Regency dress #3 finished and hung up in closet. Being lazy, I am still in my chemise and short stays. Being productive, I am working on shirt for Wonderful Husband. News at 11.

Went over to Liz's this evening for a bit of sewing. She pinned the hem of the Summoner dress for me, so I can start proceeding further on that now. I also tried on the Regency stays she's making (Mantua Maker pattern) and apparently size 20 fits me like a glove with a 1.5" opening in the back. Have borrowed the pattern. ^_^ We arranged for her to come down to my place on either Saturday or Sunday and we'll make a gala day of sewing and fitting things to one another. I think it's a good thing, though, that while I was rereading Couture Sewing Techniques today, I found myself constantly thinking "Huh. Nice. Interesting. Not for this set of outfits, though!" There is a time and a place for couture techniques, and hall costumes that really don't need them to look good are neither the time or the place. Doing the thirty lacing eyelets by hand was quite enough of a couture touch. Nonetheless, the read was a nice refresher and brought several ideas for future possibilities into my head. For now, though, it is time for bed....

...won a teapot on eBay in the Winfield green bamboo pattern I'm slowly trying to convert all our dishes over to. Yay, this means I can give the current teapot, whose design I don't really like, to Goodwill!

...got caught up at work. And (finally/eventually) got my database access restored.

...pleated skirt and bodice of cream/blue dress to one another, sewed them together, sewed the lining in, and got the lining pinned at the neckline, center back, and one of the sleeves ready to hand-finish.

...fixed Wonderful Husband's gray faux-suede shirt!

...treated and washed the wax-stained tablecloth again; hopefully the treatment will make it come clean. Third time's the charm?

...watched disc 4 of Kamen Rider Kuuga. I think episode 14 is my favorite thus far, though there are lots of good ones and none that actually set off my "why did you waste my time with this episode?" meter. I like that Ichijou has realized that he and Godai are pretty damn much exactly alike. I like how they're foreshadowing so many themes this early in the show. I like how Godai has to consciously teach himself strategy. And I like that Godai, like Sakomizu in Moebius, forgets his own birthday. Though Sakomizu has a better excuse; Godai's, as far as I can figure, involves being dropped on the head as a small child. And I like that they also did a run at Ichijou's birthday too. ^_^

...made my doctor appointment for before going to Japan.

...and now I shower and go to bed. Oyasumi nasai!

Dress *almost* done. I stopped at Michael's Crafts (the one nearest my workplace) after work and have decided that particular store probably sucks. Me (after wandering the ribbon and embroidery aisles): "Do you have any silk ribbon embroidery supplies?" Salesgirl: "Um, I think the embroidery stuff is on aisle 29...." Maybe she's new; I'll cut her that break. But in any case it means I didn't find a suitable ribbon for drawstrings. But I came home after grocery shopping and finished the last drawstring casing while making dinner, and put in the cotton cording I'd used on the mock-up. Liz pinned where the skirt touches the ground, giving me a hem line, and we decided I might want a hook/bar combo halfway between the waist and neckline drawstrings. So... finishing tomorrow? For now, bed.

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!

This was a fun weekend.

( Click Here For Boring Descriptions )

Well, have finished my Regency stays and am, um, impressed at the effect they give me. Now, mind, I'm a 38DD so I know anything resembling a corset's going to give me even more serious cleavage than I normally have, but... we're talking continental shelf here. Renfaire barmaid wench cleavage. Wonderful Husband's taken a couple of pictures for me and I'll post them later so those who do Regency on a regular basis can tell me if this is the shape I'm supposed to end up with or not. I'm far better endowed than the models on the front of the pattern so I don't know if this is right or not. I do think, however, that I'll go down one cup size in the bust gussets the next time I do this pattern, just for the sake of snugness. But until then... um, on to the dresses?

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.