I just bought more fabric. :(

For a jacket and blouse to go with the wool 1890s skirt I made last year. Ex-manfriend wants to take me to Julian for a few days during Thanksgiving break, which necessitates period clothing (the town is an old mining town full of quaint historic things to see and do). I'm picking 1890s because Julian was founded in the 1870s, and since I haven't made up either of my bustle dresses (that I have fabric for!) I figured 1890s would be a good middle ground. And the hotel we'll stay at was built in the 90s. Not to mention it's going to be COLD and my 1890s skirt is wool. So I've got a red wool jacket planned, a plaid silk waist, and another waist probably in flannel. Three relatively small and simple projects.

Here's the updated list of doom.

Things I have fabric for (with scale of priority):
*1890s wool waist (1)
*1860s teen dress (2)
*WWI nurse uniform (4)
*1860s silk day dress (3)
*1780s silk jacket (8)
*Frilly Friday dress(7)
*1876 summer bustle dress (5)
*1876 plaid linen polonaise bustle dress (6)

Things I've started but haven't finished:
*1890s wool jacket
*stamped velvet Elizabethan
*linen Regency
*red wool paletot


Things that need to get done:
*paletot (Moorpark)

I really... need to stop. This is bad. No more new stuff. Niamh, I don't care what you say!!!!! I have way too many projects. That's about one project for every era! Sheesh! I actually feel really horrible about having this much fabric. Wow... :(

 I'm in a very Elizabethan mood. :]

The bodice is ready for the shoulder treatment, and then it will be as done as it can be without the eyelets (ewww...). I'm pretty sure I want some kind of puffy roll... Need to play around with shapes, which I'm actually not excited to do. Then sleeves and skirt, which are so easy. In fact... Maybe I'll do that right now instead of the shoulder rolls/puffs. Yes... This is a good plan. 

However, I also wouldn't mind starting the linen Regency. Ack! Must. Stay. Focused.

 Because these past two weeks were completely abominable, I came home to some really wonderful surprises. Like lots of fabric!

Linen for a new late Regency dress:

 

I want to make this dress, without the skirt ruffles. I have yellow silk to bind the ruffles with too! <3

 

Then, the long lost striped 1780s jacket silk came!! 

I decided to just stick with Alice for Halloween. I attached the skirt to the bodice. Still need to put two tucks in the skirt and hem it, but for now I'm done. I hate being "over" a project before it's even finished!




 

I accidentally chopped a bit too much off of my Elizabethan bodice to make it smaller, but it still fits! In fact, I think it fits BETTER because it's just a hair too small! Yay!

  

 

I need to figure out the shoulder rolls... Guess it's a matter of playing around with the fabric.

In other news, I am completely consumed with the desire to make a WWI British nurse's uniform. I already have the fabric and pattern picked out. Yikes!
 

 So the 20s and 1780s fabric are on their way. I'm still working on the Athenaeum uniform, and I need to remake the bodice of the green plaid wool dress. But I'm having really, really bad CADD!! I wan to make a secret project, but the secret project has no likely place to be worn except Costume College. And Halloween. Hmmm... Halloween... That's kind of a good idea...

Anyway! So there's the secret project. But I'm also wondering if I should buy the silk for my Frilly Friday dress because I don't know how long it will be around, and it's such a specific fabric... The secret project fabric, however, is always easily obtained. I just don't feel like doing the Frilly Friday dress now, I really want to do the secret project. Boo... I don't know what to buy!

But at least it went to a good cause: Athenaeum summer uniform! Yay! It's going to be such a fun project! Especially since there's three of us working on it all over the country at once! Burnley and Trowbridge had a silk/wool blend on sale in white, so I snapped up just enough for a dress. Completely cleaned me out, but oh well... That's what you get for quitting your job!

I'm totally set with sewing projects. The Regency is really shaping up; need to make a bodice petticoat for it and a ruffly chemisette, then I'm done with that outfit. The red silk dress also needs to be finished, as well as making a new bodice for the wool plaid dress. Then the Athenaeum uniform, which should take me about two weeks to make, since it's just a basic 1860s dress and I can whip those out like no one's business. I still have my plaid linen, which I thought I might turn into a natural bustle gown but... the 1890s have been whispering in my ear lately. So who knows! Needless to say, I have plenty of projects to get this broke college student through at least her first semester!

Oh Lord, I just remembered my silk stays still need binding and eyelets!

