Finally transferred a load of photos off my memory card.  There are things there from over a year ago *groan*... Please excuse the yellowy lighting, my desk lamp casts that weird glow and I haven't had a chance to correct for it in all of the photos.

A much-belated accounting of my taffeta Venetian project.  This was meant as a trial run for the ( Read more... )

 Still in the design stages for my new gown, which means I've been poring over every portrait and sketch that I can find online, looking for inspiration, backup, and double checking what I've already planned to do.

I'm currently collecting accessories, which will include:

• Necklace(s).  Searching for a cheap pearl choker, which doesn't have to be real ( Read more... )

Part One: An Invitation

I recently received an invitation asking if I would be interested in attending an SCA war in 2012 as a merchant.  Being a part-time seamstress and a full-time grad student, my first thought was, "Oh no, how will I ever survive a week camping *outside* in full garb?  How will I ever make enough inventory to sustain a week's ( Read more... )

Quick Halloween Update

Eeep!  Has it really been 8 months since I last posted?  Somewhere in the flurry of activity before Halloween to finish my courtesan gown, I never managed to get back to LiveJournal and update things.  :(  Bleh.

I really do need to pull the gown out from my closet where it's carefully packed away and take pictures of the ( Read more... )

After putting some thought into the matter, I decided I wanted faux blackwork embroidery on my camicia.  At present, since my embroidery skills are sadly very dusty, I opted to use the fancy stitches available on my Kenmore sewing machine.

I loaded up some black thread, ran out a full bobbin, then grabbed a piece of cotton to test the stitches on.  ( Read more... )

Finally got around to making my girdle over the past couple days.  It was a great excuse to watch QAF!  (I swear I'm going to get the entire series soon ( Read more... )

I was so excited to find a package in the mail today when I got home from lab!  Tearing off the ugly scuffed manila envelope - I swear the USPS uses elephants to sort their mail sometimes - here is what I found folded up inside, along with a closeup of the label.


( Read more... )

New Chemise

Here is my beloved first chemise, made according to Dawn's instructions.  Two years ago I was just beginning my deeper foray into semi-authenticity, and chose to adhere more to my budget than anything else.  This resulted in a perfectly serviceable ankle-length chemise made of 65% poly/35% cotton Symphony broadcloth purchased from JoAnn ( Read more... )

Got my fingers crossed! I just sent off an e-mail to an eBay seller who is featuring peacock body feathers. Forget ostrich.

After spending a few hours browsing and brainstorming, I still couldn't find any feathers that screamed, 'Buy Me!' until I came across an auction for peacock body feathers. These aren't the long, sparsely plumed ones with ( Read more... )

I'd always intended to make a flag fan to go with my Venetian gown, since there are an abundance of them in both portraits and dress diaries.  There's also a few places that go through the steps of making one, and I figured it would be a pretty nifty accessory.

Mental U-turn.

What started as a comment in passing on the feather fan carried by Lavinia ( Read more... )