Panniers Done

I resolved this year to sew* four items. The panniers are done.

All in all, the project was fairly simple--except for the caning, which was a royal pain in the ass. I had to enlist LB for help as it really did seem to require a spare set of hands. Even together, we really struggled.

I had hoped by next ball season to have some eighteenth-century formal wear, with the panniers as a critical foundation garment. Equally critical is a proper set of stays, however, and I'm afraid I don't see that happening anytime soon. Maybe though. Perhaps.

Instead, I've ordered the Kannik's Corner chemise pattern for Regency wear. I do have Regency stays, but lacked the other foundation garments. The gowns are too low cut for any of my earlier or later chemises, so I have had to make do with a shelf cami. They didn't much wear drawers in the time period, so I didn't have to worry about those, but I need to figure out a petticoat as well. I'm open to pattern suggestions.
_______________
*English nerd tip of the day: If you have ever had a teacher tell you that you use too many "to be" verbs or passive voice, looking in your sentence for words ending in "-ment" or "-tion." They are nearly always verbs in disguise. My first sentence initially read "My resolution was to sew."

Dots

The bits and bobs of life have piled up, and I had forgotten how useful dots are to clearing them out of my head. I have ambitions to say more about each of them, but shall fall back on that important axiom of "better done than perfect":

• I finished all of my craft-it-forward projects for 2014 (some neckbows, a dishcloth, some punched paper, a scarf) and decided to pick up a few more reciprocal swaps. At the moment, I am making my fourth attempt at Calorimetry, each time taking out anywhere from 8-16 stitches. I don't see how the designer ever managed to make it with 120 stitches--it's massive in width and height. I'm down to 88 now and think this one will work. Finally. Please god.

• I have been obsessed for some reason with a mystery dishcloth KAL. I've done every one since August and have been stocking up on solid-colored, cotton yarn. I don't even use knitted dishcloths, so my obsession makes no sense. Still, last night we got invited to a last-minute birthday party, and I was able to grab two cloths as a small gift. 

• I saw Franklin Habit speak on Weldon's Practical Needlework. It wasn't quite what I had hoped for, but it was an enjoyable evening.

• I've committed to do a bit of charity knitting (bibs or hats for an orphanage in China) and am considering a charity sock monkey KAL as well.

• I did a KISS (keep it simple) valentine swap, which called for a card and a project only.  I opted to make a crocheted heart dishcloth, but now am beating myself up when I see all the creative projects coming in. My swap idea board is here if you are looking for a quick valentine project.

• I got this very cool project bag all the way from Canada.  The fabric is sort of a poly-blend twill with a really nice hand, and I love how it isn't all pinky-pinky. I asked for the pattern, but my partner just winged it, she said.

• Speaking of pinky-pinky, I made this project bag for a book club attendance prize. As a teacher, I can be quite punitive about attendance and preparation, but for grown-ups whom I can't grade, I'm a firm believer in bribes. Pattern by mairuru. She does hers by hand, but by leaving room for seam allowances, I was able to do this one by machine.

• I finished and mailed my Jane Austen swap, which I'll save for another post. I also finished reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time.

• In spite of my tendencies towards quicky projects, I decided to sign up for a Celestarium KAL. It's a beaded pi shawl with the beading laid out as a star map of the Northern Hemisphere. Ambitious, but some knitters have taken it father and used different sized beads to indicate order of magnitude and knitting in a band for the milky way. Simply following the pattern shall be enough for me. I've ordered my yarn, picked out my beads, and it all gets started on March 1.

• I sold a knitted cap online, so I've got a little paypal funds to play with. I bought this hat pattern, which I fell in love with on Pinterest.

• I caned my panniers last night and had to rope LB into the task. It was a royal pain in the butt, but today if the house ever warms up, I hope to finish the waistband and be done. This chemise (third down) is up next as soon as I get paid and can buy the pattern and linen.

• I spontaneously decided that Steu's nosework trainer needed a snood for her standard poodle. She'd posted a photo of him after the groomers, and he just looked so magical and snowy white that I knew he needed a unicorn snood. Steu helped model.

• And here is the beautiful recipient, looking like the magical creature he truly is. The trainer comped me a free class as a thank you, so crafting it forward was wonderful all around.

Moving along in the Pannier-Along

I've had a few missteps in my pannier project. I mentioned the linen yardage issue in my last post. The next problem involved the twill tape. JoAnn's actually has some really nice twill tape by the yard in stock right now in several colors. It's 100% cotton, which was hard to find for awhile. It must be popular for something, because they nearly always seem to be out of whatever size or color I get my heart set on.