I definitely do NOT have a lack of sewing! :]

Pictures soon!

I hate snarky comments.

Maybe I'm just extremely sensitive, or maybe I have more than an average person's recommended dose of TACT, but really! Some people! I always believe there's a nice way to say something. And you never know what the receiver of the comment went through, either. This calls for extra niceness.

Oh well, I never have to meet these people, and the personal knowledge that I am no way at fault is enough for me.

I picked up my print anglaise for lack of anything exciting to do. The bodice is almost done, then the skirt. Maybe a skirt ruffle. We'll see how much I want to devote to this.  I also played dress up with my pink silk polonaise. I really should get some good pictures of that dress... Tomorrow? :]

I just want to be working on the Infanta dress NOW, and all other projects seem so dull in comparison. Although earlier I realized there's nothing stopping me from making a muslin for the bodice. In fact... that's an extremely good idea!! I can get the bodice patterend, but the basque and skirt will have to wait until I get that crazy farthingale/pannier made. Oh boy...  I hope it's simple to make, and it certainly seems so. I think I'm going to give in and sew it on my grandmother's sewing machine. *gasp*

I also need to think of a project to take to New York with me. I have both natural form dresses to make, but that would require bringing the undergarments with me to fit them. However, those are the only projects I have in my stash to work on, and I'm trying to keep myself to the stash for now.

And another thing. I am SO upset that I trimmed my bangs too short. I just want to wear a scarf on my head all the time. My hair tends to grow fast though, so I just need to be patient.

Niamh, do not attempt to talk me out of this. If you speak a word, I swear to you I shall not listen!

Despite my increasing desire for the Spanish 17th century gown, this summer I am confining myself to completing only the projects that I have at least half of the fabric for already in my possession. Which in all honesty is plenty of dresses!

*printed anglaise
*white sheer natural form
*plaid natural form
*steampunk

Yes, plenty!

Although last night I found the fabric I want for what will now be known as the Infanta gown. I already have it! I want to turn my gold Elizabethan into this dress, but I don't think there's enough fabric... Probably only enough for the top, since it has a basque,

I guess it's okay for the skirt and top to be different colours. But... no, I really want it all one colour. Guess I'm saving up for this project! Luckily I already have the pattern for the farthingale. Yay!

I have two really amazing hats in my possession now! The Black Market is a dangerous, dangerous place! I wanted to buy EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. I knew I wanted a hat, most likely a mini topper, but I fell in love with this awesome tulle and roses creation, and then these perfect falls which matched my outfit to a tee! But the falls were $50, and I didn't think I'd wear them as often as a hat. So on my way out, I spotted a really sweet mini topper with a cameo, ostrich feather, and silk band, and bought it. :] It looked quite adorable with my outfit today, but Matt and Kelsey wouldn't let me bring my parasol, which would have made it TEN TIMES more adorable. But they insisted I couldn't bring it on rides. Oh well.

Upon returning home, I opened my box from Etsy, which contained my mini pith helmet for my steampunk outfit. I am so terribly excited to make this dress. The pith helmet is just perfect. I can't believe Matt found it for me on Etsy! Isn't he so good? :]


OMG.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!

Congratulations on your majority! :D

...in costume! With Niamh! So naturally I've already started thinking about the wardrobe. We're thinking 1890s-1910s range, for easy wear and packing. :]

I want a basic waist an skirt combo, similar to what I wore for my Elizabeth Gurley Flynn project. Probably this pattern for the waist since it's so simple: http://www.pastpatterns.com/400.html. The skirt is based off my Flynn skirt, which is just a gored skirt that has buttons all down the front. And of course a scarf tied around my neck. I'll probably make up another simple gored skirt for one more outfit.

I think I want this in linen too. Maybe the plaid linen from England??:
http://www.pastpatterns.com/3373.html

And we're planning period bathing suits as well:
http://www.pastpatterns.com/5102.html

I'd love to make this, but it's a little more involved than I'd like. We'll see... ;-)
http://www.pastpatterns.com/5873.html

So now that the crazy rush to finish the English gown is done (except that I had to repair the rip and try to knock as much dust out as possible, and I want to cover the linen collar facing with silk because the linen looks boring! I can do all that this week before Saturday!), I have already turned to the next project! I have the white lighthouse bustle to make, but the ex-manfriend has expressed an extreme interest in steampunk now, and bought me a piece of steampunk jewelry to seal the deal. So it looks like that's on the list too. Heck, if it gets him in costume, I'm happy! :]

I am waiting quite impatiently for my black mourning bonnet and pink silk to come... It's been three weeks... That is an incredibly long time!! :-/

Well here's some sketches (is it any wonder I have a B in AP Econ?)

