12:15 PM Party Snag

I bet you're wondering where Part 3 of my series on finding a pet for the Holidays is aren't you?  Well, Part 3 is the section on Buying a pet and I'm really having trouble putting that one together.  It's really taking a lot of thought due to my personal feelings on the matter and I have a lot on my plate right now.  I'm crossing my fingers I can have it ready next week.

In the meantime, this is my latest drama.

I'm going to this fabulous Victorian Christmas Ball in Waxahachie, TX on Saturday.  I'm pretty excited about it.  Several of us from the DFW Costumers Guild have been dying to attend a proper ball.  So this is just the ticket for us historical costuming geeks.  And I already made an appropriate dress, so all was good.  There would be no fighting to make something new.  I could focus on the mini-garb for my niece and nephew.  Well, that's what I thought.  Until I tried the dress on last night.

Oh dear.  I was aware I had gained weight back from what I had lost over the last year, but didn't realize how much that weight would affect my red victorian dress.  It was bad.  Since these types of dresses are made to fit really well in the first place, gaining weight is not a good thing.  I barely was able to hook the bodice closed and there were gaps at the closures.  NO BUENO!!!  Just about the only way I can wear that dress now is to make a front piece to hide the closure.  Ok, no problem, that's a relatively cheap and realistic plan to pull off in the little amount of time that I have.  Then I looked at it again and noticed the Huge rip in the off the shoulder strap on one side.  And I also noticed many other parts that need to be replaced or covered due to damage from wear.  So in short, the whole bodice really needs to be replaced.  And I don't have the funds for new red silk right now.

In my panic, I started hatching a plan for just getting a lot of heavy lace to sew to the neckline and shoulders and then figure out something to cover the closure area.  But the more I thought about it, the more I really just wasn't buying that look with the natural form fan skirt that went with it, which is also a little plain.  I mean, I'd have to do a lot of work to make it look like it wasn't a hasty addition.  At this point, the plan ended up turning into a major expense and a bit of a handsewing project.

BAH!!!!

The party is Saturday, remember?  Three Days!  Actually, less than that since I work a full time job and have little time after work to sew.

But even as I was lamenting my problem, true insanity took over and the Holy Fabric Stash came to the rescue.  It's funny how these little devils start speaking into your ear about what you might be able to accomplish if only you listened to their cracked-out plan.  At that moment I remembered a nice piece of royal blue taffeta-like material that was handed down to me from someone else's stash purge.  Yes, those little devils won and I was energized with a new crazy plan.  The tag on the fabric said there was about 2 1/2 yds.  Hmmmm, what could I do with that?  I knew it was enough for a Truly Victorian August Overskirt even though the pattern calls for 2 3/4 yds.  But what else?  Was there any hope that I could also fit a bodice into the remaining fabric?  Let me tell you, folks, I was so determined it would work at that moment that I went for it.  I found my Truly Victorian Ballgown Basque Bodice pattern and I started puzzling.  By the grace of the Holy Fabric Stash, and those crazy little devils, I was able to just barely eek out that bodice.  It's gonna be sleeveless and I'm going to have to patch a small amount of fabric on the back tails, but nobody's going to be paying attention to them since they'll be overpowered by the bustle just underneath.  And later I can use some trim to cover it if I want.


Now I'm sitting at my desk waiting for lunch time to come around so I can go across the street to Joann's Fabric to buy something for an underskirt.  I'm using my Truly Victorian 1870s Underskirt pattern.  It's the exact underskirt I used with the August Overskirt years ago when I made my Mina Blue dress.  I also need some tulle for a trick I just learned to stiffen the bustle part of the overskirt for a little more poof.  And I'm looking for some lace for the neckline.  And buttons.  I don't think I have the time to wait for Saturday morning to visit the Button Man on Perth Street.  I guess that will just really depend on how cheaply I can get everything.  I may just be making a trip to Perth at 9am if the buttons I want are expensive at Joann's


Will I finish in time for the Ball on Saturday night?  Who knows.  I can always go back to the old reliable pink polonaise if I don't finish.  It's not formal, but it will work in a real pinch. 


