Call to arms! (or fingers) - what's coming up ahead

With the Renaissance behind us, we can settle down and look at what we want to do for the next year.
Yes, we did this earlier in the year, but we changed our collective mind.  In order of interesting-ness, here is what we have planned:

We joined the Court Gown Project at Demode Couture.  We are a little scared.  A lot of the other participants are leaps and bounds above us in skill and knowledge.

We decided to target fantasy/masquerade dresses inspired by playing cards.  Our inspiration dresses are purely that... Inspiration.  Color, and detail (and shape in Lisa's case) will all be modified.   Robin will be the (non-Alice)  Queen of Hearts and is using this dress as her inspiration:

Lisa will be the Queen of Clubs.  She chose a picture from a Victorian masquerade idea so she will need to make it into a Court gown.  Since green was the color of clubs (in France a longish time ago) she picked a soft green poly/silk taffeta. And since the Queen of Clubs was also the flower queen (often thistle) she is sneaking peaks at Mme de Pompadour who wore lots of flower embellishment.

We are thinking about making paper wigs.  OK, Robin is definitely making a paper wig.  Lisa is thinking about it.

Lisa is drafting patterns for pocket hoops from Corsets and Crinolines and we're looking at dress and underthings patterns.
Target completion:  Costume College 2014

ALSO, we plan to make Regency dresses, from the underthings out.  And men's clothes to go with them because of the Tall Ships Adventure.  Costume required.  We are looking at this silhouette because we think the lower, more fitted waist will be more flattering.  We will also make a spencer or pelisse.

All super easy.  We'll just whip these out without a hitch.




But before we can even start, there are just a few things left to do to clear the decks:

Robin:  Finish the trim on her lavender Dickens dress, and finish the trim on her Renaissance dress (which may be sidelined due to being utterly sick of it by now).  She also needs to finish making her Pirates of the Caribooban outfit for Halloween.


Lisa:  just spent a week making pirate garb for the Young Actors Haunted House which raises money and happens during the HMB pumpkin festival.  She made 5 vests, 5 sashes, 4 headscarves, 4 distressed pair of pants....  nevermind, she doesn't even want to TALK about pirates right now...
Then she needs to make a costume for the offspring

because it's Halloween.  She will be making Conner Kenway from Assassin's Creed.
She will be drafting the coat pattern.  She has NO IDEA how she will do this.  Especially since her model is a 12 year old boy who cannot stand still.

Once this is done Lisa will make the linen lounge pants from the Decades of Style pattern.  Then start on the long postponed AntEater dress and her TV riding habit.

I won a prize - Lisa

Is this epic silliness?  Heck, yes.  We finally got done enough with our Elizabethan outfits to wear them to the Renaissance fair.  Mine is done.  Could I do more?  Sure, but I'm DONE.

We wandered by the costume contest, partly to see it, and partly to allow the boy to go on the bungee jump trampoline thing.  While standing and watching him, I got recruited for the costume contest.  I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it was supposed to be starting and there were only 4 entrants. Still I got 2nd place and that was fun.

(Can I do a quiet shout out to the young woman with the merchant class outfit that was flawlessly authentic and beautifully sewn?  She shoulda won it all.)

Avocado Hoodie ~ Guacamole - Lisa

Mom...let me GO!

Months ago I got fabric to make the Avocado Hoodie pattern from Disparate Disciplines.  I finally woke up and decided to do it.  The pattern didn't go together quite as easy as my first try from Mari.  After reading more about printing patterns from PDFs, I'm pretty sure it was my computer.  I made a couple of adjustments based on the measurements provided, and from personal experience.  I added to the bust on the side front, and added length at the bustling across the front.  Basically FBA for princess seams.  I also added a couple inches to the height of the hood, and an inch the the arms.  Robin told me, long ago, that hoods are always too short for her.  I took that to heart.  I cut the top of the hood taller, but not wider. Worked perfectly.  I used the provided measurement for arm length and added about an inch BUT I didn't take account the length to the thumb hole.  So the arms are still a bit short.  They look fine but the thumb hole is a bit confining and the top of the cuff is sort of high on my arm.  It's supposed to be higher than normal, but mine is even higher than that.  I also added about an inch to the hem because I always do that.  I like Mari's designs.  They are flattering to my figure and I appreciate that a lot.

Boy demonstrates back side pocket

Confession time.  I just didn't understand the instructions for the back pockets.  Ultimately I just did them in a way that made sense to me.  They exist to allow someone walking with you to put their hand in a pocket while their arm is around you.  I don't know if the back pocket is supposed to be contiguous with the front pocket, but that's how mine is.  My son loves them.  In fact, he gives the hoodie very high marks for awesomeness.  And that's big praise from a middle school boy.

My assessment?  I'm done with knits for a while.  I find them wiggly and frustrating.  Also the painted stars on the fabric were a gigantic pain.  I was sick of the hoodie when I finished.  But then I wear it again and again.  And I get compliments on it all the time, including from middle school kids.

So I guess the frustration was worth it.  In fact, I can see myself making this again.