattern on the fabric I don't feel it's that noticeable. I whip-stitched the straps at the shoulders and tucked the ends between the interlining and lining in the front stitching them to the canvas interlining.

Yesterday evening was devoted to stitching the cartridge pleated skirt to the bodice. Some people seem to be intimidated by cartridge pleating by I find it quite easy. I fold over the top edge of the fabric a few inches then, using heavy-duty thread such as buttonhole thread or "jeans" thread so it doesn't break on you!, I make two parallel rows of running stitches. I DO NOT measure and mark anything! I eyeball the measurements and make my stitches about a thumb-width long with the first row about a thumb-width from the edge and the second row about a thumb width below that. The important part (that I forgot to take a photo of!) is to make sure that the stitches match in both rows meaning that the second row of stitches go in and out directly below the first row so it will gather neatly when you pull the threads. After you've gathered your skirt into nice pretty pleats that look like Christmas ribbon candy :D, pin it to the bodice with right sides together. Depending on your preference and the style of the gown, the pleats can be evenly distributed or tighter/fuller in the back and looser in the front. I use a doubled thread to stitch the skirt to the bodice by taking two or three stitches through the bodice edge, making sure to catch the interlining,and through the bottom (as you look at the photo) of each pleat. I like my skirts not gathered at all in the very front because a) I don't want extra fullness over my tummy and b) it's easier to stitch to the pointed bodice front that way! I leave my skirt smooth from the spots on each side where the bodice starts to curve down toward the center point. I leave the skirt fabric straight across the inside of the bodice and slip-stitch the bodice point to the skirt fabric.
On a side note: Italian gowns are generally one piece the the skirt sewn directly to the bodice but for an Elizabethan gown the skirt could be stitched to a waistband and worn with a separate bodice with tabs or skirting to cover any gaps.
Still to do before Saturday: stitch bodice point to skirt, face side slit in skirt, purchase and sew on more brass lacing rings (stitched eyelets will have to wait 'til after val day), hem sleeves, decide whether or not to use decorative buttons on the sleeve heads, and hem the skirt.

A New Dress Diary!

2012-02-06T16:43:00.005-05:00

Oh, my! It's been nearly a year since I posted anything here. :embarrassed:
I am resurrecting my long dormant blog to record the making of a new Florentine gown in the style of the 1550's-60's. I haven't made myself any new garb in ages, had a two-and-a-half year old bolt of fabric staring me in the face, and the St. Valentines's Day Massacre is this coming weekend.
I am trying some new-to-me things for this gown:
1. I like the more formal look of a side-back laced gown but enjoy the ability to dress myself that I get with a side-laced gown so I decided to split the difference. The back piece of the bodice is cut pretty much straight instead of angled toward the center so that I can (hopefully) tighten the laces myself.
2. I will be pad stitching a layer of felted wool to two layers of canvas for the bodice interlining. I will not be using any type of boning to stiffen the bodice.
3. I will be adding a strip of felted wool at the hem of the skirt to help stiffen it and keep the fabric from attacking my legs as I walk!

Food for Thought

2011-02-03T22:36:00.002-05:00

So I bought myself a Franklin Planner to keep myself organized as I return to the working world as an independent consultant for Thirty-One Gifts. In the planner is a section with activities to help you define your values & goals and create a personal mission statement. Activity #5 is called Tribute Statements:
"Imagine that it is your eightieth birthday. You've lived a fulfilling, rewarding life. Friends and neighbors from your personal and professional life have gathered to celebrate and pay tribute to you. What would you like them to say? How would you like to be remembered? Write the tribute you would like to receive from each person on the lines next to the appropriate box (There are six boxes, two each, for personal, professional, and community life.)this activity will help you think about the kind of person you want to become, preparing you to write your Personal Mission Statement."
I challenge you to find some quiet time this weekend to do this activity. :)

Linen Tunic

2011-01-23T13:34:00.002-05:00

I thought I would share a very easy sewing project.

Linen tunic inspired by Italian Ren camicie and little girls' pillowcase dresses. To take on vacation and wear over bathing suit, tank top & leggings, or as a nightie. Raw edges are intentional.
Start with two rectangles the width of your fabric by 24-30" depending on whether you want a shorter top or a longer tunic. The "hardest" part is pleating the center of one long edge front and back. I left approximately 8" at each end unpleated. This could simply be gathered.

Pin front and back together at the top corners and sew about two inches at each end to create shoulder seams. Pull thread to gather down to about an inch. Then pin short selvage edges together. Leave approx. 10" open at the top to form arm holes. Sew down the side, leaving edge exposed on the outside of the tunic, to hip length leaving the bottom few inches unsewn. (The length of the unsewn vent will depend on the overall length.) Have fun belting and embellishing as you please. You could tie ribbons or lace around the shoulders, too. :)

I think I have some black crinkle cotton in my stash to make another tunic. :D

A new girl

2011-01-14T21:47:00.003-05:00

The dolly family grew again. :D
A Blythe Simply Guava doll arrived today and I spent the afternoon customizing her.

ADAD Week One

2011-01-08T12:54:00.004-05:00

As you may or may not know I have become obsessed with doll collecting. It started out innocently enough with the purchase of a Blythe "mini-me" On the day Keira was born and has snowballed into a collection of around 40 dolls since then including many more Neo-Blythes, a vintage 1972 Blythe, some asian ball-jointed dolls, various vintage dolls from the 60's and 70's, plus some newer dolls just for fun.
I signed up for a challenge group on Flikr to take and post one photo of a doll every day for a year. These are the photos from week one.

December 2010

2011-01-08T11:00:00.007-05:00

Most years December is a busy stressful month but this year it actually felt calm after all of the events of the previous few months! LOL
The first weekend of the month we traveled as a family to Frankenmuth to visit Bronner's and get the girls' photos with Santa. (Stephanie's mother and sister came with us but her dad and Lou both had to work so couldn't come along.)After Bronner's we had a late lunch at Tony's I-75 dinner which is know for it's BLT's made with a POUND of bacon! then the little girls and the guys hung out at the hotel while the big girls had a bit of "retail therapy" at the shops downtown. While at the hotel the babies had their first swim in a pool.

We had our Lyon Family Holiday Gathering on the 5th. Karen and Kathy threw themselves into planning a good time for all (and distracted themselves from their holidays as widows in the process). It was wonderful seeing all of the "kids" (adult nieces and nephews) that we rarely see and having so many new babies there.

I really enjoyed Christmas this year. The kids and grandkids were all here Christmas morning and I just relaxed and enjoyed their company and watching the babies open and play with their toys. We did a brunch this year instead of the big dinner so that Kim and Jason and their families could enjoy the afternoon with in-laws without as much rushing around. We gathered together again in the evening for movies and games. :)

We ended the year on New Year's Eve with a quiet evening at home with tv, snacks, champagne, and family.

November 2010

2011-01-05T11:46:00.004-05:00

My mother-in-law, Marie Bernadine Duffy Lyon, was laid to rest on November 2nd. She lives on in the hearts of her many children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends.
All the chaos of the previous two weeks took it's toll on Kacie and she was hospitalized on the 4th after suffering six grand mal seizures. No definite cause was found, it was assumed that the disruption of her normal sleeping and eating routine threw her system out of whack. She was released on Sunday after her daily seizure preventative meds were increased and her blood work was back to normal.

On Nov. 13th I attended a doll show and sale in Holland where I met up with some other members of the Den of Angels doll forum. After the show we went to a late lunch where we admired each other's dolls.

Thanksgiving was celebrated with Kim preparing her first big holiday meal in her own home. She had some help from our friend Bree who made a spur-of-the-moment trip from Atlanta to spend a few days with us. After the holiday weekend Kim, Lou, and Julia moved into our home since they plan to buy a house in the spring and weren't able to find a suitable rental that didn't require signing a one year lease.

October 2010

2011-01-05T11:26:00.004-05:00

October was a month of roller coaster emotions. Early in the month my mother-in-law was hospitalized for a tear in her esophagus. When it was determined that she was too weak to withstand surgery she was moved to a nursing home to receive hospice care. The end of the month was totally crazy including the scramble to complete plans for Jason & Stephanie's wedding. Then the unexpected passing of my brother-in-law Dick on the 24th (he hadn't been in the best of health but we were expecting him to recover, visitation, and the funeral & burial services on the 28th. The next day, Oct. 29th., my MIL passed away. The bright spot was Jason & Stephanie's wedding and Halloween themed reception on the 30th. Though we were sad that his grandmother and uncle were not there to celebrate with us, everyone seemed to enjoy the much needed break from grieving.

September 2010

2011-01-04T14:56:00.005-05:00

September was a very busy month around here!
Kim and Lou were married in a beautiful ceremony at the John Ball Park Zoo followed by a reception in the ballroom above the zoo offices.

Keira's first birthday was September 17th. We celebrated at Chuck E.Cheese.

Later in the month Kim and I traveled by train with Julia to Chicago to meet with our friends Bree, there on business from Atlanta, and Laura, who lives in the area. We decided to go shopping in Chinatown.
(I have to track down those photos!)

August 2010

2011-01-04T14:48:00.002-05:00

Tom and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary on August 1st. The weekend of the 28th found us at the Michigan Renaissance Festival cheering on Ivor in the Highland games and wishing him a safe return from his deployment. The time in between was filled with preparations for Kim and Lou's wedding.

Sneaky Peek!

2011-01-02T10:50:00.002-05:00

Head on over to Jessica*Bree's Blog for a sneak peek at her February project- a "Life Memorabilia" mini album! If you are like me and always saving interesting bits and pieces that don't make it on to your scrapbook pages here is a way to turn them into their own little album.

July 2010

2011-01-01T18:46:00.006-05:00

July had me attending baby showers for my niece, Kelly, and my cousin's daughter, Lisa, as well as celebrating Kacie's and Tom's birthdays.

Kacie's birthday gift was the fairy tattoo she had been wanting for a couple of years. Since we were there I got a tattoo too!

On the last Sunday in July Kim and Kacie went to a Blythe doll meet with me at Angela's home near Kalamazoo.

June 2010

2011-01-01T17:49:00.005-05:00

June found us celebrating a very important milestone- Our baby girl, who we were told would never walk or talk because of her cerebral palsy, graduated from high school with a regular (not special!) education diploma!!!

