Sewy Time with the gals

I love Garb Gals!! Yeah its a page I started on FB for all of those attempting garb on the Wasatch Front of Northern Utah.

Originally it was just supposed to be a regional thing, if someone was going to be spending all day doing said crafty item, and they didn't mind having people over to craft with them, post it as an event on Garb Gals and VOILA! Instant sew buddies.
It  came about because, in case you have noticed already, I'm a bit of a procrastinator. I know I know-- you'd have no idea if I hadn't told you right?!?! :D
After Alyvia was born we went to our first event which was Twelfth night, held in January, and I had garb all ready for it. I noticed how relaxed and calm I was that day with no sewing to do the night before, hoe much fun I had at the event. I know most people have played for EONS and have a metric butt ton of stuff to choose from when they attend events, or some people just super layer outfits that they can mix and match like a pro, and yet others just don't give a hoot about what they wear.

I am not one of these people.

So I have to have fancy stuff, but as I mentioned I seriously wait until the last possible moment which was getting seriously tiresome. In an effort to help curtail that I decided to start Garb gals.

A few months later we're now at 59 members, I keep waiting for number 60. I'm also looking for little G tokens to give to each of the garb gals :) I know we're not a real guild or a club or anything, but I do like the idea of giving something to everyone who participates on the list :)
In any case, yesterday was Sewy Day. Andrea/Maysun hosts it at her house once a month and I LOVE GOING. Even if I don't get crapola done (which is more often the case) I just enjoy the time away from home, with ladies (and her super awesome husband Dennis!) who have common interests with me, who talk like me and are awesome all in their own right.

It was at sewy time yesterday though that I noticed my first pattern repeat is off on my second drawers :(


dammit.

Do you start with what you know or start with what you want?

And thats the question.

Right now I have several options ahead of me. I'm still laboring on the red linen drawers from the IRCC, but at least I'm now onto the second leg!! The blackwork is finished on the first one and WAHOOOOO! The funny part is, as soon as I put the new leg on the loom to start the pattern I was excited! Isn't that amusing?

So I was at an impasse. As I read my book I knew there were two things I was super interested in making. Both a simple farthingale and a high necked partlet.
I need both.

Which one do I start with though?

Note the color of the
guard over the bastoni -
Rather than being the tucked
fabric, its a different color/fabric

Its actually a lot
lighter than this

I've decided to do my farthingale out of the lilac linen/cotton I purchased to do my IRCC underskirt because frankly that's what I have on hand, and will do the Tape/Ribbon/Bias strips method rather than the measure and tuck. After reading extensively in my MaF, and a few website (Drea Leed mostly), I also pulled out my Alcega patterns and I have to agree with DL vs Janet Arnold -- the Alcega dress/skirt patterns are unusually long especially for the descriptions of the wearer. Although Janet Arnold hypothosized it was because, at least in this case, the skirt was measured up roughly 6 inches and then a 1 inch tuck/casing was created in which the bent would be threaded in. Then measure up about 6 inches and repeat. I think I might, in the future try this method rather than the other, as seen to the left.
Originally I toyed with the idea of adding some embroidery on the bands, to mimic that which would frame my Veste, but truth be told thats alot of embroidery for something that most likely will not be seen, unless its not on my body and on a table being judged :)

Notice the pattern
isn't present on the bands?

I'm also going to be using some hemp rope in my stash for the bents. I just don't  happen to have any reed bands, or whalebone on hand (Sal's kind of a crappy hunter that way :D) so I'll be using some hemp cording. After reading several several SEVERAL sites though, I'm going to wash the devil out of the hemp to get it to shrink as much as possible before hand to help with shrinkage.
Also I'm going to utilize a trick Bianca and I used when we originally made underskirts in 2007. Going to do the bottom band with a braided section of rope, just to see how it goes :)

You can find a pretty good in depth look at the farthingale here, and of course you can look at Drea Leed's take on things Here.

Now that we have that settled, I am ITCHING to make my stinking partlet! Its killing me. Thing is, it will need a super duper amount of work, and more importantly it has to be embroidered and sewn entirely by hand (its too delicate for me to trust with the machine). So the partlet on my entry portrait is just your average run of the mill filmy ruffled partlet, see above.

Problem is, whats so spectacular about that?!?!
Maitresse Jaqueline (probably spelt horribley wrong!) is also doing a super spiffy embroidered nifty partlet and has her documentation on her partlet blog entry.

We have tons of examples for partlets though the most famous one is below. EVERYONE seems to use this partlet as a jumping point and there are tons of examples of being done on blogs around the web. Since thats not my dress (and not really my style) I'm going to be using it as a guide though and have settled down between two different pattern ideas for the embroidery. Oh yes, it will have those pearls too!

First.. gotta get the drawers done!

Mode a firenze...

So its true there hasn't been much for me to do at work lately. And I mean really there hasn't been a damn thing for me to do. I spend most of my day surfing the internet and whatnots..

Today though, I spent almost my entire day reading my fabulous book. I will admit that when I received it, I gave it a glance, looked at pictures, drooled alot and then kinda went on with what I was doing.
I know have several plans in my head, though I'm up against an issue.

Does anyone know where this picture is from? Who painted it, etc etc?!?!

See the problem is, I think Bianca sent this to me a while back as an inspiration "hey you should make this dress at some point" type deal. Because its been labeled, "idea for Jennie".
Now I'll admit that after my reading today I have a MUCH MUCH MUCH better idea of how this is all going to work and go together, in fact I have such a better grasp that I'm actually raring to go. And not just kinda.. I mean really raring to go. I have such an excited feeling.
If I can't find any information for this portrait, well there are several more in the same style I can use snippets from :)
Just wanted to know if anyone knew where this one was from.

Also, I need to buy some gold smooth purle :)

Dear blogger I hate you.

I just wrote this big post from my phone about why I'm dropping out of the ircc and it ATE IT.

So basically it went:
There are nine days and I'm not ready. I don't want to turn in partly completed items, but I feel kinda failure-y. I totally underestimated full time mommy to an infant, full time career that often isn't just forty hours a week, putting in our letter of intent for the barony, a schedule change at work, campaign season (we don't camp in artemisia), getting sick in a way that antibiotics won't fix, being hush hush about that, boyfriends job, family trauma and drama, and my general procrastination regarding anything thats just for me.

Whered it all go wrong? My first problem was not having my silk on hand. Too often as ladies and mommas we put off what we want and even need because there is always something someone needs/wants more. So our desires go on the back burner. I watched my silk fabric money go the way of vehicle repairs, baby toys, baby clothes, boyfriend video games, house items, household items. I only resented it a little. But I'm a mommy and a girlfriend. It's just what I do.

I'm a great leader and task master, when it's not for me. There was always something, anything, to be done and so I told myself I couldn't take time out my family time, cleaning time, cooking time, friend time, scribal time to have sewing time.

So what did I learn? I need a schedule. I need to stick to it, deadlines can be moved but not if I've just been lazy. I need to track my tasks and my progress better. Everything is doable if I just try.

Now am I going to make and finish my planned dress? I am. I want to wear it to coronation weekend. Why am I not just pushing it all thru to finish for the competition? Because I would cut corners, do some sloppy stuff and be disappointed in it at the end. So I'll finish my dress by my birthday, wear it and all my layers to coronation, and still feel like I accomplished something worthwhile.

Then I'll apply what I've learned and move on to the ACC.

Thank you for reading this, dear friend. For not judging me too harshly and for understanding.

Ugh.

Have I mentioned how much I dislike blackwork?

We're getting close to the end and I'm running out of ooomph to get the drawers finished.