Success!!!

The feathers arrived (yes I feel bratty about whining) and epic feather fan day is back on track.
I just bought stuff for my jewelry so lots of accessories will get done tonight!

You disapoint me.

My feathers are still not here. Today is epic feather fan day and they aren't here.
I ordered them on the 20th, was told they were mailed the 21st and that they would take about 4 business days.
Its now the 29th. GRRRRRRRR

It'll be okay. I'm patterning my stockings today so I'm not too terribly stressed. We still plan on working on the fans today even if its just working on the base/handles..

A decision has been reached.

I'm still doing the IRCC.. stop fretting about it. But as usual I'm stuck with a certain task in mind and since I can't decide how or what, I'm not doing anything.
So I'm going to move on. Yup. Since my drawers are causing me such a damn heartache-are they red, are they white, are they going to be blackworked or redworked, are they going to be straight legged or gathered blah blah blah blah blah. Do I buy fabric or redye what I have, do I accept Prak's offer of red linen.. ENOUGH!
I'm moving on for now. As of this moment I am finishing the beading for her Majesty. I am going to work on my fan (feathers or not) this weekend, and I'm going to pattern my stockings. I am going to also decide on a design to do tramputo on my "pocket".
I'm going to make my stockings out of the white silk batiste I was gifted a few years back. That and my standing collar partlet.
As for the partlet I'm going to make two. Since I can't decide what I want, I'll just do both. Theres never a problem with more than one right?

First things first. Get the dishes done and get myself all dressed and ready for work so I can do beading. Once the favors are finished I can move on.

OH-- and my book came yesterday. I LOVE it! I just ordered my pattern (yeah yeah yeah.. I've never made this dress before and want to use it to help fit-- plus its a reconstructing history pattern) and I'm narrowing down my guard silk color now.. Its progress!

Real life

Can be such a pain!!!
Have I done anything to get started?
Some things have been hindering me

• boyfriend still sick
• boyfriend gainfully employed
• boyfriend has to go to work 2 hours before me and we're still only a 1 vehicle family (I need to get that damn truck running and registered!!)
• baby has been cheerful
• I'm.. a girl. >:|
• new project at work started
• gotta finish those beaded favors!!

My already beloved copy of Mode a firenze should be here tomorrow and I'll admit I've been dragging my feet a bit. That's understandable right? This book is supposed to be the end all and be all of Florentine dress and I am doing my entire dress based off this style. So waiting is a good thing!!

I dyed my fabric. Its not the color I want it to be. *sigh* its.. well.. a sorta coral.. dark coral yes but not the bleeding red dark man u red I wanted. Bianca (Kari M) is... encouraging (yeah thats the word!) me to purchase some red linen because its on sale. It seems like a good idea, but truthfully since I'm spending so much money on my silk, I'd rather just use what I have. I know that means a bigger headache for myself in the end with a re-dye attempt but hey at least I'll be saving some money right?

This weekend is the epic feather fan making day. That is if the feathers get here (I ordered them last wednesday from canada, you'd think they would be here by now). Yesterday while I was at Micheal's getting more beading needles to work on the favors for her Majesty, I scooted down the beading aisle and something shiny gold and red caught my eye. Always on the look out for stuff that would go well with my persona I picked up
for my girdle belt pendant. I love it!! The only thing I'm considering doing is taking out the nasty red fake red ball and putting a few super large pearls in it, whatcha think?
I figure I'm going to ask Ceci (stephanie) to show me more about making a girdle belt when the time comes and I might make a new one similar to the one she made me with the red tone glass jewels and pearls.. its pretty damn epic as a girdle belt I think.

While I was there I also headed to the back to look at the wood shapes for fan making this weekend. Woefully they didn't have alot of what we were looking for. We don't want to/have time to hand turn handles on a lathe and I certainly don't want to chance cutting my thumb off by hand carving a handle. Now that isn't to say that I won't attempt to make a different handle later, perhaps I will. The stuff available at the store was not what we were looking for, and I kept getting discouraged but also kept staring at the same thing over and over again. Finally I gave up and picked it up.
They have these unfinished candlestick holders there. They are about 6 inches or so and have an interesting if somewhat predictable shape to them but they fit perfectly in my hand! I'm sure anyone walking by must have thought I was crazy as I fanned myself with the wooden candlestick.
The feathers aren't here yet but they should be..

here's hoping right?

*sigh* this is not a good sign

So we're now on day 2 of the IRCC and have I done anything? Have I started any sewing or any embroidery?

Um.. no.

I, in fact, have not.
All I have done, thus far is purchase my red dye (yeah I'm using commercial red dye instead of doing it on my own) and I have plotted out my embroidery. Yeah.. that's it.

Oh and I've picked the fabric for my dress, still trying to decide what color to do the guards with, and I've *thought* about my partlet.
I ordered feathers last night for my fan.. thats cool right?

So what have I been doing since the challenge started?
Alyvia's 4 month appointment was yesterday and I had to be to work early. So that killed all my before work chances to do anything.
Today I got up late because *someone* didnt go back to sleep until nearly 730. Dear gawd. Its also potluck today at work so I'm currently making funeral potatoes with hamburger. Plus I've done 2 loads of laundry.

I do have tomorrow off. All I have to do is go to a wedding rehearsal at 5. So that means tomorrow the fabric gets dyed and cut out so I can start the embroidery for my drawers..
I'll get this going yet..