June was also filled with wedding planning appointments with Kim, camping at SCA Border War in Ionia, and celebrating Fathers' Day with Tom, Jason, & Lou.

May 2010

2011-01-01T17:23:00.007-05:00

In addition to celebrating my first Mother's Day as a Grandmother May also found me sending my baby girl off to her Senior Prom:

On the same day my cousin Ron married Connie:

May 21, 22, & 23 were spent at Death & Taxes in the Canton of Dun Traigh.
For Memorial Weekend Tom and I traveled to Dearborn to attend the first World Steam Expo! It was Tom's first steampunk event and my second. We had a good time but I didn't take many photos since I didn't feel like carrying my camera around (I just aquired a pocket camera so I can take more photos in 2011. :)

Long Time, No Blog

2011-01-01T13:07:00.002-05:00

A lot has happened since my last blog entry- some very very good and some very very bad. My plan for this weekend is to post a monthly recap for each of the past seven months since my Mothers' Day post then my goal for 2011 is to post at least once a week.

Happy Scrappy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:00:00.004-05:00

Come join the launch party at Creative Soup- a new forum full of inspiration and challenges for scrapbookers/papercrafters! creativesoup.forumotion.com

Happy (Grand)Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T15:01:00.006-05:00

I love being a mother. There was nothing I wanted more when I was growing up than to be a mom. It hasn't always been easy. I had my days when I wondered whatever posessed me, wondered if could handle the screaming baby or defiant adolescent one more minute, wondered if I had what it took to raise a "special" kid. To any mom out there reading this I have to say that you wouldn't be normal if you didn't occasionally doubt yourself but remember that God won't give you more than you can handle or "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger"! lol Being a mother has been the greatest blessing of my life. I am proud of the adults that my children have become. And the greatest reward for raising children?...................................................
GRANDCHILDREN! This is my first year celebrating Mother's Day as a Grandma. I've been blessed with not one but two beautiful granddaughters since last year! I would never have dreamed that it was possible to love someone that you didn't give birth to as much as I love these little girls! Keira was born to my son and future daughter-in-law last September and Julia Marie was born to my older daughter and future son-in-law just eleven days ago.

My baby is having a baby.

2010-04-17T09:55:00.002-05:00

I'll have a new grandbaby any time now.

Redheads

2010-04-10T08:54:00.003-05:00

Well, orange really. LOL
I went to another Mom sale with Kim and picked up this Knickerbocker Little Orphan Annie doll because I wanted to see if her clothes and shoes would fit the Fake Cakes (they do). I've decided to keep her.

Then I spotted this Susie Sad Eyes on eBay and had to have her too!

Doll Collecting + Crafting = Doll Customizing!

2010-04-02T08:51:00.003-05:00

I've added the eight girl to my Blythe doll family and satisfied my creative urges by purchasing a "rescue" doll and fixing her up. I removed two extra layers of super glued eyelashes, sand-matted her, very lightly lip carved (mostly just used the file to scrape off the thick paint than to do any real reshaping), and opened up her head to remove her eyemech and paint her eyelids.
This is what she looked like when she arrived (already peeled off some of the lashes):

Here she is after being cleaned up before her new faceup:

Pamphlet Stitched Book w/ Pocket

2010-03-23T11:51:00.013-05:00

I volunteered to teach a simple bookbinding class at Death & Taxes so I thought it might be a good idea to make a couple of samples so I could work out the step-by-step instructions. The book has a soft cover folded to create a pocket in the center of two signatures of plain printer paper (watercolor papers work quite nicely for the pages, too). I made one with a colorful scrapbook paper cover and a plain one for a pseudo-period look.
Start by cutting a 12" x 4" strip of cardstock for the cover and score it at 3", 6", and 9".

Then fold in half at the 6" score line, open back out, and fold the ends toward the middle along the 3" and 9" score lines. To create the pocket apply adhesive to the bottom edge of one of the "inside" sections.

For the inside pages cut 3 3/4" x 11" strips of printer (or watercolor) paper. Cut those strips in half to 3 3/4" x 5 1/2" then fold in half again to make pages 3 3/4" x 2 3/4". I used three sheets for each of the two signatures in my samples.

To assemble the book center one signature along the fold inside the cover and mark it in the center and approximately 1/2" from each end. Use a paper piercer, awl, or large needle to piece holes through the paper and both layers of the cardstock cover. The easiest way that I have found to get holes in the pages of the second signature to line up correctly is to take one sheet from the already pierced first signature, lay it on top of the second signature and pierce through the holes.

To bind the book cut a string approximately two-and-a-half times the height of your book (I used embroidery floss for my colorful book and linen thread for the plain example) and thread it through a blunt tipped needle. Pass the needle and thread through the center hole of all layers leaving a tail. Pass the needle and thread through bottom hole, bring it up and pass through the top hole, then bring it back through the center hole. Tie the ends of the thread together catching the long stitch in the knot and trim the ends.

The Crazy Doll Lady

2010-03-21T11:44:00.005-05:00

Yup, that's what I have become! I really wasn't into dolls as a kid but I guess I am making up for it now! LOL I've collected seven Blythe dolls in six months and that has led to other doll purchases. I thought my little girl Blythes needed some dollies to play with so I bought them a Petite Blythe and an little Dollcena doll for Christmas. As I have been attending Blythe meets and browsing Flikr photostreams I have seen that many Blythe collectors collect other dolls as well including vintage and custom Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Yesterday I went to a huge Mom2Mom sale with Kim and Stephanie to look for baby gear and came upon a basket of 12/$1 toys. I picked out twelve items including two more tiny dollies for the dollhose (not sure what they are, will have to investigate later) and these two fake wannabe Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I brought them home and conditioned and detangled their long pastel hair and couldn't be happier with my 8 cent purchases!

Small Victories

2010-03-16T10:27:00.003-05:00

Who would have thought that cleaning up dog poop could make me happy? That's just one example of something I hadn't been able to do before my doctor prescribed the Cymbalta. Raking the old winter poop into a pile then scooping it up and putting it in a trash bag was something that was just too painful to attempt. It felt great to get the yard cleaned up pain free! It makes me happy to regain my independence and not have to let things go or depend on others to do things for me.
Yes, I know I've been a bad blogger again. But this time it was because I've have been out enjoying life and too busy to blog instead of not wanting to blog because I felt like crap and figured you all didn't want to read my whiny posts. LOL

I Didn't Know

2010-02-05T11:26:00.004-05:00

I didn't know that I needed an antidepressant. I have had joint pain and fatigue for years. It started around ten years ago when I was working full-time retail and on my feet all day. I would have pain in my hips and lower back and was just so damn tired all of the time. The doctor I had at the time chalked it up to arthritis and being on my feet too much and acted like it was no big deal. About eight years ago I quit my job (for other reasons but didn't look for a new one) and started spending more time sitting at my computer and scrapbooking. I started having pain in my shoulders and hands and again it was chalked up to arthritis and poor posture. In the past couple of years the pain and fatigue have gotten worse. I wasn't sleeping well because the the pain in my hips and shoulders would wake me up during the night. I turned into a hermit because being out in the cold made things worse (and it's cold nine months of the year here in Michigan). I avoided driving or riding in the car for any length of time because I would get too uncomfortable. Same thing with movie theaters. One busy day out and about would be followed by two or three days of rest and recovery because I would be exhausted and achy. I love to read but hadn't read a book in about a year becauuse I just couldn't concentrate. I would have a couple of days each month when every joint in my body from my jaw to my toes would hurt so much that all I could do was curl up in a ball in my bed and wait for it to go away. Anti-inflammatory meds didn't do a thing for me. Prednisone helped a little when my new doctor would let me have it which wasn't often because the side effects are ... joint pain and inflammation! Four weeks ago something happened that changed everything. First I noticed that the ring and pinky fingers of my right hand were numb but I wasn't overly concerned because I figured the inflammation in my shoulder had probably caused a pinched nerve. Then I woke up one morning and freaked out because the right side of my face was numb! Of course that prompted a visit to my doctor where we discussed how much pain I was in and how I felt like I was losing my mind. In addition to scheduling me for an MRI (which didn't show anything abnormal) and referring me to a neurologist for nerve testing (still a couple of weeks off) she suggested that I try taking Cymbalta. If you haven't seen the tv ads Cymbalta is one of the new antidepressants that increases seratonin and norepinephrine levels and has been successful in treating the pain of fibromyalgia and neuropathy. I started taking the Cymbalta three weeks ago. For the first week or so I did have some nausea and a weird "woozy" tingly skin crawling feeling but that passed. I just have to say that, even though we still don't know what was causing the pain and I still have the nerve testing coming up, I feel sooooooo much better than I have in years!!! The numbness in my face disappeared after a couple of days (but the fingers are still numb), the joint pain is virtually gone, I am sleeping, and I can concentrate and no longer feel like my brain is fried! I can't even explain how wonderful it is to feel like I have my life back! I didn't know taking an antidepressant could do that for me.

Today's the Day!

2010-01-15T08:28:00.004-05:00

Today is the kick-off for Who's That Girl! Now if you've been following my blog you will have noticed that my posts and my scrapbook pages have been few and far between the last few months. I am looking forward to using these challenges to get myself back into the scrapping groove and hope that you will join us in exploring who YOU are!

For those who don't know me I am a forty-something wife, mother of two adult children and one high-school senior, and grandmother of one with a second coming in the spring. I have been scrapbooking for roughly ten years but, probably because my kids were older when I started, my albums have never been about recording every event in their lives but rather about telling MY stories which, of course, they are an important part of but not the main focus. I want my grandchildren to be able to look at my albums some day and learn something about who I was.

Okay, so you want to have some fun and win prizes? Get to know the Who’s That Girl Design Team… We would LOVE to get to know YOU!

START THE HOP HERE @ THE WHO’S THAT GIRL CHALLENGE BLOG, then hop along to each team member’s blog to see their wonderful takes on our VERY FIRST CHALLENGE!

Our first challenge for 2010 is One Word. But not just any word, we want to know the word that describes who you are as a person. For this challenge pick a word that tells who you are and what you are all about! (Please share your finished pages at the Who's That Girl Flikr group.)

Here is my layout for this challenge! I have a lot of hobbies but they all boil down to allowing me to be CREATIVE!

