Gone, but Not Forgotten

Rest assured dear readers, I am still here. Life has taken a few surprising turns in the last year. My love of reenacting had to take a back seat for several months and I am only now getting back to the place that I once was. Never once during all that transition did I ever consider giving up my reenacting.

Quite the opposite in fact! The longer I was forced to be away, the more I plotted & planned for a grand return. This new year and new outlook on my reenacting hopes, dreams & goals has resulted in a lot of growth. I now can officially add 1580s Flemish & WW2 German to my permanent reenacting portrayals. I have successfully enlarged my 18th century coffeehouse, have had the pleasure of presenting to museum visitors & come the end of the 2013 season, will have completed my busiest year ever with more than 20 events in various time periods. This year also marks the 3rd year of first person interpretation at the C. Black Coffeehouse.

But the year isn't over yet! I hereby promise that along with all the revamping of my reenacting, I will also make an effort to revitalize this long standing blog.  I have some juicy research on historic salads, a lovely 19th C gentleman's waistcoat project & several other tidbits that I'm sure you all will enjoy. So stay tuned!

Play Ball Before the Ball

The newest event planned for the C. Black Coffeehouse, a period correct Trap-ball game at Mississinewa 1812. Everyone is invited to join the fun! Give the ball a few good whacks, play in the outfield or come to cheer on your friends and enjoy the period correct fun.

Saturday October 9
4-5 PM
the green by C. Black's Coffeehouse

We will finish in time for everyone to have dinner & dress for the "other" ball!

The Coffeehouse is located at the North end of camp, adjacent to the Great Lakes River Pirates camp.

An Echo of the Past in the Future

The Widow Black Requests Your Presence for the inaugural

First Person Interpretation Day
Saturday August 7th, 2010 at the C. Black Coffeehouse
during the Pike River Rendezvous

All interaction within the coffeehouse will take place in character during the year 1813. All eras and personas are welcome to attend & encouraged to participate. Games, newspapers, music & refreshments will be provided for your enjoyment.

This is a unique opportunity for everyone interested in living history to experience first person interpretation with the support of like minded reenactors.

I know that this is a new experience for most of us. Hopefully, we will each be able to support each other in this first person experience and the interactions will become natural over the course of the day. Everyone will have varying degrees of comfort with first person so don't feel that you are alone if it takes you a while to get comfortable. The important thing to remember is not to ruin those around you and to have FUN!

I look forward to seeing many of you there!

“And the Spring comes slowly up this way.”

Things have been busy in my life recently, and while I have gotten a lot done in the past 4 months, sadly little of it has been reenacting oriented. Still, a few small projects always seem to creep in.

First was a very special project for a very special little girl. Unfortunately until she decides to join us the details will have to wait. Aren't I the worst kind of tease?

Second was the long awaited project of re-sizing one of L's linen gowns. A few years ago, when I had the time and the fabric to do so, I made L an "extra" gown. I sized it up from the blue wool gown she was just beginning to fit into with the intent that she would grow into the new gown, as kids tend to do. Unfortunately, I didn't take into account the way my child grows! I enlarged the gown in the length but also in the width. 2 years later and she still hadn't filled out in that width, although the length is now almost not enough. Just this past week I finally sat down & took out the excess size from the bodice, re-pleated & re-attached the skirt & added ties to the back. Now not only is there one less UFO* in my sewing room but L also has a second 18th C gown. Come summer when she returns to camp coated in mud, soaking wet & complaining, she will have something fresh to wear!

The third project on my list was a silk bonnet for L. She has light sensitivity & in modern life usually wears a baseball cap or sunglasses to shade her eyes while out of doors. In reenacting life neither of these was a viable solution. However, a brimmed bonnet is. On our trip to Minnesota last November L got to choose any fabric that she wanted from the silk department at SR Harris. She choose a very dark, almost black, navy blue silk taffeta. I decided to use the Kanniks Korner pattern for her bonnet strictly as a size guide. The instructions, well, anyone who's read this blog before knows that instructions are the first thing that I ignore. I did want this bonnet to be large enough that L could continue to wear it as she grows into adult sizes. I decided to use 2 layers of buckram & inexpensive floral wire in the brim to support the shape. The brim is also lightly lined with some scrap of dark blue wool. Unfortunately L has yet to wear the bonnet for more than a moment while fitting. What's a hard working mother to do? Why borrow the bonnet for herself of course!

