Re-enacting inexpensively - Stays

I'm going to start writing about the most important garment a woman in the hobby will own, her stays.  I am in the process of replacing my own stays at the moment, and thought I'd share with you my thoughts on the subject.

First of all, they are not life threateningly painful as media and folktales would have you believe.  They are constricting, and they aren't comphy like your pajamas, but they serve a purpose, and without them, you may find yourself more uncomfortable than if you just suck it up and get yourself into a set.
In the 18th Century, stays are shaped like a big V.  The point of the V being just below your waist, usually hitting just above the pelvic bone.  They are meant to give you a smaller waist, but not as small as in later periods.  My stays will tighten up to about a 34 waist, where naturally I'm about a 38/40.  This may vary, depending on how squishy you are, and how much distance there is between your bottom rib and your hip bone.  I am squishy, but there's only about a 1" gap between the bottom rib and the hip, so I can only squish so much before my ribs would complain.  Also in this period, we see finger like tabs the splay out over the hips, greatly contributing to the comfort level of the wearer.

I drafted my own original set of stays, using my own body block as a starting point.  Several friends use the method of trying a bunch of people's stays on a new person until they get a close fit and work from there.  There are commercial historical patterns, and even Simplicity also had a fairly reasonable stays pattern recently, but it has since been discontinued, the shame.  You can also find custom corset generators on the web, or draft a pair roughly looking at style lines and go from there.  There are many ways to get yourself a good workable stays pattern.  For my new set, I already had a good fitting set, I just wanted a new pair as the old set were falling apart too badly to repair any further.  Following this cutting diagram
I laid my old set out on paper, traced around the outside edge, and then marked in my cutting or style lines.  Then, cutting out the paper pieces, I marked the grain lines and boning channel lines.  There are many examples of extant stays on Pinterest, I have quite a few pinned on my 18thC stuff board, here  https://www.pinterest.com/esteladufrayse/18thc-stuff/

Now, I was also making these on the cheap.  I am still a student after all, and I have never believed in spending vast amounts of money on anything for the hobby, save our canvas.  I'm also a fan of using what you have close at hand.  It makes for a more inexpensive garment if you can buy at your local fabric and supply shops instead of ordering in.  So for this new set, my fabrics were 1m(one metre) of straight woven cotton canvas, 1m(one metre) of twill woven linen fashion fabric, both found at the local Fabricville and 1m(one metre) of straight woven linen for the lining, also bought at the local Fabricville on the bargain wall a few years ago.  I used Gutermann buttonhole twist for sewing and making eyelets.  The boning for this project was 1/4" wide nylon zip ties from Lee Valley, a bundle will run you about 35$ and make several sets of stays. And I bound the stays in leather repurposed from an ugly 1980s shrug style leather jacket.  All told, I think this project ran about 40$ in supplies, and then my time.

I have to run now, but I'll be back later with how I put them together.

dirt...

Recently, a friend of mine posted on facebook her wonderings of when in the week it would be a good time to wash her very long hair.  You see, Eliza was going to be attending an event at her local Fort that weekend, and wanted sufficient dirt in her hair to be able to style it properly, but also to give the right look...ie, not modern clean.
This is something that not many of us consider when we are getting ready for an event.  We get up in the morning of our travel day, have a shower, shave, go through our usual routines for getting ready for our modern lives.  This may include washing hair, putting on aftershave, using our regular, modern, scented soaps and lotions.
Then there's our clothing.  Yesterday, my local Fort hosted WWI commemorations.  Their interpreters were featured on the news.  They were all turned out in WWI uniforms, and even had a nursing sister along.  What I first noticed, before anything was said, was that none of them were "Well" turned out...they all had closet wrinkles, the nursing sister's apron had been obviously living on a metal hanger for some time and featured the tell tale signs of not being pressed before she got dressed.  The boys all could have used an iron as well.  They were clean, polished, but that one little thing jarred my eye.  They could have used an iron.  The same goes for our clothing in the 18thC.  Have your own clothes been hanging out in the closet for the season?  Do they have the same tell tale signs of metal coat hangers?  This is an issue when you consider that clothing would have been stored neatly in a trunk or a press.

Ok, so dirt...

