Back in Eastleigh, with my inlaws. Had a FANTASTIC time with toothycat in Cambridge, as always. Got hailed on in two places (Flag Fen and the Cambridge Botanical Garden) but only drizzled on at the Craeftiga crafts fair at Sutton Hoo, where Wonderful Husband and I purchased some honeycomb (for my father-in-law), some honey (for us), and a handmade vase and wooden bowl (for my mother-in-law's birthday present). The weather, as always, conspired to remind me of why the British have historically loved wool. Also, given that this was at least partially a reenactment craft fair, I'm feeling the medieval costuming vibe again. Probably in linen not wool, given I live in SoCal....

This afternoon we went into Winchester in search of the used bookshops, where I lucked out on a couple cookbooks, some Victorian costuming books (including Norah Waugh's Corsets and Crinolines for seven and a half pounds!) and Mansfield Park in the old red hardback Everyman's Library edition. And a jar of ginger preserved in honey, which Wonderful Husband says I am entirely welcome to.

I am thinking costuming thoughts for when we gt back. We're returning halfway through RenFaire season, so I won't have time to sew anything up for that this year (I should get off my duff and do it in the OFF-season!), but both SDCC and Costume College will be coming up in July. I've had a brainworm about making the Squiddle, with his blue eyes and dark blond hair, a TOS Captain Kirk outfit. And making a science blue matching set for Wonderful Husband. And a red minidress for me to complete the set. Which I could wear at both SDCC and CoCo. And if I have time, I have several lengths of fabric I've earmarked for Regency dresses, but I would need to make new stays for that, so we'll see. I know the CoCo packet will be waiting for me at home. Eager to see what classes will be offered this year. Since I made the executive decision not to teach this year (among other reasons, I burnt out after teaching, and screwing up, four classes last year), I'll be freer than usual to decide what I want to learn.

This afternoon, lacking the oomph for much else, I went back to work on the quilt I'm currently quilting on my mother's Singer 201. I got the upper tension dialed up to where there weren't great huge thread loops on the back, and it would work for a while... then snap. I rethreaded. I changed the needle. The thread is a brand new spool. I disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled the upper tension. Still the same thing kept happening. I checked the bottom tension and cleaned all the lint out of the (dropped) feed dogs.

It's frustrated me enough that I've ordered a new hopping foot and put the quilt aside for now. If, after it arrives, the problem persists, I'm taking the machine in to be serviced at a local sewing machine center that I know regularly handles vintage Singers.

The thing is, it sews regular seams just fine. It's just the quilting that the machine is throwing a hissy fit over.

So I'm switching to a project that involves regular seams. Namely, a Regency corset. I have two short stays from the Simplicity reprint of Sense and Sensibility's pattern, but I tried them on tonight and remembered why they don't work for me. Not only are the straps right on the edge point of my shoulders, but the cups are in no way big enough. My breasts end up squished behind the entire short stay, all the way to the bottom. I look at Jennifer Rosbrugh's review of the Laughing Moon pattern, however, and note that (a) she's about the same size as me, and (b) holy cow, the cups actually fit her right.

(Despite the fact that the Sense and Sensibility short stays don't work for me, the chemise in the same pattern does. I'm wearing it right now. So there is that.)

I found a few yards of quilting cotton I won't desperately miss, as well as some cotton cording, and tossed it all in the wash on hot to pre-shrink so I can do a test version. Then I'll order a few yards of cotton sateen, since although Joann's allegedly carries it, I can never find it in-store, and make a "proper" version out of that.

All this being for Costume College, of course. Packet stuffing is next month, which means I really need to start thinking about what I'm going to wear. Some people have been working on their garb practically since last College ended. I don't go to the Gala, so I don't need something fancy to wear. Last year I didn't wear any costumes at all! But this year I'm not going to be toting a pump and cooler for breast milk around, so I want to wear something pretty.

Among other things over the weekend, I finally finished my "rescue the historical costumes from the cat-infested hall closet" project. Which involved lots of hand-rolls of packing tape (cheaper than lint rollers) to remove the cat hair, and then washing the garments. Twice. But now the last four garments (Elizabethan hoopskirt, two sideless surcotes, and a square-necked probably-Elizabethan chemise that I don't even remember making!) are all clean and everything has been folded away into the clear plastic tote, in two stacks of archaeological layers, and the lid snapped on.