I wanted a natural color for my panniers, but changed to white because the spool of natural didn't have quite enough for my project.  When I bought the white tape, I bought 1" wide, worried about making a wide enough channel for the cane. As soon as I went to bed that night, I knew I'd bought too wide.

I snipped off a piece of the cane and went back to JoAnn's a few days later, only to find that they now had plenty of natural in the 1/2" width, but no white anywhere on the shelf. Grrrrr. Fortunately, I managed to get excellent help from the woman at the counter. She eventually emerged from the stockroom with a whole spool of exactly what I needed.

The final twill tape issue involves the materials list. It calls for 4 yards of tape, but the project makes 6 rows of 26" channels. I'll wait while you do the math. Fortunately, I always buy extra twill tape, but I worry about my friend who was mail ordering her supplies. Double grrrr.

My final concern had to do with the stitch to use. The photographs for both the pocket slit hem and for caning channels both clearly show a running stitch. I tend to use a hem (whip) stitch for hems, and for my stays, I used a backstitch for the caning channels. Still, since the caning isn't going to be required to mash down my double Ds, I figured a running stitch would be fine. I did go with a hem stitch for the hem, figuring it wasn't called a "hem stitch" for nothin'.

Still, I think I'm back on track, and forging ahead.

Panier-along

My friend, Heather, has been guiding me quite a bit as I expand my 18th-century impression, and this year we decided to do make paniers together.  We're following The Dreamstress' instructions, so I thought I would provide a few comments as I go.

So far, all I had done was gather the materials, but this evening I went ahead and cut out my fabric.

I already had plenty of cane left over from making a set of short stays a few years ago.  For my fabric, I considered several options, and finally decided on white linen from JoAnn Fabrics. I figured linen was more available than cotton for this time period. I also went with white, since I could find matching twill tape in the yardage I needed.

So far, I did have one moment of panic. The instructions call for buying 1 yard of fabric, which then gets cut into 2 pieces (11.5" and 25" wide). Even if you're not adept at math, you can see that there is no wiggle room. In fact, the pieces assume a generous cut of slightly larger than 1 yard.

If the Jo-Ann Fabric's minion cutting your fabric is not careful, the linen will generally not be cut on the straight grain. Try to straighten the grain like I did, and that linen disappears very quickly. In fact, by the time I gave up trying to straighten the grain, I'd lost nearly an inch. She also didn't notice a cut in the fabric near the selvage, which also will require some fussy cutting on my part to work around it.

Fortunately, I was able to cut one of the larger pieces from the top of the fabric, and I think I'm back on track. I still have to cut out the curved bottom piece, but I've at least made the template and should have just enough spare fabric left over.

Needle and Thread

Because I've had significant quantities of free time this summer, I have done a ton of sewing. In addition to what I mentioned before, I have also cranked out even more.


A few years ago, I treated myself to 101 One-Yard Wonders, sight unseen and ended up being slightly disappointed. Too many baby things (like 25% of the book) and things I would never use. This summer, I decided to try to get my money's worth out of it.


First up, one dress/nightgown. The pattern was for a shortie nightgown, but I had 1.5 yards of this mermaid fabric I'd bought years ago. I lengthened the skirt until all the fabric was used up and ended up with a mini-dress, which I wore to a mermaid-themed party. Double-stick tape was employed. Since then, it's made a great nightgown.

I also fussy-cut the bodice. This placement doesn't just happen, you know. Lengthening the a-line skirt  also widened the hem, so it required a bit more bias tape than the original, and I also didn't follow the book's bias tape instructions to zigzag stitch, which were probably geared to the newbie sewer.

Next, my neighbors had a baby and I made a quick, flannel swing coat for him from the same book.

My aunt had given me the fabric when I was down in Florida and I thought it would make a cute jacket for a camping family.

There are only a handful of other things in the book I want to make, perhaps some bags. That said, if anyone wants to buy me the next edition in the series, I wouldn't say no, partly because I suspect it may have some good tips for working with knits. Knits scare me.


My favorite project were some curtains for my sewing room. I raided my stash of vintage hankies to make three cafe curtains, in Mardi Gras colors since I store my beads year round on heavy closet rods above two of the windows.

For the tab tops, I used some fabric I had intended for an apron ... about 9 years ago.

One of the previous tenants had painted all the woodwork black, which the then-landlord tried to fix by painting it white. I made a brief stab at seeing if it was possible to peel it off, then gave up. Someday.