The final project on my list has been the reorganization of all my research materials. When I first started reenacting I kept all my book lists and notes in a simple spiral notebook. However, this method hasn't worked out in the long run, especially as I collect more & more images to go along with my readings. Then when you add in the number of journal articles and books that are now available as digital copies through Google Books and EBSCO, my old fashioned notebook just wasn't enough. Over the past month I've gone through everything, sorted into relevant eras and specific categories, deleted any duplicates, double checked that every image has a date, author or at least location attached to it, made a database of all the books & articles I have read and those that I still need to read and best of all, loaded this wonderfully organized collection onto one flash drive. Now when ever I need anything, it is right there at my finger tips. What will I do with all this easy to find information? That, my friends, is another long term project that you all will have to wait & see!

*A UFO in sewing lingo is an "Unfinished Object" ie those projects that are half finished & waiting for the right time to be done.

Busy as a Bee

Posts here on Slightly Obsessed have been slow recently and I will confess it's not because of a lack of projects but a lack of project completion.

Generally, I complete one project before starting on another. I simply have trouble focusing with too many irons in the fire and will forget things when I attempt to do to much at once. However, I find myself currently somewhat deeper than my knees in projects. Since more than one of my faithful readers has commented on the lack of posting, I will share little glimpses of the work currently in progress. Each will receive a full treatment, should I actually finish any one of them. So, dear readers keep your eyes open for the following posts in the coming weeks.

- The 3rd and final chapter in my ongoing tutorial on stay construction; Stay the Course.

- Revamping my sewing kit to include a cross stitched needle book & pin cushion.

- A tutorial on adding pockets to a man's coat.

- The finished workman's jacket for J, which I've been picking away at since August.

- A child sized quilted petticoat, complete with growth allowances for L.

- An embroidered child's sized pair of pockets also for L.

- A new, larger sign for Black's Coffeehouse.

- New tools for the coffeehouse, including a coffee roaster, ledger book & new coffee pot.

- A video tutorial on the construction of deaths-head buttons.

- A finished pair of strapless stays for K.

- A tutorial on cloak construction & the resulting cloaks for both myself & L.

- Event reviews, as they start merely 6 weeks from now!

Whatever with the past has gone, the best is yet to come

In honor of just over 2 years here at Slightly Obsessed; 100 posts on a seemingly endless variety of topics; just over 17,000 visitors, 20 followers & nearly 2 years of reenacting, I'm hosting a little give away for you, my beloved readers.

How To Enter:
Anyone who posts a comment, here or anywhere else on this blog, between now & Feb 4th 2009 will be entered in the give away. The winner will be announced on Feb 8th, upon my return from Reenactor Fest V.

The Prize:
Well that waits to be seen. Traditionally the second anniversary is celebrated with gifts of cotton. I will be keeping with that tradition, however, the individual prize will be tailored to the winner, making it truly unique. It could be a flamestitched wallet, a calico neckerchief, a crosstitched pin cushion, a hand sewn cap, &c. The options are endless, only limited by my imagination & the winners preferences.

My thanks go out to everyone who has made writing these past two years so enjoyable; to those that I've been fortunate enough to meet at events & those that I've only met online; to those that have been my mentors as I lept head first into 18th century reenacting & to those that have let me teach them. Most importantly my thanks go out to L & J for nodding & smiling when I go off in an obsessive tangent, happily letting me drag them around to event after event & being there for me every minute of this amazing journey.

As the title quote by Lucy Larcom says, the best is yet to come.

Back to the Future II

A new schedule of events for the 2009 reenacting season. A few are missing dates but will be updated as soon as the information is released. However since most are repeat events on fixed weekends each year, it's safe to say there won't be many overlaps. Events marked with a (*) are east coast events and long shots but on my "trying" list for the season. After all, you never really know what will present itself. I did get to England last year after all!