1.One lucky person who leaves a comment on all of our blogs in the DT blog hop will win this collection of goodies:

2.One person who does the challenge and posts in the Flickr group will win this collection of goodies:

Next, hop on over and check out Carla’s blog. ENJOY!

Here is the order in case you get lost along the way:
Who’s That Girl
Jessica*Bree
Kim
Mara
Cindy
Carla
Diana
Sara
Aimee

Who's That Girl?

2010-01-13T16:30:00.003-05:00

Big news on the scrapping front! Jessica Bree Thompson is starting a new challenge blog and has asked me to be on her design team. The first challenge will debut on Friday and we'll be kicking things off with a blog hop to meet the design team.
Who's That Girl?

I've been a bad blogger

2009-12-23T08:14:00.006-05:00

Again. It's been nearly a month since I've posted. I haven't had anything interesting to say. I haven't been feeling well so I haven't been sewing or scrapping. I didn't do any handmade Christmas gifts this year nor did I send out any handmade cards. Wait, I take that back. I did make some felt deer that I gave away.

On my good days I listed several pieces from my cobalt glass collection on ebay. I decided that, since it was just sitting in the curio cabinet looking pretty but not getting used, it was time for most of it to go! I kept one Hazel Atlas Sailboat pitcher and eight glasses in rememberance of Aunt Ruth (my collection started with the pieces inherited from her)but sold the rest of the glasses, ice bowl, etc. I also sold the Avon George & Martha goblets. The random pieces of cobalt glass didn't go so well with only a couple of items sold. I'll relist after Christmas and see what happens.
the bad part of not feeling well enough to do anything productive is that I have been spending waaaaaay too much time on the Blythe doll message boards and trolling ebay for doll furniture and accessories! LOL I only need a couple more beds (preferrably bunks) to completely furnish the doll house I want to work on after the holidays. And my doll family is now up to five girls plus a sixth custom I'm still working on.

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T08:41:00.008-05:00

The Blythe girls are getting ready.

They'll be baking their pies today as will I.

I finally did a little scrapping yesterday.

Update!

2009-11-18T10:16:00.008-05:00

Wow. I just realized it's been about three weeks since my last post. Rather that post seperately for each topic you'll get one big conglomerate post. :D About the time of my last entry I started a flare up of aches, pains, and fatigue so many of the things I had started and was excited about didn't get done then I was in a rush preparing for a trip out of town.

On the SCA/sewing front I have made zero progress on the green wool Florentine gown. It's sitting just as I left it three weeks ago. My shoulders were aching too much to sit and sew. I ended up wearing the oldest gown I own to Fall Harvest and was only there for a couple of hours since I felt like crap. I hope to finish the gown before winter Revel but won't be beating myself up if it doesn't happen.

I also didn't get the Steampunk things that I wanted sewn for WindyCon done. At the last minute I cut and hemmed a pair of pinstripe pants to knicker length and and sewed a strip of bias over the collar seam of my Victorian cape to reinforce the worn lining to make it wearable since I didn't get around to relining it.
Let's just say that WindyCon (Nov. 13-15 in Chicago)was an experience. LOL I saw some wonderful Steampunk costuming and attended a couple of interesting panel discussions. I also saw many many unkempt middle-aged geeks (this is a sci-fi convention after all). My husband had been teasing me about going without him. Rest assured he had nothing to fear.
My message board friend and room mate for WindyCon, Flora, with Kaja and Phil Foglio the creators of the Girl Genius comic.

Flora in the gorgeous late Victorian walking suit she made.

Pics of more cool costumes (with more to be uploaded in the next few days) in my Flkr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sea95lion/

While I wasn't feeling well I was spending waaaay too much time online browsing ebay. I bought lots of clothes and trinkets for my Blythe dolls. I also bought more dolls. My third doll, a lovely stock French Trench that I have named Greta, joined my dolly family a couple of weeks ago and a NRFB Casual Affair is on her way and should arrive today or tomorrow. And then, after telling myself no more purchases until after Christmas, I bought my first Petite Blythe, a pop up world pajama party girl, off ebay last night because the price was just too good to pass up!
Here are my three girls in some of their new clothes:
A little Steampunk-ish.

Sophia in vintage Skipper.

More Playing with Dolls

2009-10-27T21:28:00.006-05:00

My name is Cindy and I have become addicted to Blythe Dolls. lol
I bought a "bait" ADG Blythe with no hair and no eyes so I could try my hand customizing without the fear of messing up an expensive doll. (I gave Genenvieve new makeup but shied away from doing anything permanent.) Today I cleaned off her stock makeup then carved and glossed her lips. I found it very easy to do though I didn't go too extreme with the carving. I'm fine with her not having hair since I plan to give her a mohair scalp anyway. Finding an eye mechanism may be a problem, though.

More doll pics can be seen in my flikr photostream.

Another Florentine

2009-10-27T20:57:00.003-05:00

I finally did it. This past weekend I finally tweaked my bodice pattern and cut out pieces for the green wool gown based on The Arrival of Leo X in Florence. I only got as far as sewing together two layers of linen for the interlining before I was worn out and too achy to do more. No photos yet.

The New Girl

2009-10-19T17:59:00.003-05:00

This is Sophia. She is a custom Blythe doll of unnown origin. She's got some crazy wild hair, a weird lip carve, lipcolor that I fear is nail polish, and some eyechips with unpainted pupils among other issues. So, yeah, she's far from perfect but she melted my heart anyway.

Steampunk Doll

2009-10-09T15:59:00.004-05:00

I still need to work on the clothes but had a little fun this morning modding some swim goggles for Genevieve (a Blythe Prima Dolly Ashlette). I masked off the fronts of the clear goggles then sprayed with black primer, dry-brushed on some metallic glaze, and glued on some filigree accents. Then I remebered these little brass tools that have been around the house for years and realized they are the perfect size for her. :)

Add...

2009-10-09T08:14:00.002-05:00

Make black with blue pinstripe trousers that I rarely wear into knickers for Steampunk garb to the sewing to-do list!

Sewing To-Do List

2009-10-06T11:40:00.003-05:00

It seems my costuming is taking off in several different directions. In order to focus and priortize all of the projects I want to do I've decided to make a list. :)

Maintenence and repair to do asap:
Reposition the frog closures on my black zimarra so that it closes without a gap when they are fastened.
Repair and reinforce the front opening in the skirt of my purple Campi dress. It tore 3-4" below the original opening. :(
Shorten the bodice thereby raising the hem of my navy Campi dress.

Neo-Victorian Steampunk projects:
Make an "easy to wear" bustle found at Your Wardrobe Unlock'd.
Decide on a skirt pattern and find fabric for a late Victorian skirt and butterfly train. I'm thinking striped tafetta. Deadline: Windycon mid-November.
Find a pattern for and make a high-necked late-Victorian blouse. Deadline: Memorial Day 2010 World Steam Expo
Find a pattern for and make a jacket/bodice to match the striped skirt. Deadline: Memorial Day 2010

Italian Renaissance SCA projects:
Check my measurements to see if any adjustments need to be made to my corset and bodice patterns. My weight seems to have crept up a few pounds while my clothes seem to be looser. :shrug:
Make a new 16th century corset. Front closing? Detachable straps?
Finally cut the pieces for the green wool dress inspired by The Arrival of Leo X in Florence. I've had the fabric for two years now. Tentative deadline of mid-January so it can be worn for Winter Revel and Twelfth Fight.
Add couched gold cord trim to my cranberry red coat.
Make a dress of cranberry red Kauffman "embossed" velvet (actualy cut velvet!) to go with the red coat. Inspired by the portrait of Countess Livia though her gown appears to be smooth velvet. (The fabric is on my Christmas wish list.)
Make a Venetian gown of the twelve yards of burgundy and gold fabric Tom recently bought for me. Tentative deadline: Val Day.

Bustled Butterfly Train

2009-10-02T17:48:00.006-05:00

It killed me to do it but I spent $20 ($15 for the pattern plus $5 for shipping)on a pattern from Truly Victorian for their 1880's butterfly train. The pieces are so simple but it was the pleating that I just couldn't figure out on my own. I still had to read through a couple of times before I "got" the pleating in the center that forms the butterfly effect. This practice version is done with inexpensive cotton broadcloth, black with brown lining, so it will be worn with my more casual steampunk clothes. I'm thinking of wearing it this weekend with the brown blouse shown, a black corset over the blouse, and black and brown striped pants. Or maybe black lace trimmed bloomers instead of the pants. :shrug: Now that I've figured out how to put it together I would like to make one in taffeta (perhaps striped) with a matching skirt before Windycon next month.

And a little fun with the granddaughter too young to protest. :D

Introducing Genevieve!

2009-09-25T07:03:00.012-05:00

I have another new little girl in my life. :giggle: I had been thinking about adopting a Blythe doll and on the day Keira was born I took the plunge in celebration. She was a NRFB Prima Dolly Ashlette who arrived on Monday.

I gave her a hot water treatment to straighten her hair and dressed her in new clothes (a BFC Ink doll outfit).

Then I sand-matted her face to remove the glare and to get rid of her ugly yello-green "old bruise color" eyeshadow.

Then I got brave and opened up her head so I could remove her eye mechanism.

I painted her eyelids and added a rubon flower, painted eyeliner, and added grey eyeshadow.

I bought her more new clothes (Best Friends Club Ink and Moxie Girlz clothes fit well), her own white puppy, and a laptop to complete her "mini me" look.

Big News!

2009-09-22T05:49:00.004-05:00

My first grandchild! Introducing Keira Eileen born September 17, weighing 8 pounds, 20 inches long. She's got her daddy's nose and her mama's dark hair.

Steampunk for MIRF

2009-09-08T21:42:00.006-05:00

Steampunk is something that I first took notice of a year or so ago. I found the garb fascinating and had the idea in the back of my mind that I might give it a try at some point. The plan was gently simmering on the back burner until I saw the gorgeous leather tophats and goggles being sold by The Blonde Swan at Pennsic. Once Tom indulged my desire to own said hat and googles I figured I had better get off my ass and find something appropriate to wear them with. (I had sewn four dresses for myself and five outfits for Tom in preparation for Pennsic so to say that I was a little burned out on sewing and didn't have the patience or energy for more would be putting it lightly.) I rummaged through the ren faire garb I had on hand and added a few new and second hand purchases with the idea of wearing my outfit on Day of Wrong at the Michigan Renaissance Festival. I couldn't narrow down my choices so I wore steampunk garb for each of the three days of Labor Day weekend. I plan to replace the improvised skirts from the more formal outfit and continue to refine the accessories but overall I was pleased with how things turned out.
Saturday's outfit:

Sunday's outfit:

Monday's outfit with all of the accessories:

and at the end of the day:

Okay. I give up.