Am I crazy to think I can knock this dress out in such a short time when I've never been able to do it previously?  Absolutely, but I'll never know if I don't try and I know I'll be sitting at the Ball disappointed that I didn't at least try.  I'd rather show up in something lesser because I failed than show up in something lesser because I gave up and didn't even try.

10:29 AM DFWCG 18th Century Picnic

This weekend I had two events I wanted to go to. Both were at the same time. I really really really wanted to go to both. And then something happened and I had a lot to work on at home. At that point, I told myself I wasn't going to either event. Then Saturday morning rolled around and after a period of time I decided I needed to get out for a couple of hours. So I thought about it and dressing pretty and playing outside with some Fabulous fellow costumers won out over standing in line for hours waiting to get a book signed. I had friends going to that too, but there was no guarantee we'd be in the same line, yadda yadda yadda, and come to find out some of those friends were still in line by the time the picnic was over and I was driving home. YIKES!!! I'm glad I went to the picnic.

The decision to go to the picnic meant I had to rush to do some finishing touches on converting my Bourgereau dress to a chemise dress. I just needed to make a small repair on the bodice and corsetlet and then I had to put together a quick and dirty bum roll and figure out what the heck I was gonna do with my hair!

The bumroll I made from a dollar store heart pillow. I was originally going to hit the dollar store for cotton balls and make my own bumroll, but then I saw this heart pillow and said Screw That! What would my fabulous Dragon Con roommate who manages to make amazing things out of strange found objects do?? She'd go for the heart pillow. So I went for the heart pillow. I attached some ribbon I already had to the top and opened up the bottom to take some of the filling out. Then I tucked in the pointed extra fabric to round off the bottom. The result is nearly the exact same shape I would have had to cut out and sew up! Mine is messy, but it's Underwear! Nobody's going to see it and this was a 10 minute job as opposed to a half hour job. I only had 10 minutes. Here's a photo of the bum roll partially finished.


The next major challenge was to get my hair figured out. I have naturally curly hair, which is fantastic for 18th century costuming, but I don't have a lot of it, so I wasn't sure how on earth I was going to accomplish the right hair. I also wanted to wear my big straw hat, but I knew I didn't have time to add all the trims and bobs to it to make it look authentic, so I just decided to go without the hat. Luckily for me, I have this fabulous hair fall that I've used for a couple of other costumes. This fall is just about my favorite hair piece ever! I pulled that out of my wig drawer and did a quick and dirty updo with bobby pins and arranged a nice ringet on the side and fluffed my real hair up in the front. It looked Perfect! Except I didn't have any hairspray. And by the time I got ready and went out to grab hairspray on the way to the picnic, my hair had already fallen a little, but I did my best to fix it in the Walgreens parking lot.

Once I arrived at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens I was greeted by a group of Fabulous looking 18th century ladies and gentlemen! I tell you, the DFWCG has some seriously talented costumers. I am fortunate to be able to acquaint myself with these folks. I took a few pictures, but Crandall was kind enough to take many pictures of our day while the rest of us learned a period dance and played badminton and talked and posed. You can see all of those pictures, once I finish uploading them, at the DFWCG's Flickr stream. The few hours we were at the picnic really weren't enough. It would be lovely if one of these days we could make a longer day out of this particular event.

Here I am in my 18th Century finery.



And here I am after a redux of the pompadour for Saturday night beers. Yep, I went out with my pompadour. It was fun! Although I don't feel as though the picture gets the full volume of the hair. It felt like it was bigger when I was wearing it!

10:52 AM Regency Riding Habit

It's been a while, but I finally have a bit of the costuming bug again. I have to say that having some inspiration and motivation to make something pretty feels absolutely wonderful! It's been too long since I've wanted to make something and the construction hasn't been some source of stress. But this project is attached to an event that I may or may not attend with the DFWCG. And it marks a step in a new period direction. This costume is also the first new outfit I will construct after my weightloss, so it could possibly be the only thing I have in my costume closet, other than Rennie Garb, that actually fits without the need of alterations. And even better, this costume will be made entirely from stash fabrics and book patterns, so in essence, this dress is FREE!!!!!! I really like free.

When I got this inspiration to make a new dress, I had three dresses in mind. All three were from Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion 1. My first option was the c. 1795-1800 Showshill Manor dress with the half robe. I love that dress. I've always wanted to make it. I had two fabrics that would have looked amazing for the project, but unfortunately I didn't have enough of the fabric that was perfect for the half robe. So that one was out.

