Moving on...

Well, the project turned out nicely, and I think it was well-received.  So, now it's time to move on to other things.  Don't get me wrong--I'm going to keep the blog going, and we'll do 20 Time again 4th quarter.  So...

Projects I am currently focusing on:

• Keeping my house clean (or clean-er)
• Reorganizing and redecorating Ella's room
• Reorganizing my bead storage
• Napping
• self-care

I am working on getting my daughter, Ella, to pick up after herself more often.  In cleaning her room, we're decluttering old toys, donating many things, and pretty much clearing out things she no longer wants to hang on to.  Stuffed animals...she wants to keep them all.  Old princess toys, out!  Barbies, out!  Baby toys, out!  Sentimental things, in!  Sigh... my little baby is growing up.  She's going to be 12 in May, and while she is still a kid in many ways, she's also becoming a teenager, and that means changes... moods, favorite things, wearing bras (a highly contested issue), talking about body parts (embarrassing for her!) and changes, you get the idea.  

But...on the other hand, she wants to be with me, and do things with me, and talk to me about things she cares about.  I'm enjoying that.  Sometimes, after a long day of human contacts at school, I want peace and silence, but I get my little chatterbox instead.  Sometimes, she wants to be quiet and alone, and now that we've cleaned her room, she wants to be in it.  I can understand that--I'm the same way!  She is very much like me in personality and interests.  She's very imaginative, creative, sometimes restless, has tons of ideas, loves to read, loves to write, uses big words (correctly!), and when she's in the mood, trying new things.  She's also quite stubborn.  Nut doesn't fall far from the tree...or rather, both parental branches!

I discovered, much to my chagrin, that my old bead storage boxes (clear, hard plastic storage boxes with dividers inside--about 5" x 10") are not working for me anymore.  They are very slippery--and carrying more than two at a time has resulted in boxes crashing on the floor, and bead chaos.  They are also cracking in places.  Most of my recent bead storage involves clear plastic boxes filled with round bottles with screw tops.  These are much more secure than tubes, bottles, and jars with snap-on lids.  The old things' lids pop off, bottles/tubes crack, spill easily, etc.  I have these newer containers in multiple sizes--tall, wide ones for seed beads, short wide ones for flatter and larger beads, small cylinders for very small beads or small bead quantities, etc.  And I've gotten used to being able to pull a bottle and put it with other bottles to develop a project.  So those multiple-divider boxes are not conducive to that kind of work.  

My bead storage type for the last few years.

For Christmas, my mother-in-law bought me a new container system that I'd seen and was interested in, and put it on my Amazon shopping list.  These boxes are small, so perfect for small beads and quantities, and a lot of my beads are like that.  They are rectangular, with rounded bottoms, and a flip top that closes securely, all of which go in a tray that keeps them lined up neatly, and come with labels you can put on the white lids so that you can keep track of what kind of beads they are, where purchased, cost, etc.  I'm hooked on these boxes!  So I ordered two more from Amazon.  I'm in the process of filling the second tray, emptying the old boxes into individual small boxes, and I'm getting nervous...I only have one tray left!  So...I ordered two more--one with the tiny boxes in a tray, and one with multiple-sized boxes in a tray.  The trays also have locking lids, and stack nicely.  No slippage!

The result of this reorganization is that I will be able to more easily access my bead stash (I've been building it for at least 20 years), put projects together, and use some beads that I forgot I had.  Projects are spinning through my head as I do this, of course!  

Just thought I'd share with you... 

I'm expecting a few packages from Amazon tomorrow:  Bullet Journal supplies.  I'll blog about that soon.  And about other projects I'm developing, as well.  I'm also going to revamp the blog a bit.  I want lighter, brighter colors, and maybe a more broad title (meaning, less specific).

The End!

I have pictures to share... when I was on campus, several people took pictures for me, so that I have the total effect ready.  I will post pictures of individual parts of the project later.  We are expecting more snow, so... who knows what fun we'll have?  I definitely want to show you details of the hat and the reticule, and construction details for the dress and such.

For now, here are pictures of me--these were taken by Mrs. Mulcahy, who had me do an "Oh, Mr. Darcy!" pose...

 

I did get the necklace made, and made some earrings to go with it.  Coral beads in 4 and 6mm graduated size, hand-knotted on dark rust silk cord.  The earrings have a silver filigree pendant with one coral bead as a drop at the end. 

This was actually fairly comfortable to wear.  My only problem was the stays.  If I am going to re-wear this outfit again, I need to make a new corset.  Mine was simply too big around, and I think too long in the back.  The boning in the back was definitely rubbing my lower back uncomfortably, and my arms had limited movement, due to the breadth of the front of the stays.  In future, I'll need to make a smaller size, and perhaps a shorter version--the long stays were too long for my short torso. 

It was also fairly easy to put on, if a little time-consuming.  The only part I had trouble with was the last part--threading my back ties through the thread loops (like belt loops, but to keep the sash in the correct position).  Fortunately, a colleague came in to the bathroom as I was struggling with the ties, and she helped me out. 

Otherwise, this was fun!  A lot of work, but that's not a bad thing.  Sometimes a lot of work is the most rewarding in the end. 