2009-09-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

As much as I wanted an accurate 1880s bustled overskirt I have accepted the fact that it just isn't going to happen before Labor Day. :sigh: I purchased some blue satin with the idea that I could simply drape it on my dress form using old pattern illustrations as a guide. Yesterday I accepted the fact that I don't have the skills to do this without a pattern and that it was too late to order said pattern. So I moved on to Plan B: I found online instructions for a ruffled petticoat that looked like it could be pinned to simulate an apron front and bustled back. I cut my fabric this morning and prepared to hem 9 yards of ruffles. Among the nifty attachments that came along with the sewing machine I bought a couple of months ago was a 1/4" hemmer. I grabbed some fabric scraps to practice and got perfectly rolled and stitched hems. I proceeded with the hem on the actual skirt ruffles. I gave up after about 5 yards of crappy hemming. Plan C: I have a tiered "peasant skirt" that I have pinned into submission and, while it's black rather than the blue I wanted, I'm calling it good enough to wear this weekend. (I'll be ordering that Laughing Moon pattern to make a proper overskirt before WindyCon.)

What have I been up to?

2009-09-01T10:22:00.007-05:00

Hmmm... Let's see... Since my last post I have been...

1. Planing a baby shower for my son's girlfriend who is expecting my first grandbaby mid-September.

2. Attended opening weekend at the Michigan Renaissance Festival while camping at Holly Rec.

3. Putting together bits and pieces of a Steampunk wardrobe.

4. Figuring out how to make an accurate 1880s bustled overskirt without paying for a $20 pattern.

5. Finishing up the "Keira's 1st Year" scrapbook album in time for the shower (which was held on Sunday).

6. Scrapping a few pages for the ScrapFreak August challenges.

7. Making some samples for Bree's September Card Class at the Freak.

8. Packing and planning for Labor Day weekend at tthe Michigan Renaissance Festival.

9. Planning for scrapping at the Wisconsin Freek Meet the week after Labor Day.

The Gold Waistcoat

2009-08-19T16:24:00.004-05:00

I played around today with various combinations of the Steampunk garb pieces mentioned in my previous post and had to share a couple of shots of the gorgeous gold brocade vest. I think I'll wear it with a white tee and jeans for running errands tomorrow. :D

Slightly out of focus closeup of my great-grandmother's Victorian locket.

Full Steam Ahead!

2009-08-17T12:50:00.004-05:00

I kind of overdosed on the Renaissance stuff the last couple of months while preparing for Pennsic. Now I am taking off in another direction. :)
I've had the idea in the back of my mind for a while that I would like to create a Steampunk costume. Some chatter on the R/F forums about Steampunk invasions of a few ren faires in other parts of the country got me thinking that doing Steampunk for the MIRF Labor Day "Day of Wrong" could be fun so I started playing around with some of the garb I already have to see if I could come up with something steamy but only made a half-hearted attempt. The Blonde Swan was at Pennsic and, caught up in the Midnight Madness excitement, I started trying things on and Tom ordered me a custom mini top hat and googles to be picked up at MIRF Labor Day weekend! So now I have to come up with a kick-ass costume to go with my kick-ass hat!
I went out shopping last Thursday and picked up a few pieces including a beautiful gold brocade waistcoat, a brown blouse with interesting detail on the short puff sleeves that begs to have the plastic buttons switched out for brass :D, and a pair of brown and black pinstrip twill trousers. I also purchased a vintage black velvet bolero jacket/shrug from etsy. I already have a vintage short black cape, a vintage umbrella, glasses with round blue lenses, various brass accessories old and new, and a brocade strapless corset. (The corset is Elisabethan but I'm using it anyway. If the bimbettes can get away with wearing Victorian corsets as Rennaisance garb it should work the other way around for me. :wink: )Looking over what I have I don't seem to have a complete outfit. I have part of a costume for an elegant neo-Victorian lady and I have part of a costume for a more tomboyish Steampunk. I am thinking that I need a late Victorian walking skirt, a Victorian looking white or ivory blouse, a wide leather waistcincer/belt, some black granny boots, and some brown work boots. Then I should be able to mix and match to create outfits for the elegant lady, the rough and tumble tomboy, or something in between.
And since I have/will have these clothes and Labor Day is only one day I've made the commitment to join an online friend at WindyCon in November!
While contemplating my clothing options I made myself a steamy accessory. It's a Nerf Maverick dart gun that was modified using the instructions here to give it a bit more firepower then given a new paint job first with a coat of black Krylon Fusion spray paint then, when I couldn't find the recommended rub & buff that I thought I had, I dry brushed on some Making Memories metallic glazes. And to make it into a girly gun I added some bling. Once I have finished embellishing it I'll give it a clearcoat.

Finally! Pennsic Pics!

2009-08-16T20:00:00.003-05:00

After taking a few days to recuperate from the trip I have finally uploaded some of my Pennsic photos to a Flikr album. I apologize for the fact that they are in seriously random order and don't yet have descriptions but it was my first time using Flikr and let's just say I had some issues! (I'll try to find time to straighten things out this coming week.)

Frustrated!

2009-08-12T10:32:00.003-05:00

So one of the classes I took at Pennsic was Constructing a French Hood. Fitting the pattern and creating the hat part of the hood went well. The problem is that the class included absolutely no instruction on how to do the veil/drape/hood part of the french hood other than the instructor casually mentioning that it could be done as a tube or a loose veil. The instructor did bring several of her hoods but seemed reluctant to let us touch them. She basically just used them as examples for color and packed them away before I had the opportunity to really look at them and see how the veil was attached. I believe the artwork shows a tube so that's what I chose to do. Not having a clue I simply stitched the length of fabric provided in the kit into a tube and stitched it into the opening only to find that it was waaaay to large. I set the project aside until I was able to pop in to another session of the class at the end of the week. Still not letting me look at her hoods (I'm a visual learner. Don't just tell me how to do something. Show me an example or drawing.) the instructor told me I needed to stitch the tube on differently. So I made the tube smaller and reattached it and it didn't look too bad but I didn't like how the inside bottom edge hung lower than the outside bottom edge. After returning home I looked through The Tudor Tailor and saw that their pattern for the veil had a shaped top edge allowing the hem to hang straight. So I removed the veil tube yet again and used the TT pattern to recut it. Fine and dandy except that the TT veil pattern ended up being too small to fit the base from this class. So I have wasted 3-4 hours on this veil only to end up with a useless tube of fabric. I need to buy some fabric and start over. UUURRRRRRRGGGGH!

I'm Home!!!!!

2009-08-11T09:53:00.002-05:00

We arrived home from Pennsic yesterday afternoon safe and sound. (We left the site around noon on Saturday but did some meandering along the Lake Erie shoreline on the way home.)We had a great time! The weather was beautiful! Not too hot nor too cold and just a little drizzle on Sunday 8/2. (I understand there were some nasty storms during the first week but we arrived after they had passed.) We met many wonderful people, saw some cool pavillions and camp gates, took some informative classes, attended a couple of parties, watched a couple of battles, attended Midrealm court, did some shopping for items large and small, saw some fabulous garb and some um... "interesting" garb, got lots of compliments on my garb (woohoo!), and attended the closing ceremonies where I think I got some nice photos. I can't wait to do it all again next year!!!
Once I get the mounds of laundry done, buy some groceries, and have time to edit my pics I will share some photos in more detailed posts.

Ready to hit the highway!

2009-07-31T11:41:00.002-05:00

And I feel like one of the Beverly Hillbillies! lol It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but Tom manged to fit everything I wanted to bring except one wooden chair was swapped out for two camp chairs. We are planning to spread the 6 and-a-half hour drive to Pennsic out over two days with lots of pit stops for me to get out of the car and move around. We joked that if I buy anything at an antique store it has to fit in my lap. Some people had recommended that we wait and buy food after we get there using the insides of the coolers as packing space but I went with the opposite aproach of buying food here then using the cooler space to bring home the stuff I plan to buy there!

Another Pennsic Prep/To-Do List Update

2009-07-29T17:59:00.004-05:00

We've gotten a few more things done so the the list is nearly complete now. :) The main thing is that Tom cut all the pieces for the tables yesterday then brought some hole saw drill attachments home from work today to cut the designs in the leg braces and assembled the front legs. I applied Howard Feed & Wax to the table legs and our bed frame and used Howard Butcher Block Finish on the table top.

We pretty much followed the construction detailed at Golden Lyon with a few minor changes. We cut the front legs from 1x2 lumber and the back legs and cross pieces were cut from 1x4 lumber because we had bought too much for the chests. When we put the table up we discovered that the 1x4 cross pieces weren't stable enough so, since we had made two sets of legs and are only bringing one table with us, we doubled up the cross pieces. Next time we'll just use 2x4's. LOL The other thing we did differently was to use hole saws instead of a jigsaw to cut the designs. the upper design was cut with a 1.5" hole saw and the bottom was done with a 2.75" hole saw.
Now that that project is finished the To-List looks like this:
TO DO:
*make an anniversary card
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*make a scrapbook page to complete the July ScrapFreak challenges
*grocery shop
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs

ON HOLD:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE I've uploaded what I have done and bought the papers I needed to finish but have set the project aside to finish after we get home.

