Pantalon sur le Feu

Hello again from the ADD costumer!

In my fabric stash I found some bright red (alleged) wool.  So you know what I did?  I got to work making myself a fitted hood.  It's simply the must-have accessory for the practical recreator.  While fiddling around with the main piece, I had an idea for a lighter-weight summer variant - a shorter linen cap, sans-liripipe, that still folds back from the face.  Okay, you've seen stuff like that before, but I'm going to do it without having to deal with the curve along the back of the head.  I have yet to see somebody master that particular construction point.

Stay tuned, patient readers, for the completed Maciejowski gown!

I'm going to get a snack when I'm done typing this post.

Last week's would-be vacation sounded like the perfect time to be productive, but hey, how often do I get to do practically nothing for more than a few hours at a time?  Not.  Very.

So yeah, didn't get much accomplished garb-wise.  The Maciejowski gown sleeves are the proper length, and the edges at the shoulders and wrists are tacked down (thinking very seriously about redoing the shoulders, as they're just not wanting to lie flat).  It looks like a proper garment, and, weather permitting, I think it'll make its public debut at Iron Ox's pirate-themed event early next month.

Once that's done I'm forcing myself to sit on my hands and avoid starting new projects until all the in-progress stuff is evaluated, and the worthwhile ones completed.  The only exception: I need to play with patterns for braies and chausses for an upcoming class.  The braies sound like a great thing to have handy for the swiftly-approaching summer months - just pop those babies on with a short, lightweight tunic and sprawl out in camp.

Mild to moderate tragedy

So, my husband's SUV decided Friday night that it doesn't really care to start.  This is not ideal.  For one thing, I was planning on taking it to Gulf Wars later this week - it's just easier to pack my tent, plastic totes, bedding and whatnot in the larger cargo space than in my car's trunk.  Plus it's easier to drive a small SUV through a field than to try the same thing with a sedan.  Secondly, while I have time off for GW, he has no interest in participating in SCA activities and has to work all week.  Which means he needs a working vehicle.  Which means I can't take my car.  He's trying to get in touch with a dealer today, and either have their shop fix the problem (if it's not too expensive) or trade the thing in for something that runs.

I've already lost several hours of prep time driving him to and from work these last few days, so even if things work out I'm seriously behind the ball in regard to finishing my packing and sewing.  Macie is being shelved for now and my focus is shifting to a blue tunic that I can throw over my off-white chemise.

Later that night ...

Well, it can be fixed, but my travel budget and site fees no longer exist.  Thankfully there is an event in a couple of weeks that I can day-trip, so I don't go into complete withdrawal.  Next year I'm stockpiling cash so I can spend at least half the War on site and rent a stupid car for the hubby if need be.

Distance teaching

Thursday morning I was greeted by a delightful surprise in my inbox.  A fellow costumer left a question about my Maciejowski project on my Flickr account.  So I made happy, squeaky noises for a couple of minutes, then had some breakfast as I got to work summarizing my sleeve construction scheme.

I've taught a couple of traditional lecture/demonstration A&S classes for the local SCA group, and while I do like that, it really gives me a boost when somebody independently inquires about my approach to a design or construction challenge.  Kinda makes me think those two years of architecture school weren't totally wasted ... I just seem to do better working with medieval clothing reconstructions than with buildings.

In upcoming news, Gulf Wars begins a week from tomorrow, I'm still very much on the fence about whether I'll make camp Thursday or Friday, and Macie is picking up the pace of progress.  The right side torso and gore seams have been finished; the left side torso seam is finished and the gore seams treatments are under way; which leaves the sleeve seam treatments, trimming the sleeve length and skirt, hemming the skirt, and doing the embroidery.  Sounds like a good deal of work.  Hopefully I can make about as much progress tomorrow as I did today, then keep up the pace Monday.

Lockdown

With (now slightly less than) two weeks to go until Gulf Wars, I've put an official freeze on new projects.  I'm fairly pleased with the pace of progress on the Maciejowski gown - the center front and center back seams and gores have been finished, and I've started the seam finishing on one side.  Didn't bother to note which one ...

Tonight I plan on continuing work on those seam treatments and possibly running my cloak through the sewing machine.

My dark green hood also needs seam treatments, buttons, and buttonholes.

There is a dark blue tunic on my garment rack that could possibly be finished before War.  As of yet, I haven't decided whether I'll be on site Thursday or wait until Friday.  Probably depend on the state of my sewing pile.

Off to get ready for work!