Early on in my life I developed a bit of a skin condition that prevents me from using commercially scented soaps and such.  I will also develop a migraine faster than fast if I am around perfume of most sorts.  With that in mind, I will notice your axe body spray.  I will notice when you use the exact same, obscure aftershave that my brother uses (a very light, but distinctive scent), I notice when you are wearing my favourite perfume, another obscure scent that not many people even know about, let alone wear.  Another thing I also noticed early on, when people wore scents in the field, they were often chased by mosquitoes, horse flies, and wasps...seems bugs like perfume too.

Having worn my hair long for much of my life, I know that it is much easier to dress hair with about two days 'dirt'.  The grease levels in your hair will even out if you start to wash your hair more infrequently, it will start to shine more, frizz less, and your skin will start to appreciate not being stripped every day of all its moisture.  Another friend, who is also a re-enactor, started using an 18thC method of 'cleaning' her hair one year at Louisbourg.
There are new pomades and powders being developed by the likes of
https://www.facebook.com/LBCC.at.the.Mayfly?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser
who are spending a lot of time also teaching how to use these products.
Evelyn had great success keeping her hair clean at Louisbourg for over a week using this method. Not clean as we would think modernly, but clean none the less.  Dressing it every day and putting on her linen cap helped a great deal.

I personally only wash my own hair 2-3 times a week, that third time dependent on how much I am sweating.  When it's short, I rinse it in the morning under the shower, mostly to get rid of the very bad bed head I develop.  When it's long, I can often get away with just a good brushing out.

Showering...

I'm one of those horrible water wasters on the planet, as I normally have a shower in the morning, and another one in the evening before bed.  In the modern world, yes, this wastes water, as the human body doesn't need to be that clean.  I use the water as a calming mechanism so that I can sleep at night.  Now, for intimate details here, I don't use soap every shower.  That can really dry your skin out, and you don't really need it.  My soap is also old school, hand made, no perfumes, no modern chemicals, you could probably eat it if it weren't for the lye.
When I'm in the field, I can't shower every day, hell, some spots don't even have showers, so it's an entire length of stay that I can't be in water.  I have a routine though.  It involves a wash basin and a face cloth.  Yes, the bird bath.  If it's cold, as it often can be here in Nova Scotia, I will even forgo the bird bath and just change my shift for a clean and dry one.
You see, when you are in the field, it's usually just a change of undergarments and socks that are all you really need.  Maybe a wash of the face and a brush of the teeth to make you feel human again.  Then a brush out of the hair, getting that back up again, and putting on my linen cap and I feel "clean enough".  Where's the coffee?

Clothing...

I once got into a heated discussion with a fellow re-enactor over laundering our clothes.  She would go home every night, wash everything, including her silk gowns, and shower every day and put on clean clothes from the skin out.  You could tell.  Her gowns lost the lustre that silk has, because all of the oils and natural stiffeners has been washed out.  You could smell her coming, with all the perfume she was wearing, layered from her soaps to her creams and hair spray.
People are often shocked when I tell them that the only things in my historical clothes that I wash are shifts, drawers and socks.  That's it.  And they are all hung to dry.  I only own two gowns from any period I re-enact, not a weeks worth, two.  Every morning I will put on new body linens and socks and wear the exact same gown I had on yesterday.  At night, the gown gets hung on the hook at the side of my bed, or I'll drape it over my side of the bed for extra warmth.
At the end of the event, if it's nice, I will hang all of our clothes out on the line for a day to dry and freshen up, I only wash the body linens and socks.  Then it all is stored back in the trunks for the next event.  I carefully fold and store the garments so that the aprons are folded nicely and will develop those nice linen press folds.  Gowns and jackets and such are all folded as carefully as possible so to limit the wrinkling.

When we're suffering from being house bound in the winter, we'll often open the trunks and take a good sniff, yes, our clothes will still smell of wood smoke.

In all my years of re-enacting, I have not ever laundered any of my existing gowns.  They don't smell.  This is due in large part because I use natural fibres in everything, but also because I wear my body linens and wash those.  You see, it's the polyester in modern clothing that makes us stink.  The poly fibres hold on to the sweat we accumulate and keep it, while it rots.  Linen and wool both wick body moisture away from the body and then allow it to evaporate into the air, not holding on to anything.  As long as both are dry, you will stay dry and clean.

but what about mud?