Pennsic Packing

2009-07-27T19:32:00.004-05:00

I hauled everything to the dining room today and reorganized it to fit into the car. I ended up putting the feast gear and cooking stuff in the smaller chest after discovering that the Coleman stove is too tall to fit.This will be loaded in the car as is. The Coleman stove, beverage cooler, and non-perishible food will be housed in the larger chest once we are on site but it will be broken down for transport. I took our bedding and throws out of the tub they were in and divivded them between three stuff sacks so that they can be crammed into nooks and crannies in the car. Our clothing is fitting into three tubs- one for Tom and two for me. :D Add to that three chairs, two rugs, a tapestry, a table, the bed, and the tent and it will be a challenge for Tom to load it into the car! And lets not forget the BIG ASS food cooler. Speaking of which, I was wrong about being done with the sewing projects because I had forgotten about the coffin cover/cooler cover that I had cut out at Ermas' class. So I spent the late afternoon & early evening getting that done.
The updated To-Do list looks like this:
TO DO:
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs
*color my hair

IN PROGRESS:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE

DONE:
I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday (7/20)
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish to the chests he's working on
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring
*then cake & ice cream at home
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make grocery list
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make at least two partlets
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*sew cover for The Big Ass cooler

I think I'm done sewing and ready to pack!

2009-07-26T17:09:00.011-05:00

I finished the rolled hem around the top of the green chiton this morning and sewed on the buttons. The front and back panels are both 56" wide. The back neck opening is about 12" and I gave it an extra 6" of drape in the front for 18". For the openings down the sleeves the back edge has an inch more than the front between buttons which allows for a nice gap. For the purple chiton I cut the front panel to 44" and back to 40" giving it a 4" drape for the front neck and equal amounts front and back between the sleeve buttons. I think I prefer the extra drape I get with the green.

In addition to the two Roman tunica/chiton and pale seafoam palla I will be packing my old blue Italian dress (the first dress I made for myself):

and the two Campi inspired Italian dresses I made this spring:

I'll be bringing several pair of sleeves to mix and match with the Italian day dresses.
I'm bringing the black zimarra in case it gets chilly in the evenings and to wear as "housecoat" for morning coffee.

I'm bringing eight camecie/smocks, four partlets, ten pair of socks, plus two petticoats and two pair of bloomers as extra layers for chilly evenings.
I'm also bringing a non-period warm snuggley polar fleece ruana.(I really don't mind heat and humidity but cold and damp makes me hurt.)
I'm not sure if I'll have room but I would like to bring my Florentine gown:

Time to start carrying everything up from storage to the dining room to see if I can make it fit in the space that I have allotted myself for garb.

Still Working on the To-Do List

2009-07-25T21:39:00.005-05:00

I can mark one more thing "done". I worked on them all day Friday and got got two more partlets done.

TO DO:
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs

IN PROGRESS:
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me NEEDS TO BE HEMMED AND HAVE BUTTONS SEWN ON

DONE:
I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday (7/20)
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish to the chests he's working on
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring
*then cake & ice cream at home
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make grocery list
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make at least two partlets
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th

Check off one more!

2009-07-22T20:39:00.003-05:00

I spent some time after dinner applying butcher block conditioner to all of my wooden bowls, plates, and spoons. For one thing I was a little surprised by how many pieces we have. (The photos show the pieces I'm packing for Pennsic which is only about a third of the total.) For another thing I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the wood looks.

To-Do List Update

2009-07-22T12:51:00.005-05:00

Got a few things done. Added a few things to the list since Monday. :sigh:

I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room on Monday- DONE
*order Kacie's birthday cake DONE
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on DONE
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom WILL USE CARDS PREVIOUSLY MADE
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring DONE
tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo- POSTPONED
then cake & ice cream at home DONE
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic DONE
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic DONE
*make grocery list DONE
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)JOURNALING INSERTS ARE DONE, HALF OF THE 14 PAGES ARE DONE
*make a scrapbook page for the Get Meaningful lesson 18 DONE & EMAILED
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
(the plan is to do the machine sewing on Thursday then do the hand finishing on Friday when Rebecca comes over)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*make scrapbook pages for Get Meaningful lessons 19 & 20
*make an anniversary card
*apply beeswax finish to the rope bed frame
*apply butcher block finish to the table tops
*apply butcher block finish to wooden feast gear
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*bring the camping gear and garb up from the basement so Tom can figure out how to pack it in the car
*prepare poached pears
*hard boil eggs

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2009-07-21T06:18:00.003-05:00

My baby turns 18 today. At 10:17 this evening to be precise. I feel old.

Whew I'm tired!

2009-07-20T19:12:00.004-05:00

I did manage to get a few things accomplished today even though I wasted a few hours with silly stuff this morning. :D
We have an exterminator coming tomorrow to help us deal with some critters that have taken up residence in our kitchen. It's all I can do to keep up with the main living areas these days but I didn't want them looking at this sty and thinking "no wonder these people have bugs!" so I worked on cleaning up some of the peripheral areas today. I dejunked and cleaned up the back porch, the pantry, stairs going up to the second floor, stairs going down the the basement, and the laundry room. The good news is that I offered a few things on freecycle. The bad news is that I am exhausted and will probably fall asleep any minute now!
Upadating the to-do list:
*order Kacie's birthday cake DONE
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom WILL USE CARDS PREVIOUSLY MADE
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring, tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo, then cake & ice cream at home
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me and possibly...
*buy trim for the chiton so that I can get away with machine sewing the hems and disguise the machine stitching
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic DONE
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic DONE
*make grocery list DONE
*make an anniversary card
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on DONE
and the bed frame

Silly Timewasters

2009-07-20T07:02:00.004-05:00

I've been awake since 5:00am but rather than doing anything productive to whittle away at that to-do list I've been wasting time on line. Doing stuff like this.

You Are an Ice Cream Sandwich

You are well grounded, reliable, and very balanced.

You love to work hard, but you also know how to take it easy.

People might be surprised to know you have a very goofy side to you.

You like to let loose and have fun. You just don't let yourself go too crazy!

What Frozen Treat Are You?

You Have Your PhD in Men

You understand men almost better than anyone.

You accept that guys are very different, and you read signals well.

Work what you know about men, and your relationships will be blissful.

How Well Do You Understand Men?

You're Totally Sarcastic

You sarcastic? Never! You're as sweet as a baby bunny.

Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue - and you aren't afraid to use it.

And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitude, then too bad. So sad.

How Sarcastic Are You?

Kim and K *really* need to take this quiz. :wink:

Pretty Damn Spiffy

2009-07-19T15:04:00.006-05:00

Aren't they! I just wasn't feeling motivated to sew or scrap this afternoon so I went out to the garage and started waxing the small chest as Tom finished assembling the larger one. The lids still need to have the finger holes cut but Tom plans to do that at work tonight because they have better tools there. The plan is to use the larger chest to hold our cooler of beverages and snacks while the smaller one will hold the Coleman stove, propane bottles, and pot & pans. Tom used robyyan's instructions.

Our large food cooler is going to have a coffin cover that Ermas helped me cut out. I forgot to add sewing that together to my previous to-do list.

13 Days

2009-07-19T06:29:00.002-05:00

Thirteen more days before we head to Pennsic and so much to do between now and then!
Nothing has been accomplished the past few days with Norm's visitation, rosary service, and funeral mass plus me being in the midst of an arthritis/fibro/whateverthehellitis flare-up and feeling too tired and brain fried to do anything productive. So the to-do list includes:
*order Kacie's birthday cake
*make birthday cards for Kacie and Tom
*celebrate Kacie's 18th birthday on the 21st by taking her to order her class ring, tagging along when Kim takes her to get a tatoo, then cake & ice cream at home
*make invitations for Stephanie's baby shower so Kim can address and mail them while Tom and I are in Pennsylvania
*try to finish the "Keira's 1st Year" album before the end of the month so I can get credit for doing it during the ScrapFreak summer challenge (I thought the challenge ran through August so I would be able to finish after Pennsic but found out it only runs through the end of July.)
*celebrate Tom's 51st birthday on the 25th
*finish the second biggins cap/coif that I started earlier this week for Tom
*make the green linen roman tunica/chiton for me and possibly...
*buy trim for the chiton so that I can get away with machine sewing the hems and disguise the machine stitching
*make at least two partlets- one with gold lace trim
*get together with Rebecca to decide who is cooking which evenings at Pennsic
*test recipes and finalize dinner menus for Pennsic
*make an anniversary card
*help Tom apply a beeswax finish or milk paint to the chests and tables he's working on and the bed frame
Okay! I hope that's everything!

Done with Tom's Tunics!

2009-07-15T16:20:00.003-05:00

Woohoo! These things are just so boring to work on that I am happy to finally be done. I did the brown and the green back in the spring so he had something to wear then set them aside. I pulled them back out and finished the navy tunic then set them aside again. I finally made myself finish the rust and the teal tunics so that, along with his ren faire shirts, Tom will have enough garb to get through Pennsic. Next up are a couple of coifs so he won't burn his bald head then his garb will be done and I can get back to sewing my things.

Mathematically Challenged!

2009-07-14T13:02:00.003-05:00

Last night I needed something to occupy my brain after receiving some bad news so I sat down and worked out a cutting diagram for the camping tables (We can cut four leg braces and a 3'x4' tabletop and a 3'x5' dining table out of one sheet. Woohoo!) and made a list of the materials we needed to buy today for the tables and the break down chests. It didn't take me too long to figure out that the 5' (60") of 1x4 I thought we needed for the chests was not right. What I read as 60 inches was actually 60 FEET! LOL

Dyeing to be Roman!

2009-07-13T11:39:00.012-05:00

I finally finished up the Roman tunica that I had started months ago and set aside. It is made of light cotton with a woven stripe pattern including metallic threads. I know. The fabric is completely unperiod but at the time of purchase I didn't care. (I could argue for the use of cotton but have my doubts about the metallic stripe. :D )It started out wider (for full arm coverage) and longer (to be bloused at the waist) but that much fabric was just too unflattering so I cut it narrower and shortened the hem so that the sleeves are not quite elbow length and and I can belt it under the bust with very little blousing which I feel looks better and is more comfortable to me. I picked up a couple of very sheer gauze scarves and turned then into a palla wrap. Ideally the palla should be wider but I couldn't justify the expense of four scarves nor could I find such sheer drapey linen by the yard.

