Of Stays and Bodies

Well, I completed my regency outfit that I was working on to the point where it was wearable for my evening of dancing and frivolity.
The dress was mostly finished, except that I didn't bind the the bottom of my corset with bias tape (homemade!) and I didn't finish the closures for the back of the gown itself. I also still have plans to make a overgown for evening wear, but had no time to make said garment.
For my outfit I looked heavily at Jessamyn's Regency Costume Page, which is a good resource for Regency Era clothing.
My corset was based on the corset pictured in "Corsets and Crenalines," a nice source for shaping of pieces, but very difficult to use when trying to figure out the stiffening of the corset. I went with cord for my stiffening as the earlier corsets looked to have been stiffened rather than boned in regency, and relied mostly on the busk down the front for any stiffness and posture support. I am very happy with the result, but I still have some fine tuning to do. I need to bind the bottom, add pretty detail work and figure out what is wrong with my busk. I made it out of two layers of a sturdy linen. The eyelets are curtesy of the "Eyelet Fairie," otherwise known as my roommate.

The dress is made of a silk that I got at Egil's from Gold Key this year. Its like butter, and I am in love with it. The front is gathered into the waist band and has a draw string at the top . I chose this method because the pleated fronts are later in Regency period than I wanted to go for. When I complete my lacings for this gown (I had to be safety pinned into it for the dance) I will do spiral lacing. You can't see it, but my corset it spiral laced. This is more period as cris-crossed lacing is a little later. I have found that I like spiral lacing, seems easier to lace to me. Although this corset and the Tudor Bodies are the first I have ever attempted. My Tudor bodies lace spiral up the front and back. Woot!

I also made a simple shift out of a cotton muslin. Pretty impressive for one weeks worth of work?

A pair of bodies in the Closet

I don't even want to say how long it has been since my last post. But, I am moved in, and I have fully functional internet. Life is good.

I lost my phone on my birthday, so if people would like to call me so I can have your phone number (you know who you are).

The past week has been very hectic. I am going to a regency ball this Saturday, and I decided to make a costume. We'll see how well this works out. I have the corset pretty much done. Still have to make the actual dress and a shift etc...

I also am working on a Tudor outfit for 12th night. Currently I have a mostly finished pair of bodies (stays, corset, whatever). I have the fabric all picked out though. Woot!

In food news, I made a pear & honey pie with a cheese pastry and it was yummy! Slice pears, and drizzle with honey. Armored turnips are also lovely and surprisingly easy to make.

I'm done now. I might post later when I am more in possession of all of my mental faculties.

A Much Belated Post

Goodness gracious me, it has been quite a while since I have posted. I apologize profusely for the lack of updates. My life has been fairly busy of late.

-Mom bought a new house (okay, 1925 isn’t really new, but who’s counting) is Eugene and the plan is for me to rent it from her and pay utilities. Exciting? Yes. Very. Kelly and I were planning on renting it together, but she has possibly got a job in the Virgin Islands. In the meantime we have been fixing the house up.

-The electrical system is old from oldsville. Old knob and tube wiring…

-The paint needs updating. In one room they painted around a bookcase leaving the wall blank the last time they painted.

-The floors need to be redone…principally the disgusting harvest gold linoleum in the kitchen.

In other words I have been knitting quite a bit. I have finished the Katharine Hepburn Sweater from Lace Style:

and a cotton cardigan from last summer’s issue of Vogue Knitting:
I also started a summer camisole from Fitted Knits, my new book of prettiness.

On the other hand, I have a new job. Which commenced at about the time I stopped regular posting. I am working at a lawyer’s office and can’t figure out if I don’t have enough work, or too much work.

Egil’s this year was lots of fun. A big gang of us went, but Kelly got the plague and couldn’t come. By the end of the event it was only team “Die Hards” left (Hawhawhaw, I crack myself up). It was still fun at the end, especially the fact that the three of us left had food left for eight. Let’s just say there was plenty of bacon for us all. We also successfully made “mush” from memory. We did pretty well all things considered; we had no recipe to work from.

I also get to work the next two Saturdays at the Knit Shop. I am quite excited about this, since I really miss interacting with proper knitters sometimes. I enjoy the people I work with, but they are definitely not the crafty types, with the possible exception of the receptionist whose mom knits.