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reine_de_coudre's journal
You are viewing reine_de_coudre's journal
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This is one of two gowns I finished recently. It is entirely hand sewn, of cream wool with fine white stripes. Lined in linen, and shown with fine linen neck and sleeve ruffles. Also shown is my new black silk bonnet and red checked linen apron. I wore this outfit yesterday to do a school show with my Revolutionary War unit, the 33rd Regiment of Foot. I had an absolute blast with the kids, and it was good to warm up my interpreting skills for the summer! I can't wait to get better pictures of this in Williamsburg... :) Stay tuned for gown #2 coming tomorrow!         |
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First off... a thousand thank you's for all of the incredibly kind words on my bicycle outfit! I had no idea it was going to be such a hit! I do hope to get more chances to wear it because it is just so fun. I actually did ride my bike to class while wearing it, which just added to my enjoyment. A girl said that she loved the jacket, which made me think about wearing it with modern clothes as well! And derp... I forgot to take a picture of the back before getting undressed!! But here's the back on the dress form in toile stage. Just imagine it in the print! |
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Well, my presentation is all done. I think it went really well, although I talked pretty fast... Probably the best part is that my professor, who edits the local history journal, asked if I would like to publish my research paper in the journal! So I will continue to hone the paper to fit the publication, and add images, including one of me in this outfit! I didn't have time to make a hat like I wanted to, but I will definitely have one for when I take pictures for the journal. I never thought I could combine what I truly love (historical clothing) with school, but it turns out you can! I promise to do a thorough run-down of construction and research, but I am in the middle of finals week and have two more papers due before Thursday (and I have started neither of them...). But for now, here are pictures!       |
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Sunday, our lovely hosts Maggie and Albert took us to see some lovely local sights. We visited Rock Castle, which was built in 1789 (I think) and strolled the gardens a bit. Then we went to Bledsoe's Fort Historic Park for a little lunch picnic, nature walk, and a bit of archery! Mike got me a beautiful longbow for my birthday. I was so surprised and thrilled. I've wanted one secretly for a while, but apparently not secretly enough for him to find out! I don't totally suck at archery either. Of course,now I need an archery outfit... ;-) The pretty red silk spencer is Maggie's, but I am determined to have one of my own. I think it really looks sharp with this outfit. You can see all of the pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51732491@N0           |
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Thank you everyone for your kind words about my grandpa. I really appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Saturday was the Regency picnic. We had yummy treats and fun games in the most beautiful park with gorgeous stonework. There was even a wedding going on! Just about everything I wore was new. My gown is completely sewn by hand, down to the corded ruffle on the skirt. I haven't done a 100% hand sewn gown in a while, and it was refreshing. The bonnet was reworked and retrimmed, and completed with a scalloped veil. I finally got around to covering one of my antique parasols, too. This one is probably late 19th-early 20th century. It will be getting some pinked trim at some point. I will let the pictures do the talking--they turned out gorgeous. Hard not to, with such a lovely setting. You can view the entire album on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51732491@N0        |
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Last Wednesday was my 21st birthday, and this weekend I got to to enjoy it Regency style with friends. But the wind got taken out of my sails when my mom called to tell me that my Opa passed away on Saturday. I'm aching inside, but at the same time, I am a bit relieved that he is with my Oma now and no longer alone. After she passed away in 2010, he was so lonely and heartbroken. Now he doesn't have to feel that pain anymore. So I'm glad about that, at least. It makes things hurt a little bit less.     |
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I can't seem to stay focused on what I need to be doing! But the 1812 teal dress is in a good place to get finished for this weekend's picnic, and most of the 1890s bicycling jacket is done. More pictures behind ( the cut! ) |
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Well, when I'm home in May I definitely want to gatelist with Queen's Court again to see all my friends and have some fun! Plus, it's the 50th anniversary of the Faire! I've got a new partlet planned, with lots of pearls and jewels on it. Can't wait to get started! Speaking of Faire stuff, the Grand Valley Renaissance Festival club is having a little get together tomorrow night. It's super farby from what I hear, but I think it'll be good to meet other people who like to dress up and have fun. And I get yet another change to wear my black gown! There's also a chance I can make it to Gaslight Gathering, the steampunk convention in San Diego! That would be awesome, and I'd be able to wear my 1890s bloomer outfit. I had such a great time last year, so it would be awesome to go again. Today I'm planning to get a haircut after class. I'm ready to grow my hair out (I miss long hair!!) but it's in an awkward phase right now. I'm hoping some layers will help soften it up on it's way out. We'll see! Then I need to pick up some little things for tomorrow, like new ties for my shirt and some English netting for a veil for next weekend's picnic. |
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I'm marrying him. Mike surveys the family estate, site of our MI wedding reception. Just imagine paper lanterns, twinkling lights, and music! |