After discovering how easy to make and comfortable to wear this Roman garb is I made the decision to make myself another tunica for Pennsic instead of another Campi dress. I'll still be from the same area I'll just be going back in time several hundres more years! I found some lightweight linen on clearance for $2.50 a yard but it was bright sunshine yellow. I'm not too fond of yellow. So I purchased a packet of Dylon ocean blue dye and dyed my yellow fabric green this morning.:) As soon as I finish up Tom's tunics I'll be making myself a tunica from my pretty green linen.
original yellow

preparing the dye bath

after 15 minutes

after one hour

after rinsing and drying

Another Project for Tom

2009-07-10T07:55:00.003-05:00

I've been working to get ahead on my scrapbooking projects this week so I can get back to the Pennsic prep next week. I still need to add the neck facings to and hem two more tunics for Tom and whip up a couple of partlets for me. I plan to make another dress, too, but might not get to it 'til the following week. While I am sewing Tom will be tackling the wood working projects. In addition to the table posted previously he will be making a pair of chests. I found instructions to make two chests from one sheet of plywood and five feet of 1x4. Here's what the chests made by Greydragon look like.

I intend to use the larger one to hold our beverage cooler and the smaller one to store the Coleman stove and cookware. Sunday I am attending Lady Ermas' class to make a fabric cover for our larger food cooler.

I am Cindy- fat & sassy!

2009-07-08T10:37:00.004-05:00

I gave you a little peek at my page for the Get meaningful Lesson 16: Then & Now and, now that the lesson has been posted, I can reveal my layout.

I'm also participating in an All About Me page swap with some of the girls at ScrapFreak. I created my pages (12 of them) using some of my favorite scrapping products and techniques- hand cutting, inking, stamping, rhinestone bling, Thickers alphabet stickers, and my favorite color. While I didn't handwrite my journaling list I am handwriting my name, screen name, and the date on the backs of the pages.

Today's "Deep Thought"

2009-07-07T10:42:00.004-05:00

Time for a computer break and something to eat. I just finished my sample for the next Get Meaningful lesson and I have to say that I am loving it! I am so glad that Bree asked me to do this. The lessons really make me think about my life and what is important. I think 20 years from now my grandaughter will be more interested in knowing that I was a real person than what we all got for Christmas, kwim?
I've always felt that journaling is a very important part of scrapbooking. I want the people who look at my albums to learn something about me and my life. I don't just want a pretty photo album. I like that the Get Meaningful lessons make me dig just a little deeper. Lesson 16: Then & Now will be up soon but here's a little peek.

Senior Year

2009-07-06T10:12:00.009-05:00

My baby girl will start her senior year of high school in September and I think it's important for her to record her memories of this time in her life so I created a mini album for her using the format from the free class mentioned in my previous post. The cover will hold three wallet sized poses from her senior portraits. The inside pages are designed to showcase two 2.5"x3.5", one 3.5"x5", or one 4"x6" photo each month. Each pocket insert has three 3"x5" blocks that can each hold a photo or journaling as she choses. I used products already on hand and mixed and matched whatever red, white, and black papers I had. (You can see more images in my ScrapFreak gallery.)

Free Class

2009-07-03T09:20:00.004-05:00

I'm really having a hard time being disciplined and continuing to work on my sewing projects when I am just itching to get started on the album for Bree's free class at ScrapFreak!

Pennsic Panic!

2009-06-29T08:00:00.005-05:00

It dawned on me last night that I only have a month to finish all of my projects! (We will be heading down on August 1st because Tom doesn't want to use two weeks of vacation time and, more importantly, he doesn't want me to over-do it and pay the price.)
Sewing projects for myself include another Campi style dress, a couple more partlets, and some roman garb: two tunicas and a palla (I know as a married woman I should also wear a stola but the idea is to wear as little as possible when it becomes too hot to think.)
Sewing projects for Tom include finishing the last three linen tunics that are already cut out. They should go quickly because I have decided to leave out the side gores and just leave a split. He also needs something to keep his head from getting burned so I will attempt to make a couple of coifs.(Is that the right term for the hat that looks like an arming cap?)
We also need a table for meal prep and, rather than buying a mundane table, I would like to make one like this on from the Golden Lyon web site.

TGIF Challenge

2009-06-26T08:41:00.004-05:00

You may or may not know that the last Friday of each month there is a TGIF crop at ScrapFreak. You may or may not know that Jessica Bree has asked me to be part of the design team for her Get Meaningful blog. For this months' TGIF crop I have issued a challenge that involves the GM blog. Go HERE for details and, hey, if you wanna link your finished challenge pages here that would be cool! :)

Scrappiness

2009-06-25T13:45:00.006-05:00

A few recent creations:

My Kind of Fun
Combines two ScrapFreak challenges- to scrap a photo of myself and to use mixed fomts for the title.

The Winter Beach
For this one I took a photo from 1987 a cleaned it up in PSE7 (my first time using it!) then created this layout as my submission to the DT audtions at ScrapFreak.

I Believe
Stupid :badwords: blogger!!! PLEASE if you know how to make blogger upload my photos correctly tell me!
Anyway...This one was my example for the Get Meaningful Lesson #14 Beliefs.

Border War

2009-06-22T11:16:00.016-05:00

***WARNING- Long photo laden post ahead!***
Tom and I spent this past weekend attending our largest SCA event yet-Baronial Border War at Bertha Brock Park near Ionia.
We knew we were in for some rain so we got the tent set up in the Novus Soldalis (new memebers)camp and the car unpacked as quickly as we could Friday afternoon. After a brief rainshower we visited the Dun Traigh camp next door and did a little wandering exploring the beautiful park and checking out some of the other camps. We ate a simple dinner then prepared to go to a dessert revel at the Northgate camp. We didn't make it past the adjacent camp before the thunderstorm started. We tried to wait out the storm under cover of Vlas and Ermas' pavillion but after about a half hour we gave up and returned to our tent where we played dice by candlelight. Lady Sophie (who had made it to the dessert revel before the rain started) was kind enough to bring some desserts back to our camp to share. After sampling the sweet treats I decided to call it a night while Tom ventured out into the rain to find the party at the Northgate camp. The thunder and lightning continued well into the night but out tent stayed dry and cozy.

Saturday was the busy day of the event. After my morning coffee made in my french press pot (a lifesaver!) I headed over for my shift at "troll". (Troll is the check in point for new arrivals and I have no idea how it came to be called that. LOL)Then I followed Malise over to the lodge for her beaded boomark class. It turned out that I was her only student so we could have done the class right in camp but I'm sure the exercize didn't hurt either of us. After the class I wandered through the merchant area were I didn't see anything I had to buy but I did run into a guy that has worked at the same place as Tom for the last 30 years but we had no idea that he was also into ren faires and the SCA! Tom found me wandering and we returned to camp for lunch then carried our chairs up to the battlefield for the afternoon's main event- the war between the Barony of Andelcrag and the Barony of the Northwoods. I admit that I have no idea how war points are counted to determine the winner but I had fun checking out the garb and armor and did a little hand sewing on a linen apron between battles.

Then we headed over to the lodge for the class on migration era Hungarian clothing that Istvan was scheduled to present. He was a few minures late since he had to rush from the battlefield back to camp to change then rush back up to the lodge for the class. While we were waiting I was entertained by observing Her Majesty Queen Runa converse with a young couple who we too new to realize that they were speaking with the queen.
I wasn't sure which side won the battle until it was announced at court later in the afternoon that the army of Barony of Andelcrag were the victors. I love the pageantry of court as well as witnessing my new friends receive recongnition for their contributions to "the dream".

Saturday evening there was a party at the ballfield that included a chocolate chip cookie contest with samples for all, Middle Eastern dancing and drumming, and a bit too much sampling of the labors of our local brewers. LOL We had the honor of meeting a young squire called Jasper who was sitting vigil for his elevation to knighthood.(I hope I phrased that correctly. I'm still new at this.)Jasper is only 25 years old but, accordng the stories we heard that evening, he is very deserving of the honor and mature enough for the responsibility. We had a great time with friends old and new and it is probably best that we have no photographic evidence of the evening's happenings!
We packed up and left fairly early Sunday morning to get back home and celebrate Fathers' Day with the family.

The Sunshade/Rainfly

2009-06-15T08:42:00.006-05:00

Sort of an experiment to challenge myself and see it I could do it. After reading lots of tent making tips on the Medieval Encampments yahoo group and seeing the "bloody" sunfly at Golden Lyon I decided to dip my toes into tentmaking by making a simple sunshade.
I bought seven yards of 60" wide cotton duck from JoAnn Fabrics, cut it into two 3.5 yd lengths, and seamed the two panels together (making a fly aproximately 10'x10'). I followed the suggestion to sew a french seam then sew the flange down because it sounded easier than a felled seam and I use french seaming on my smocks and skirts so it was something I already knew how to do. The french seam works just fine but I think I will go with a felled seam next time. I hemmed the cut ends and left the selvedge sides alone. And I am happy to report that my 50 year old $50 Kenmore sewing machine went through the multiple layers of canvas like it was buttah!
The next step was deciding how to do the grommets. Anyone who has been following my sewing projects will know that I simply don't do metal grommet preferring hand-stitched lacing eyelets on my garb. I had my doubts about a simple stitched eyelet being strong enough and toyed with the idea of stitching over a metal ring for reinforcement but, in the end, decided to do big honkin' brass grommets. They don't show when the fly is up anyway. :wink: What I did not do though was cut holes in the canvas. I used an awl to spread the threads apart to make holes for the metal grommets just as I would do for stitched eyelets.
Yesterday we went to Home Depot and purchased closet rods to use as the poles (as suggested at Golden Lyon) cutting six foot lengths for the corners and seven foot lengths for the center poles. We are using nails in the tops to go through the grommets and loop the ropes over. We plan to use it as is for Border War but most likely will swap out the nails for some pretty finials before Pennsic.
Speaking of the ropes- I didn't originally notice ropes attatched to the center poles in the images at Golden Lyon and thought we wouldn't need them. I had planned to set up the fly directly in front of my (modern) tent. We realized that those center poles need tension on them to keep the ridge from sagging (long debate with Tom over adding or not adding a ridgeline pole :rolleyes:) so we had to move the fly far enough out from the tent to make room for the rope there.
It was a learning experience and, all in all, I am pleased with the result of my first baby steps toward tent making.

