Gryphon and Hammer Scroll - Progress

By the end of the weekend, I bet I can get this totally knocked out. Not my best work in the entire world, but I'm pretty happy with it. (Jaquelinne totally saved my butt by doing the calligraphy on this scroll. Thanks again

(I forgot to snap pics of the underdrawing, so pretend there's one at the very beginning with only pencil...)


I'm really hoping the armored fighter who gets this scroll isn't offended by a) flowers and/or b) nekkit little cherubs holding weapons. (he's decent, but still nekkit....he's holding a sword! He has a buckler! Oh hey, I just noticed I made him left-handed. Ha. Or maybe cherubs are just stupid and don't know how to fight. He is holding the sword pretty awkwardly.....)

I meant to do a more *manly* scroll, but it kinda didn't end up that way. Oh well, I still have the capitol to go.....maybe I can make up for the frou-frou border by adding some extra *manness* in the capitol.

The capitol in the inspiration piece is really, really *yawn*, so I'm going to poke around and see if I can find something better. I'm about 85% done with two scrolls, and only one more to start......yay!

Then I really need to get back to my victorian(s). I'm starting to panic about being ready for CC. Argh! Speaking of which, I need to send in my application Right. Now.

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Scribal Day! (And more!)

I had scheduled a semi-impromptu scribal day today - and a lot more people than I had anticipated showed up. (Which isn't a bad thing, but completely unexpected!)



Astrid wasn't doing scribally stuff, but came over to hang out with us anyway. She finished her 'brainsucker' hat fairly early in the afternoon - which I totally want to steal, it is *SO* cute!


Holly came up north for a goggie weight pull, and since she was in the neighborhood, she stopped by and is going to be spending the night. YAY! (She finally has a bed in the Holly-in-law apartment.)

I also actually made some progress on my pea pod scroll! FINALLY!!! I also offered my scroll up as a Baby Gryphon scroll, and it was accepted, so I'm really excited about that. (Because it's going to someone I really like!)

This is after the shading of the acanthus, and the goldwork....


Aaaaand, after the capitol, and whitework and some lame outlining that I'm going to re-do after I replace my old gnarly brush....


Some closer-ups......




This is the style I chose for the Gryphon and Hammer I was comissioned to do (for Quest? I need to find out when it's actually due...). Jaquelinne kindly did the calligraphy for me - she has such a beautiful hand, it makes me jealous! (Not to mention her crazy cool whitework....this gal has some crazy skillz!) Hopefully I'll be able to complete this one in a reasonable amount of time, since it's actually a comission rather than a "hey, I kinda wanna do this!"


So, all in all, a fantastic day, and actually quite productive, considering how much chatting was going on!

Eyelets - Practical Application!

With the prompting of bodice_goddess, I finally bit the bullet and finished the eyelets on my stays. The fit is OK - there are a few tweaks here and there I will do to the pattern for the next one (mostly taking out some of the width at the shoulders. The back felt a bit big...actually it felt kind of big all 'round, but I would rather it be too big than too small), but as a first round, not too bad. I really like the cane boning, it is extremely comfortable (or at least felt like it in the short time I actually had it on.)





(I'm actually not all lopsided in real life, I'm just holding my hair out of the way, and it looks like my left shoulder is all wonky.)


So, left to do are the straps, and the binding - then I am done, done donnity done.

:D

Textile Fun!

I've been meaning to post pictures of the prezzies my sister brought me during her last leave from Iraq! So, finally, here they are!

Pillowcases! I only had one pillow on hand that would fit these cases, so the one on the top left has stuffing - the rest are waiting for me to go shopping. :)


Four hand embroidered shawls! NOM! I want to make them into something, because I'm not so much of a scarf-y person (I want to keep one intact, tho). The question is - what should I do?! Each of them are folded in half in the pictures, so there's quite a bit of fabric in each of them - just not a ton.



And lastly, the "so hideously ugly it has arrived at awesome" bag. I totally <3 this bag - but it needs some repair before it can be servicable.

Needs more cowbell...

er.....HAT!

I'm falling out of love with the hat I started on for the striped vic. (I'm sorry hat. I tried to love you. I really did. You taught me a lot about how to use millinery wire, but I think it's time we parted and moved on with our seperate lives......)

I think it's time to start over again....but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

But first, I just want to share these couple of pictures that I just adore to itty bitty bits: (And both are serving as inspiration for my asymetrical skirt draping....especially the first one)


Ok, back to hats...since I'm starting over with the hattery experience, I need to decide what *kind* of hat I want to do now. (I am not a milliner by any stretch of the imagination, so forgive me for most likely butchering names/types of hattery!)

1. I like this high-crowned hat on the right. I think it could be pretty easy to trim and deck out all awesomesauce. I am a bit unnerved at the skill it would take to actually construct, however.


