Cloak blurb

Just finished cutting out my new wool cloak - did I mention how much I lurve the deep red color?  It's so fitting for a Christmas Revel debut!  Anyhoo, I've got it draped over a bundle of hangers to stretch out a bit before I finish the bottom hem.  I'd recommend to anyone working with a heavyweight fabric (as is fitting and proper for a good winter cloak) to look for a bunch of curved hangers OR the bulky hangers used to store men's suit jackets.  You know the ones - basically disembodied plastic shoulders with a hook in place of a neck.  This will minimize the risk of creating a fabric bubble where a typical hanger's design diverges from the actual shape of a human's shoulders.

Bleepity bleepity cold bleep

It appears Mississippi has decided to jump on the Winter is Cold bandwagon, leaving me in need of a good wool cloak before Christmas Revel ... which is a little over a week from today.  Merp.

Never fear, though.  I already have some yummy deep red wool yardage and some silver silk (from the remnant bin - Pro Tip: always check the remnant bin when you set foot in any store that sells fabric) for the neckline facing.

The only hiccup in my plan is a stupid backlog of knitting projects.  Perhaps I should get off the blog and finish the charity mittens today, so maybe I can get started on the cloak tomorrow before heading off to Thursday afternoon sit-n-spin at the local yarn shop ...

Oh, also, I whipped out a fairly simple loose hood out of some blue Remnant Bin linen before heading to Ork Wars.  I'll make a mental note to snap a photo to share after I've finished the cloak.

News from the College of Heralds

This morning I found a very curious envelope in my mailbox (i.e. something addressed to me from an unfamiliar sender that was neither a bill nor a credit card offer).  I could see before I unfolded the enclosed letter that it was Something Important, since it had very bold olde-fashioned script as the heading.  It was from the Sardonyx Herald for the Kingdom of Gleann Abhann.  My name and device successfully passed the SCA Laurel College of Heralds, with only a minor alteration in the wording for the blazon (alaunt vs. dog).

So now I am officially Mathilde de Metteneye - per chevron vert and argent, five dogwood blossoms argent and a dog couchant sable.

Time to work some heraldry into my accessories, I think.

Art Wars at Harvest Home

Dropping in once more to let the blogosphere know I'm still alive and well.  Mundane life has been especially interesting and distracting of late (not "baby" interesting, though).  My crafting focus for the next couple of weeks is an alpaca sweater for the Ravellenic Games.  Still working on preparing the Big Box-o-Linen for laundry torture.

During the impromptu re-shuffling of mundane life, I had to cancel my plans to attend the Academy of Performing Arts this past weekend.  It seems to have been a great success, based on the stories I've heard and pictures I've seen posted via social media, and congratulations are in order for Gleann Abhann's newest Laurel, Mistress Martha Effingham.

Preparations are underway for Kingdom A&S in September, and Art Wars in October.  Yesterday I was invited to join Team Viking Tunic for Art Wars.  Other team members are tackling the documentation, pattern drafting and ornamentation for the project - my job will be to show up the morning of the event, well rested, and hand-sew like the freakin' wind.  Onlookers are encouraged to ask questions during the competition, so I may be able to convince people that HAND SEWING IS NOT HARD.

It's not hard.  I promise.

Kicking around

I'm still alive, despite the continued radio silence.
During the past several weeks I've changed jobs - back to the "casual dining" scene for a few months, until DH can secure a transfer to a more metropolitan area (and a promotion, if things shake out as promised).  Not much to report.  I've been focusing on knitting - cranking out socks for family members, browsing sweater patterns, generally Killing Time on Ravelry.
What little sewing I have done lately has been mundane, primarily.  An alteration on a bridesmaid dress to earn a little cash.  Mending DH's slacks that he wears to work (this involved some clever engineering on my part; I am continually amazed at a grown man's utter ignorance about the destructive things he does to his clothes).  Occasionally I'll pick up some yardage from the stash and turn a cut edge under so it'll survive the Laundry Torture ... whenever I get around to it.
When I'm not doing any of that, my main concern is staving off heat stroke.  Despite what the calendar says, summer lasts six months in Mississippi.  After putting up with the screwy climate for seven years, I'm ready to go home to Tennessee, where they still observe all four seasons.
Maybe a little "hangout time with friends" and pub food this weekend will make me a little less crabby ... ?

Blip

Not an actual "hey, I made progress" post, just popping in to let you know I'm alive and well.  Lots of non-garb stuff has been on the front burner, and a good bit of that non-garb stuff wasn't even fun non-garb stuff.  (Some of it was ... Finished a pair of stripey socks!)

Anyway.