So... what did I learn through all of this? 

1.  My husband is destined for sainthood.  He was patient through the lack of housework, helped me make my dress form, bought me the dress form, was supportive through the whole process, and made dinner all weekend so that I could work. 

2.  I always bite off more than I can chew.  I was ambitious, and thought that because I'm a skilled and experienced seamstress, this would be easier than I thought.  But the patterns are different from modern dressmaking, and the instructions were not as clear as I would have liked.  There was much ripping out of stitches, swearing, and re-sewing.  I also didn't consider the sheer amount of fabric, and how that would take far longer than my usual sewing projects.  So this was definitely a challenge for me!  I understand patterns and construction better as a result of doing this project.

3.  I'm much smaller than I think I am.  My stays were at least four inches too large around my body.  This may mean that my dress form is too big/inaccurate.  I know I've lost a whole dress size in the last month and a half, but that doesn't account for the error.  Either I misread the instructions, or I made some calculation errors.  There's a lot more math and geometry in sewing than you'd think!  On the one hand, it caused a lot of problems, but on the other hand... I'm having a hard time finding a downside to finding out you aren't entirely as fat as you thought you were....  :)

4.  I don't need to do this again.  At least, not with a deadline--I did get stressed about it, and that's not good for my health.  I've got enough stress in my life as it is!  I'm relieved that the project is over, in that respect.  I still would like to sew more period costumes, but at my own pace, and in a bigger space.  My sewing area is very small, so I was constantly moving things around to accommodate the storage of materials and construction of this outfit.  I have multiple craft interests, and generally move from project to project according to my mood or inspiration.  I might spend a month on making cards, for example, and then spend two months on making jewelry, and during family time, work on a knitting, crocheting, or embroidery project.  So this felt confining and limiting to me. 

I hope you've enjoyed the journey with me!  I think I'm going to work on keeping this blog going, but writing about other things--perhaps other projects.  I can't be the only crafter out there!  :) 

Snow Day update

I'm a snow junkie, and I am loving every flake, drift and forecast when it's like this.  To me, it's simply not winter until we have had some snow.  And more than anything else, I'm so very grateful for a snow day.

This weekend was a doozie.  I was up late every night, working on getting this project complete.  Friday night, I stayed up until 3:30 am, finishing the sequin pattern on the last panel of my reticule.  Saturday, I cut out my spencer and finished the dress.  Sunday, I did all the hand finishing on the garments, finished my slip, cut out and sewed my reticule, and tackled my hat.  I was up late till 3, doing handwork and then worrying while trying to go to sleep, trying to remind myself what I needed to gather, how I was going to get dressed at work, etc., all the while wondering whether we would even have school today.

That doesn't sound like much, but it was a lot.  I did not sew my spencer.  The skirt of the dress was far more complicated than I expected, and when I finished it, I knew I was done.  There was no time for a spencer.  So... another time.

Checklist update:

• chemise
• stockings
• shoes
• stays
• slip
• dress
• kerchief
• cap
• hat
• mitts
• reticule

I did not complete the spencer, as I said before, nor did I do the shawl.  The shawl is actually quite simple, but I'm really tired, and I just don't feel up to it.  I'm mentally and physically done with this project.  

Don't get me wrong--I've enjoyed it!  But spending every weekend for the last six weeks doing nothing but this project (and thus, letting housework, etc. get really neglected) has taken its toll.  My back and neck are killing me, my fingers are sore, and mentally, I'm ready to do something else.  I've been hankering to do some paper crafts.  I also really want to clean up and reorganize my bead storage and my paper crafting storage.  It's a cluttered mess... sigh.  

I do not have pictures to share at this point, but I'll take some.  I thought the hat would be more fun, and instead it was a total pain in the patella.  The truly fun piece was the reticule... mostly because everything went right on it.  Except that the heat of the iron did affect the older, smaller sequins I used on the first two panels.  The newer ones were heat resistant.  So I have two sides that are shiny and sparkly, and two sides that look a bit vintage.  Still shiny, but not so sparkly.  I did enjoy making the dress and other pieces, but man, that was a LOT of fabric!  For someone used to working with smaller sizes (dolls, kids, etc.), I was actually annoyed with how much the heaviness of the skirt was getting in the way!

However, it really did work out nicely, and I'm quite pleased with the end result.  Of course, the skirt itself was 6 inches too long!  I made a 1 1/2" hem (hemstitched!), and then had to make a 4" tuck all the way around... I knew I would possibly have to do that, but still... I was kind of surprised at how long it was--and how cumbersome!  But the tuck looks nice and sort of decorative--Yes, yes I did mean to do that!  :)  I wanted some sort of decoration on the hem, but most of the decorations for the time period were complicated, so... a simple tuck will do.  

And now that I have the time today, I'll see about making myself that coral necklace.  And maybe finish the bracelet, too...  At the moment, though, all I want to do is sleep.  

As for the end of the project--we were going to begin presentations today, and I was supposed to be the first to go.  I did not have time this weekend to create a short PowerPoint for it, so I will do that next.  One of the things the presentations need to address is what you learned through the process.  So... I'll post that part next!  Until then, nap on!