I had a couple of days with no sewing to try and clear my mind and get things moving again. I have a lot to finish in the next few weeks. I am working on a range of subtelties and some embroidery. Several of the items that I am working on are gifts for people at the big Midwinter event that I have been talking about for the last few months, so I won't be able to post pictures until after the event.
I have lots of projects planned for after the event too. I would like to assemble some necklaces and start a pair of Elizabethan embroidered sleeves, among other things. Plus there is the huge to-do pile to work on too. As always!
Showing posts with label schedule of work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label schedule of work. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
One of those weeks
It has been 'one of those weeks'. I have been sick again, which certainly doesn't make for clear thinking, but everything seems to have gone wrong with my projects this week. I have been hand-sewing a mini Italian style dress for my God-daughter, but just can't get the bodice to sit right. I dyed some braid to match some trim on a loose coat, but it doesn't match. The trim I ordered hasn't arrived. A pattern I adapted and made a toile of just doesn't look 'right'. I am starting to get downright despondent! All this wouldn't be a drama except for the fact that my big event is less than four weeks away. Oh well. Hopefully things will start to come right soon!
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Dazed and confused - and excited!
I have been unwell, and also doing an intermittent spring- (autumn) clean in preparation for moving into my new sewing room. These things have meant that I still haven't made a start on my garb for the Midwinter Coronation. I haven't been able to do much hand-sewing because of pain and swelling in my hands and fingers, but I have been spending lots of my spare time looking at Renaissance portraits. Going through my fabric stash has been a mixed blessing - it is very exciting, but now I am even more confused about what style and fabric to choose for the upcoming event! I will have to decide soon, because time is ticking away...
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Keeping things moving
In order to keep things moving in between finishing projects, I thought I might start posting pictures of previously finished articles, plus 'progress' shots of things that I am currently working on. (I use the term 'currently' very loosely here, as some of the in-progress items haven't been touched for more than a year!)
This is a close-up of the embroidery I did on a wide collar partlet in 2007 or 2008. I was inspired by the portrait of Katherine Parr in a belted loose gown (image here: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Catherine_Parr.aspx). I made the gown in a red cotton jacquard but machine sewed the trim. I was happy with the gown when it was finished, but the trim ruined it. So that is in the to-do pile too, waiting to have the trim stripped and re-sewn by hand. (I HATE re-dos!) It is true what they say about putting the effort in to hand sew to 'get it right'. In fairness, I was up against a huge time deadline for this gown.
I didn't want an exact copy, just a loosely inspired piece. I was happy with the way the partlet came out. I used a pattern from a sixteenth century pattern book. It is a woodcut, and some of the angles are a bit wonky but I decided not to correct them; I like them the way they are. The embroidery is in a very pale DMC cotton. In period, silk would have been preferred, but my budget usually doesn't stretch that far. I couldn't afford linen and had to use a fine cotton for the body of the partlet. It is hand-sewn except for the internal shoulder seams. They are french seamed so you can't see the machine stitching.
I also made a necklace to go with the outfit, which I was very happy with.
Hopefully one day I will have a photo of the finished re-done outfit to post. I really like the aiglets that I made out of metal beads to go with this one. I also made a wired and pearled white coif. The only thing that I haven't made yet for this outfit is a smock with the gold around the cuffs and the black velvet hat. I have the fabric, but I need to choose a design that will go with most of my outfits.
This is a close-up of the embroidery I did on a wide collar partlet in 2007 or 2008. I was inspired by the portrait of Katherine Parr in a belted loose gown (image here: http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Catherine_Parr.aspx). I made the gown in a red cotton jacquard but machine sewed the trim. I was happy with the gown when it was finished, but the trim ruined it. So that is in the to-do pile too, waiting to have the trim stripped and re-sewn by hand. (I HATE re-dos!) It is true what they say about putting the effort in to hand sew to 'get it right'. In fairness, I was up against a huge time deadline for this gown.
I didn't want an exact copy, just a loosely inspired piece. I was happy with the way the partlet came out. I used a pattern from a sixteenth century pattern book. It is a woodcut, and some of the angles are a bit wonky but I decided not to correct them; I like them the way they are. The embroidery is in a very pale DMC cotton. In period, silk would have been preferred, but my budget usually doesn't stretch that far. I couldn't afford linen and had to use a fine cotton for the body of the partlet. It is hand-sewn except for the internal shoulder seams. They are french seamed so you can't see the machine stitching.
I also made a necklace to go with the outfit, which I was very happy with.
Hopefully one day I will have a photo of the finished re-done outfit to post. I really like the aiglets that I made out of metal beads to go with this one. I also made a wired and pearled white coif. The only thing that I haven't made yet for this outfit is a smock with the gold around the cuffs and the black velvet hat. I have the fabric, but I need to choose a design that will go with most of my outfits.
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