The last couple of years at Louisbourg, we've had pretty bad rain.  I will try to keep my skirts out of the wet, but mud happens.  What do I do then?  Well, when I can get my gowns dry again, I give them a good wacking with a broom handle.  It really does work.  They are not pristine, but then I don't want them to be.  They are "clean enough" though, really clean enough...in fact they usually end up just looking slightly dingy, and one of my gowns is quite a few years old now.
I sent one gown to be dry cleaned once.  Someone had spilled fish sauce on me and I felt I had no choice.  Well, that will never happen again, as the gown came back so shrunken that I couldn't wear it again...I ended up having to rip it apart and reusing the fabric for something else.  I was so disappointed.  The lesson I learned there was to really look at the 'hand washing' cycles on my next washing machine, and washing things at home, if needed.

So what am I getting at here?  We are just too clean in the modern world.  Really think about that before you get ready for the next event.  What do your clothes really look like, do they have closet and metal hanger wrinkles?  How do you smell?  Sometimes it's the minutiae that will push your impression over the top and allow you to really be in the period.

And leave the AXE body spray at home, please...

from the Material Culture Centre
http://www.scribd.com/doc/266238167/Hygiene-Body-Functions-Bathing-Hygiene

yesterday was good, today is "hopefully" better.

So you've gone to a few events and the bug has bitten you hard.  Welcome to the crazy hobby of re-enacting, where you'll spend thousands of dollars to look like a poverty stricken refugee living in a tent...

No, wait, you don't have to.

Well, you might.

So you have your basic kit.  You might have bought it, or made it when you first started out, and you were learning to sew.  It's now the winter, and you yearn for the smell of wood smoke and gun powder.  Now is the time to dig out your kit and see what needs improving.  Many times this job is done right now, in the mid spring, just before the season begins...or has already begun.  ACK!
Look at your gear, try it on, what is working, what isn't? Does it 'fit', or does it really need to be taken in?

One of the biggest mistakes that new re-enactors make is wearing clothing that is miles too large.  Others have chosen cotton over linen or wool because it's cheaper, some still, have used poly cotton, or straight up polyester fabrics because they didn't know any better.  Did you?  Here's a great article on just that very thing, common mistakes.
https://adamselindisdress.wordpress.com/2015/05/19/the-most-common-mistakes-in-historical-costumingre-enactment-and-how-to-avoid-them/

I'll let you go and read that one, then I might add to it so that you have better kit for this upcoming season.

Ok, so my biggest thing is fit.  So many times I have seen people try really hard with fabric choices and hand stitching their garments beautifully only to fall flat in the fitting department.  We are so used to wearing clothing that gives and flexes with our bodies (knitwear), that when we put on a garment made from straight woven fabrics, they feel too tight and constrictive.

We need to collectively put our big girl and boy undershorts on and suck it up...no, really, just suck it up.  Your clothes are not going to feel as comfortable as your pajamas, like ever, but you will get used to the fit.  You will get used to your historical clothing and it will begin to feel weird when you are at an event and aren't dressed properly.

To begin, the only thing that you'll be wearing that is loose is your shirt or shift, but even that shouldn't be swimming on you.  It should be long, like to your knees.  It should be relatively loose through the body, but not too big, you don't want those folds of fabric digging into your skin when you put on your more fitted over garments.  The shirt sleeves should reach all the way to your wrists, maybe with a little play, your cuffs should button nicely.  Your shirt collar should also button up nicely, if it doesn't then you'll have issues with tying your neck stock properly.  You should be wearing a neck stock, tied over your shirt collar, nice and snug.  Not all loosey goosey like on some recently released movies and TV series.  If you are wearing a lady's shift, the sleeves should be elbow length and in most of the 18thC have fitted 'cuffs'.  The neckline should be cut in line with the neck edge of your stays or gown and be finished nice and smoothly...if it has a ruffle, this should be small, of finer fabric and be whip gathered on to the flat edge of the neckline...not a draw string, bulky, ugly thing like on some commercially available shifts.
The only place that you want to have this garment really big is through the knees, so you can have lots of room to move your knees.  Your legs will appreciate you for that.

