A trip down memory lane, and a last bit of faire sewing!

I was doing some cleaning and sorting this week, and I found this:

Kirsten was one of my best friends as a child. I spent hours and hours treking across the backyard in a 'covered wagon' (our wagon, fun noodles, and yetengi) and sewing her cloths. Some of those early efforts were truely special. Like this one-such colors!

Or these pants made from the pant leg from an old pair of sweat pants-

What was I thinking?

Here's an early knitted vest attempt-proof that I had (and still have!) a lot to learn!

A few of my efforts got a bit better-

As awful as some of those cloths were, they brought back good memories of afternoons spent sewing and learning a few important principles of garment construction that I put to good use today. I'm so thankful that my mom put up with my sewing messes and gave me those scraps to turn into garments with some slightly skewed stitches and lots of imagination.

For some reason our cats have fallen in love with my farthingale--they flop on it and fight each other through it at every available opportunity. Not sure why it's the cat toy of the century... That Mal-mal...

In preparation for the faire on Monday, I've just about finished the corset!

While watching Thor last night I whipped down the top bias binding, and today I'm putting an extra I'm-really-paranoid-about-boning-escaping line of stitching in by hand. I can't wait to get my whole outfit together! Of course, there will be more parking lot dressing, but there are some things that are just worth it.

Parting shot--my bridesmaid shoes! I feel like such a poser in them, but there is a certian charm to wearing cool people shoes in a cool color!

More Faire sewing

So, as I will be heading to one last faire next week, I’ve been working on my farthingale. This weekend Mary helped me put the hoop wire in it, and I used some plastic tubing from Lowe’s to connect them. Here is the farthingale on me:

I noticed that there was some definite hoop showage through my skirt, so I thought and thought, and then went to the fabric store to buy some tulle. This is what I did with it:

The tulle overskirt by itself seemed to help quite a lot, and then the little ruffle (which I know was badly sown on!) also helped smooth out the line of the dress. Finally, I made this overskirt (which I have yet to hem; need some help on that) with a doubled layered front panel to wear either as a layer to keep the farthingale hoops from showing, or as an underskirt with an overdress.

The jury is still out as to whether I will wear my corset or the overdress—transportation issues do come into play here as the faire is much farther away from home that Four Winds Canterbury Faire. Also, finish-fiddling-with-the-corset issues are under consideration!

I finished the beading on my dress—I did bead down the panel down the front and really liked how it looked. It’s very subtle, but I think adds a nice touch! In other crafting news, I have been working on finishing that filet lace panel, and did some work on a pair of socks. I’m trying to stave off the itch to cast on three new projects at once…maybe just one will be okay?

This is a crazy house...

And I wouldn't have it any other way!

Today we’re celebrating Mary’s birthday, so I made a flourless chocolate cake (as she is gluten free) which will later be decked with mocha icing. This cake had to go in the freezer for a bit, so Mary obligingly helped me bring it down. To my surprise, this is what I saw when I put the cake down:

Apparently my brother froze water in one of my dad’s gloves, and now it’s stuck in there. Creepy, but sort of awesome at the same time!

One project that I have been spending a lot of time on lately has been doing some beading on my bridesmaid dress. Here is the finished sleeve—I’m on the second row of beads on the first sleeve.

I plan to do some more around the neck and maybe even down the front—we shall see how long my patience for tiny beads lasts. I do think it adds a lot to the dress though, and beading is a nice break from knitting. What am I knitting you ask?

I was doing some diving into the remnants of my stash that is still hidden in nooks of boxes over here (stop snickering people who know me—I have knit A LOT from my stash in the last 3 ½ years, and we’ve lost a lot of yarn weight!), and I found one of those atrocities that Castle so sagely labeled “deep fried twinkies.” You know it’s aweful for you, but you just can’t help indulging a few times a year. Yes, I still have some fun fur.

I am knitting it into a narrow scarf (5 stitches in fact) which I will then use for embellishing purposes. I love and hate it at the same time…rather like I love and hate myself… ; )

Random cuteness

I'm heading to Tennessee for a day and a bit, and I'm hoping to have some cool pictures of that to share when I get back, but till then here are some random fun things.