Working on getting all my ducks back in one cohesive clump.  I don't think linear formation is achievable at this very moment.  Hoping the mundane chaos sorts itself out within the next couple of weeks ...

Green belt

This weekend Gleann Abhann celebrated the coronation of Their Majesties Uther and Kenna. During court Saturday evening, Mistress Margot du Bois approached the thrones with a request to take a new apprentice. The Crowns gave their consent and the court herald summoned me to join Mistress Margot and give a public answer to her invitation. I accepted, and received a hand-woven green belt as a symbol of our relationship as student and teacher.

For anyone interested in the Arts and Sciences in the SCA, a formal apprenticeship is not necessarily required to become a Laurel. Nor is a peerage guaranteed to all who become apprentices. However, having a relationship with a Laurel has its advantages - access to their library and expertise; guidance and critiques on your research and works-in-progress; motivation to try new things and to produce more and better work; mentoring on the qualities of a Peer; and a voice inside the Laurels' circle to applaud your successes, or a shield to mitigate the blow if you deserve chastisement.

There are two paths to apprenticeship. Sometimes a student will approach a Laurel and requests to become an apprentice. Other times the student's work will attract attention. The latter describes my experience. As it turns out, I've been on the radar for a little while now among the costuming crowd, recognizable by sight, but, for most people, not by name. When Gulf Wars rolled around, I was camping in the same household group as Mistress Margot. She said she'd been keeping up with my sewing and knitting projects and asked if I was interested in an apprenticeship.

YES!!!

I sincerely wish to make my Laurel proud :)

It's a Spin-off!

I'm moving my knitting research to a companion blog - Mathilde's Medieval Knitting Circle.
That's pretty much it for today. Lots of reading and some laundry to do.

Boo.

"John and Jane Doe" just won't do!

Meet my lovely new assistants!

Sure, they're not terribly handy when it comes to production, but I have the Musical Sewing Mice and the Knitting Octopus for that. I only require two things of them: 1. approximate the size and shape of a human head (mine, in particular) for blocking and display, and 2. sit very, very still for photographs. So far, they do these things rather well.

But they need names. I've got some ideas already, but I'm still open to suggestions. Please post your ideas in the comments!

Bye-bye, money. Hellooooooooo, fabric!

Today I was pretty bad. But I have some awesome stuff to show for it. And I didn't pay full price for any of the sewing or knitting supplies. Just for the styrofoam heads. (Yes, I have a pair of styrofoam heads now.)
And I bought DH a tiny model USS Enterprise kit. The naval ship, not the spaceship; he has one of those already. So he should be content for a little while.
Step one was to familiarize myself with the sales and coupons for each of the three stores I planned to hit. One was running an uber discount on fabrics, the next on sock yarn and my favorite brand of hand-sewing thread, and the third ... well, nothing that excited me very much, but I knew they carry foam heads and tinkery things for DH, and I had a coupon for one regularly-priced item, so it was worth dropping in for a quick browse.
Step two: write a list. What colors of thread and how many spools? How many yards if I find an awesome fabric for a gown or cloak? And be sure to have a pen handy so you can write yourself notes while in the store, comparing the relative virtues of each bolt of fabric that would look awesome in your stash ... er ... as a garment. Yeah, that last bit ...
Step three: feel free to talk to yourself and pet the fabrics as you scour every possible hiding spot for a special gem. I confess, I did put a clearance bolt of dark blue silk (that's how the bolt was labeled, anyway) back into the bin. Someday I'll play with silk, but not now. Instead, I snagged some deep red wool (cloak), dark brown wool (loose gown?), a wool/silk blend with an interesting pattern (I have no idea, but look! SHINY!) and linen for lining. Since some of the linen was labeled "flawed" (bit of discoloration), it was already cheaper than regular-priced linen, so when the 50 percent discount was applied, I was one happy shopper. One less bolt of inventory for the store to count.
Step four: fork over the money and revel in your bad-ness. You're stimulating the economy, and also not blowing your money on illicit drugs or movies with sparkly vampires.

That dark brown wool is going to attract every strand of dog hair in the house ...

Shenannigoats

I've been home from War for a few days, and I'm happy to report that I did not get sunburned, nor did I catch War Plague! Huzzah!
AND I will now attest that wearing the right medieval clothing - layers and all - is superior to mundane clothing in terms of comfort and practicality. Case and point: setting up my tent (80 degrees and humid, mid-day) nearly made me overheat. Walking back to camp from the parking area was miserable. Peel off the mundane t-shirt and jeans, though, and slip into a lightweight chemise and kirtle ... made a world of difference. I also did the whole "tuck the front hem of your skirt into your belt/apron so you don't trip over it" thing. Also promotes better air circulation. Day two, I wore the Maciejowski cotte. I made use of the convertible sleeve feature around lunchtime, popping my chemise-covered arms through the outer gown's underarm gaps and tying the outer gown's sleeves behind my shoulder blades.

