What Next?

[sbuchler]

I finally finished my last YWU’d paper on the black velvet titanic-era evening dress! Yeah!!! *Happy Dance!* I’m so tired of this paper… the dress turned out to be very difficult to pattern and document. Which I predicted it would be - I thought it would be a nice challenge. It was beyond challenging. I am exhausted. I’d say, I never want to see it again, except that now that I’ve finally got the paper finished I keep thinking it’d be fun to actually make the thing in my size:




Obviously I’m a masochist.

On the other hand, I am really looking forward to having time to devote to sewing! I feel like it’s been forever. Of course I have no idea what I’m going to work on. I probably should go back to the 1475 English Burgandian style since I finished the underdress for Pennsic. But I’m not feeling very inspired. The side tummy wrinkles that I couldn’t get rid of really annoy me in the underdress. *grump* I’m certainly going back to my embroidery test project; but I really hate the thread I’m currently testing with. I think it would probably be beautiful to couch with, but it is problematic to do chain stitch with, and it doesn’t even look really good to make up for the aggravation of working with it.

Speaking of projects, how feasible is it really for me to compete in the A&S pentathlon? I’m being nagged to do it… I could do the following:

• Division 1 - Dance - European: I’ve already told Sibylla that I’d perform Candida Luna dance with her at Red Dragon… I just need to learn the dance ;-)
• Division 2 - Embroidery - Free Form: Embroidery floss tests... I don't think this will score very well, as it's an experiment piece rather then a finished product... but the A&S competitions don't have a category for "experiments". Personally, I think they should!
• Division 2 - Costume 1451 - 1600: The only one that really makes sense is to do the full outfit for the 1475 Burgundian… unless I do Calum’s Maciejowski tunic as “costume single component”… The bliaut would be fun, but I don’t have time to do the T-tunic experimentation that I want to do first. Of course, the criteria for this entry are not very friendly to pre-Elizabethan outfits… *sigh*
• Division 3 - Research: Clothing in the Maciejowski Bible (I’d have to go though and expand on the underwear paper I’ve already done. But I was intending to do that anyway)
• Division 5 - Cooking - Single Dish: Stewed lamb recipe or the figs recipe from the Standard Bearer’s feast I just did.

That’s not too bad really… Mostly I’d be doing these anyway. I just need to write stuff up for them (and prioritize finishing up the Maciejowski research.) It actually seems feasible. I must be hallucinating. That can’t really be true, can it? Of course, I’d have to bite the bullet and actually enter a A&S competition, which I’ve been very reluctant to do - I’ve only ever entered one (6 years ago!) and I’m still hurt and bitter from the comments. I dunno if I’m cut out to compete… plus, these entries aren't designed to please the A&S criteria, but to please me... so they probably won't do that well, anyway...