Breeches, oh, my pet peeve, breeches.  Not because I hate making them, in fact I love making them, but because so many people hate to make them and so make them badly, instead of taking the time to learn how to construct them properly, and have them fit properly.  Wow, run-on sentence there, sorry.  To make breeches, you need to construct the fall front first.  I have also found that this job is really done best by hand.  Trust me, I have tried by machine, with not the greatest results, and I've been doing this a while.  Take an afternoon and do this step by hand.  Make a beautiful fall.  Then, don't mess with it!  When you are constructing breeches, the fit is all undertaken through the inseam and the back.  I make up the fronts completely, then I make the waistbands to fit the individual, then I stitch the fronts to the waistbands.  Then I make the backs and sew to the side seams and waistband, gathering in the back waist as needed to fit into the waistband.  Then I get the new owner to put on this crazy looking skirt and I fit the breeches snugly through the inseam.  You are going to have to get over all the weird and uncomfortable feelings of being that close to his inseam.  He's going to have to get over it too.  You are his tailor, and these need to be tailored to fit.
Once this is fitted, then I mark where the knee bands need to be and finish off the legs.  The knee bands should fit right below the kneecap, not half way down the guy's calf...that drives me right around the bend.  They should be snug through the leg and over the knee, and fit nicely, cupping the knee when he bends his leg.  No 'gathered' kneeband, no 'plus-fours' in this period.  Sexy fitted legs are sexy, do it!

For women, it's wearing the proper number of petticoats and wearing skirt supports.  Also, a pet peeve of mine.  I wear three petticoats at minimum, sometimes four.  I wear one under my skirt supports, it comes to mid calf.  It is sometimes flannel, sometimes linen, depending on how hot it is.  In Nova Scotia, I'm more likely to wear flannel because it doesn't get too warm here, except in August.  But even when I went to Pennsic (a SCA war in Pennsylvania in August every year), I found I was much more comfortable wearing my wool petticoats than when I didn't.  Moisture absorbing, insulating from the heat, all sorts of good things.
I will always have some form of skirt support, even in Regency period there was this little bum roll to support the back skirts.  The skirt supports will take you from looking like a modern person playing 'dress-up' to looking like you've stepped out of a painting.  Even when I am portraying a really lower sort, I use one of my petticoats hitched up through my pocket slits to support the skirts and make it look like the period I am portraying.  If you are a bigger woman, like myself, I have found that using a bigger skirt support than your modern brain thinks is good looking, will in fact, make you look smaller through the body.  So if you are big, go big with the supports.  Don't bother with the itty bitty bum rolls, they just end up looking dumb.
Over my skirt supports I'll wear two more petticoats.  Yes, TWO! any less, and you've got far too much blowing around trying to be Marilyn Monroe, which really isn't cool when you are doing a period where your legs are only supposed to show if you're in a Punch and Judy cartoon.  I also don't skimp on the weight of the fabrics, if my top most petticoat is a fine silk, the second one will be much heavier.  This is to keep the blowing around at a minimum, but also to prevent people from seeing my skirt supports through my petticoats.  You're supposed to know they are there, but not ever see them.

Now, for waistcoats, frock coats, gowns, and jackets.  For either man or woman, these should fit through the body nice and close to the body.  The armholes should be nice and close to your actual armhole, not all big and 1980s.  Even if you are a person of size, the armhole should be as snug as you can make it.  This is for one reason, and one reason only.  Remember that silly tug that Jean-Luc Picard had to do every time he stood up from the captain's chair?  That tug was from his armhole being too big and the body garment moving around far too much.  Bad tailoring.  If the garment fits through the upper body and the armhole is nice and snug, then it doesn't matter how much you move, the garment will stay put.  No tugging, no futzing. Period.
Another thing that bothers me is knowing where your actual waist is compared to your fashionable waist.  Especially prevalent among people who wear hip hugger jeans, or their jeans down below their enormous bellies (guys, I'm looking at you, but also those muffin topped ladies...you too).  Your waist line is usually around where your elbows hit your sides.  Around.  Mine hit exactly.  Sometimes you can tie a snugly fitted piece of elastic around your waist and it will find your waistline.  You really should find it.  Now, in the Revolutionary period, and to some extent the Seven Years War period, the waistline for guys is below the actual waistline, to show off your proud bellies, you wealthy men you.  For women, it is all about that waist, making it appear nice and small, so it behooves you to find out where it is.  Fit your garments for the waist, not too long, not too big, and you'll feel much more put together.
Sleeves are another thing that should fit well, especially through the upper arm.  You should also know where your shoulder point is, and the sleeve should fall from that point, or slightly higher.  Feel the top of your shoulder for a bone that sticks out just a little bit, right where your arm hangs.  That's your shoulder point.  I set my sleeves just shy of that point, in favour of the neck, to give a nice rounding of the shoulder.  Round, sloped shoulders are the key to getting this period right.  There were no shoulder pads, no big 1940s, or worse 1980s shoulders here, for men or women.  My husband has quite the shoulder line, nice and square, and I still manage to round them out in his period suits.  The shoulder seam should be nice and snug to the body, and the sleeve should have minimal ease along this top shoulder.  Scoot the ease to the back of the armhole.  The shoulder seam should angle towards the back as well, not sit on top of the shoulder.  This helps in getting a close fit, but also fools the eye into not seeing the shoulder at all.