I didn't follow a pattern for the curtains, just measured the windows and made them 1.5 times wider. The actual measurement makes for a skimpy curtain, I feel. Two times the width is more traditional, but I worried that the actual hankies wouldn't show up. I used masking tape to mark the finished size on my sewing table, then laid out the hankies until I liked what I saw. I filled in a few gaps with some satin ribbon and overlapped elsewhere. Instead of a straight stich, I used the zigzag stitch. I didn't want the bulk of seams showing through.


Before I start crafting each day, I have been setting my timer for 10 minutes and work at tidying up or ironing. At the end of the day, I tidy up as well. Little by little, my sewing room has become just the sweetest little nest, especially with the new curtains.

Old Times (part 2 of 3)

After the event, we toured the Hunter-Dawson home and I photographed a few gems, including this blue glass darning egg (prob. 20th century, but still lovely)

There was a beautiful silk embroidered doily (likely also from the early 20th century)

This 1840s portrait of the owner and her son shows one of my favorite accessories: a coral necklace.

Upstairs were some exquisite little baby things (perhaps from a variety of mid- to late-19th century dates)

Just look at the details on this tiny coat

One room had some mourning items, including this necklace

and this watch fob

The tiny little man got a chance to display himself as a font of knowledge and I got to see a a few of the garments he had made for the display. He has a coarse hand and has fortunately given up sewing.

... more to come ...

Summer Work

I'm not teaching this Summer, but as of yet no temp work has come through. This week I made bread pudding from a pack of badly freezer burned hot dog buns and some eggs LB brought back from a Civil War event in late spring. Things are getting tight.

Fortunately, since my stash--both fabric and yarn--is so massive, I have been able to keep busy without spending too much or even any additional money. .

I made a cotton shortgown for some eighteenth-century events as my only other one was wool. I also made a new linen petticoat (the red one). I did spend some money on the hat, but I bought an untrimmed one and can decorate it myself if I like.

I also finally finished the linen stays I'd been working on for ages, literally years. The project is old enough that the sociopath helped me with the fitting, back when my Civil War friends and I didn't know better than to try to nurture her. Ah well.

I've also made two dog crate covers. The first one was designed to shield the tiny little dog from visual stimulation at a lure coursing event. Since he could still hear the motor and barked like crazy, the cover represents a lot of effort for nothing. He had to wait out in the parking lot away from the sights and sounds of the course anyway. Still, I'm glad to have it. The print fabric was given to me by a friend and has already appeared as a quilt backing. In fact, as two quilt backings.

The second crate cover was for a costumed Meet the Breed event with a medieval theme. The table is covered with some Mardi Gras brocade fabric I am hoarding, and the dark purple fabric was something I'd bought for Mardi Gras costuming. Ditto the gold, although it's also served nicely as my Oscars party tablecloth for at least three years. Add a few bits of purple ribbon and some safety pins and you get one fancy-pants crate cover. I take zero credit for the dress, as it's my wedding dress, and my mother made it about eight years ago. For the headpiece, however, I looked at some images of Ann Boleyn, took a few more scraps of purple satin, a strand of Mardi Gras beads, some more purple ribbon, and voila.

And in the just-because-I'm-incredibly-bored category, I've also made two tote bags out of chicken feed bags, using this technique with a few modifications of my own. I don't even need tote bags.

If I still have no job, I'm planning on making LB a vulgar, loud, obnoxious banyan

plus a silk mantle (probably the Grecian casaque) for me

I'm also planning on boosting my sewing skills by trying to recreate some of my favorite vintage clothes by using this technique.

Pet Parade

Grades are due in three days, so of course I am quilting.

I entered one of the more tractable chickens in our local pet parade a few weeks ago and aside from winning the prize for "Most Unusual Pet," we also got a gift bag with treats and coupons and pens and such, including a t-shirt.

I hardly ever wear printed t-shirts, so for some bizarre reason (like grades being due in three days), I decided to make it into a tiny quilt for Steu's dog crate.

Yep. Grades are due in three days.

Alice in Wonderland Swap -- Outgoing

Long time no blog. No excuse really. I've been slacking. Slacking and sewing at least--check out the quilt I've been working on in the background of the photos below.

I have about five writing deadlines this week and one big grading deadline (about forty grading deadlines, actually, if I count each essay). I've also had a horrendous cold and jury duty. Fun times. Deadlines, however, make me get really busy on non-related projects. So, howdy blog!

I signed up for my first swap with an Alice in Wonderland group, which I thought would be a no-brainer for me. I wrote my master's thesis on Lewis Carroll after all. This group, however, has really a narrow focus to each swap. This go-round was Cheshire Cat themed. It was harder than I had thought.

Since I no longer worked in a LYS, I challenged myself to make the swap out of things I already owned, without making my spoilee feel short changed.