Cat-free.

Now I just have to spend a few months slowly doing the same for all the cosplay outfits....

Organizing the outfits led me to some interesting summations. I have one t-tunic (linen blend, with obvious machine sewing) and its underdress (linen), to represent early medieval. I have one (cotton) late medieval dress, with three surcotes (varying mostly artificial fabrics), all made from a very inaccurate commercial pattern. Three Renfaire chemises (linen; two embroidered); I need a new bodice as it self-destructed this year, and the linen-blend skirt is on back of my office chair, needing taking in. The hoopskirt... doesn't really go with anything. One Regency underdress (linen) and three Regency gowns. And the medievaloid green shirt I made for Wonderful Husband years ago.

I think... I'm at a point where I've let cosplay go. There are a few outfits I'd still love to do (Emma, and Amir, from Emma and A Bride's Story), but they're historical unto themselves. And there's the entire style of From Far Away. But honestly? I'm in my mid-thirties, not a willowy slip of a thing, and I never liked all the drama that went on in the cosplay community. (And it doesn't hurt that wigs do not fit me.) So I may do a couple cosplay outfits in the future (FFT set with Wonderful Husband, aiming for SDCC next year!), but I think it's time I start addressing the areas of the costuming craft that actually interest me these days.

Things I want to make: a matching early medieval set for Wonderful Husband. A GFD (Gothic Fitted Dress). Something accurately Elizabethan, as opposed to Faire Elizabethan. I want to dabble in Victorian (Emma would fit into this goal). I want to sew a few pieces from the VPLL 1912 Project. I want to make one of those horrendously bead-encrusted 1920s dresses. I would like to do a few pieces from the 30s-50s. And I would like to make Amir, but that's going to take research. Maybe I should try the SCA again, but... I don't know. I'm such a American than the idea of bowing to the nobility gave me fits the last time I tried.

Well, we'll see.

Did a little bit more gardening yesterday. Not much. Pulled up a few dead tomato plants, did a little bit of weeding. Made frowny face at whatever decided to eat my cucumber seedlings. I need to plant some more of those, and put them somewhere where they're less likely to get munched.

I also tackled the mending pile. Nine garments; mostly buttons to sew on and popped seams to restitch, with two rips to reinforce. I have only one skirt left to repair (one of the aforementioned rips). I can see the top of my dresser again! And (sorta) my sewing desk. In the process, I finished off two spools of thread. I have like a billion of them, so winnowing them down is always good.

I got a few patterns over the weekend at an estate sale, and my hindbrain wants me to start working on them now. Unfortunately for the hindbrain, I need to finish mockup 3.0 for stitchy's costume by Friday, and then we go to the fabric district on Saturday to purchase fabric for her. I need to finish her costume by the end of the month so that I can start working on mine! I kind of want to get some silk charmeuse for myself while we're there, to make some slips, and about three yards of silk chiffon to make a veil for bellydance class. But given that I have tons of polyester chiffon I could make one from, and that I don't know if Mara is going to have us working with veils again next term, I'm not sure if I can justify the expense on any of the silk right now. I might punt it all to later; after all, I'll need to go back to purchase fabric for my own costume....

Seven flowers done, one more to go. Took the embroidery with me to the CGW Christmas party yesterday for something to keep my hands busy. It rather surprised me what percentage of the people who commented on it had remarks more or less amounting to "oh, I could never do that." I guess I'd just had a train of assumption going from "costumer" to "sewer" to "more likely to know embroidery," particularly given a slight skewing of the group toward historical costuming. I don't know why, as most of the costumers I know from cosplay aren't that big on hand embroidery either....

I have a purring lapwarmer. And the kitty has a heated sleeping pad. Thus is balance maintained....

Some days I actually manage to feel relatively clever.