2009 Event Calendar

February
5-8 Reenactor Fest; Arlington Heights, IL
21-22 Echo’s of the Past Trade Show; Oshkosh, WI

March
21-22 *Military through the Ages; Jamestown, VA

April

23-26 *Ft. Fred Market Fair; Big Pool, MD

25-26 The Gathering at Macktown; Rockton, IL

25-26 Colonial Days at Lyon Farm, Yorkville, IL

May

1-3 Bloody Lake Rendezvous; Woodford, WI

16-17 100 Years on the Ohio; Louisville, KY

16-17 Muster on the St. Mary’s; Ft. Wayne, IN
16-17 Janesville Ren Faire; Janesville, WI

23-24 Spirit of Vincennes; Vinicennes, IN

30-31 Reclaiming Our Heritage, Milwaukee, WI

June

5-7 Port Washington Pirate Festival; Port Washington, WI

6-7 Women on the Frontier; Fort Boonesborough, KY
13-14 AWI Western Front; Ft. Wayne, IN

July

11-12 Seige of Ft. Wayne 1812; Ft. Wayne, IN

11-12 Battle of Prairie du Chien, Prairie du Chien, WI

August

1-2 Fort St. Joseph Community Weekend; Niles, MI

1-2 Pike River Rendezvous; Kenosha, WI
7-9 Pirates at Payneton; Burlington, IN

September

12-13 Gathering on the Theatiki; Bourbonnais, IL

19-20 Kohkohmah & Foster Encampment; Kokokmo, IN

Autumn Pioneer Festival; Belvidere, IL

Feast of the Hunters Moon; Lafayette, IN

October
2-4 Mississinewa 1812; Marion, IN
Trail of History; McHenry, IL

November
5-8 NAVC; Poynette, WI

7 ONWC Colonial Ball; Poynette, WI

Treasure Island, 2008

English flag at the top of Elizabeth Castle

There is simply too much to say about my 5 days at Elizabeth Castle on the Isle of Jersey for their Treasure Island event. The 200 plus photographs don't even begin to show how amazing the site is, or to express what it feels like to reenact in a place where everything around you is over 200 years old. I am endlessly greatful to the site, the castle guardian and the Jersey Heritage Trust for hosting such a wonderful event at such an amazing location; to all the various UK Pirate Brotherhood, Sheppey Pirates, C.H.E.S and Bonaventure members who shared their event, tents & beer with me and especially to my dear friend Ed for inviting me in the first place. It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will be honored to talk about for years to come.

Home Away from Home: Elizabeth Castle at high tide

Without further ado, a small collection of photographs from around the site. Unfortunately there are very few photos of the other reenactors or myself, just one of the drawbacks to having the public around at every turn; no chance to have a photoshoot!

The Admiral Benbow Inn

Ben Gunn; Marooner

Nightfall on the Upper Castle and 18th Century Garrison

Lintel over an archway: G3R 1781

a view of the Lower Castle from the Upper Castle

R & baby W nap in a window sill

A secret passageway

View from our private beach

Stepping back in time

All the News That's Fit to Print

My current pet project for Black's Coffeehouse; newspapers.

18th Century coffeehouses were repositories of information, much of it in printed form, newspapers, broadsides, mail. True to that, I've been researching, reading, scanning, altering & printing historic newspapers for the visitors at Black's to enjoy. The initial response was exactly as I had hoped; people loved them. In fact, we did as I have read was done in period, we sat around in the coffeehouse reading bits out loud to each other (most still use the medial S, so the reader was frequently someone comfortable with the text), passing the pages back & forth, pointing out interesting advertisements & engaging in discussions about the news. They turned out to be the ideal fuel for first person interpretation and conversations.

I initially stared this research using the internet. The Virginia, Maryland & London Gazettes all host on-line archives of their historic papers. With a bit of Photoshop work & the industrial printer I was able to come up with several period approximate editions for the years our events revolve around. I have since focused on a single year for simplicity sake and because for all except one event we do, that year is appropriate.