Anything is cute when its in miniature, and that goes for food as well! Mini hamburger cookies I made a few weeks back and have just got around to sharing. It's nice having the things on hand to make them!

You need to go check this out--an usual Edwardian sampler that never was finished, but makes you wonder what awesome mother set this up for her daughter! The best explanation for it that I've heard is that the Doctor visited her.

Lastly, I found my mom's complete series of the obscure BBC comedy Mulberry, and have been enjoying it again. The premise is a little out there--Mulberry is sent to carry Miss Farnaby into death, but instead makes it his task to rekindle her joy in life. Though truthful described as a "cantankerous old trout," Miss Farnaby's character is a lot of fun to watch as she yields to Mulberry's zany antics. I wish they had made another season of this! We all can use a reminder to celebrate and enjoy life sometimes...

I have my travel knitting--the socks that I'm not so in love with now but I need something to knit at my future brother in law's graduation, and my trust kindle Lewis to see me through. Yay for road trips! Too bad there won't be time for a yarn store visit...

Moving a brother

This Sunday most of us headed over to Dallas to help my brother move from one two story apartment to another two story apartment in the next complex down the road. While we made a quick stop, I managed to find a few bluebonnets blooming on my side of the highway. I'm so glad that I'm here in time to enjoy the end of their season!

The day involved a lot of shoving Flynn's unpacking things into whatever we could find, and going up and down steps. After all the big stuff and most of the little stuff was moved over, Flynn, Jasper and I took a walk down the road a bit to take pictures of this:

No kidding, I have a street! The lighting was terrible so the pictures of me with the sign are not worth posting, but maybe one of these days I'll be there at the right time to get some better pictures!

For supper, we had our traditional 'first night in a new house' meal of hot dogs, and as a concession to Cinco de Mayo we added some chili. Good times! Hanging out with my big lil' brother is always cool--even when I'm carrying his furniture and stuff around!

Lake Visit and an unusual (for me) project

This week we made a very cold, windy trip to the lake. Jasper, Spencer and I took a long walk along the shore of the lake and I had fun looking at the 'pretties' as well as the motley collection of human flotsam and jetsam that washed ashore. Here are a few pictures.

Of course, to make any outing more interesting, bring little brothers along! One of them being in possession of a sharp knife only adds to the excitment.

My mother has a few Jane Austin Knits magazines that I've been reading and creating from, and in addition to making this mob cap inspired hat,

I've started work on a fillet crochet panel that will be used for a garment (not totally sure what yet--I had an idea, but then I've had a few more since then!).

I'm really enjoying this project--crochet is usually not my cup of tea, but I'm enjoying the process of learning a new skill and making something pretty for myself.

I've also been looking into some knitting patterns for summer sweaters that I could layer over a tank top. Not only a faster project, but one that would make sense for both of my homes! If only I had an unlimited yarn budget...

Random Monday...

I downloaded a few pictures from my camera today, so I thought I’d share a few.

My family’s three cats are a constant source of exasperation and laughter—often both at the same time, and they are a lot of fun to take pictures of. Here are Neko and Mal hanging out in the laundry room—such cuties!

I had a blast visiting Flynn last week so we could attend a Dallas Symphony concert, and while there are many wonderful and nerdy things about his oh so very bachelor pad, this was one of my favorites:

Any guy who has a sword rack in his house gets approval from me, but a guy who keeps his umbrella there too? Huzza! Rock on lil’ bro!

This past weekend we had a Chai Party, and we blew through this 15 gallon bad boy…

…and had to start another big pot! It had been far too long since I enjoyed a nice cup of Chai…

Finally, I finished this little baby bonnet for my friend’s little girl. I kind of want to make it again and fix a few issues (at least I think there are issues!), but we shall see. Knitting progress has been slow and erratic lately—mostly confined to the evening dose of Voyager. Behold, Serenity’s bonnet!

I do love a good Faire...

I didn't take very many pictures at all these last two weekends because I was so busy living the faire. Catching up with old friends, making some new, and just reveling in my freedom to be ME without constraint and judgement. Here are a few pictures and a few stories; when I steal my mother's pictures I'll put some more up!

