MiL's Dress/This is the Place Event

Wow! I can't believe I got Dianne dressed in less than a week - and only three afternoons of sewing! :D I think she looks so put together and cute! The wide brown velvet belt was a last-second addition, and I am *SO GLAD* I brainstormed it at the last second, it really pulls the whole outfit together!



Click on the picture to link to my photogallery of the pictures I took at the event!

CW 09

CW for MiL, and a ton to do before tomorrow morning

The shirt, looking pretty sad on Bertha.


Pics of the piping


So, to do from 6:30 pm when I should get home from work, until we leave for the event sometime tomorrow, I need to:
-stitch hem on my dress
-try on one more time to make sure petticoats will work
-maybe fix neckline??

-sew waistband on MiL's shirtwaist
-attach sleeves/cuffs
-buttons (???) I'm going to be pinning my dress on, she may have to as well. dunno yet.
-make skirt.

*dies*

Cero e Luce, Gifties, and a few Piccies!

Saturday morning, Holly and I were taking our sweet time getting ready for the day when Bianca came running into the pavillion, telling us to "come, quick....NOW!" I was kind of worried, but then I saw court being held. Then I thought they were going to do something for mah hubby, since Quest is his "first" camping events or something. But no....me in mah half-finished garbing (well, everything but veil and hair) was called into court, to recieve the only award I have *ever* coveted...the Cero e Luce!!! OMG HAPPY DANCE!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy, shaking, and trying not to be a big 'ole boob....

Can you even believe that the wonderful ladies who worked on this scroll have been doing scribal arts for only six months or so?!?! It's beautiful! You can't really see all the whitework, but it's completely exquisite. I'm so pleased!


I found out that the only reason that Holly made it to Quest was to be there for my award....I loves me mah friends!!!! (She gave up a dog show for me, that's a *big deal*!!!!)

Here's a pic of Holly in her new blue dress with Issy, me in my old venetian, (with the horns and veil!!), Baroness Daria, and Veronique.



I know I've mentioned it only once or twice, but I *LOVE* mah friends!!! Holly made me a new zibie with the halter-style decorations. He's a stone marten, and is adorably cute! Unfortunately even with the rain, not once was it near chilly enough to carry him around. I'm sure Uprising will bring many, many opportunities! I loves the little guy, he has so much personality! :D


Holly also made a beautiful jewelry set for my Sero e Luce. I *love* wearable awards! :D And it's all pearly and red and gold....can't be more perfect!!!!!!! (And spaaaaarkly!)

This is the dress I won on eBay. I really REALLY want to use this dress as a pattern to create my own. This dress is *SO AMAZING*. There are a couple of neat little things that I found out after I had bought it, and that alone is worth a lot! There are two built-in adjustable bustle bones in the underskirt! I don't think this specific dress was meant to have much, if anything in the way of a bustle. Perhaps a pad, but certainly not the full-length boned bustle. The 'collar' piece is one long strip that has been pressed into shape creating the 'lapel' effect. Also extremely interesting in this piece is the fact that there is a semi-attached skirt flap that hides the center back seam for the underskirt and front overskirt.


I *love* this bodice to itty bitty bits! b0dice_g0ddess gave me some beautiful striped brocade that I'm going to use to re-create this jacket. Yay!


late victorian/late bustle period gowns:


Somewhere between elliptical and full-on bustle:






Cage crinoline:

Eyelet Experiment/Tutorial

firenzekat had reminded me of the reinforced eyelet experiment I have been wanting to try out....so finally I did it!

The same prep-steps apply in the first tutorial -

1. Gather all your supplies. In addition to the supplies I mentioned in the first eyelet post, grab your nearest stash of 1/2" solid brass rings. These are the same rings I use on my gowns for lacing. (Oh my precious, precious rings! Last time went to my ring supplier, they had the rings on the discontinued rack. I bought Every. Single. Last. One. I really need to find a new source for rings!)

2. Poke a hole in your fabric (I think, but have not tested my theory that this method would be particularly useful for fabrics that are not condusive to using an awl to make your hole - like taffeta. Next time I need to make eylets in a tight weave fabric, I will be making a hole with a hole punch like I did for my black taffeta kirtle, and then use a ring as a reinforcement.


3. Do a running stitch around the hole. In my sample, I made my stitches the exact same size as the ring. Next time, I will try making the outline just a smidge larger than the ring.


4. Whip around the hole once - doesn't have to be purdy!


5. Go 'round one more time, but this time, it counts - time to make your stitches nice and purdy!


Thoughts -

*I yanked and tugged and generally abused this eyelet without any noticable deterioration. It felt nice and strong, although when doing the 'real' thing, I'd probably do one more 'layer' of whipping, either by packing in the stitches tighter, or going around one more time - but that could just be the floss I was using....it didn't feel very dense.

*The ring make a noticable ridge - it almost looked like the whipped grommets of SCA yore. :)

*I really am excited to use this method on a real garment - I think it will work very well and not much harder to construct than a "normal" eyelet. The hardest bit was keeping the ring in place during the first round.