So, in short, read that article I posted above, and then look at getting the proper fit for your clothing.  Even stuff that you've made already can be unpicked and fitted again and re-stitched.  Go do it.  make your 'costumes' into 'clothes' and have a great season.

Tomorrow I might talk about dirt...yeah, I love some good heritage.

I graduated Friday, and am shifting gears, back to the 18thC

Re-enacting Inexpensively

Well, it has been a while, hasn’t it?  I hope to get back to this blog more often in the future.  I’ll be starting a PhD in the Fall, studying the 18thC again.  I'll be spending the summer getting back into that mindset and with that, some blog entries on re-enacting and life in the 18thC.

 

Last evening, we had a pretty good conversation about re-enacting, and getting started.  I have never felt that this hobby need be expensive.  Your largest purchase should be your tent, your home away from home.  But even that doesn’t have to be expensive, if you choose wisely and make timely decisions.

Ok, so where does a person start?  I have long though that the personal kit and clothing should come first.  What are the basics?  Well, looking at the 18thC, you’ll need a shift/shirt, petticoats or breeches, some kind of sleeved garment, and a hat.  Oh, and shoes, but I’ll chat about that later.  This basic kit would also work in other time periods, just figure out what the basics of dress are for the group you want to play with and go from there.

That’s an important note; find out what the standards are for the group you want to play with.  Get to know people in that group as they will be an invaluable resource.

OK, so your first step is going to be learning how to sew.  Trust me, this will make your entrance into the hobby so much cheaper and better for all around.  If you could poke your siblings with your fingers repeatedly growing up, you can learn to sew.  It’s basically poking fabric with a needle.  Just as easy as your brother’s arm, and people will like you better for trying.  Not everyone knows how to make patterns from scratch.  Even I will use commercial patterns from time to time to shorten my workload.  There are some really great ones out there and some really horrible ones.  Find out from your group which ones they like to use, they may even have lending copies that you can use.

Each group has some form of “good, better, best” dress regulations.  I am going to lay out what I think are my “good” standards.  Start off with civilian kit.  Even the military units had people who started out in civilian dress.  You can do all the drill, have all the fun and become part of your group much quicker if you start out with basic civilian kit.  And you’ll feel more confident, because it’s yours.  Start out by asking around if people close to you, ie, Mum, has any left over, natural fibre fabrics from other projects.  Do some research to see what would be appropriate for your character.  If in doubt, stick to solid colours, colours found in nature.  If nobody close has any left over bits, head to the fabric store.  Ask the ladies at the store where the bargain fabrics are kept.  Ask for help.  Tell them you need natural fibres if at all possible.  Really, trust me, it’s not just a “period, or not” issue, but also a safety issue and a comfort issue. 

Here are the rough estimates you’ll need for each garment:

1. Shirt/Shift – 3metres of White, or very pale Natural Linen, or cotton/linen blend. This garment covers most of your core body, and below your bottom.

2. Breeches/Petticoats – This garment covers from your waist down, to the appropriate length.  Breeches usually take two leg lengths, from your actual waist to below your knees.  Get someone else you measure this length.  Petticoats take three leg lengths from actual waist to ankles.  Again, ask someone else to take this measurement.  If you don’t know where your actual waist is, tie a snug elastic around your waist and see where it wants to hang out, that’s your actual waist.  Modern waistlines are way down on our hips.

3. Sleeved garments – This is without question the most hotly contested garment in the hobby.  Just take my word for it and wear one while you are in public, at all times, even when it’s hot, yes, just do it.  For men, this can be a sleeved waistcoat, that garment will take about 3metres of cloth, one for each the back and front, one metre for sleeves.  Most garments of this type would have been lined, so 3 of fashion fabric, 3m of lightweight, natural coloured linen for the lining.  For women, you can start out with a simple ‘T’ shaped bedgown, lined or unlined.  The fabric measure is roughly twice the measurement from shoulder to hip.