The owner of the Faire, Sir Dustin, is a wonderful visionary who has made it possible for grown people to dress up in awesome garb and escape from the real world for a bit and enjoy the magic of the past. I love that he vigilantly keeps things family friendly, and that music is such a part of this faire. Huzzah to you sir--keep making this a wonderful place to visit!

I enjoy getting to be outside in the beautiful East Texan spring, and watching the beautiful horses of the Faire. This year there were two adorable little foals to provide the cute factor and some entertainment as they ran down the lists with their mothers. Jousting horse in the making!

There is all sorts of garb to enjoy looking at and get ideas from as well. Kilts are a popular attire, though I personally wouldn't want to wear one on horseback! As the man said, "Want to know what I wear under my kilt? A Clydesdale!"

One of my favorite parts of the faire is the music. I have a passion for live Celtic music, and it is so good to get to know the performers a bit and have that added personal connection with them. This faire I got to know the group Triskelion and even got a personal concert yesterday! There was also an impromptu gathering of musicians while my mother and I watched a booth for another vendor (yes, we are that well known by the booth owners that they entrusted us with a booth full of swords and knives for over an hour!). It makes me want to bust out my guitar and play some faire music!

All in all it was a lovely two weekends. So many good memories were made, and I was sad to go yesterday. I don't know when the next time I'll get to visit the Faire will be, but I'm so thankful for these two weekends that I just had.

Favorite Faire Memories

* Having Flynn come with us and be an enthusiastic audience member.

* Getting to watch The Celtic Armory for our friends Tim and Carrie--the porch is a great people watching spot, and it was cool to feel a part of the family!

* Listening to Jed Marum during the day and at the Celtic Music Festival.

* Shamelessly 'fangirling' Triskelion and getting serenaded in a private concert. Good music and good people!

* Watching the joust and cheering for the brave knights.

* Picking up several really cool pieces of handmade jewelry.

* Visiting with Tim and Carrie as well as making some new faire friends

* Eating chocolate covered bacon!

A Faire Sort of Weekend

This weekend my mother and I spend most of our time out at Four Winds Canterbury Renaissance Faire. I got gloriously sunburned, but it was totally worth it! On Saturday I wore a dress of my mothers that while being elegant and lovely, also left much of my shoulders and back exposed. Despite religious parasol usage, I FRIED. While I was guarantying that I will die of skin cancer, I enjoyed watching Captain Tom Bedlam perform his famous counterfeiting trick:

I was totally excited to be at the Faire that day as it was the Celtic music festival and I was going to get to hear one of my favorite artists, Jed Marum. He played a bit on different stages during the day, and then starting a bit before 8 that evening there was a line up of celtic musicians. Unfortunately, Jed was last, so we only heard the first few songs of his set because we had to get back home!

The second day I wore a bodice of my mom's and one of my chemises. No, I did not remember to take any pictures of myself! I also had fun hanging out at the Celtic Armory with our friends Carrie and Tim.

This week the project is to make myself an over-gown to wear to the Faire as my former costume doesn't fit me any more. I might try to get that corset working so I can wear it one day as well. By working I mean to sew up all the places where the boning poked through, and finish it off. I'll have to post pictures of that as well... So much to do, and only a week to get it done in!

Easter Crafts

So, I have been making tiny bunnies!

How tinny are these bunnies you might ask? Here is a picture of one with a penny for some perspective.

Another Eastery craft I did this weekend was to make 'stained glass' eggs. Here are the results:

I call this one "scary old man.' You know how sometimes things don't turn out the way you intended them to?

Huzzah for holiday crafting!

Who knew there was Easter Spirit?

I have suddenly and inexplicably found my 'Easter spirit' today--I'm just enjoying planning on doing Eastery things today, and nothing is going to dampen my mood!

Yesterday, Good Friday, I made Hot Crossed buns because it is NOT Easter without that particular baked good! Swiping the icing off the pan always makes me feel like I'm 8 years old and elbowing my brother for the biggest patches of icing again--good memories!

Today I've been thinking of Easter craft project both for me and for my craft class, and I found some cute knitting patterns that I'm going to have to give a road test to before its too late. Hopefully there will be some fun pictures for you to enjoy come Easter Monday. Until then, Praise the Lord for He is Risen!

