Tasks 2012/2013

Hi All,

My tasks for Great Norther War 2013 is:

1) Make 3 blackworked items
2) Do 3 service related rasks

For task 1, I have already made a blackworked chemise.

For task 2, I have already done 2 service tasks. 1 was to run the Tudor event 2012 in August, and the other was helping in the kitchen for GNW 2012.

How to change an crappy average dress into a fantastic dress

Hi All,

Well, I thought I would share a recent win for me in the dress department. I had this beautiful green dress that I made a couple of years ago, but never really liked wearing as it was uncomfortable and frankly, I was unsure what type of dress it was. It was originally intended as an underbust German, but it never quite looked right. In the picture below, you can see I'm wearing Italian headwear with the random looking dress.

So I decided to change it up a bit, and actually make it into a plausible frock like one of these:

So I made a yellow kirtle to go underneath the green dress, to keep the 'girls' in check and also more confortable. I also added some black velveteen around the front opening and neck, and I added long sleeves in order for the dress to look more like the portaits above. I also made some new German Headwear, a Wulsthaube (or we call it a 'brain tumour hat') to go with the new germanised dress. Yes, the headwear looks rediculous, but it is really comfy, especially if you're having a bad hair day.

I thought it turned out pretty well, and it is a great colour and vastly more comfortable to wear these days.

For jewellery I added some gold chains, and I also made a belt out of the same fabric as the kirtle.

Tasks for 2011/2012

My tasks for the coming year are to:

1) Run A&S Class
2) Make a Brain Tumor German
3) 5 x seahorse items of heraldry

Last years tasks were to:
1) Make a 'brain hat German' before festival next year (Fail)
I did however make a 'Crow' Dress, but still, no points for this one. It is on the list again for this year.
2) Make Buzz a favor (Fail)
Did not even think about what I could make for him as a favor, but I am planning on making him another Mongol coat.

3) Run an event that Morde is cooking for (probably the Elizabethan one I've been secretly planning in my head) (Fail)
The Tudor event is scheduled for August 2011, just outside of the scheduled timeframe.

4) Help Morde & Giles with step down garb/regalia/gifts/etc (Pass)
I created a passport for Morde & Giles to give out at their step down. I also made them each a gift.

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2013 Update

1) Run an A&S class

I did this successfully on 5 November 2011 by running a class on Cranach German dress costruction. I was joined by Huguette who helped me with the class. It was fun talking about how we made our frocks.

2) Make a 'Brain Tumour' German

Yes, I did this before June 2012 for Giles' Pelican Ceremony. If I find a picture, I will post it here.

3) 5x seahorse items

-1 Large Gonfalon made in Constanzia's back yard. This was fine until we left it outside for the paint to dry and the neighbour decided to 'water' it. He hosed over the fence onto the newly painted gonfalon. I was so pissed! but it all came good in the end. we had to use gold on the banner to cover up the ruined red paint that ran all over the shop.
-1 Smaller square banner made in Constanzia's back yard. No water came near it this time round.

I think that was all. If I think of any more I will add it.

Entry for Baronial A&S Competition part 2

Previously, I posted a lovely A&S entry that was half completed. I wasn't really happy with it because the gold didn't work right and the colours were all wrong. I decided yesterday to make a new piece for my entry.

On Thursday I received my lovely Daler Rowney Gouache which is excellent to work with. The paint is so much more consistent and I love the colours and quality. It is amazing how much better your artwork becomes if you spend your money on decent paints. Unfortunately it doesn't mean your a decent artist though. I guess you'll have to judge for yourselves. I didn't take a before picture, which I probably should have. I know Morde still has the originals, so I will find it and post it here.

This is my finished piece


I also should still write some motto at the bottom. Feel free to make suggestions...