However, those three papers were not enough to satisfy either Black's customers or myself. After all we taut that visitors can enjoy "the latest news from London & around the colonies". Through a bit of research and cross referencing I was able to make a small list of mid 18th century newspapers from New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Massachusetts as well as another imported paper from London. But most importantly, all of these papers are archived on microfiche and available through Inter Library Loan courtesy of the State Historical Society . All that remains now is some dedicated time with the computer aided microfiche machine, flash drive and photo editing program.

I simply can't express the enjoyment that I am getting from this project. I find the period articles to be endlessly educational, the advertisements to be a wonderful glimpse into day to day lives and being able to share so much authentic "history" with friends and the public, well it just brings me countless joy. I am seriously considering further research into these papers and the information they contain. It seems a shame to have them so easily accessible and not do something extensive with them.

Little Bits of Mitts

(insert a chorus of exuberant cheering here)

I finished my knitted fingerless mitts yesterday! I've been wearing them since, & I have to say, they are the best things around. I'm sitting here typing & my hands are actually too warm, when does that happen?

Thanks to sitting down and talking out how to insert the thumb with the General's Wife, it went rather smoothly. I did end up frogging down on the 2nd thumb about 2 rows thanks to an accidental yarn over but that was really all. I was determined to have at least 1 mitt that didn't have a huge visible error. Of course in both you can still see the line where I change from 1 needle to the next. It's not terribly obtrusive, but it's still there if you look. I'm not sure what to do about that. Is that just part of knitting in the round?I thought I was doing pretty well with keeping the first stitch tight in the transition.

Unlike the first mitt! That was the learner right? Because it certainly looks it! Can you tell in the pictures which is which? I am actually toying with either frogging all the way down to the first YO error or starting a third mitt just to have a "perfect" pair. By the time I got to the palm on the 1st, I had to do no less than 6 K2tog to get it back to the proper stitch count. Oi!

Still, I'm going to wear these for the Historic Holiday event this weekend. They are perfect for playing the mandolin without freezing my hands off. Plenty of space for my fingers to move, not to bulky in the palm, well fitted but flexible in the thumb and best of all, they are long enough (elbow length) to keep my bare forearms covered and warm!

I did learn something during this project. I prefer knitting in the round. I don't purl so well & like the look of a stockinette stitch best. The natural solution, knit in the round. No purl and yet you get a stockinette stitched item.

Next up on the needles, 18th century mittens from the Mara Riley pattern. Should they be in the yellow that the Generals Wife gave me, or the left over green? Should they be for myself or for L? Should I start them today or save them for this weekend? Should I contact the CDC about this infectious knitting disease?

Back to the Future

My tentative 2008 schedule is here!

2008 Event Calendar

February
8-10 Reenactor Fest 4; Arlington Heights, IL
23-24 OshKosh Trade Show; Oshkosh, WI
? Character Workshop, McHenry, IL

March
15-16 Military through the Ages; Jamestown, VA

April
25-26 *The Gathering at Macktown; Rockton, IL

May
2-4 *Bloody Lake Rendezvous; Woodford, WI
17-18 *Seno Woodland Center; Kenosha, WI
17-18 --Janesville Ren Faire; Janesville, WI
24-25 Fort Koshkonong; Fort Atkinson, WI

June
6-8 Historic Ft. Wayne; Ft. Wayne, IN
6-8 Port Washington Pirate Festival; Port Washington, WI
14 --Maritime Festival; Saint Mary’s City, MD

July
3-12 Private Event; Washington Island, WI
12-13 Gathering on the Theatiki; Bourbonnais, IL
19-20 Bristol Renaissance Faire; Bristol, WI
26-27 Fort St. Joseph Community weekend; Niles, MI

August
1-3 *Pike River Rendezvous; Kenosha, WI
8-10 Pirates at Payneton; Burlington, IN
16-17 Frenchman’s Frolic; Rockford, IL
22-25 --Treasure Island; Jersey, Channel Islands, England
31-Sept 3 Baraboo Rendezvous; Baraboo, WI

