ZOMG, everybody, I just got clearance from my sister to buy a bridesmaid dress for $30! And no dyed shoes! This is like every bridesmaid's dearest wish come true. Of course, there's a good chance that Ann Taylor will be all sold out of the dress I want to buy by tomorrow night when I order it. I hope not!

My sister and I are also tentatively attending the Janesville Ren faire. This means I need to make a mock-up of her bodice in time for Easter so I can fit it. I know the skirt will work out OK, because we're the same height and the skirt on the pattern I'm using was just right for me.

If I have time, I'll be sacrificing the burgundy velvet I was going to use for the Natural Form dress for a new Venetian. Why? Because the friend I was going to pal around with in Victorian dress is currently in China. Yes, China. This puts a crimp in our plans, you might say, especially since she won't be back until late August, and August is much too hot for velvet bustle dresses. (Apparently I'm OK with velvet Venetians in May, though. Let's not analyze this too much.) So I'm going to look for a pretty cotton voile or linen for a dress like this, and we'll do something while it's warm. Mmm, this means a little straw hat with delicate flowers.

Additionally, the raw milk debates are closed. No, the thread isn't, I'm just not going to argue with LHoD anymore, since he doesn't know enough about any of the issues in the thread to make it worthwhile. I did, however, call him a "marmot-faced tool," which I kind of hope makes his face turn purple with impotent rage. I can't wait to see what his response is! I bet he goes away thinking that he's won the argument, and says as much.

I'm glad WhyNot didn't continue to pop back in, because I generally like her. I'm not really surprised she'd be in favor of raw milk, given her hippy-dippy-ness, but I hope she's never tempted to give it to her little girl. That could turn out badly. :(

In closing, I reallyreallyreally love the song "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. Yet another thing my mommy has led me to like.

One last thing: I haven't been receiving comments on a LOTS of entries, so if I've ignored you in the past couple weeks, I'm sorry. It wasn't intentional.

I've been looking at pattern manuscripts at the Renaissance Tailor, and I kind of have the urge to take those patterns and translate the baras and ells to inches and feet. Or centimeters. Then I would take the patterns and graph them out in inches/centimeters.

Are there any books out there that do this?

ETA: Also, is it weird that I get some pleasure out of reading the Alguen manuscripts out loud in the original Spanish? With an outrageous accent? I haven't rolled so many Rs in months and months.

I have declared today to be a day of getting things done. Here are the things I will do:

1. Clean room.
2. Get canvas, muslin and silk cut out for Victorian corset.
3. Write 4,000 words before lunch, and 4,000 words after lunch.
4. Finish hemming kirtle that I started to hem last fall.
5. Finish hemming Tudor kirtle I started this summer, and reattach skirt. Bad cartridge pleating.
6. Finish binding Elizabethan bodies started in July and sitting forlornly in period undergarment drawer since then.

If I get half these things done, it will be a successful day. Especially item 3.

Random thought: Norah is a great, great name. Must work it into NaNo somehow, as female main character is named Eleanor/Helena.

1. I finished another beret, this time for my friend Tabatha. It's once again in Elann Peruvian Highland Wool, and I still love it. I washed it in shampoo and rinsed it with conditioner, so it turned out very soft indeed. I also did one more set of decreases to the brim on this one, so it's a little bit perkier than the other one.

( Pitcha here )

I also got my hair cut again, and it's quite a bit (3-4 inches) shorter. There are days when I wonder what the hell I was thinking, and then there are days when it's really cute. Unfortunately, there aren't many of the latter.

2. I found a site with samples of period brocade that are incredibly similar to this stuff from my fabric acquisition post. That makes me so happy! Even if the stuff I have is flocked acetate.

3. I started a Tudor kirtle, using some of the fabric I acquired in my last post. I went with the pretty, pretty purple stuff, which I've discovered is wholly synthetic and melts in delightful crusty bits when ironed no matter how much steam. It looks surprisingly period, though. It's definitely period-oid, and it good enough for ren faire. I also think I can stretch this puppy to cover most of the sixteenth century, from about the late 1530s to 1570 with the appropriate accessories.

I'm using the Tudor Ladies' Gown and Kirtle pattern from Reconstructing History. I was delighted to realize that by adjusting the back neckline and depth of the front point, I can use this to make kirtles for the entirety of the sixteenth century.

My justification behind making this before my sister's kirtle is a) I don't have the fabric for hers yet, and b) I can mess up on mine and not feel as horrible as I would if I botched hers.

So, onto the pictures.

( Mock up and notes )

The mock-up was completely painless. So I moved right along to the actual thing.

( Purple brocade/jacquard/something kirtle bodice and construction notes )

I did, however, run into some trouble with the piped bias on the neckline and a mystery wrinkle at the bust.

( Razzafraggit )

Now comes the debate over trimming this puppy. I'm not sure if I should or not. On the one hand, if I do, then I can stretch its use: All I'd need to do is make a partlet and some sleeves, and I could wear it as a 1550/60s style dress. So, friends, this is where you come in.

( Four trimming choices )

Which would you go with? I'm leaning right now towards the Eleanora di Toledo version or Version 3. They seem the most flexible, and the Eleanora has the advantage of being from the 1550s, while there are examples from the 1540s, as well. The look is a generic mid-century thing. The only problem is that the back neckline on my bodice is, well, wrong. Oh, and that this trimming look is Italian. I think I can live with that, though.

I am currently very startled by how easily this is going together. I'm predicting that this means I will sew the skirt together inside out more than once or spill red Kool-Aid all over the entire ensemble at some time in the future. Costuming is not supposed to be this easy!

What I have left to do:

--Baste down piped bias along armholes/lacing
--Skirts
--Figure out trimming situation
--Maybe insert an lining
--Sleeves? Sleeve cap?
--Finish covering lacing holes