St. Patrick's Shindig and more Corsets

Beth and I had a mini ‘shindig’ for St. Paddies day on Friday. We had Irish coffee, watched Waking Ned Devine, and made butter tarts. We sure know how to party hard let me tell you… There may have even been some KNITTING and CROSS STITCHING going on!

I’ve been continuing my dabbling at corset making in spare moments over the last few days, and pretty much decided what boning I’m going to buy. I’ll use white steel boning and spring for lacing strips for the front edges. I can’t wait to see the whole ensemble! After I had sewed a line of stay stitching across the bottom of my boned-tabbed corset, I made a cardboard strip the size I wanted my channels and marked out the stitching lines. Then began the rather tedious process of actually stitching said channels. Once I finished that, I began to very carefully bind off the edges with bias tape, and I cut the tabs as I went to reduce fraying. Again, very fiddly. I think the channels are a little larger than I had anticipated, but I guess that is a good thing as the boning will have some depth to it. Now I just need to slip the boning in and bind off the top edge, set the eyelets, and lace ‘er up!

With that corset pretty much finished, I’m coming back to the tabbed corset next. This one is made rather similarly—after hand stitching the binding around most of the tabs, I sewed the bottom edge of the corset shut before marking out the channels. I had to bind both pieces of fabric because I am in idiot who missed the “leave a ½ seam allowance on the bottom edge” bit of the instructions. That made the whole channel process a little more interesting. After sewing these channels I will just need to put in the boning, bind off the top edge, set the eyelets, and squish in!

In non-corsety news, I’m plugging away at the log cabin baby blanket for little John, and while I’m still charmed by the simplicity of garter stitch and the colors, I’m starting to feel the “get it finished” itch. Hopefully it will become unbearable about the time I cast off the last strip. I'll post a pic when the internet isn't being annoying.

Oh the things I am learning about making corsets...

Note: I started this about a week ago and just now have had time to finish it.

I thought I’d post some pictures of the work I’ve been doing on my corset. This weekend I was mainly working on a bodice pattern that I am modifying/drafting, but here are the pictures of the corset.

Here is the pattern I drafted:

Here is the long shot of the quick knock up:

Here’s a closer look at the mid-part complete with bamboo boning-

On having Beth lace me up in it, I found that it was not tight enough, bamboo is REALLY POKEY, when I wear it I look like I’m wearing a bum roll—unfortunately it’s only my hips, and that it’s oddly supportive and kinda comfortable. When I make the ‘real thing,’ I’m going to shorten the corset body and take a lot more time sewing the channels! I was in a hurry there because I wanted to take advantage of an afternoon off.

Later…

I have since decided to change this to a front lacing corset for the obvious advantage that I can lace myself up. I want to make a boned and un-boned tabbed version to compare comfort and function. I’ve edged the tabs for the un-bonded tab corset, and I’m deciding what width and kind of boning I’m going to use so I can sew the channels. I can’t wait for Faire! Later I’ll post some pictures of the other Faire projects I've been playing with.

Of Corsets and sleep

My two consuming passions this weekend were to a) sleep, and b) research and start work on a corset. The sleep thing is easily understandable, but the reasoning behind the corset thing is that I’m going to be attending Faire in a few weeks, and then will be a bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding. For someone with ‘lumpiness’ issues like me, a corset is an obvious solution! I found a lady who will make custom ones on eBay that looks promising (and reasonably priced!), and I also drafted a corset pattern for myself on Saturday afternoon. I cut out a ‘trial’ fabric piece out of nasty cheap chetengi, and was pleasantly surprised! I want to try using green bamboo as a stiffener, and if that one works well, I’ll make a shell to bring home and stiffen with a great idea I found on-line: heavy duty zip ties! Of course a third option would be to buy a corset at Faire, but they aren't cheap. Of course I understand about being handmade, steel boned, and lovingly assembled, but that doesn't make it much easier to fork over a wad! I think I’ll see how my version pans out, and then go from there. At the very least, I can now say that not only did I draft my own farthingale pattern, but I can do corsets up too!

Speaking of Faire, I have a hankering to try an authentic knotted hair net. I have lots of black floss, so I just need to see if I can find some suitable elastic for a base. So many ideas…so little time!