What a week.......

The red stuff, the gold stuff, and the pink stuff. None of it is incredibly period. 

So my personal life is undergoing some MAJOR issues and changes, and I have either been working or exhausted in the last week and sadly haven't gotten as much done as I'd like. Luckily, there is tomorrow morning, and Saturday and Sunday evenings to work on the gowns. I did get both bodice mockups basted together and shipped out and both ladies should have them in the next day or so, and I am eagerly anticipating the results, and hoping desperately there is little to be done. In the meantime I am cutting out the skirts, and piecing them together, and I want to get work started on the sleeves, but I think it would be prudent to wait to see how much alteration the bodices need first. I'll cut out the shoulder rolls instead. I have also discovered that I despise habutae 'silk'. It's slippery and disobedient and a pain in the arse to keep placed properly with the pattern. Luckily, I have had no mishaps so far, and I have plenty of fabric to work with. The cotton velvet is my friend right now. Much easier to work with. I am also going to go find some extra trim for Muriel's gown. She is playing Queen Mary, yet her green gown is bit austere, even for Mary with only one type and colour of 'layce' (braid trim). I may get some velvet ribbon in black or a darker green and put it underneath the braid just to give it a more opulent feel. If she lets me I'll add some tiny false pearl beads to the trim as well. No extra cost, I'm just bored! Di's gown is easier as far as sizing, she is nearly my exact size. I have grown a bit bigger it seems, I am no longer 32, 23, 33, my bust I was going off bra size but in reality I am a 29, 26, 35. My butt got bigger after baby, well, not my butt, my hips widened. The mystery of why my jeans feel weird is now solved. I have hips!

I am also making myself another gown for the faires this year, 3 actually, and boy oh boy am I going to have fun! An Italian Renaissance style gown in the style of Empress something or other from Portugal and Eleanora de Toledo, an Italian ''courtesan'' gown, most likely with cutout sleeve detail as in the photo on the left, and another Elizabethan gown, when  find enough money to buy the jaqquard I want! I have a red damask to use but I'm not sure if I have enough, and an antique gold one with a checkered-weave to it and a more modern looking pattern, I think I may actually dye the fabric an emerald green so that it is a slightly shimmery silk damask look and the pattern will dissapear a bit. I have an emerald green 'silk' and pure gauzy white silk as well. I have also fallen in love with a robin's egg blue jaqquard with red, pink, green and gold floral motifs, which is kinda period. I might be stretching it a little, but it's GORGEOUS! I am going to be buying oodles more of the silk to dye it as well and make myself a fairy gown for Faerieworlds music festival this year as well. It is so light, gauzy and floaty, I'll line it with a sheer cotton muslin and dye the whole piece together...sooo excited! I never have actually done that before...