Household Tasks for this year

My tasks for this year was set at GNW and includes the following:

1) Make a 'brain hat German' before festival next year
2) Make Buzz a favor
3) Run an event that Morde is cooking for (probably the Elizabethan one I've been secretly planning in my head)
4) Help Morde & Giles with step down garb/regalia/gifts/etc
 
Should be a fun year. Favours for Buzz will be difficult as he is not partial to jewelry etc. I'll seahorse him up no problem, I just need to find out what to make.

High Waisted Italian-Dress Under $50

So it is time to make another dress! Yay! And of course it has to have seahorses on it. I have decided on a high waisted Italian.

The Inspiration

Here are some portraits and drawings that I've found for inspiration. I would ideally like to make a coat to go over the top like picture 3, but we'll stick with the dress first. Once I found the inspiration, it was time to do some SHOPPING! Yay!

The Fabric
It was time for a trip up to JJ's in Redcliffe, and I found the below fabric. 5m of plain peach natural fabric (don't quite know what it is, but it burns natural) and 2m of Diamond peach natural fabric. The diamond fabric lends itself quite nicely to putting seahorses in the diamonds. There is always time for seahorses! The plain fabric was $2 per meter, and the diamond fabric was $4 per meter. Fabric for $18! I figured I probably won't use all 5m for the skirt, so I will use it for the lining of the bodice and sleeves. I will use the diamond fabric for the bodice and sleeves.

 I also bought the following accessories for the sleeves at JJ's:

The ribbon was 30 cents per meter (I bought 10m) and the braid was 75 cents per meter (I bought 5 meters). All in all the total cost for the pretties were $6.75. Total cost for the dress so far is $24.75. I also had to buy some Gutermann thread which was $4.50. Total cost now: $29.25.

While I was in Sydney, I bought some stiff denim for the interlining. The denim was $8 per meter, but I think I'll probably only need half a meter for the interlining, so that is an extra $4. Total dress cost: $33.25.

That is all the fabric done. Now for the seahorses! (obviously if you're not seahorse inclined, then you may choose some other pretty to put on your dress, or you may choose to go with the plain look)

I apologise for this blurry photo, but this is the best it gets with the iPhone.

Okay, so the seahorses were $15 for 250. I will probably need to count how many I put on the dress and sleeves to be accurate on the cost, so we'll come back to this one later. I've also decided to go with some pearls to break up the incredible seahorseness. I will use fake pearls (cause they're lighter and the seahorses are quite heavy). I bought a pack of pearls from Sunrise Imports (cheap & nasty importer of interesting goods, got the seahorses there as well). The pearls were $18 for 2500 (yes, you read right, 2500!). Really cheap! Once again, I need to check how many I use before I can estimate the cost.
 
The Construction
I have started with the bodice, and made a pattern. Well, it was more like a couple of patterns:

Here is the change from the first pattern to the last one (grey was first, blue was last):

 
I have since transferred the pattern onto the diamond fabric, and I decided on the pattern after playing with seahorses and pearls for 4 hours.
 
 
So, after I played with the pattern for hours, I realised that if I place the seahorses in this pattern, they would be crooked when it comes to the back. The diamonds aren't straight anymore! Nooooo! This means that I have to put seams under the arms to ensure that the back is straight. Not good, but hey, it will just take a little bit longer.
 
I decided to do the beading first, before I cut anything, so this is where I'm up to at the moment. I will write more as this project develops.

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2013 Update

Hi all,

Well, this has been a while in the making, but I have finally finished this project. It has sleeves too, and I have recently finished a blackworked chemise to go with it as the bodice is a bit low...

 

Entry for A&S Competition

This year the theme for the St Florian A&S Championship is Calligraphy and Illumination and related Arts. So I'm making this piece partly for my exemplar for the college of scribes and also for my entry to the competition. I can't win it again this year, but hopefully it will inspire more participants to enter.

                                       This is what I'm starting with

And this is how far I've come tonight

By my next post I'm sure I would've done some more on it. And by the way, gold leaf is crap to work with!

Grete