September
20-21 *Kohkohmah & Foster Encampment; Kokokmo, IN
27-28 Pioneer Autumn Festival; Belvidere, IL

October
10-12 *Mississinewa 1812; Marion, IN
18-19 *Trail of History; McHenry, IL


November
1st ONWC Colonial Ball; Janesville, WI
8? --Lock House; Harve De Grace, MD

In a way my mind is spinning thinking about doing so many events in one year. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to miss anything either. I know that there is already a conflict between the Janesville Ren. Faire that I've gone to in the past 2 years and the Seno event in Kenosha. I also know that it's possible I won't get out to the east coast for either the Saint Mary's City or the Lock House events, although I do want to at least try. While I'm having a hard time with travel arrangements, I *must* do MTA in March. It's Jamestown for Pete's sake, there is no way I can pass that up! The same goes for the big Jersey event. It's going to take some heavy duty planning but as J says "this is your resume". The events that I attend, the work that I do, the time I take, this is basically my "career" right now and I need to build it. Plus I'm never one to do things half way. It's all the way or nothing.

Surgery for Sticky

Before getting started on the Polonaise gown I had to do a bit of surgery on Sticky.

Sometime during the summer she had started coming "unstuck". Not a good thing for a duct tape double. Specific trouble spots were right around the hip & the back center seam. The back seam was so bad that you could actually see the plastic bags that she is stuffed with.





Armed with a fresh roll of 3" wide, industrial strength duct tape, surgery began. I think part of the reason Sticky didn't hold up as well as I had hoped was because we only used 2 layers of tape rather than three. I also think that humidity played its part in unsticking the layers. I also have to remember that she is getting smooshed a lot more than an average duct tape double. After all, I'm cramming her into my fully boned stays and she doesn't have the benefit of having bones underneith to stand up to the compression like my actual body does.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I had grand plans for this purple 1750's era round gown out of the $5/yard wool I bought last spring. Unfortunatly, I don't have enough to do either the en forreau pleating or the apron front. I'm seriously bummed about this and am already planning on another just so I can do a proper round gown. Although this one might be out of linen so it's more wearable at later season (ie, super hot midwest summer) events.

Instead I do have enough material to make a later period polonaise. They aren't my favorite style of gown. They are also entirely too common in my mind. I never see round gowns but it seems everyone has a polonaise.

What can I do though, I can't get more fabric & I only have enough to cut either the apron front and 1 side of the back or do the separate back pieces and no apron front & have enough for both sides of the back skirt. Piecing isn't an option as I'm already using a random piece for the sleeves & shoulders.

Oi!

The thing is I did purchase enough fabric, 6 yards & the instructions say you only need 5.5. Well that doesn't take into account how terribly the wool shrunk when being pretreated. It also doesn't take into account that the fabric was in two odd sized scraps to begin with. I guess thats what I get for buying super discounted wool. Affordable but you have to be creative with what you're making. Maybe I should have used the fabric to make the Mantua de lit or Mantellet after all.

Bummer.

The plus side is that I can wear one of my petticoats & it will be visible. Maybe the new green wool or the darker red. The yellow is pretty beaten up after a season of wear & although the red has holes, I don't think anyone will notice those tiny things.

Camp Dog

About a week ago I ordered a tent from Falls Creek. I know I said I was going to sew my own but lets face it, I'm not up to that yet. So I ordered their very basic A frame although I splurged and got the extra foot of height and the second door. That way it can be opening into a lean to if needed. A bell back tent would have been more appropriate to the time period, however I don't like trying to get the bells to lay out nicely.

In the mean time J has made me 2 benches similar to the 30 years war design I saw. They are very simple, 2 flat sides that fit into a top. They fold down quickly and easily with no hardware. I think he is also going to build himself a smaller bench to sit on while he plays his cello. Today's task is sanding and staining, although I'm tempted to paint one of them. I'm trying to make sure all the pieces are "matchy-matchy", even though they are pretty much the same.