4. Hats and caps – Your hair needs to be kept in a period fashion and covered at all times.  Much like the debate over sleeves, just do it and don’t complain.  You will get used to having something on your head in short order and folks will appreciate your trying.  For women, little fancy linen caps can be made or bought relatively cheaply.  For men, you can start out with a simple beanie style workman’s cap until you get the funds together for a tricorn hat.  A workman’s cap can come in several patterns, the easiest I’ve found being a tube that is gathered up at one end.  The tube fits your head, and should be longer than a ball cap so that it flops over to one side.

5. Shoes (and socks) – Not everyone can afford Sarah Juniper shoes, they are the dream shoes of most re-enactors.  I started off with a simple military style, heeled, oxford shoe.  The plainer the better.  Men can get away with black dress shoes. Again, the plainer, the better.  These can come from second hand or army surplus shops.  You needn’t spend a lot of money on these, especially since you’ll be wanting proper shoes before too long. The next step up in footwear is either Fugawee or Jas. Townsend.  They will run you between $100 and $250.  They are good, basic quality footwear.  Then, you can look at more expensive, and possibly custom footwear.  That’s where Sarah’s shoes come in, at the top of the custom market.  You will get some fabulous shoes from her though, hand made in the proper technique. Socks should be either knee length or longer.  I have cut the panties out of tights, bought plain cotton knee socks, and have knit my own wool stockings.  There are many places that you can find good socks for very little money.  Get ones with really opaque coverage, and ones long enough to go over your knees so they stay tucked into your breeches cuff.

6. Eating kit – Start scouring the second hand shops.  Here you can often find wooden salad bowls that will suit the purpose for many years to come.  Many re-enactors carry a wooden bowl throughout their entire career.  Look for one that you can drink coffee from, or soup, or eat a basic meal from.  Then you’ll need a knife and a spoon.  You’ll have to do some research here, to find out what styles are suitable for the period you are doing.  Spoon shapes change over the course of a two hundred year period, as do knife styles.  Do some looking and asking around before you buy, so you don’t get left with something that doesn’t work, you aren’t happy with, and you can’t sell.

7. Sleeping kit – Again, head out to the second hand shops and the army surplus.  You’ll need to find yourself a wool blanket.  If you can find this indispensable piece of gear, you don’t need a tent right away.  You can find shelter just about anywhere in camp, or in the bush.  Most men on the march had just a wool blanket for bedding. If you are allergic to wool, line it with a plain coloured flannel sheet, white if possible.

8. Luggage – The other piece of indispensable kit, the market wallet.  Pack all your gear that you aren’t wearing on your body in this.  It is a rectangle of fabric stitched together along the long edge to form a tube.  Leave the center of this seam open, and hem, about a third.  Then place the long seam in the center of the tube and stitch the short ends shut. Roll your wool blanket up and small as possible and tie shut.  One man, one kit.  This works for woman too.

With this basic kit, you can hitch a ride to the event with just about anyone.  You’ll be fairly self sufficient with very little space being taken up.  If you stop along the way for supplies, some bread and good cheese and a bit of oatmeal will take you through most meals fairly cheaply.  Remember that most re-enacting persona, in period, would not have had much.  For the most part, they are basic soldiers or they are refugees.  Think about your kit with regards to how you would have carried it in period.  If it’s on your back, you don’t want much.  A basic civilian kit could cost you as little as $100.  Once you’ve got it down and spent a summer in the field, only then start to expand your gear.  Then you’ll know what works for you and what doesn’t, and what works for the group you’re now a member of.

 

Most importantly, have fun. Oh, and leave your phone and your modern wrist watch in the car, you won't need them and will enjoy the experience so much more if you really live it.  Trust me.

 

More reading, more writing, but the end is in sight

I spent much of December reading and writing, turned in the thesis again on Monday and have been running around like a chicken ever since.  We bought a new printer, which caused the den to explode, it's still in a state, but I have a desk again.  Today, I spent the entire day applying for new IDs and waiting in lines...I am so spent.

Tomorrow, I will get back to sewing.  I am working on regency clothing right now, new gowns and coats for Mum and I, new gown for Laura.  We wondered yesterday if my spencer would fit her as her new bonnet is brown and her dress is going to be peach and ivory lace.  I'll throw it at her tomorrow, and if it doesn't, we're off to the fabric store again.  I am working on mum's gown right now, navy blue and her coat will be camel, possibly with fur trim.  Mine is going to be shades of gold, satin with a silk striped overlay, my coat is teal, possibly also with fur trim.  Pierre will wear his uniform, but I made a new stock for his neck, a new style I'm experimenting with...he'll need a new shirt with a higher collar.