Wanna see my fabric?

http://cgi.ebay.com/PURPLE-BROWN-100-SILK-TAFFETA-FABRIC-4-DRESS-CURTAIN-/400123106872?pt=US_Fabric&hash=item5d29321638


Okay so its still a link and I can't actually embed the picture of the fabric (or at least I shouldn't) until I actually buy the stuff, but isn't it yummy?
My first thought was to go with brick red (because thats my favorite color of all time) but I already have a super fabulous dress made from that color and I need to make something different. So this purple it is. I'm picking it and looking for a nice contrasting fabric to do the guards with..
I just need the damn refund $$$ to get here so I can purchase my dress fabric..
C'mon IRS!

I never said this would be simple

So, as usual. I've changed my mind.
I kept looking at the fabric I bought and frankly its a little too.... *trimmy* for me. So I'm not going to use it on the final dress. I might use it for the test run dress and put it on some tight fine line corduroy I have. Its not that the fabric isn't gorgeous, I just don't think its right for what I want to do.
Instead I am now looking for purple silk taffeta and kelly green taffeta. Thats what I want, so I'm on the look out for it. Even Pink taffeta would be awesome!
I really really REALLY don't want to use dupioni, but I will settle for that if I have to.

The Spring mini shoot pictures!

These are the pictures taken by the utterly brillian Kimi Pollet at Pollett Photography. She is super brilliant!!
These were the pictures taken during her spring mini shoot. I love my little family!

Panic is my name

Seriously, what the hell was I thinking?!?!!
The challenge hasn't even started yet, and I'm suddenly going thru a spiral of OMG OMG OMG OMG. Bianca and I have been talking and plotting and I *think* I'm doing the super mega famous Elenora Burial Gown from PoF.

Yeah, so everyone does this dress at some point. I should jump on this bandwagon. See the thing is, I actually want a side back lacing dress. I want a non-split skirt. Oh and did I mention I bought the most awesome fabric 2 years ago at Estrella with sleeves in mind? Its panneled with some interesting floral accents on it.

The plan will be to use the fabric (with like a hell of a lot of beading/pearling on it) for the sleeve panels. Whats left will be cut and turned into strips for the other guards on the bodice, down the front and around the skirt (here's hoping I have enough.. I think I bought 3 yards at 60 inches wide--I'll take a picture during the day when I have better light).I believe the original dress was velvet (yeah I gotta get my copy of PoF out and re-read the entire thing) but mine will be silk, silk taffeta if I can find it. I love taffeta. It's a gorgeous fabric and I love the way it drapes. This plan is of course, not set in stone because I also love the gold work scroll pattern from this super famous dress.. Then again the partlet and caul might be from this portrait..  Are you sensing a theme yet? But then again it  might be from the silk gauze I was gifted a few years back with some delicate smocking and pearl work.. mmmm that sounds awesome.. maybe that'll be the partlet *distracted*

The new and improved rules do claim you can get help patterning/fitting so I think its time to finish my corded corset and get some patterning help from Mistress Bianca and another else willing to help out.
To complete by August 21st:

1. Drawers, redworked with a saying in Italian (it cracks me up!!)
2. Covercierge (partlet.. and I have no idea if I spelled it right)
3. Caul/coif -- to be determined
4. dress
5. sleeves
6. girdle belt
7. feather fan
8. underskirts
9. flag fan (perhaps using some nifty trapunto I learned at collegium)
10. whatever else tickles my fancy that might be awesome.. seriously I'm debating on one of those nifty "pocket" pouches.. sounds so damn cool

All of this, plus normal garb for campainging, taking care of Lyvy, working a full time career and maintain a home..

Good thing it was my boyfriend who super duper told me I should do this right?

What in the hell are you thinking?

I've always been a little crafty ADD. I can never settle on one thing to do and keep it at that. I have to try everything! I took sewing classes when I was around 10, and learned most of the basics even before that from my mom. I bought my first sewing machine (which I still have!!) when I was 12. I knew how to follow a pattern and could do most crafty stuff when I wanted.
Then I was introduced to the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Hello craft HEAVEN. Here was a place that combined all of the stuff I already knew, plus the stuff I wanted to learn but had no practical application. Plus I could party, and dress up pretty!
I joined, played for about a year, quit because of a relationship and came back 4 years later.

I remember over a year ago when I first started talking to Duchess Mistress Caryn Von Katzenburg about becoming her apprentice. Caryn is the *it* Duchess and the premiere Laurel of our kingdom-- and a super great friend but did I mention I can't look her directly in the eye sometimes? I had admired her for forever, since I joined SCA and knew all along that if I was to ever apprentice to someone it would have to be her. It just had to be. I finally got up the courage to ask her and she agreed (sucker!) I know I picked Caryn for many reasons.She's smart and sassy in a way most people don't ever get to see. Shes talented and has skill in almost all of the arts I'm interested in. She has a way of telling you something is crap that doesn't hurt my feelings. I'll listen to her and she has a very strong A type personality so I won't get irritated when she tells me to do things a certain way.
A green apprentice favor later at Uprising and suddenly I had a Laurel!
We'd talked about her expectations of me entering Kingdom A&S in 2011, to which I replied, "Sure! That'll be easy."
... Easy?
At the time I was at 4 months pregnant, was expecting my first daughter in December and had this delusional idea that I'd totally be able to continue the level of crafty stuff after the baby was born. All of my pals knew the truth but I vainly held on that I could juggle both crafts, sewing, full time career, boyfriend, baby and sanity.
Who was I kidding?!?!
Fast forward to April of 2011. My precious darling child, Alyvia Jean,  is 4 months old, and I'm slowly getting back into craft things. I have a blog for her and our family so loved ones who didn't live in Utah could follow her growth online. I had toyed with the idea of creating a blog for my crafty stuff but since I was woefully always behind with Lyvy's blog I wasn't sure I could keep up with another.
I started getting my garb in order, learned some new crafts and was volunteering/donating my time to Kingdom endeavors.