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Most importantly, wedding dress fabric. Mike already saw it, so this post isn't hidden from him. It's technically silk gauze, but the weave is much more even and way stronger than I remember the Dharma Trading stuff being. I tugged on this stuff, mashed it up, ran it over my finger tips and ring, and there were no snags or warping or anything! And yet it is still as floaty and soft as a dream. Yay! And since I really enjoy singing period music, I picked up a copy of one of Paul McClintock's hand bound books. A great addition to have on hand during evengs! I also got candy and soaps, and Mike and I both had our silhouettes cut! |
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As you can tell from my previous post, I started something new without finishing other things. Namely the striped silk polonaise I had been working on. I'm making the executive decision to put 18th c things on hold until May, when I will be out of school and have about 5 weeks to finish that gown and fix the little annoyances on my old outfits. Also finishing the new stays I started... In the meantime, I will continue to work on the 1812 dress (for the April 7th picnic) and I'm starting my bicycle outfit so that it will be done for my presentation (around April 19). |
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This is a high necked gown after a handful of originals, one of which belongs to my friend Beth Turza! The "dogleg" style closure I took from a gown that you can see here: http://www.19thus.com/WomensClothi I thought this would be better than a regular apron front because it would be less likely to gap. Here we go!          |
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...because I will be spending the summer in Williamsburg! As an intern in the Margaret Hunter shop! I really am floored... This is a dream come true! My partner in crime will be the incredibly talented Lyze of http://ornamentedbeing.tumblr.com. We're gonna have a blast!!!!!!! This means that I will need to get crackin' on my stays. I also need to retrim my straw hat, and make up the checked apron and little ruffle cap that I have fabric for. Lavender bodice needs to be fixed, and I need to finish my silk dress! There's also the Williamsburg print cotton to be made up into a pet en l'air or other cute jacket. Lots to do to get me through the next couple of months. :) |
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I couldn't resist the corny, cliche title... :P Thought I'd whip up one of these just for fun. I used what I had on hand, namely Crayola colored pencils... I'm hoping I can do something a little more spectacular with nicer materials! But this will do for this weekend's trade show. Some originals: My inspiration... ;) |
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"Are you Asian or something? Because your eyes go like this." *makes her eyes squinty* YES. I AM ASIAN. HALF CHINESE, IN FACT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR IGNORANT INQUIRY. Normally, people asking about my ethnicity only bothers me a little bit, and the majority of people are tactful. This incident, not so much. I guess this isn't so much the weirdest question I've been asked as it is the most "WTF" question. Granted, I wasn't in an area of the country known for its tolerance and diversity... -.- |
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Petticoat is done! Just finished refitting the back of the bodice... But now I'm ready to charge ahead! Need to:
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Mike and I are in the process of finishing each other's Valentine's Day gifts (at least we're both procrastinators?) but he also got me a store bought surprise as well! Knowing my fondness for fish (I had two beta in CA), he came home with these goldfish for me. We have dubbed them Goldie and Blackie in true goldfish tradition, but they are also known by Lucy and Ricky (which corresponds freakishly well to their coloring!). The funny thing is that while goldfish are "cheap" compared to beta, they cost a lot more to take care of, provided you actually want your goldfish to live longer than a couple days. :-P Beta are perfectly happy in a little bowl, but goldfish need at least 1 gallon of water to every 1" of their body and the water needs to be filtered so they don't die of their own toxins! This means a tank relative to their size and a filter, at least. Since these guys--a black moor and a fantail-- are about 2" each, they are now living in a 5.5 gallon tank with a whisper quiet filter. A big improvement over the mixing bowls they were living in while I hunted down an appropriate and affordable house for them! I had them both in one mixing bowl at first and they seemed okay for a couple days, but then they started fighting... The bowl was too small and they were getting territorial! So I put them each in their own bowl until today, when they moved into their tank. They are no long exhibiting the aggressive behavior they were previously, and seem so happy swimming around in their new space.    |
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I sew so much now that I sometimes forget I am a trained vocalist... I got the itch today to sing and record something today. I apologize for the mic feedback! This isn't by any means a professional recording, just me and my webcam... ETA: stupid Flickr! Apparently, it only allowed the first 1:30 of the song to be uploaded... So here's the whole thing via Youtube! |
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I shall attempt to refrain from cruelly picking apart everything I don't like and just let things be! Really, I love the dress, it just didn't photograph so well last night. I blame awful lighting and my old, confused camera. So the gown is "dark ivory" silk taffeta covered in English netting and alencon lace. The bertha and sleeves were mounted on to silk organza for strength. I added fringe to the bows following the instructions here: http://thesewingacademy.org/index.p The alencon lace was painstakingly appliqued by hand to the netting all around the hem, and then on the bertha and sleeves. Even though the process was tedious, it was really enjoyable! This was after I trimmed all of the lace, since the manufacturers tend to leave extra netting around the top. Sadly, I've already got a small tear in the netting from last night, but it should be an easy fix and I can cover it with a bit of lace. I also want to add more ribbons and fluff to the headpiece, which was a $5 last minute purchase! Someday... I will have a nice camera to take decent pictures with...     And there's a bunch more ( behind the cut! ) |
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