Sometimes things happen that blow up your world.  A little over a week ago I had my 37th birthday which marks more then half of my life has been in the SCA. It just shakes you a bit when you know after all that time and effort and you barely blip on the radar because you moved.  Add to that just the normal depression knowing your life is a mess and you are almost 40.
Saddest of all I was hit with 3 deaths all unexpected and sudden 2 friends from my old kingdom, one by heart attack and the other a motorcycle accident.  The third was my dog who was hit by a car last night. Maybe it's a combo of it all but the loss of my dog broke me. In truth be was more then just a dog,  he was my ears, a lifeline to the world around me. Being Deaf he was the one who kept me in the know with what was going on around me. He was my autistic son's best friend and he kept me grounded in this nightmare of a living situation I'm in now.
I feel hollow and adrift. I'm questioning if what I do Matters

crown pic and the red wedding? !

sleeve getting close

4 days and counting

So I have 4 days to get the dress to a passable stage.  It will not be finished but it must be wearable!  Ack!

Currently I'm working on sleeves inspired by this portrait

Making progress

still going

Not 100% thrilled with how the skirt less along the point of the bodice bit it shall do

Skirt is now hemmed and sleeves are being started. Depending on how the first set looks with the bodice will decide if I will do a second pair. Once a wearable set is made I'll then be going into phases of done with the lead up to a wearable deadline.  Doing a line of matching applique trim along the hem making a new chemise and partly all will depend on time

late night ideas

When I can't sleep sometimes I think of odd costume ideas
A storm trooper cranach gown
A late italian ladder laced with doublet- Winifred from hocus pocus
A tardis viking apron dress

update

I've been bad I  know since I dropped out of the IRCC.  But work on the dress continues!

I'm working on getting the skirt cartridge pleated and attached to the bodice.  It's slow work and hard on the hands

To add to the difficulty of getting time to work on the dress we finally got an under writer willing to give us a loan for a house! Living with my mother in law this last year had been very challenging. And true to my word we went from the loan ok to putting a bid on a house  in a week.  We had a little negotiation issue but as of today we are moving into the home inspection/ appraisal portion of getting a house so that could make things interesting

withdrawing

As many of you know this year has not been ideal for me. I tried to take on the IRCC but my living situation made sewing difficult.
I'm pleased with my current project and while I admit it took on a life of its own I have decided that I wanted to do the dress right and finish it the way I planned rather then rush it to meet the IRCC deadline.  So I sent in my letter and withdrew from the competition.
It was a difficult decision but in the end I will be happier if I didn't take short cuts with the dress

finished bodice standing

Alright almost finished I need to enclose the bottom in bias tape before adding the skirt

the bodice stands on its own

One strap finished and one side trimmed out

back embroidery

The embroidery on the back of the bodice is done!

buttons

My Eleanor Torledo replica buttons for the sleeves came in

Using a little black nail polish giving it a bit of a faux Enamel look

Wow now they really pop

Just keep sewing just keep sewing

still at it

Embroidering the back of the bodice

I admit I bit off more then I can chew on this project.  If I had my own space and sewing supplies easily at hand I might be further along. Sewing everything by hand or using my machine on TV tray or on my bed is making things difficult.

The doublet over gown might have to wait until after the competition.  The plan was to have the underdress done by Aug 6th for the kingdom color competition and even that might be a hard task.

As it stands I still have to finish
 the bodice embroidery
Sewing the bodice together
Trim
Eyelets
Sleeves
Skirt
Skirt embroidery

That's a lot!

Alternates for the over layer that needs to happen to finish the ircc
A Turkish coat
A Surcoat
Or the doublet done very plain and simple

Hmmmm choices

I might also make changes to the sleeves have to think on that

cutwork handkerchief walk through

Step 1- prep work
Cut your item.  In this case a linen handkerchief.

 Finish edges (I also like to do any hem treatments now)

Trace your pattern

Frame (optional,  I like it as it keeps it flat.  You want it snug but not drum tight)

Step 2- outline

Back stitch or holbein works well depending on the size of the project you can do several rows of stitches to build up your outline

*you can choose to do your bars now or later. If you are planning on rolling your cut edges under your stitches do the bars now

With the outline done you can move on to the next step depending on your preference. I like to keep the fabric intact until the very end I find it leads to less puckering and the raw edge will work is way under your stitching on its own.  

*If you would rather not have a raw edge on your piece you have to take some steps to prevent it for stretching weird. Moving slowly cut small snips out of the middle of your cut space.  Carefully roll these bits under and enclose them with your buttonhole stitch.  Careful to not cut your bars and work from the center out.

