Busy busy busy
This will be an entry without pictures. That's because I haven't taken any yet and I'm feeling too tired tonight to drag out the camera. It has been a very busy week since my last updating. I have finished the trim work on the chemise for now, I am pondering the idea of adding more, but until I get the bodice done and can see how it looks with the chemise as it is, I am hesitant to spend another 12 hours hand sewing trim onto an undergarment. I am not the world's fastest sewer, it is definitely work for me.
In other dress news, I have gotten together with my mother-in-law, who might just be the world's fastest sewer. At least she's very good at it. We spent tonight cutting out my new underskirt, two foreparts, and a caul. One of the foreparts and the caul I will now spend the next couple of weeks sewing pearls onto. The two foreparts are out of the same material, but one I will be beading and one I will be leaving plain. That way if the beading takes me an extra long time, I can still wear the dress in the meantime.
I have also been working on more cordials. I was given a recipe for a strawberry cordial and.. well, I'm obsessive compulsive enough that you can never do just one of something. So I decided to do a raspberry-rose cordial and a spiced blueberry too. The inspiration behind the raspberry-rose was the abundance of rose petals that I had left over and the fact that I have read many recipes for raspberry cookies with rose water added.
The strawberry cordial is 2 lbs of strawberries, 2 cups of sugar, zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup of brandy, 2 cups of vodka and 3 cups of white wine (I used a white zin). Mash the berries and sugar together, then add the rest and let sit for 2 weeks, strain, then age for at least 1 month.
The raspberry-rose cordial is 3 cups of dried red rose petals and 1 lbs of mashed raspberries with 6 cups of vodka.
The blueberry cordial is 3 lbs. of blueberries, 3 cinnamon sticks, 5 cloves and 6 cups of brandy.
So that is the end of my new projects at the moment. I'll post some pictures of the chemise and the cordials soon. My goal for the dress is to have it completed by December 8th, so we'll see. I have a good start on it so far.
In other dress news, I have gotten together with my mother-in-law, who might just be the world's fastest sewer. At least she's very good at it. We spent tonight cutting out my new underskirt, two foreparts, and a caul. One of the foreparts and the caul I will now spend the next couple of weeks sewing pearls onto. The two foreparts are out of the same material, but one I will be beading and one I will be leaving plain. That way if the beading takes me an extra long time, I can still wear the dress in the meantime.
I have also been working on more cordials. I was given a recipe for a strawberry cordial and.. well, I'm obsessive compulsive enough that you can never do just one of something. So I decided to do a raspberry-rose cordial and a spiced blueberry too. The inspiration behind the raspberry-rose was the abundance of rose petals that I had left over and the fact that I have read many recipes for raspberry cookies with rose water added.
The strawberry cordial is 2 lbs of strawberries, 2 cups of sugar, zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 cup of brandy, 2 cups of vodka and 3 cups of white wine (I used a white zin). Mash the berries and sugar together, then add the rest and let sit for 2 weeks, strain, then age for at least 1 month.
The raspberry-rose cordial is 3 cups of dried red rose petals and 1 lbs of mashed raspberries with 6 cups of vodka.
The blueberry cordial is 3 lbs. of blueberries, 3 cinnamon sticks, 5 cloves and 6 cups of brandy.
So that is the end of my new projects at the moment. I'll post some pictures of the chemise and the cordials soon. My goal for the dress is to have it completed by December 8th, so we'll see. I have a good start on it so far.