2. I think these are both examples of soft-bodied cloche-ish hats, although the one on the left might be trying to be a silly little turban?


3. I totally can't tell what is going on here. It might be another of the tall-crowned hats, but the brim doesn't look right to be that tipped-way-forward type. But I do like all the stuff jammed in there!


4. The one on the left has the itty bitty bonnet of cuteness going on - which shouldn't be *too* hard to pull off. If I get really cranky with the hat making, I might go in this direction. Also, I *think* the gal on the right has kind of a straw leghorn thing going on. *IS* there such a thing as a straw leghorn? I like it, but I don't think it's for me.


5. Again, I can't really tell what exactly is going on here, but I like the height of the whole hat/hair thing that is going on over here. I *need* height. No more close-fitting bonnets for me.....I learned my lesson the hard way - not all styles are suited to all types of faces, no matter how cute you think the bonnet is before you put it on.

Portraits and Pictures!

After spending the greater portion of Defenders entertaining the Baroness' adorable tyke; and then pining for my little niece, these two portraits just tugged at my heartstrings: (And extra bonus, they're both wearing red/pink shoes!)


It was imperative that I have cheezy garlicy bread today, so I nipped down the street to the corner pizza joint. I had never noticed this sign before, but I started cracking up when I noticed this little gem on the pizza oven:

Check out the awesome corded skirt!


If I didn't loathe my upper arms half so much, I would *SO* be doing this dress. I am in luuuuurve


And also, can I just steal her bustle?

Overskirt - feeling better. Sorta.

I haven't quite come to terms with the overkirt yet, but I'm liking it more than I did. The pattern took less fabric than I had anticipated, so I was able to start from scratch. I should know better than to work from a pattern. It rarely ends up well!

I'm still not quite sure I like the ruched side, but I will keep messing around with it to see what I come up with. I think it's a smidge too long - I've already hemmed it, so I'll be taking the excess off the top which hasn't been put into the waistband yet. Anyhoo, on to the pics.

William! He is so cute, it hurts! Not only is he immaculately dressed, he's an adorable and well-behaved little gentleman to boot.

Stays progress....

I've gathered my books for documentation writing, and I have another on order from the ebil Amazon.com.

I've officially started on the other side. Yay! I'm not so sure the eyelets are up to Kingdom A&S standards, however. (They're pretty much the fugliest eyelets I've ever done.) Boo!

Oh well. If I was actually *competing* there are a lot of things I would do differently......this is mostly to get feedback on my writing, not the piece itself.

Eyelet Tutorial for Jane

1. Gather your supplies:
*Needle (I prefer longer needles, but you should be OK with a all-purpose needle, as long as your thread fits through the eye)
*Thread (heavier thread is better - buttonhole twist, embroidery floss works. In this case, I've used linen thread)
*Awl (I love my awl, this is the Dritz "Ergonomic Tapered Awl".)
*Snips/scissors
*Beeswax/Thread conditioner
*Chalk/Marking utensil (My favorite is the Dritz "Quilting Chalk"
*Ruler (I actually use a "Simflex Gauge", but rulers....yanno, rule.)


2. Mark out your eyelets.
*Be sure to mark where you want the *center* of each eyelet to be
*Check out this awesome article about sprial lacing for spacing suggestions

3. Place the point of your awl on your marked eyelet.


4. Slowly push the awl through the fabric while twisting and wiggling your awl. The whole point of this excercise is to work the threads in your fabric apart, rather than breaking them. Make your hole slightly larger than you want your finished eyelet to be - the threads will try to creep back together!


5. Check out the back side - sometimes you'll get a 'volcano' effect with the fabric stretching down the awl. You can either use your fingernails to push the fabric up the awl , or remove the awl and go through the hole from the back side.


6. OK! You've got your hole! Now it's time to thread your needle. Get it nice and waxed/conditioned, and tie a knot in the end. (You should probably do this before you make your hole, but it doesn't matter, really)


7. From the front of your fabric, sew a running stitch in a circle around your hole. This is going to anchor your eyelets, and help prevent tear-outs!


8. When you complete the running stitch, start whipping around the hole. Be sure to do this from the front - you want the front to be pretty! The first time around the eyelet, you don't need to be perfect, or completely cover the entire surface. This stage is just to keep the hole open and create some stabilization for the next stage.


9. Keep poking your awl through the hole to keep it nice and open while you're working. (Eyelets are also best done on the couch, in front of the TV) Go all the way 'round your hole....it's not gonna be super-pretty the first round, but don't worry!


10. Go around your hole, one more time. You can continue to whip the eyelet for another round to fill in all the gaps, or you can do a buttonhole stitch for the second round. And, you're done! Well, almost.....


11. Take your thread to the back, and run the needle underneath a few of the threads. Make a loop and tie off the thread......then go underneath a few more threads.......now SNIP! You're done!