Do I need a new Camera?

Yea, I do. I hope that this month we can finally order one, I really need to get some work in progress picts up on here. I spent yesterday re-cooping from the evil teeth monster and did get some bodice cutting out and done with. I have a paisley to start that is brown and green...yuck, what a combo, but great paisleys on it.

I have been watching the latest Jane Eyre on MPT. Great dresses, men's coats. It is one of my favorite periods, and the main dress she wears is very like the blue one I had some years back. I guess I will just have to remake one.

I started up on some bodice pieces and I need to get the over-lock oiled and re-threaded. I am having a hell of it with the blades I think getting dull ish. I hat the prospect of re-threading all the threads.

New Color, New Year

This year I will continue with green themes in the costumes. I did get a bit burnt on the black silk I used for some Widows Weeds. Hopefully Sally will have those pictures soon.

I am just so sick of black at this point.....
What, Janet sick of black? Well, I think I need a break from it. The color that I want to work with again this spring is green. Yea, how original is that? I have plans for some embroidered taffeta I got for holidays last year. I have some ideas about doing a new Victorian of the bustle era. I finished the mourning dress using the LM patterns for skirt and bodice. Drove myself insane trying to sew at every possible momment with the daylight to finish the main body of this costume. I realised I had to get it done, no trim or fancy things, just done. I was blocking on finding trim locally, and did not find any on my last trip. So, hopefully with the next Mourning Event being in October, I will have time to buy trim in the off season.

But Why Green?
It's alive? Well, kinda. The main reason being that greens are what I am finding locally in suitable weights to sew.I have re-watched some dramas like Deronda and The Way We Live Now and would like to try something from this era, however, I don't want to have to make the monster bustle so I am weighing me choices. Make a smaller bustle, lobster tail, or buy one. I can't really afford that so I may attempt one of the smaller ones.

Another Green Project
So, a Little Women event is planned for spring. I have the perfect little spring green check I found locally. It is supper soft and I am sure that the only thing to keep me from falling asleep in it is the corset! Hmmm...

Finally, The Uniquely You is Unique

After months of waiting and refitting and reworking, V carved the Uniquely You form with me on the weekend. However, I noticed that things had gotten a bit tight on the cover...hmmm, that holiday bulge. I have begun and increased excercise program and eating more veggies.

I was able to get the short corset and chemise on it and try to get the silk Regency ball gown solidly on it. After months of trying to get this one thing done, it is just amazing how much more possitive I can think about creating now. It's like having a blank canvas almost.

I hope to get our new Digital Camera after V calms down about his new iPod. Then I can get these projects done. I have to make something for the events coming up and I do hope to go to the Cyprian's this year, to make up for missing it two years back. Hope to get some pictures up with the old camera this weekend.

Uniquely You...the challenge

After much waiting, I finally got the Uniquely You dress form this fall and I am well, with trepid anticipation, getting ready to carve. Yes, with electric knife.

Prep
I have spent several weeks grinding my teeth over the fitting the cover to my body. I had to first stablize the rather flimsy fabric with cotton duck and literally pull it all apart. To save on trying to sew the massive back zipper, I sewed over the existing piece with the stronger fabric. I could not think of any other way to retain the massive zipper and not kill my machine. When I did that, I decided to slowly take apart the whole cover, re size it to me, adjust each piece, use that as a lining piece, and remake the whole thing. Heck, why waste the flimsy fabric, turn it into lining. The project took about three weeks, doing one panel at a time. It would not take this long had I not been grinding my teeth the whole time. I would run out of patience after each piece and have to go back to it after working on something else for a bit.

So, now after many fittings, I have the cover fitted to me. Now, I have to be brave and actually carve out the dress form. I have taken all the measurements and will try to find some cheaper foam in town and practice with the knife. I see this dragging out a bit, but I must show my patience.

Woo, New Year and New Messes

Wow, has it been that many months? Really? Okay, well it's that time of year for making promises and trying to keep them and I think I have done pretty well with the costuming ones.

I made it to Dickens and spent what little time we had there talking with friends and bonnet bumping galore. Trystan had a very nice picture of us and I will be uploading this later.

Wow, I have been working on my pledge of last year to use up some fabric I already have. This spurred the, I must clean my costuming closet mess...some of it, this year. So I have actually bought boxes for organizing hats and I am taking inventory of business items for sale and hope to utilize my space better. I realized by using some rather helpful items from Ikea that were meant for the kitchen, I can now organize my actual sewing supplies better. By doing this, I have more room in the cabinet!

Amazing, all this room you never knew you had because things weren't organized. So, all those HGTV and DIY shows finally inspired me. My goal is to create more room for saleable stuff in my business to somehow get to where I can make money. So, I am organizing away.

Of course, organizing while I am in the middle of making a spooky mourning outfit(black thread everywhere) and a regency Ball Gown...it's silk, eek! Actually, both have ravel potential and much pre-sewing and finishing must occur to have some actual fabric left to sew with for the costume. So, planning away for my two first projects of the year.