I have been reading today, this blog https://catherinetheteacher.wordpress.com/ about a full emersion event.  So jealous! What fun that would be...we can come close at Scott Manor in February.  I'm looking forward to it, and it has proven to be a raging success, sold out, so there's hope for more winter events to happen.

I made the grown up decision to put off the PhD for a year, we need to get ourselves up there, I need to meet some people.  I will also have to take some graduate level art histories, so I will do that.  I may also take a swing down to the https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marshfield-School-of-Weaving/231914120220938?fref=ts for some coursework.  I am itching to get back in the studio, back into historical textiles.

well, happy new year all, I'll be asleep when it actually turns over, I'm shortly for bed now.  Be well

New in the shoebox

I haven't written anything here this Autumn because every waking moment, all Fall I have been sitting at this computer trying to edit my thesis into submission.  I have only been updating facebook, and even that not very well.

The thesis went to my second reader Dr Jayne on the first of September, major edits occurred after that, and then mid November it went back to her again.  I got everything back again last week and just had a meeting yesterday with Dr Randi about how to proceed.  I will be reading more over the holidays and editing again while the major junior tournament is on and I have a computer to myself between Christmas and New Year's.  Then at the beginning of term I will send it back to Dr Randi and it will go to the external examiner.

Oh, and I also have a fashion collection to finish...two jackets, a skirt, a dress...

I am having a Skype interview with a professor at Concordia tomorrow, Friday, afternoon to see about taking me on as a PhD student.  I am nervous as all get out about that one.  Am I good enough, all that crap.  Right now, all I really want to do is weave some textiles and make some historical clothing...

And I am, not weaving, but making some historical clothing.  We have a Regency Ball coming up on February 14th, I am making three gowns, for Mum, Laura and myself, and two pelisse coats for Mum and myself.  I started Mum's on the weekend, I have the bodice completely stitched, now I have to decide on sleeve length and cut them and the skirts.  Then send the remaining bits of fabric off to Joy who is making her bonnet.  Her gown is navy peachskin cloth, her coat will be camel wool with either boucle or fur trim.  My gown is gold silk/cotton sheer over gold satin.  My coat will be teal wool with fur trim, possibly a dark, almost black fur.  We haven't nailed down Laura's gown materials yet, but are closing in with stuff from her stash.

I have also been plugging along on the great embroidery project, I have the body complete and have begun working on the sleeves.  The first undersleeve is finished.  I can see the light at the end of this tunnel and am hoping to have it finished for the Kingdom A&S event in March in Montreal/Quebec.

I hope to get back to posting here on a regular basis again, now that things have calmed down and I don't feel so guilty about being here in the blog instead of over in the thesis.  I will be sewing a lot more next term too, so I will have stuff to talk about again that's not "ugh, the thesis!"

been a while...

So, it's been a while.  Since the major rewrite of the document, I have been continuing with writing, but also spent some time in the studio this summer.  I got another outfit completed and one almost finished.  I am waiting on embroidery to come back from whence I sent it to be done.  That will become another jacket and I will have finished two outfits this summer.

I spent two weeks in the 18thC doing living history.  While at Louisbourg, I spent two days learning how to do bobbin lace.  I think I have enough of a knack for it that with youtube and some time, I should have this new skill firmly under my belt.  Then I hope to teach it to others.  We are still in pursuit of paring down the excess kit that we take along to events.  Louisbourg was good.  I think we're almost free of extra cast iron, the dreaded fish box it was housed in and all the extra stuff that doesn't seem to have a home when we are encamped.  We are still dealing with food.

Last night I moved back out of the studio for the remainder of the summer.  I need to buckle down on getting the document written, but also can't afford to be wasting valuable tuition money waiting on fabrics, some of which also cost money.  The kids wedding maxed out the credit, so I am feeling the pinch.
Today I spent sitting at the computer.  I tidied the den. Printed off the stuff I need to work on.  Put books away for easy access, found a library book that is due today. But mostly spent the day playing bejewelled and thinking.  I expect tomorrow will be productive.  I think I need to read through the printed material a bit more, weed out some stuff that I hand copied, then I'll be ready for another major edit.  Once that is complete, I expect the final push will be easier.

Once I get back into the studio in the Fall, I will have three more outfits to finish. And an exhibit to plan for in the Spring.  I am so close...