Liz came over today for a sewing Saturday and we both worked on Regency gowns. I'd made a size 18 muslin mockup of the long-sleeved gathered-front pattern Simplicity bought from Sense and Sensibility patterns, and we both tried that on and noted what we needed to adjust (a little extra in the back for both of us, and lengthening the front bodice piece). We both managed to wrangle the dresses out of four yards when the pattern called for four and a half. On her part this involved an alternate fabric for some of the bodice lining pieces. For me, it involved piecing the bodice front lining. I fitted five scraps of fabric together, but ultimately managed it. D'mn I'm good?

Liz's gown is closer to done than mine, but we'd cut out hers on Tuesday and I just started cutting mine out this morning. With luck we'll be able to finish them both on this Tuesday. I've been converted to the theory of pressing as one goes (since the ironing board is downstairs and my sewing machine is upstairs, this usually doesn't happen) and am now desirous of a tailor's ham since hers was so handy for pressing curved seams. The really nice thing about this? We needed to run to JoAnn's because I discovered I didn't have a single spool of rust-colored thread to match the fabric I'm using. Including the thread, my total cost for this dress is going to be $6.13. And I can wear it to work!

Hmm. Moebius 39 was a bit of a "curry" episode. By which I do not mean Mirai's favorite Earth food, but rather the Utena episode featuring curry. In other words, utter CRACK. But at least it was amusing crack. Am wondering why Mirai's alien sense did not start tingling when Sayuri was possessed by Serpent. Possibly because he was still hiding dormant in her at that point?

Also finished the linen Regency shift I started last night. It's from the Sense and Sensibility pattern as marketed by Simplicity and went together easily enough. I think it helps that I'd had prior experience with underarm gussets, though, as when Liz was making her version earlier this week they were baffling her. I was very confused by the grainline of the gussets though... I thought the bias was always supposed to be on the diagonal of the square, to help with freedom of movement? The chemise is currently on my dressmaker's dummy. I really need to name the poor thing. I really need to actually, like, sew the cover to fit my size instead of just pinning it to such. But at least now she's clothed. I've gained real interest in "matching" Liz's project this week due to two realizations. One is that I think I have the fabric for this dress, a lovely blue print on cream raw silk that I purchased ages ago, and the second is that I can sneak Regency outfits under the fashion radar and wear them to work! Plus with any luck the construction will turn out to be fairly intuitive.

I also stopped at the library today and checked out the last Jane Austen book I've not yet read (Persuasion), and put three books on hold... Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh, The Cut of Women's Clothes 1600-1930, also by Norah Waugh, and The Art of Dress 1500-1914 by Jane Ashelford. I should probably have the first and last in my hands next week, but the middle one is checked out and one other person has it on hold before me, so that may be another month. At least they have it available for checkout at all! Seven copies in the library system and six are in the Reference system, as is the sole copy of The Cut of Men's Clothes. But for now I disappear back downstairs with interfacing and muslin and my notebook and the pattern for Armida's wedding dress, and start to figure that out... after I make up another pot of tea for myself, that is.

Even though I didn't quite manage to meet up with people, I ended up going to the Star Wars costume exhibit today for the first of what is likely to be three or four visits. There's enough stuff there that I think I won't run out of details to examine and photograph. Fortunately Wonderful Husband's camera is able to take pictures of most of the outfits, save for in the badly-lit "room of Sith." Tickets are $5 each and parking on weekends seems also to be $5. The exhibit is set up into a series of rooms (much like Ikea, come to think of it) which after you leave one, they don't let you go back. Everything is a foot or two behind glass barriers with heat/motion detectors that get set off if you get too close (I didn't, but Wonderful Husband did, only once and that in the first room). The emphasis is heavily on the new movies, but there are some costumes and props from the originals. Unfortunately only one costume set (the Throne Room gown with two of the Handmaiden Travel gowns) is set up in the round. Most annoyingly, in the "room of Amidala" the costumes are actually two deep behind the glass, making it difficult to look at the ones in the back. *annoyed huff*

I think I wierded out/worried the staff by picking up and carrying around three of the "Dressing A Galaxy" books while we browsed the shop at the end. One for me, one for hoshikage, and one for my mum-in-law. Makes perfect sense, yes? But man, those things are heavy. Still kind of yearning for the $300 version, but I have to keep telling myself, I won't get the extra $250 of use out of it... no matter how nice the extra pictures are... or the fabric swatch details.... *mimblewimble*