First, I sewed this pillow:


Then I made my new favorite project bag out of Disney cat colors.


I also added a bit of craziness at the top (just whip-stitched on in case she has a feather-obsessed dog like mine).


The inside has some crazy cats too.


The swap instructions clearly stated the handmade goodie should be knitted (with no mention of sewn or crocheted as an option) so I threw in a Disney cat-themed scarf just to cover my ass.


I had initially made it wider, but ripped and reknit at this narrower width. Just as I was about to mail the whole deal, I realized I hadn't blocked it.


Part of the reason there were so many handmades is that I had no luck in finding Cheshire Cat products in the mall. The Disney stores have closed here and Hot Topic and others of its ilk didn't have the Alice stuff they usually do. I also lost the ebay auction I'd bid on. I tossed in some crafty items in a Cheshire Cat palette (the silk ribbons) or vaguely Alice theme (the heart stickers).


Finally, at the history museum, I spotted some fun stuff. I, of course, bought one of these little notebooks for myself as well. It has Cheshire Cat quotations and illustrations inside too.


Since my spoilee has little ones, I thought she would enjoy this finger puppet/magnet, and I couldn't resist these tiny mints.


Finally, I bartered some work in exchange for this Cheshire Cat-themed roving.


I haven't heard yet, but I am hoping she likes everything.

Handmade Holidays, Part 2

I said there was more. When I returned home from Christmas in Virginia (more on that anon), I found a beautiful project bag from Kara. The intellectual mud-flap girls came from my friend, Matthew of the Unceasing Fabulosity.


Mindy crafted this beautiful little handmade ornament, while the Mardi Gras stitch markers come from Sharon (didn't I mention how sometimes it's cool to have one's birthday right next to Christmas?)


I also did an Alice in Wonderland puzzle over the holidays. It was a pain in the ass, frankly.

When Life Hands You Lemons …

Saturday, I met up with my friend who is launching her Civil War seamstress venture, and I introduced her to Upcycle Exchange. Mainly, I wanted to give her a crash course in how to recognize period appropriate fabrics and trims, an area fraught with peril.

In the upholstery fabric bins, she found literally dozens of nice silk samples (nice, crisp, unslubby plaids) and we also found a bolt of striped silk she may make into a mantle. We found a bit of florist wire, cotton laces, velvet ribbons, buckram frames from wedding headpieces, and more.

Given the vastness of my own stash, I didn't feel any need to take it all for myself. But then I spotted what looked like a wad of string wrapped around some pasteboard.


Spotting period-appropriate trims take practice and years of both making mistakes and handling the right stuff. At a certain point, you just know. It's the same ability that lets a gal walk into Goodwill and immediately put her hands right on the one Calvin Klein in the entire place. I call it "magic eyes."

That wad of string, with a spritz or two of lavender water and a hot iron became this:


There are three pieces: 1 7/8, 2 7/8, and 7 2/3 yards.


What to make?

Winter Madness Swap -- Incoming

I had a long meeting today with a friend who is interested in becoming a Civil War seamstress. She has a long history as a professional theater costumer and designer of ice skating costumes. Her unemployment checks, however, are about to run out.

Oh, but there are so many potential errors when learning to do Civil War sewing. We had a nice chat though and I let her look at some books, patterns, and the originals in my collection. In return, she's going to help me make my own pleating board, which I've wanted for ages and not been able to afford.

In relatively old news, my Winter Madness swap package arrived the second week in January, only one month late! I had actually given up. I don't blame my swap partner; I think it was the German mail system or US customs.

Anyhoo, it was a lovely package.


The Winter Madness idea is to send everything necessary to make a project from the spoilee's wish list, plus any extra goodies that won't blow the budget. She included a little bit of all the things that I like. First, she figured out I liked Hello kitty , so there was a Hello kitty Advent calendar (who knew there were such wonders in the world?) and a very sturdy Hello kitty project bag, complete with cell phone charm.


Inside were all sorts of delicious goodies and holiday treats: paper napkins with knitting images (I used some of these for a knitting social I hosted the next week), cookie cutters and a potholder, delicious homemade marzipan with nougat, incredibly fresh mini stollen, a yummy chocolate cube (which I was apparently supposed to swirl in hot milk to make hot chocolate. I don't know German, so I just ate it), and a Santa duck.


Finally, she included not just the materials to make one project, but two! On my birthday, she had gifted me with the pattern for a Holly and Ivy scarf. Her kit included the yarn and beads in traditional red and green, but also a gorgeous purple yarn complete with green and gold beads so that I could make the scarf in Mardi Gras colors. Plus, there were three mini skeins for my sock yarn blankie and also a tape measure.

Yay!