Regency Ball 2...

I stayed up late last night and made quite a bit of progress on the Waistcoat.  The shell is complete, as well as the pocket.  I did not fully understand the pocket instructions in the pattern and probably didn't make it quite right.  For now however, it seems to work.  Today I hope to complete the waistcoat.  I have to add the lining/interlining combo and the collar.  Then it should be mostly finished and I can move on to the frockcoat mock-up.  I'm not sure what buttons to use just yet.  Hmmm... I should probably pre-wash the wool for that, as it takes a while to air-dry.  Here's a photo of the waistcoat so far.  It looks better on my fella than on the floor.

Here is a photo of the almost finished undershirt.  The collar and hem need to be finished.

*SIGH*  I just read up a bit.  It seems the waistcoats generally have self-fabric buttons.  It looks like I'll be sewing a few buttons today as well.  Not my favorite, but I've done them before and will survive.

Regency Ball

Hmmm... considering my last post was just over a year ago; I am certainly not the most active blogger.  But I have a new project to post about.  My fella and I are attending a Regency Ball later this month and need appropriate clothing.  His intended garb, from the skin out, is as follows...
White linen shirt
White linen under trousers
Red silk double-breasted waistcoat with black linen lining
Brown Trousers
Black Frockcoat

The linen shirt is almost finished.  I did not take pictures of the process, but will add a photo of the finished product, later.  The only part lacking is the collar.  The collar from the pattern was a little too small for him.  Then I need to hem the bottom and it's finished.

I made a mock-up of the waistcoat and it fit like a charm.  So tonight I cut the silk and linen fabrics.  I will take photos of the pieces shortly and post them.  Then on to the sewing.  I'm using Reconstructing History patterns for my fella's clothes and will state which pattern for each piece I post.

As for my outfit, I'm going with a reconstruction of a dress from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion.  The mock-up I made following a 1-1 scale (1 grid in the book equaled one, 1 inch grid on my grid fabric) made a bodice just a tad too small.  It fits my 6 year old daughter.  Which lets me know I can whip her up a dress no problem and I already have the pattern. :-)  I need to scale up the pattern and will do that shortly.  I have a thin, gauzy cotton for the dress.  While I would love to embroider it before the Ball, there is not enough time.  So the future holds tambour work for me.  I am also taking my old American Revolution underdress and adjusting it to be used as a Regency underdress.

The hardest part has been the shoes.  We might have to fudge it due to lack of time.  But for the future at least, we were informed of a wonderful site that does custom historical shoes.  Harr Shoes, here in Germany.  We've taken measurements and this week we'll see if shoes will be possible by the 24th.  Now on to sewing.

Seemingly inactive...

While I have not been writing much on this board, I have still been quite busy. I attempted to Challenge Drachenwald with a challenge another came up with. However, it has flopped. Only a few people showed interest and I'm not certain how far they have progressed. But I still plan to finish the dress I set out to make, by the date I set for the challenge. And I shall try again next year with a different challenge. I will attempt to tell the populace at the upcoming event about the new challenge and give a head's up. Then at 12th Night Coronation, I plan to issue the challenge. People will have one year to complete their outfit if they choose to join me. I'm attempting an annual challenge with a different theme each time. This is to encourage people to create something they have not done before. This time it was an Italian Renaissance outfit, as laid out by another site. http://renaissanceitaly.net/TempFiles/ItalRenCostumingChallenge.htm My own notes for the challenge I posted, can be found at http://annualcostumechallenge.wordpress.com/

The plan for next year, if anyone takes me up on it, is probably a German Renaissance outfit. Over the next two weeks I will put together the skeleton of a challenge so I can present it at Garden of Earthly Delights. As it's an Arts & Sciences event, it seems the best time and place to present such an idea.

Now, off to bed. Sleep is always an aid in such creative endeavors.

Turnier des Herzwalds II Badges...

I made up two Badges for Turnier des Herzwaldes II. One for the Tourney Champion and one for the Nobleman of the Tourney. Granted, Sir Gerhardt von Wuestenburg won both, but they were fun to make.The swords and II were split stitch, the trees surface couched, the heart made with Klosterstitch and the black background was made with another type of couching.

Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge...