J also build me a collapsing X legged table not dissimilar to the folding table Washington took on campaign. The sorts of folding tables where the top splits are very popular in camps I'm noticing. Mine looks much the same but doesn't have a split top. It actually has to have 4 pegs pulled in order to flatten. I need to stain up that one as well, but I want to make sure I like the stain color since the table is so nice looking.

Sometime next week hopefully J will make me the trestle table that I sent him links for. This one I'm thinking of painting, maybe if he does one with a nice center trestle area, I'll even paint a design on that part.




In other camp news, I need to find out if tent poles would have been painted or not. I've seen people with their poles painted and like the look. Plus I need to do something to hide the remaining lumberyard marks on my uprights. However I don't want to do something that is a reenactor-ism if I can help it. I'm not finding anything on-line telling me either way though. Frustrating since I need to get this stuff done soon.

The Common Man Plan

This is the first time that J has asked, asked me to make him clothes. For the past 11 years it's been, yeah ok I'll wear what you tell me. No enthusiasm. But he's finally asked & I'm super excited. Lets see how I feel after having to sew all the button holes on his coat.

The Plan

Breeches: left over blue wool from L's mantua. It was going to be my wool petticoat but I'd rather she & I not have all the same colors in our clothes since we will be at the most events together. Patter for the breeches is Reconstructing History's 706 breeches and slops. I'm looking forward to that too becuase J & I still wear the same pants size. So making him a pair, means I'll have a pair if I ever need to dress as a man.

Shirt: The last of the Joann's heavy linen with guidance from various sources. I ws going to use the lighter linen that I got for my extra shift, but then remembered how tough on clothes J is. Plus, I don't want to give up my extra shift for him to have a shirt and I've got that JoAnn's linen that I don't really like for myself, so why not for J.

Coat: We're looking for either inexpensive coat weight wool, or a big old army blanket. I'm going to have my mom look at her Hancock's for the wool that they used to carry during the winter. So far I haven't had luck finding an old wool blanket, although that might not turn out to be cheaper than yardage either, depending. Pattern of course is Reconstructing History's 705, sailors & common man's coat. I gave j the option of having a justacourps but he likes the shorter, simpler style. No complaints from me, I like the less button holes option!

Workman's Cap: J saw these and decided that he likes them. So while at The Gathering this weekend he looked at a few and they were all too small for his head. Rats! So instead I'll be digging through my scrap linen and making him one. I was hoping he'd find something at the event so that there would be some variety in the materials used, rather than just the same scrap that both L & I are also wearing. Oh well. at least he'll have a cap.

Stockings: He'll be wearing one of my two pairs. I'm considering giving him the Lindsey-woolsey pair and having Leslie Carroll knit me a couple of pairs like L's. I need a wool pair and maybe a linen pair. The wool got very hot in 80* weather, so many linen stockings would be cooler if not perfectly PC.

Shoes: Here's where we get stuck. Shoes are expensive and J won't be wearing them all the time anyway. I'm thinking that we really need to try the cut down desert boots for him. They don't have to be pretty, he's a street seller for Pete's sake. So far that's the plan for shoes at least.

The Finish Line Is *IN* sight!

Yesterday I managed to sew together the base for L's mantua. The more I sew with that Pendelton wool, the more I fall in love. The second time on the mantua was definatly the charm. Everything has come together beautifully. Well except for the fact that the body was too long, leaving the gores in the side about 5 inches too low. Drat!

So today I pulled out the side gores and pushed them up to L's proper hip level. Unfortunatly I used nearly all the blue linen thread from Wm. Booth Draper sewing everything together in the too long incarnation, so everything else is sewn with dark blue poly thread. Sad, but true.

Anyway, once the gores were in the right place I mimiced the pleating in the underarm area like Kass has on her mantau pattern. In her version you cut an inverted "L" shape to create the underarm and side seam. When you reach the gore you stop, letting the remaining fabric fall to the inside & create a box pleat. On this smaller version I tapered in from the underarm to narrow the side seam and stopped at the gores, but didn't cut. It works nearly the same way and looks rather good (if you've got your nose in my 6 year olds armpit!)