(Thusly)
I could babble about the whole weekend, but I've received a half-off coupon for linen and linen-blend fabrics, so I'm gonna take a shower, hit the road, and spend until I have buyer's remorse.
Oh, I did do some shopping while at war. Picked up four yards of brick red linen, a yard and a half of gold, three quarters of a yard of blue, a big spool of linen thread and some period-looking thread snips, and a simple penannular brooch so I can finally make myself a proper cloak.
FINALLY ... Stay tuned, because there's exciting news that'll be "official" in the next three to five weeks.

Barricade the sewing room door!

Just make sure I'm inside it!

I've started my A&S submission for Gulf Wars (a new Monmouth cap) and the documentation. I have a sketch of my device proposal for a herald consultation, and somewhere on my harddrive is documentation for my name submission. I picked up some muslin for a quickie chemise, along with bias tape for use on my wool gown and a new box of ball-head pins. I manage to lose pins quite frequently.

Before heading in to work today I want to have all the rest of the body panels cut out for my wool gown. When I come home, I think I'll tackle the sensitive joining-of-the-brim on the cap. This time around I'm following the same method Jennifer Carlson used, but in a different gauge, so I'm not following her pattern stitch-for-stitch.

To add to the maelstrom of ideas pinging around in my head, I'm doodling ideas for a 15th century cap. More on that story as it develops.

Fashion cues from the Wife of Bath

Toe-up knee-high socks, knit from red fingering weight wool. Will I be able to resist the temptation to cast on another pair before I come home from Gulf Wars?

Fitted wool gown, part 1

I got the last of my pattern-fiddling done Tuesday and tortured a cut of heavy cotton/linen fabric (not quite canvas weight) to use as bodice lining. Before work yesterday I cut out the four cotto-lin lining pieces and the left front panel, including the skirt length, from the blue wool yardage I bought in December. I've since sewn the lining to the wool and whip stitched over the edge that will run along the center front of the gown.

I'm now off to grab some lunch, then MOAR SEWING!!!

Pitter-pattern

I had a short day at work today, so when I came home I sweet-talked DH into taking a new set of tailoring measurements. He wasn't absolutely useless, once I developed a system of directions he could follow with his male, non-tailor-y brain. After jotting down all the figures I spent a little time drawing out miniature patterns on quarter-inch grid paper, and once that produced a shape that looked right, I went full-scale on some muslin.

My pattern isn't much more than a basic body block, but I avoid using lines perpendicular to the waistline at the center front, center back, and side seams. There is a slight outward angle, giving a more gradual, conical shape. Also lends these seams a bit more give and flex since they're cut on a slight bias. Pictures to come in a few days.

Oh, and my second sock is nearly done. Woo hoo!

Procrastination: not a marketable skill

Hi, everybody! I'm still alive and being a slacker, at least when it comes to expanding the garb wardrobe. Since my last post I've completed one knee-high wool sock and have made it past the heel turn on the second. I fear my Dear Husband now harbors a secret wish to possess a pair for himself, perhaps something with a split after the big toe so he can wear them around the house with his flip-flops. Yeesh.

I've made a little progress cleaning and reorganizing around the house. DH brought me some storage tubs for my yarn and fabrics. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but my "To Do" list is (and, I fear, will almost always be) orders of magnitude larger than my "Mission Accomplished" list.

Well, that last bit was depressing. I should talk about the jewelry I snagged at [Internet Auction Site]. Basically, I perused the vintage costume jewelry auctions for pieces that looked medieval-ish (like from portraits, not swords and dragons entwined with Celtic knotwork and inscribed with elvish runes) and didn't break the bank. Shipping and all, I haven't paid more than $10 for any single piece slated for resale. My current stock consists of necklaces and brooches, with some pieces targeted toward Laurels and Chatelaines. Leaf and key motifs, get it?

It's time to let the dogs out for a few minutes, then a little more poking through the fabric pile. I did manage to finish some raw edges on yardage that has been waiting for a trip through the Mundane Fabric Torture Devices (i.e. washer and dryer), so I think I'll go ahead and launder them so they're ready to use when I finally get around to sewing again.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson

According to Jonathan Coulton, who is, hands-down, the most thorough researcher in the world, he played for the Black Socks, and he always wore his black socks, but he never wore no shoes.
Coulton is actually a very talented and hardworking musician. Information about the song referenced above can be found here.