Step 3- buttonhole stitch everything
Starting from the middle buttonhole stitch over your outline with the flat edge of the stitch along the area you will cut away.  Details on the middle will also be covered with buttonhole stitch. When you come to one of your bars that connect two areas that will not be caught go back and forth from the middle of the outline to the middle of the outline 3 times (all crossings should be above the fabric) then using the buttonhole stitch around these crossing till you are back to the original outline.  Continue till everything is done.

 

This is the longest part take your time it will be worth it I promise

Step 4- prepare to cut
Now that you finished stitching take a break. Pat yourself on the back

Remove from the frame and wash. I do this by hand.  Let it dry and iron flat.  I put the work back into the frame to cut as it keeps everything stable you don't have to do this

Carefully cut as close to your embroidered edge as you can.  If you are really worried about it all falling apart use frey check before cutting. Go slowly I use embroidery scissors but I know folks who will use an exacto knife.  Be careful not to cut the bars but if you do, cut them off and stitch again.  It's pretty forgiving.

When you are done stand back and admire your work.  If you find one area isn't as supported as you would like you can add more bars. 

Congrats you have done cutwork!

major slow down

So each cut out item on the bodice needs to be enclosed in thread or it freys. My machine doesn't stitch small enough to keep it from looking muddy so that means it has to be done by hand.  Each pomegranate section takes about 6 hours to stitch a little less if I'm really in a grove.  So the question becomes do it right or go skip it and move on.  I'm going for doing it right. Considering all the time and effort I've already put into this I would just kick myself if it fell apart after the first wearing. That may mean I won't finish everything in time for the IRCC but I'll keep going and just turn in what I have when the time comes.

Showing the difference between just the cutwork and the embroidered cutwork

Also I need to decided if I want to add "seeds" for the pomegranate and how I want to do them

next step

Now to start prong the stitching this needs to be done by hand as its to delicate to get a machine in there

back cut out

quality time

With just me and an exacto

trim back

Attached to the fabric ready to start cutting

back trim

Laying down the trim placement for the back of the bodice. I colored one of the pomegranates so you can get an idea of what will be cut away

daunting

Looming at the amount of work before me makes this project feel very daunting so in such times I like to make lays so every little thing feels like progress

Bodice
Hem fabric- done
wash - done
Iron- done
Trace pattern
Cut block
Trace trim
trace under fabric
cut under fabric
Finish under fabric edges
Iron trim
Cut
Fray check
attach under fabric
Applique edges
Attach cording
Attach to bodice
cut lining
Sew together
Sew all together
Finish bottom of bodice
Eyelets

Handkerchief
Finish buttonhole stitching
Wash
Cut
Deliver

bag
Knit
Sew sides
Sew bottom
Lucet cord

Those are the big projects on my plate with more to follow

test placement for trim

gold dress trim

I think I've figured out the pattern for the reverse applique trim for the gold underdress.  And I think I'm insane

preparing the board for the bodice

There are records that "paste board" was used inside bodice during period.  Most likely this would be layers of something with glue to make a stiff insert to keep the bodice smooth and after many experienced with padding and coats it would make sense to have something to smooth out the bodice.  If that was sail cloth or more layers of a canvas like material we are not  sure.  This time I'm following another costumers idea and I'm using plastic cross stitch and flannel to smooth out the front of my bodice.  It's the first time I've tried it but after seeing the great results she gets I figure is worth a go

working on the bodice

secret project

A dear friend was offered admittance into the order of the pelican.  So about a month before her elevation I suddenly got hit by some inspiration and started work on a secret elevation gift.

I dabble with drawn thread work and on occasion have done handkerchiefs as gifts.  This time I wanted to try something new and challenging so I played with some larger scale detailed cutwork.

All done by hand linen and silk thread

photos of the progress

Finally all the stitching was done! Now to move on to wash the piece and to stay cutting away the linen. ... deep breath

And now finished

corset done!

I know it isn't much to look at but as it stands I have 3 out of the maximum 7 items for the IRCC finished.  2 big projects loom ahead the under and over dress.

Corset 95% done just eyelets on the straps to go

secret project

Got some work done on the secret project the last couple of days

Now the big work starts

corset eyelets

Eyelets up the back and lucet done!
Tomorrow I do a test for and figure out the strap placement.  Once that is figured out I need to bind the top edge and do 4 more eyelets then it will be done!

eyelets

Today I'm focusing on eyelets and the lucet to lace the corset.  I had already finished one length of cord but after talking to my hubby I decided to switch it from being spiral laced to cross laced as the hubby will be the one lacing me into the corset and he found he had more control with cross lacing on a corset

sweet bag take 2

I like my gryphon sweet bag but the yarn makes it look like something a bit lower class then what I was going for.  So I'm trying it again this time with silk embroidery floss and very tiny knitting needles

Not much to show on the secret project I cut the linen and hemmed the edges