The proposed steampunk dress:


The lighthouse natural form (she has no head... I gave up):


The underskirt and sleeves are this really lovely eyelet I found. And not disgusting modern poly eyelet either! 100% cotton eyelet in a period design! It was worth the heinous amount of money I spent on it...

My grandpa gets to come home today, which I think is a good thing. Odd how I didn't get to visit him, and my parents didn't tell me much about what happened.

Thank you everyone so much for your prayers and good thoughts! I really appreciate it.

My mind is everywhere right now. I'm doing so many things... I have an interview tomorrow for a scholarship. I'm trying to keep my grades up, but all I can think about is sewing. That's awful!! :[

The ex-manfriend-who-is-still-best friend is taking me here soon (date not set yet) which mandates a pretty white voile bustle gown, circa 1874. I found the perfect inspiration in a Tissot painting. Tissot is the best inspiration for bustle dresses! I'm going to stick pretty close to this, minus the stripes on the underskirt. I don't feel like sewing a lot of stripes on a skirt... It does look so pretty though... But no! This is going to be a "quick" project. The neckline will be a V and the sleeves quarter length though. I want it to be more seaside-y. What makes me happy is the deflating bustle. No big metal bustle for me yet. I will resist...

The new sheer dress is entirely finished, except for hooks and eyes. I really don't want to go put on my corset, etc.... it's too cold! I like being in my warm sweater... *sigh*

So no pictures until I get around to putting the closures on. Now... I'll either cut out the pieces for my new wrapper, or take in the kirtle.

Yeah... definitely avoiding responsibility and making the wrapper. :]

My kirtle is a tad too big.
My brown wool skirt is a tad too short.


....okay I'm gonna go work on a new project now!

*blissful ignorance*

...an almost completed sheer bodice. 5 yards of red linen. 1 yard of cream linen. 5 yards of printed cotton.

That means I get a sheer dress, Elizabethan kirtle, and a new wrapper.

:)

...my alter-ego. :]



A sketch I did in AP Environmental Science and finished at work.


I'm in an 1860s mood now. But I have nothing Civil War to work on! I think I might do a Swiss waist/corselet and sheer waist for Knott's and the Athenaeum. And another sheer, but a transitional style one. I'll wear the sheer waist under it so it will be appropriate for the Athenaeum. I'd really like to tell them it's ok for girls to wear short sleeves and low/wide necklines... *sigh*

I want to make an English gown in a week.

I can do it.

:-)

and already have plans, I finished my 1910 tea dress entirely and am now working on the petti for the caraco. Productive night tonight as far as sewing goes; not so much in the socializing department. :-P

Tomorrow, the manfriend and I are going vintage clothes shopping and then visiting San Juan Capistrano mission. The only old stuff we have in Southern California... *sigh* But it should be fun. I wish I could go in costume, but I'm not sure what era they portray there, and it's also Spanish so it's bound to be a little different. It was founded in 1775, but I could also go in something later than that... Maybe I'll just be "normal" for the day and feel really left out when I see the living history people there. Oh well! :-P

The vintage clothes are for our Edwardian outing to the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens. They just finished renovating the 1911 GORGEOUS mansion, so I want to wear my 1910 dress. But the manfriend has nothing by way of anything vintage. I just want to get him something passable for Edwardian. Just trousers and a vest and a shirt. He'll part his hair on the side and wear dress shoes. We'll make do. :] I think I'm slowly bringing him over to the dark side of costuming... Mwahahahha!!!!

...shows no mercy.

I brutally attacked the Stash today and now all the useless scraps and whatnot are gone. There is so much room in my boxes now! For more scraps no doubt heh...

I also got fabric yesterday for my girl's 1870 dress, but that'll get its own post tomorrow. It's coming along swimmingly!

Oh, and... I want to make these:

I always told myself I didn't like the 20s. But Hemingway and Fitzgerald have gotten to me. I just had too much fun doing the Charleston for my history project!

So here we go! Past Patterns dress and this pretty silk crepe from Fashion Fabrics Club.