Tonight I bribed L with "Night at the Museum" and cotton candy, so that she would stand still long enough for me to put the pleats in the back & the two pleats in either side of the front (the ones that were "lost" on my mantua). Everything is now pressed nicely with my new fancy-schmancy steam iron and basted in place.

Tomorrow I will blind stitch the pleats with the remaining blue linen thread & cut off the extra length on the front/back panels. Although I'm seriously considering leaving the back long. It's acting as a short train right now. How wise that is for a kid though. Come to think of it, cutting it ever all the way around sounds like a good idea. I am also going to install a hook and thread eye in the front center so that L doesn't have to wear a pin. She is genuinely afraid of getting poked with a pin so the hook is a better choice not just for general functionality (what kid doesn't move around tons?) but also for her own comfort level. If there is ONE thing that everyone making historically based clothes for kids should consider it's the comfort level. These are modern children and while we adults will suffer for our "art",the kids just want to have fun. Uncomfortable clothes & boring events aren't going to encourage them to continue reenacting when they become adults!

Lost at Sea

Woh! I've been lazy lately, especailly about updating this blog. Rest assured plenty of work is still being done but with a longer deadline than I had for RF2 I've been spreading the jobs out more & burning myself out less.

L's jumps are finished!

I machine sewed the trim, flipped and hand sewed the interior. The back has 2 rows of hemp cording on either side of the eyelets for stability yet flexibility. I hand sewed all 24 eyelets during a crew work weekend. They look nice, but I hate those things. Around and around and around and around!

L's shift is finished!

I had to resew the sleeves. I got a little too generous with the inside seam and they ended up just a bit too think for comfort. So I widened those & used more dutch linen tape for the sleeve & neck hems.

I've cut my Hunting "Frock"/ Riding Habit

Spent a weekend at my mothers for this portion. The coat requires 5 years, folded length wise. It's easiest to lay out the full length and then fold in half, only my house isn't large enough to lay out 4 yards, much less 5. So a trip to my mothers and all the pieces for the coat, outer, inner & lining are cut out.

I am still in search of the perfect waistcoat fabric. I want something that falls in to preferably all but at least 1 of the following categories -historically accurate print (preferably a simple color floral) -historically accurate material (linen or wool preferably) -less than $30/yard. Yeah, not an easy order to fill but I'm still looking.

This week while L is at art camp I'm going to finish up her petticoats & make myself at least 1 of the two wool petticoats. I am also going to do another mock up of her mantua. I'm thinking that I can modify a more robe like pattern for her rather than continuing to mess around with the from scratch version that wasn't turning out well. Plus for kids, it only has to *look* right. We can take more liberties because it's darned lucky that kids are part of the group at all, much less in perfect garb. Oh & I found a pair of $10 shoes at Walmart that I am going to try recutting into latchet shoes.

Better get to those projects if I intend to get them finished in my limited free time this week!

Upcoming Events & Deadlines

I've already talked about my future projects. Garb for L & a Tan & Blue Hunting Frock.

Upcoming Events:

May 12: Pirates Invade Door County Maritime Museum
This is the deadline for the Hunting Frock.

May 19-20: Janesville Renaissance Fairea
No it's not a "pirate" event but it's local & Chris' bunch does a great job with this fund raiser for the Jaycee's. I have to talk to the Jaycee's lady soon about running their beer cart for the event. It's the one area that I would really have liked to see someone in garb last year. Plus I'll need a job while there (as always)

June 1-3: Port Washington Pirate Festival
This is the deadline for L's complete garb. We'll be getting a hotel room for the weekend since period camping is not on the plan close to the site. Additionally, J doesn't camp & I'm counting on him coming along to watch L at night so I can go to the late night parties. I'm also working on A about coming up for photo-ops. She & her bunch were very excited about it last year.

That's as far as I've gotten in my schedule, since they are also all local events. It's so much harder to plan for the distance events. I'd like to manage an east coast something this year. I have high hopes that something will get put together for Saint Mary's City, if nothing else, because I want an excuse to go there, it looks amazing! I am also hoping to manage PIP this year but that's not until November so I can put off the planning for now.

