So I have cleverly started planning craft get togethers with my one friend who always shows up, so that I can invite others but I still have a successful day if nobody else shows up.
I took a strip of dark purple jersey, about 22×54, and made a simple, plain ol’ ponch (sew one end to the side of the other) to wear over fancy outfits when it’s a bit chilly. It looks fantastic. I was sick and tired of my drapy shawl/pashmina/whatever dragging, falling down, and getting in my food. Very pleased.
I got the dress and wrap cut out yesterday and started the textile work on the wrap. I did some large reverse-appliques; some of them have couching. This is going to take a while, but at least I am moving forward now.
pretty much all the time at home, and I want to expand my options and protect my ankles a little more, so it’s time for a nice round cushion. There’s a local maker who creates these, filled with millet hulls and with natural coverings, so I will head to the Saturday Market (an all-craft market in Portland that runs on weekends) next weekend.
“Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation. Know that we all have access to four treasures: the energy of the sun and moon, the breath of heaven, the breath of earth, and the ebb and flow of the tide.”
i.e. reading Alabama Studio Sewing and Design in the bookstore last night. Jammed full of techniques I didn’t know already, all useful and useable. For one thing, Natalie Chanin is really skilled. For another, she works entirely by hand. So where most sewing information is focused on machine skills, these books are all handwork and all detailed. Also she sews on jersey, which is so much more comfortable and wearable than woven cottons.
I had idly flipped through the first two books before and gotten very little out of them, but this one is all technique, and includes sequential steps to make complex textiles and a nice gallery. Ooh I’m in love with this book.
My vest has gone from rough shape to lots of finished work done. There’s a circle cutout in the back and a traditional leather strap with brass buttons to cinch in the waist. The left front has a reverse-applique circle and the right front has a moon-shaped bag pocket. I finished almost all the edges and added darts. I need to finish the neck, add fasteners of some kind, and do more embellishing. I probably will sew up the hem (it’s serged but not properly sewn).
So I am not going to said wedding any more, and I also no longer want to do an all-over pattern: too much work and not my style. Instead I want to capture the sense of this green look: a complex overlayer and simple underlayer with a plain dress and a fancy wrap.
I can’t un-personal-challenge this, so it may expire before I finish.
Monday 1.7
Tuesday 1.7
Wednesday 1.7
Thursday 1.7
Friday 2
Saturday 1
Sunday .7
Total 10.5
Running Total 285.2
I continued East, the Weather Hills fading away behind me and dark wooded hills becoming higher in front. On Friday I made camp.
Willy Wonka: “Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.”
Monday 1.7
Tuesday 1.3
Wednesday .9
Thursday 2
Friday .2
Saturday .3
Sunday .5
Total 6.9
Running total 274.4
I continued east. The Road was rough. On Thursday I made camp.
(Ugh, I really felt it, walking so little. Didn’t have much choice, my parents were in town and insisted on driving everywhere, but I’m not doing that again. It took me most of this week to recover from the not-walking and the being-crammed-in-a-car-for-lots-of-hours. At least I ate pretty well last week, or it would have been worse.)
“All the principles of heaven and earth are living inside you. Life itself is the truth, and this will never change. Everything in heaven and earth breathes. Breath is the thread that ties creation together. When the myriad variations in the universal breath can be sensed, the individual techniques of the Art of Peace are born.”
I played around with the fabric and looked at my pin boards and realized I’m on a drapey, criss-crossy kick. BUT I had already determined to do a square neckline because it looks great and is age-appropriate.
I figured out what I’m going to do is a psuedo wrap dress where the underlayer is structured at the top (square neckline) and then a wrap comes across the front. This makes a beautiful line, and then I’ve got a nice canvas for doing the embroidery I want. I’ll just line the part that gets the cutwork, because the dress is physically heavy already (I need to put heavy interfacing on the straps so they don’t stretch way out of shape).
So, wrap AND square neckline, get my embroidery/cutwork placed in an interesting area, a dress that’s a little size flexible and temperature flexible and best of all, totally doable in the time allotted, leaving me free to think about my next time-consuming task on a deadline, the new waterproof bag, which I am hoping to have done to travel with as my old travel bag is too big and my everyday bag is very worn.
I finally found something I’m actually happy with for the underlayer. Finding tone-on-tone color choices while shopping secondhand was quite the challenge. I got a tie-dyed purple/magenta piece. It’s not as large as the plum, but I think it’ll be plenty big.
I decided on a square neckline and a calf-length hem (so I can layer like the picture) but not really anything else, though I am certainly not going to do all-over embroidery at this point: no time, and also I don’t think it’s what I want.
Anyway the clock is ticking and I have lots of travel time coming up that I don’t want to waste. Unfortunately my adventure clothes goal also has a deadline, and it’s even sooner than this one. Fortunately, winging steampunk clothes at the last minute is very genre-appropriate. So I will try and focus on the dress.
I have only been doing my new job for a few weeks (though I did many parts of it in my old job, and I have lots of education for it) and already I have been asked to train someone new! That feels great.
Also, my parents are visiting, and though they are sweet and kind people I was worried about them not thinking I was successful. Yesterday I gave them a quick tour of work, and every resident we stopped to talk to told them at length how wonderful I was. What a way to make me feel successful, in front of my parents!
Monday 2
Tuesday 1.7
Wednesday 2.7
Thursday 3.2
Friday 1.4
Saturday 1.5
Sunday 1.7
Total 14.2
Running total 267.8
I continued east, and on Monday I made camp. I got up and continued east, with the Weathertop hills receding behind me and the Trollshaws appearing ahead. On Friday I made camp again.
I made up a blouse, it’s too tight so I have to add more panels. I roughed up a vest; it’s not finished and I have no plans for detailing, but it fits beautifully. I cut out a skirt.
It’s all right. Interesting narrative style and structure, contains some sexual assault, and a lot less talking about Jane Austen than I expected.
I realized I have a deadline now as I am teaching a workshop at a steampunk con in mid-August. And I am not wearing all that heavy wool in mid-August, so I need to make some hot-weather-friendly clothes. I started a blouse, there will be a canvas vest and skirt. Not at all sure how to make the skirt functional, cool, and steampunk, it’ll take some work, but in the meantime I’ll whip up the blouse and get going on the vest. Good thing my hat is done.
Monday 1.8
Tuesday 1.7
Wednesday 1.7
Thursday 2.2
Friday 1.7
Saturday 2.6
Sunday 2.2
Total 13.9
Running Total 253.6
On Tuesday I continued along the Road as it turned more to the east. Weathertop continued to drop away, no longer directly behind me. On Thursday I made camp. The Weather Hills were still visible on the western horizon.