Now, back to the next-most-recent tangent:



Waa-Laa! Yeah, I know it's red, not black, but it's getting late. Now I've got to load the dishwasher and get ready for bed. Need plenty of sleep so I'll be able to bring my A-game to tomorrow's career fair!

Yarn: Mathilde as Squirrel: Dog

Yep. I'm having one of those episodes again. I've recently come to grips with the fact that I'm weighed down by an unfulfilling job that leaves me with little time or energy to do things I actually enjoy. Deep down I know I should be working on my fitted gown, but I'm finding it so much more convenient to pick up some knitting instead of hauling out yards of fabric, cutting board, and all the other tailoring implements necessary to the project. Not a lot to report on that front, other than my decision that the grey-ish cotton/linen blend I snagged for $3/yd would enjoy lining the sleeves and bodice of the wool gown. Just gotta run it through some laundry torture.

So, specifically, what's the big distraction this time?

Socks. Red wool toe-up socks. I put the pink and grey yarn (I think I mentioned that already ... ?) on the waiting list, because, really, RED wool sockies! That is a must-have item, at least in my book. I snagged some gold/brown patterned sock yarn at the same time as the red, for another future project.

Oh, yeah. And I'm actively looking for a better job. It may involve relocation, but that's fine. I'll definitely miss the friends I've made over the past few years, but social media and whatnot will help us keep in touch while I'm making new friends and starting down a more satisfying career path. And maybe I'll have some babies. Time will tell ...

Ready, steady, go!

Project Fitted Gown is well and truly under way. Today I spent a little time reading up on fitting and construction tips and began drafting my pattern (first onto grid paper, then to muslin). I'm using a double layer of muslin for the two front panels to get a more accurate idea of the final fit once everything is transferred to the fashion fabric and lining. To conserve fabric - yes, I know it's inexpensive, but I really don't want to risk having to make a special shopping trip for that - the back panels will be single layers with strips of fabric basted along the anticipated stress lines at the seams and the horizontal bust, under-bust, waist, and hip levels.

I am also aware that draping the pattern would give me an even tighter fit, but I'm a bit of an isolated seamstress. I find it terribly frustrating to teach my husband how to take photographs while I'm modelling garb; I'm not about to risk massive blood loss by having him baste me into a fabric shell.

Two months from now, Gulf Wars will be in full swing, and I'd love to have my blue wool gown and maybe my parti-colored Gleann Abhann gown finished in time to pack. Hope my musical sewing mice are up to the challenge!

Hood progress

Just gotta do some buttons and buttonholes ...
Oh, and find some less-obviously-mundane pins to keep the "wings" in check.
However, it's rather cold in my house today and I think I'll put my mittens on as soon as I hit the button to publish this entry!

Wiki wiki, to you, too

I'm on the Wikipedia now!

The other night I was looking over my Flickr account and I'd been left a message from a Welsh gentleman asking if I'd be interested in changing the license on a photo of my gold Monmouth cap so it could be added to an article. This is part of a project to get the people of Monmouthshire involved in developing a cluster of articles about their corner of the world - notable people, events, and artifacts associated with Monmouth.

Warm hands, less complaining

Well, I've made some progress on the hood, just, you know, not a whole lot. I've been distracted for a few days, knitting my first ever pair of full mittens and writing the pattern. They're not strictly A&S material, as I used purl stitch (whether or not this is period-appropriate is debatable) and didn't bother to look beyond a few period paintings and one photo of an extant child's mitten. Still, they may be able to squeak by in a costume review.

Now that my hands are suitably clad for the rest of winter I can maybe turn my attention back to tying up the loose ends on the hood and get down to business patterning my wardrobe for event season.

For 2012, and the World's Ending!

Happy January, everyone! 2012 seems to be starting off on the right foot (for my household, anyway), but I suspect it will take some active encouragement to keep moving in a generally positive direction.

I'm doing some pen-and-paper work in preparation for the next big project, a long-sleeved kirtle or GFD in blue wool. In order to keep a closer eye on my progress I've purchased a separate binder to store notes and sketches and detailed drawings related to the single active garb project I will allow myself at any given time. It'll also contain a log for how much time I spend working on the piece - from pattern layout through construction to the finishing details. I know I'll need to do some fittings to work out the fit through the torso, the depth of the sleeve head, and the scoop of the neckline before I can touch my wool yardage. Once I've created a working pattern, however, I can use it for my Kingdom Colors Parti-Dress (black and red linen GFD) and a green cottolin supportive under-gown. Three birds with one stone.

Also in the coming months I want to do a full inventory of my fabric stash and get a better organization and storage system set up in my craft room.

So I guess my overarching resolution for this year is to inject a little Type A Personality into my project management and domestic maintenance.