Lady Anna and I were both interested in the "Realms of Venus" announcement of an Italian Renaissance Costuming Challenge. It sounded like a lot of fun. However, entry to the contest was closed early due to too much work. So we were both too late. But it looks like we may just have our own contest. Now this could be fun. I've done a 1490 Venetian dress and I have the pattern. But it may be fun to do a different style. The basic rules of the official contest state:

Layer 1: A camicia/shift/smock/shirt or drawers or corset/pair of bodies. I don't expect you to make all three.

Layer 2: Either an underskirt or under-dress/petticoat, or doublet and slops.

Layer 3: The final layer will be either an over-dress, or a loose gown, or a cloak/cape.

Layer 4: An accessory - any one of the following: fan, pocket/pouch, hat/jewelled accessory for the hair, zibellino (also known as a "flea fur"), hanky, gloves, girdle, or shoes. A partlet, a set of Venetian shoulder/neck ruffs (if they are separate from the partlet), standing ruff/collar, and a muff are all also accessories.

I'm rather curious to see if we get this going as a cool Drachenwald contest. If so, I could see us doing this each year with a new theme. This could be LOTS of fun. Now I'm off to plan the right style with the fabrics I currently have.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Today has been a wonderful day. I know this has nothing to do with crafts and projects, but it's been so nice, I just wanted to write about it. It seems the German tradition is to do all presents on Christmas Eve. Since we live in Germany, Michael wanted to do this. I compromised. We each opened a gift last night, but save the rest for today. We decorated the tree. Normally we decorate about a week before Christmas, but I'm tempted to do it this way again. Just plan better next time so we can make the temporary ornaments, like cinnamon bundles and popcorn strings. Also, we need to find a better place for the tree, so we have an outlet to plug in the lights. Then the kids put out cookies and eggnog for Santa. They called their father and he read them "The Night Before Christmas". Just before bed, we went online and saw where Santa was, on the NORAD Santa Tracker. At that point he was in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

This morning was proper chaos. We woke up at 4, since Michael had to go to work early. The tree had exploded with presents from family and Santa. The kids dug in. It's nice that they can both read their names now. They are able to find their presents easier. There were also a few gifts for Michael. He was very happy with the board game "Cattan" and surprisingly happy with the cute leather making kit. It ended up having a bunch of tools and other bits that he could use and didn't already have. Plus, he said his wallet was dying and he'd make a new one with the kit. COOL! He even got a fuzzy coloring poster. I couldn't help it. I picked up some for the kids and figured he'd give me a cute pouty face if he didn't get one too. :-)

The kids were also excited with the cat. They had both picked out a cat toy for her as a present. This morning they opened her presents in front of her and were thrilled when she immediately wanted to play with them. Of course she really likes Paul's new Cars racetrack. She keeps trying to catch Lightning McQueen as he flies around the racetrack. the kids think it's hilarious.

And of course I got some cool gifts as well. I received the 2 volume set of "The Oxford Anthology of English Literature" from Old English until now. SUPER COOL! And a nice little travel crib/changing table/play pen for the new baby when it comes. And the new microphones for the game systems is fun. Michael will never be able to shut me up now. So many singing games to conquer. :-)

And I'm looking forward to tonight. After Michael gets home from work, we'll have a delicious dinner. Duck, sweet potatoes, pink salad, lemon pudding and pumpkin bread. At least that's the goal.

And the view out the back living room window is beautiful. The snow on the farm behind us, is gorgeous. It's a nice Christmas.

Son's Room...

Paulchen's wall is mostly painted. There are a few spots that I need to put a basecoat on, but I'll get to that tomorrow. I just have to move a few things out of the way first, but I'm too tired tonight. Then I'll sponge paint the red overcoat.

The adhesive for the wall art never came in, so I'm not even bothering to finish with the Cricut and wall art right now. No point if I can't adhere the art to the wall for Christmas morning. So tomorrow I'll focus on the curtains and blankets. Those should whip up pretty quick. I picked up new curtain rods for Paulchen's room today. They should look cool.

And there are definitely advantages to working in a craft store. You know when there are deals. We're trying to get rid of a lot of merchandise that isn't selling, so much of the store was 75% off. I picked up a few fuzzy coloring posters, a couple wooden model kits and some pom-pom craft kits for the kids. This means the kids will have new stuff for their walls and shelves, after we do some of these things after Christmas. Neat!