My second option was the c. 1795-1803 dress from The Victoria and Albert Museum. It's on the same page as the previous dress. Then that dress was ousted because I didn't have any fabrics with the right yardage in the stash that actually went together well.

So then I realized that I had a very large amount of this dull golden-ish fabric for a dress and that the royal blue velveteen I had in the stash just might have enough for a Spencer coat. So I finally opted to go with the c. 1795-1810 Salisbury Museum Riding Habit. I love riding habits. There is little more beautiful than a perfectly put together riding costume, in my humble opinion. Ok, except for a ball gown, but seriously what on earth can compete with a ball gown?

Back to my riding habit...

I know I have plenty of fabric for the dress, and I should have enough fabric for the jacket, but if it turns out that I don't have enough for the jacket, blue velveteen should be easy to obtain and it won't be very expensive at all to pick up what is needed.

Here's the fabrics draped together on my dressform. This is when I knew the riding habit was the one.


I'm not sure if I'm gonna finish it all by next weekend, but it sure feels good to work on it. While my fabrics are hanging dry in the bathroom, I'm working on my shift. I'm using the instructions from Marquise de. I've needed a new shift of this kind for a while, so it will get multi-period use. That makes me very happy.

4:38 PM Is the Food Network hindering our desire to cook?

Today on La Vida Localvore Jill Richardson discusses an assertion made by Michael Pollan that watching cooking shows on TV may be part of causing the opposite reaction than we would think.

Like Richardson, I was a little surprised by this idea that people who watch the Food Network aren't actually cooking. I remember very well a recent Thanksgiving where the Blessing was said and then immediately after the "amen" I pointed out that the prayer was missing an important Thank You to the Food Network for without their programming much of the bounty on our table would not be possible. I got a good laugh out of the family for that joke, but it was really the honest truth. I personally had made one dish derived from a recipe I saw on Food Network and one of my mother's crown jewels in the annual feast is Rachel Ray's Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish. That particular soup has jockeyed to the top of the Favorites list. I've even negotiated a favorite dessert omission just so we could keep the soup in one year when Mom said she had too much to make and threatened to take it out!

In my own life, I watch food oriented shows sparingly. This is not to say that I don't enjoy them. I enjoy them immensly. I most especially enjoy the PBS foodie programming. PBS is where I first met Michael Chiarello and Lidia Bastianich, two chefs from whom I have learned a great deal. Those shows specifically presented recipes that made me want to run right out and get the ingredients to cook that meal for dinner That Day. And as much as I would like to be able to say "oh, he's talking about the reality competition type shows, " even they serve as stimulating inspiration, or a provocation for research into new ingredients, tools, and techniques.

But time has slipped away from me as well. And I do understand Pollan's point that today's families just don't seem to think they have the kind of time to cook that their parents may have had. However, I find that instead of running to fast food or packaged frozen foods on a daily basis, I enjoy the challenge this time issue presents. Some days I do succumb to the spell of the frozen pizza, but most days I am able to throw together something interesting with little active cooking time, lots of taste, and that is Healthy. I have found that the lack of time issue has presented me with an interesting food puzzle. And interestingly enough, I know I am eating cheaper by home cooking, than I am by going the convenience route.

8:02 PM A competitive shocker

"I'm not competitive, when I see something that belongs to me, I just go get it."

I have never thought of myself as a competitive person. Beating someone at a game has never been something that I HAD to do to make myself happy. In fact, in my brief stint in the one sport I've ever participated in for my whole life, rowing, the races were the Worst part of the sport for me. I hated them. I hated competing with my fellow singers for Choir competitions as well. I remember the last one of my Choir career, I flat out skipped because I didn't care.

However, there is something in this Hollywood Stock Exchange that brings out a competitive crazy person. The quote above is something I Actually said about myself in regards to my desire to climb the ladder to the top of my league. I was shocked.

I finally added the newest members of the league to my listing. They've been playing for a while, I just didn't have then on my listing. Well, now there's two more people in my way for being top dog. I was only one step away, now I'm 3.

All I have to say to those two extra folks in my way is, "Bring It On!"