Silly Socks & Sleeves

2009-06-12T10:41:00.005-05:00

So back at Val Day Ermas mentioned that she and Thomasette had purchased the same reddish purple linen that I had purchased to make camping garb. At Death & Taxes the three of us wore our purple dresses (Ermas in her Russian garb, Thomasette in her cotehardie, and me in my Italian Campi dress) but they both had mustard gold accents or accessories with their dresses and I didn't. I also had yet to make any sleeves for the dress so.............I made the purple sleeves that reverse to mustard gold. :D And we all bought fun purple and gold stripey socks. :D

In other sewing news: I also made sleeves for the navy Campi dress. I hadn't originally planned on sleeves mistakenly thinking that they wouldn't be needed for summer camping events becasue it would be too warm. Silly me, I know better now!
I also whipped up a canvas sunshade/rainfly this week but need to purchase lumber for the poles before I can set it up and take pics.

A Couple New Pages

2009-06-10T12:39:00.007-05:00

I did this one yesterday just for the fun of it. My son usually avoids getting his picture taken so when I was able to sneak this one at a graduation party over the weekend I had to scrap it. :)

This one was my sample for Lesson #12 at the Get Meaningful blog. Now if it would just get warm enough here to go to the beach.

Okay. The funky image uploads are really pissing me off. If anyone has any insite into why Blogger inists on changing the orientation of my images when I upload then please share!

Forgotten Treasure

2009-06-07T21:20:00.007-05:00

I was so surprised and saddened to discover that this beautiful work of art was left behind when the Grand Rapids Art Museum relocated to their new modern building.

GRRR! Why does blogger keep rotating my photos???

Get Meaningful

2009-06-04T08:25:00.007-05:00

Okay. Let me get this off my chest here and now. I am so tired of the people who think all scrapbookers are white middleclass Christian 30something suburban soccer mom's living in a McMansion with their husband and 2.5 perfect children scrapping little Suzy's birthday photos. Please don't pidgeon-hole scrapbookers. There are as many reasons for scrapping as there are scrapbookers. And many of us don't fit the stereotype. :whew: I feel better now! lol
One person I know who definitely does NOT fit the stereotype and makes wonderful scrapbook pages is jessica bree. Take a look at her blog and be inspired to Get Meaningful with your scrapbook journaling. (I don't think it's been officially anounced yet but I know the two new additions to her design team very well. :wink: )
This is what Bree has to say about Get meaningful:
What this is all about
I love to scrap and create... and I do much of it for the process, for the pure enjoyment of it. But this year I decided I want to also make sure I set aside time to scrap about the memories that really matter to me. For each person, this can be different. Questions to ask yourself:
If you left this world tomorrow would your scrapbook truly tell the story of you and your life?
Do you have a box of old photos that you still have not tackled out of fear or general procrastination?
Have you taken the time to record your family history? Not just the big events, but the little things? The traditions, the inside jokes, the little things that make each family unique?
Have you recorded the less pleasant events in life... the hard knocks that shape each of us?
Have you taken the time to WRITE down the stories behind the photos rather than just making a pretty page?
If any of these questions have you thinking about taking your scrapping further then I hope you will join us on this journey! I promise to share ideas and prompts to help get you digging deeper and thinking about the memories you want to document.

I'm a Freak

2009-06-04T07:11:00.002-05:00

A ScrapFreak that is. :giggle: Just wanted to give you a heads up about the summer long challenge at ScrapFreak. It's not your typical challenge because you can work on whatever your little heart desires and earn points for everything you scrap! Find the details HERE.

Pennsic Brain

2009-06-03T08:13:00.003-05:00

Pennsic is less than two months away and I'm really getting excited!!! I still need to do a few more things to get ready but I feel like I will be able to get it done.

Garbwise I have a few projects to finish:
three more linen tunics for Tom (already cut and pinned)
one more linen day dress for me
two partlets
one or two pair of sleeves

As far as furnishing our camp:
sew 10x10 shade awning & make poles
purchase fabric for and sew two camp chair covers
construct a folding/knock-down table for meal prep

I think I'll get started on the awning next so I can have it ready for Border War in 16 days.

Death and Taxes

2009-06-01T10:43:00.014-05:00

We attended our first SCA camping event this past weekend- Death and Taxes hosted by the Canton of Dun Traigh. Our equipment got it's first test. The tent and rope bed went up easily. The bed was comfy and the sleeping bags kept us warm during the unusually chilly nights. Only a handful of us camped, many chose to day trip it Saturday, but we had a good time trying new things and getting to know each other better.

We took in the storytelling portion of the bardic competition. Lord Istvan and Lady Judith entertained us with their tall tales (as did the children who's photos I have not included since I didn't get permission from their parents.)

Tom and I took Ermas' cordial making class and are inspired to give it a try after sampling her wares. Tom went down the hill to watch some of the fighting and fencing. I stayed up at the lodge where I watched Thomasette's bead making demonstration but, as beautiful as they are, I don't think I will be getting into that since I don't think my arthrtic shoulders are up to the task.

Our girls came out for the afternoon for their first visit to an SCA event. It was also Kim's first time in garb! She wore the skirt she made herself (first sewing project ever!) and both girls added the stripey socks Tom bought for them.

A Visit to Mayfaire

2009-06-01T09:57:00.012-05:00

Tom and I visited the Mayfaire at Marshall Michigan on May 23rd. It was a fun afternoon getting our "fix" at the frst faire of the season.
Highlights of the day included visiting the Viking encampment.

We attended court which included a wooing contest that took an interesting turn!

Sir Clisto was visiting.

I don't know who these ladies are but I loved the Cranach gown!

I finally got a photo of myself at faire courtesy of Cyron then, once I got home, I did a couple with the self-timer to show my new fake hair. :giggle:

A Pocket

2009-05-29T07:21:00.004-05:00

Or Saccocchia. I got bored yesterday and decided that I needed one. (As if I didn't have other things I should have been doing.) It was a very quick and easy little project sewn on the machine except for the rolled hem on the opening and blanket stitches to reinforce the bottom of the opening.

My inspiration came from these images in Moda a Firenze. (Note that these ladies are not fully dressed and the pocket would be worn under the gown accessible through openings in the outer skirt.)

Something Else

2009-05-28T07:16:00.004-05:00

Something else that happened while my older daughter and I were in Georgia was that my younger daughter went to her junior prom. We didn't plan to be out of town but the prom was postponed because of the swine flu scare at her school and it was just too late to cancel our trip. It all worked out okay in that the friend that we had planned on asking to do her hair agreed to help her with her makeup and dressing, too. Doesn't my baby girl look so grown up and beautiful?!

I really did scrap!

2009-05-23T20:41:00.006-05:00

I really did scrap at the Georgia retreat! Okay. So I'm not like some people who can pre-plan for then assemble 87 layouts in a weekend. I'm pretty proud of myself for completing six layouts over the weekend! It took me all day Friday to do one two-page layout based on a sketch because I am so anal about copying sketches exactly. (I get annoyed when I see pages that are supposedly inspired by a sketch and I can't find one element of the page that looks like it came from the sketch!) but then I stayed up half the night and had a couple of drinks and the pages started to flow because I didn't give a shit about following the sketches that closely. LOL

Road Trip!

2009-05-22T07:59:00.019-05:00

I haven't posted lately because I've been busy! My oldest daughter and I were invited to join a group of our online scrapbooking friends for a retreat at a beautiful cabin in the mountains of north Georgia. Since it costs an arm and a leg to fly anywhere from Grand Rapids we decided to drive. We had some stressful moments driving through Ohio in the pouring rain then negociating the mountain roads that could have passed for bicycle paths to get to the cabin but all in all it was worth it and we had a wonderful time!
The trip down:

At the cabin:

We visited cousins in the area before heading north:

Going home:

A Navy Campi

2009-05-10T15:54:00.009-05:00

So the second Campi inspired dress for camping is nearly finished (It's got temporay lacing strips basted in. I still need to stitch the eyelets for lacing and plan to work on that on my upcoming road trip.) This one is made from navy linen interlined with cotton twill and trimmed with berry colored bias tape. I did this one with side lacing and a gathered rather than pleated waist thinking it would be faster and easier than the front closing cartridge pleated dress. Boy, was I wrong! I got everything cut out and the bodice pieces sewn last week without incident then set it aside while waiting for my "new" sewing machine to be delivered. I picked it back up again and started triming the bodice. It took alot of pins to hold the trim in place. The sewing machine needle kept hitting the pins. I had to replace the needle four times, running to the store to buy more, before I got the trim sewn on. Then I started the skirt. I decided to go with three panels as I did with the other skirt and french seamed them together. When I went to start gathering the skirt I discovered that I had twisted one of the panels when I sewed them together. So I got to undo a french seam, untwist, and resew. The next step was the gather the skirt and sew it to the bodice. I decided to sew one panel to the front of the bodice and two to the back because I like my skirts full and swishy but didn't want too much fullness over the tummy. I had to gather the back as tight as possible and it just barely fit, any more fabric and it wouldn't have worked. When I sewed the skirt to the bodice I didn't pin the lining far enough out of the way so I had tp pick out and restitch about half of the back. Then I decided I didn't like the way some of the gathers looked so I picked it out and redid it yet again. And yeah- lots of pins meant two more broken needles. Last night I sewed the trim to the bottom and this morning I pinned it up and stitched the hem. I like how the bias tape trim adds just the right amount of stiffness to the hem that it hangs in nice folds. I measured the skirt length to be the same as the first dress but somehow the bodice ended up a bit longer so the hem is just barely off the ground. I would have preferred it about an inch shorter but I am NOT redoing it!

What if the world ran on clockwork?

2009-05-08T11:03:00.002-05:00

"Clockpunk is a genre of speculative fiction that explores the concept of technology based on clockwork and Renaissance-era science rather than on steam power, the internal combustion engine or digital computers. It can take the form of alternate history, fantasy or simply an aesthetic.

A clockpunker’s home period is the Renaissance. Thus, he or she must be a Renaissance man or woman, able to spend the day building a flying clockwork battleship, the evening dancing the pavane, and still have the dexterity of hand to slip arsenic into a neighbor’s wine. Creativity, genius, charisma and ambition are all essential qualities for success. Nothing is impossible to the talented and the determined, but beware: the road to greatness is treacherous."

Quoted from clockpunk.net

Clockpunk?