I think that's enough planning for now. Time to start working on the Hunting Frock!

The "New Projects" List

The next "mark" on the calender is Port Washington's Pirate Fest in June. Seeing as that's a mere 4 months away, I have already begun planning & purchasing for the event. The list of projects to complete before Port Washington includes:

-a basic kit for L. She has actually asked for this so being the mom that I am, I'm jumping on the chance! Linen petticoats, unboned linen stays, linen shift & wool mantua. For this I'll be scaling down a combination of RH's mantua pattern & Waugh's Mantua pattern. I'm mentally working on a way to have her wear the mantua without pins or modern hooks etc. It may end up having eyelets under the front facing & being front laced. The stays will be from measurements run through the Custom Corset Pattern Generator Which is the same pattern generator I used on my Hemp Corded Bodice. I'll add tabs & sew the boning channels but leave everything empty except a rib on either side of the lacing holes, which might even be hemp cord to keep it flexible & soft for her. L is a modern child after all. She's asked for pink stays & is eying the pink silk ribbon in my stays. Mantua will be dark blue wool felt, outer petticoat will be the left over yellow that matches mine. The remainder of course will be plain white linen, much of it left over from my basic kit.

-tan & blue Hunting Frock. I snagged the 10 yards of tan wool gab for this when it went on $8/yard sale last week. I love the way the chocolate brown for the mantua fulled, so I'll do the same for this project. Lined with a yet unchosen blue linen. I'm leaning towards a rather deep indigo color. I'm going to learn to make Dorset thread buttons (in blue & green)for all the buttons on this coat. I'm tempted to make the waistcoat out of the same odd orange duponi silk as the half finished silk mantua. The color contrast with blue is so striking & I'm just a sucker for orange. It's that or brocade of some kind that I have yet to find. I have found a beautiful wool hat to complete the outfit though. Imagine that in tan trimmed out with blue & feathers with a broach in place of the button. Naturally the hat costs more than the entire outfit & I might end up getting a blank cartwheel hat & shaping it myself.

-The Fancy Mantua. ie the previously mentioned orange silk mantua with dark green petticoat. I want this to loop back on a belt with a chain. Still haven't found out what material to make the belt out of yet though. I'm thinking that it needs the little ruffle on the fold back part in a contrasting stripe (Gold & cream?). I'll need to wear a fontage with this outfit & that's pushing the whole project to the way back burner for now. Although the machine work on the mantua is finished (minus the facings). It's sitting in the bin waiting for inspiration & more research. However, the silk was 40% off over the weekend & I couldn't pass it up. It's got a train even, *so* fancy for me.

There are other projects, a "theatrical pirate costume" for a friends DH & I'd really like to make a few basic pieces for M since I know he'll love to wear them. But for now, L's kit takes top priority.

Giving the Final Order

Made, what should be the final supplies order from Wooded Hamlet today. Big pile of basics like dutch linen tape, lacing cord, button hole twist & brass pins. I ended up not getting the silk thread from them since I can get the same stuff for the same price at Attic Quilts & the ladies there will order what ever colors I ask for. Plus that gives me an excuse to go for a visit over there.

Yesterday I took advantage of the Jas Townsend deal on tan-ish linen thread. $15 for 3 spools shipped. I figure you can never really have enough thread (or fabric or ribbon for that matter). This is an off tan color that should stand out a lot less than white-white would with the colors of my fabrics. As soon as that arrives I'll get to sewing the reed channels in the stays.

Yes, I cut all the fabric the other night. It's waiting in the bin just tormenting me! I had a brilliant thought to use the quilters guide to sew evenly spaced channels. Now just to dig around in the sewing room to find that darned thing. It's designed for sewing evenly spaced straight lines, so why spend the time drawing every single line when I can use a tool I already have, someplace! Plus I was at the JoAnn's tomorrow and completely forgot to pick up a new disappearing marker and I'm not going back for another week.