2009-05-08T06:20:00.003-05:00

According to Da Vinci Automata- "Clockpunk is a genre of science fiction similar to Steampunk (some people even consider clockpunk to be a sub-genre of Steampunk). Clockpunk can be divided into historical and non-historical Clockpunk. Historical Clockpunk explores how the world would have turned out if certain technological developments that occurred later had happened in the Renaissance and or certain inventions in the time of the Renaissance were created on a mass scale in the time period.Non-historical Clockpunk is set in settings similar to the Renaissance but on alternative worlds, planets etc. The suffix punk is actually misleading but the name has stuck just as it has stuck in the case of other sub-genres of science fiction that were inspired from Steampunk. While there is sometimes overlap between Clockpunk and the fantasy genre, for the purpose of the current blog we shall try to keep these overlaps separate." (Apparently we were a little slow to jump on that bandwagon since the post quoted is from March 2007.)

It seems Clockpunk may be the "proper" name for what we are calling Renpunk. I had never heard of it until this thread on the Brass Goggles forum. I'm sorry that Mr. Sprocket feels that mixing ren and steam "cheapens both" but, as he said, everyone is entitled to their opinion. Now that I've seem the term I have more research to do! Google comes up with both a clockpunk.com and a clockpunk.net

RenPunk?

2009-05-06T18:20:00.011-05:00

So I was thinking this afternoon about this whole Steampunk-Renpunk thing. Some of the conversations around the internet have been talking about taking elements of Steampunk fashion and combining it with things we already have in our renfaire wardrobes. Playing with the idea of what if DaVinci's inventions had all worked in his time? How would that have effected the renaissance? I find that a fascinating concept! I started thinking about how I could put together a Renpunk outfit. I wouldn't want to put too much money or work into it because I'd probably only get to wear it on Labor Day for "Day of Wrong" at MIRF. I could wear my reversible pirate corset on the cobalt and black side and pair it with the taffeta skirt from Moresca that I never wear anymore. I just have to figure out how to bustle the skirt. I know I've seen the info, I just have to find it again. I think my pirate boots would be fine. I already have some Restoration Hardware googles waiting to be modified and some really cool round glasses with cobalt lenses. I'm thinking a bolero/shrug in black lace, a tophat with some cobalt tulle, and lots of brass accessories could make this work! Time to go poke around at etsy! :D

eta: I completey forgot about my lace trimmed bloomers and my Chinese parasol!

Score!

2009-05-06T11:01:00.003-05:00

Remember a few weeks back when I was whining about my "baby" sewing machine breaking in the middle of a project? But then I discovered that the ancient Kenmore my son had dragged home would still work for a straight stitch even without the missing cams? Since then I have been scouring the internet in search of the cams, had only found one set for this model (Kenmore model 158.523) on ebay, and was outbid at the last second at a selling price of about $40. So last week I was searching again but removed the word "cams" from my search. I found the same sewing machine listed as having the wiring replaced and coming with "all original accessories". I went ahead and bid $50 for it and won the auction. It arrived this morning and not only did it come with all of the cams, an extra "regular" foot, a buttonhole attatchment, a boatload of bobbins, a boatload of needles including a double needle it also came with an automatic buttonholer attachment (Um..gotta read the instructions for that puppy!) AND a box of "Genuine Greist sewing aids" including a cloth guide, an adjustable zipper and cording foot, a gathering foot, a quilting attatchment, a narrow hemmer (for machine rolled hems), a 1/4" hemmer, a multiple slotted binder (for stiching seam binding on all in one step), and a ruffler (again gotta study the instructions on that!). :happydance: Now I have two matching machines with one giganto set of accessories! :happydance:
Oh! There was another thing here that I overlooked after unpacking the box: There's a leatherette case containing a White Magic Key Buttonhole Worker. It has some different sizes of buttonhole thingies that weren't icluded with the Kenmore butonholer so I'll have to figure out if they are interchangable or not.

Long live King Eikbrandr and Queen Runa!!!

2009-05-04T16:39:00.001-05:00

Here's a link the photos of the coronation.

Some cards

2009-05-03T13:26:00.003-05:00

I really should be scrapping today. We have until midnight tonight to complete the National Scrapbook Day challenges at ScrapFreak but I just can't find the mojo. I didn't feel like scrapping once I finished my dress yesterday and I keep finding other things to do today. Oh well, at least I got a couple of cards done so I got a few points toward the prize drawings.

Finished Campi

2009-05-02T13:51:00.006-05:00

Got 'er done! It goes fast when you use the sewing machine. LOL I did cartridge pleat the skirt by hand while watching Leverage with Tom last night then stitched it to the bodice this morning while watching Ever After. All the bias tape trim was machine sewn and I used a trick I read in a dress diary (Festive Attyre?) to sew the trim to the bottom edge of the skirt then flip it to the outside and stitch it down creating the hem at the same time. Now making two more dresses and three more tunics in the next three months doesn't seem so daunting.

eta: For whatever reason I can't see it right in front of me but when I look at the full-size photos I can see that the looser pleats at the front need a few more stitches. The white of the camecia shows in a few spots. :sigh:

A Campi for Camping

2009-05-01T10:31:00.010-05:00

After laying low for a few days with a pulled muscle in my back I was itching to get started on my camping dresses. (I needed a break from Tom's tunics.) I decided to make a front closing dress inspired by the Italian working women depicted in the works of Vincenzo Campi. I started by making a mockup in cotton twill using my Margo Anderson bodice pattern. The only adjustment I made was to raise the waistline to my natural waist (which I found by tying a piece of elastic around my waist and wiggling around until it settled at the smallest part). I then used the twill as the interlining between the two layers of linen. It went together pretty easily. For the bodice fronts I stacked the twill on top of the two layers of linen and stitched around the edges leaving the side seam unstitched (I kept the side seam to make it easier to alter the bodice as I lose weight) then trimmed the seam allowances and turned it so that the twill was between the linen layers. For the remainder I needed to sew the sidebacks and straps to the back first then I stacked, stitched, trimmed, and flipped as I did for the front. Then I sewed the side seams and will need to finish those raw edges. I used some black single-fold bias tape for the trim and sewed on brass lacing rings.
Now I need to catch up on the laundry and cleaning that I've let go this week before I start on the skirt which will be three rectangular panels with cartridge pleats.
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It's a Girl!

2009-04-22T11:30:00.001-05:00

Stephanie had an ultrasound earlier this week and found out that Jelly Bean is a girl. Now I can go into full on Grandma shopping mode. :giggle:

Shopping fun!

2009-04-20T15:08:00.006-05:00

I scored a fantastic deal on a Savonarola chair on ebay over the weekend. My winning bid was only $31! It is costing another $38 for shipping but $69 total is still a great deal!

Today while I was wasting time online searchig for some afforable pewter bowls (that aren't Queen Anne style) to add to our feast gear I came across these skull beads and purchased them with the idea of making a strand of prayer beads similar to this 16th century Spanish paternoster.

The Bed

2009-04-19T10:06:00.010-05:00

While I was sewing yesterday Tom built my rope bed. This one was our practice run to get the measurements down and see how it was going to work so it is made out of $20 worth of pine 2x6's. It still needs to be sanded and stained and have the headboard added but we were eager to put it together and try it out. I am happy to report that it was quite comfortable! I am really looking forward to our first SCA camping event at the end of May now.

Sewin' sewin' sewin'...

2009-04-19T09:57:00.003-05:00

Keep those fingers sewin'! (Sung to the tune of "Rawhide" :giggle:)
Saturday was such a beautiful spring day that I sat outside and worked on sewing hems on Tom's tunics. That tune just kept running through my head as I was sewing. I've finished the brown with green and green with navy tunics but this project is soooo boring that I haven't been eager to work on them. The two finished linen tunics along with the two wool ones will get him through the upcoming weekend campouts. He won't need the rest of them until Pennsic in August so I think I'll set them aside and work on something else for awhile.

Birthday

2009-04-15T16:44:00.003-05:00

I had a nice low-key birthday celebration. We had to work around everyone's school and work schedules. Kim couldn't miss class because she had a test and Jason had an errand after work so we had a late dinner with cake and ice cream. Kim and Lou gave me cash with instructions to spend it on books(they didn't know if I wanted to buy from the local book store or order from Amazon or B&N)so I ordered two medieval cookbooks from Amazon this morning. Jason and Stephanie gave me a gift card for JoAnn's which I used today along with a coupon for an additional 20% off my purchase including sale prices :) to buy 7 yards of linen at $6/yd along with some other sewing and scrapbooking supplies. My gift from Tom is my rope bed that he bought the wood for yesterday and started working on today (that and the money to pay for my trip to Georgia next month).

My Playhouse

2009-04-10T10:24:00.004-05:00

:giggle: Since my childhood wasn't much fun I look at the SCA as my opportunity to fulfill my need for fantasy and playing dress up just as much as it fits into my love of learning. So, anyway, after returning our first tent because of a hole in the roof the replacement arrived and Tom set it up in the back yard a couple of days ago. FYI- We chose a modern canvas tent (10'x14' Kodiak Flexbow)for three reasons: So that Tom can put it up quickly without any help, so it can be used for mundane camping yet blend in with the period tents a bit better than a nylon dome tent, and we just aren't ready to make the investment in a period pavillion (either the money to purchase one or the effort to make one). I had been too busy with other things to check it out until this morning. I set up the bed and a couple of chairs to get an idea of the space we will have to live in for eight days this summer and I think we will be comfortable. The mattress is just sitting up on bins of fabric and garb right now but the plan is for Tom to make a rope bed that sits up high enough to slide six bins under it. The nice looking trunks will go on either side of the bed. Once I aquire some rugs the tapestry curtain panels you see on the floor and bed will be hung behind the chairs and/or the bed.

Prom Shopping

2009-04-09T19:25:00.004-05:00

Since Kacie is on spring break this week we've taken some time to go shopping for her junior prom. We went dress shopping at the Rivertown Crossings mall on Monday and found her dress at Younkers. While many of the dresses were way more than I had expected to pay this one was a bit under and we both knew it was "the dress" as soon as she put it on. Kim thinks the back is a little too bare but *I* think it looks elegant. You all will just have to wait a few weeks for pics of Kacie in it and decide for yourselves. lol We headed to the DSW on the other end of town yesterday and found some pretty shoes to go with it. As for jewelry I don't think the dress needs a necklace and Kacie hasn't decided if she wants to just wear the pink tourmaline earrings that she wears every day or if she will borrow some of my sparkly dangly earrings.