Mrs Maupin

For some reason I am incredibly tired lately. I vegged out yesterday, and today I was only productive in the morning. I did just a little bit of sewing in the afternoon, but not much. I've had a mild headache all day, not excruciating but enough to get on my nerves, and to make me nauseous if I was a bit too concentrated. Here's hoping it disappears with a good night's sleep.

I put up a post with pictures of one of the small black capes Lady Darkstone entrusted me with.

It is some sort of fueled wool, with soutache and crepe trim. It is a ready-made item (coming all the way from Paris to a village in the mountain), and we're having a hard time reconciling the date I'd want to put it with any deaths in the owner's family. The earliest death we could find was 1918, and that seems pretty far for the style. I'd appreciate any input ;)

So I finished the Perceneige dress. Or at least brought it to "wearable" : it needs one hook and eye at CB, and about a tousand meters bias binding to cover the net's raw edges inside. But it was done enough for pictures on the dress dummy, and since the HG was off climbing with the kids, it was just the perfect day for that.

Then I edited those - they're not perfect, my set-up really is a bit too narrow for good full-length pics.
And while I was at it I edited the corset pics as well.

I realized I could have taken them without the t-shirt underneath. I guess I am so used to historical mid-busts I didn't consider another option... I will probably wear it like this most of the time, anyway.

Blog posts coming for both items, just not tonight, tonight I showed Zootopia to thte HG and now I'm going to crash in bed and re-read Dragonriders of Pern for the umpteenth time.
BTW, all pictures are actually taken in the exact same spot, I was just a tad lazy for the corset and didn't put up all the background, so you see some of the dolls and fabrics instead.

As I mentioned previously, I brought back a bunch of old fashion plates from my trip, and I hav started scanning them Ifigured, since I posted this one on the blog, I might as well share it here as well :

I took it because it has a wedding dress, but the more I look at it, the more I'm in love with the blue dress. Me. Crinoline. Love. Stop the press ! I might be getting an itch to make myself an 1860s dress !

The black coutil corset has a (not yet attached) modesty panel and a matching storage pouch.
I dug out Perceneige and worked on assembling the skirt - I'm about halway done with it. So. Much. Width at the hem ! I need to check how it moves, see if it needs a horsehair braid, or even a small ruffle ont he lining to hold it out.

Yes I know I said I wanted to work on the bathing suit, but a) the chances I acutally get to take pictures of it this summer are slim anyway and b) Perceneige takes up more floor space until it is done. There goes my motivation !

I am finishing the flossing on the black coutil corset. It is in bright red and a light ochre that reads like golden yellow on the black ground. Now I am very happy I did not go for the red taffetas for the binding, that really would have been too Harry-Potter-y.
Now I know my fabric choice for the binding can hurt some sensibilities, but it's definitely more me (it's a little bit like this one).

Apart from adding the binding and doing most of the flossing on the corset, I also placed two large orders for new tools. It's funny how some years back I thought I was pretty settled in terms of sewing tools, and recently I realized I could still upgrade. A lot.
I discovered japanese high-carbon scissors. As much as I loved my Fiskars, they don't measure up now I have tested the Kai. That price tag is definitely justified. Then rulers, anew french curve, finer  stuff to mark my fabric, a bigger, firmer ham and needles ! I have the hardest time finidng needles I love and am confortable sewing with. I had two packs, inherited from my granny, but I'm down to just one now (they bend with use and usually break after a while, and I lost one or two). I love long, fine needles that DON"T EAT MY THREAD. The latter part has been problematic in all the needles I have bought recently.

It was a loooong trip. It was good,. and now I'm feeling a bit weird, alone at home. The luggage is not completely unpacked, the house is a bit of a mess, and the weather is crazy. It's raining and so dark the house feels a bit like a cave. The garden has grown totally wild - we usually count on the summer scorching heat to keep it in check - not this year !

I have around 800 pictures (I think ?) to go through and edit.
New (to me) fashion plates to scan - there was a fleamarket we went to with heileen, thinking we wouldn't find anything... we almost emptied the "fashion" section of the old plates. We left the ones that were too recent and the (bad) copies. The seller had some nerve, putting a "authentical document" stamp on the back... with a 1989 date for a crinoline dress. And he glued them to the cardboard, I know I will have a hard time taking them out. Let's hope the glue won't do too much damage to the old paper :/

Sewing will start by searching the house. At the end of the trip I realized I was too tired to finish the bathing costume, so I just put it in the HG's suitcase. He also had the corset I started at the corsetry course. Those are the two project I want to finish fast, while I'm still feeling a little like I'm on vacation.

Time, where has it gone ? I have meant to post for day and... bam ! It's Monday already !

• last Thursday I paid Leti a visit, we strted planning next year's show, and on the way out we drove to a small lingerie shop that was clsing and had some lace cuts to sell. We still have to divide the lot - there are some pretties in there, and I see some yummy trim on corsets in  near future.


• on Saturday was the yearly big craft fair in town. I handed out loads of cards, and I have an appointment with a potential client tomorrow.


• bad news is I noticed that one of the dresses I had in my booth during the runway show actually got stained from the water it soaked up, so I have to more dresses to clean.


• speaking of which, I finally heard back from the dry cleaner I gave fabric samples to, and it doesn't look good for Cruella. I'll go check on the washed samples tomorrow, but they say the black bleeds on the white


• Hence : Any tips on cleaning silk crepe  at home ?

Today was a never ending list of things to do and places to be. Many phone calls l, planning, making appointments... At least one of them is for a photoshoot on Friday (it WILL NOT rain on Friday, because I SAY SO !)(besides, one week of rain, snow on the mountains, and temperatures below 10°C are not welcome in May, period). I spent lots of time in waiting rooms while Heimlich had his various appointments, so I did some sequining (is that a word ?) on Ursula's corset. It is coming along pretty nicely.
Things I still need to do :

• make a formal request via email for the photoshoot


• plan for 2d and 3rd shoot I want to make before going on vacation


• clean the workshop, because I have a client coming in tomorrow morning and the place is a total mess. At least I have most dresses cleaned, ironed and bagged up. Just Lady Tremaine's silk overgown and Cruella because I wanted those to be handled by a pro...

I actually finished a few things recently, both from a 1922 pattern that I adapted somewhat. Thing number one is up on the blog. Thing number two has yet to be properly photographed.

.... but I did not stop very far from it. Today was busy and productive.

I woke up early by myself, had breakfast while working on some web stuff, and finished trimming the back of my top. After that I had a phone call with a client, then we went to the market for a tiny bit of cheese and poultry - since we have lots of veggies still in the fridge, today's trip was fairly minimal.
There were talks of going on a hike, but my period di'nt agree with that, so it ended up being yardwork. We got one half of the hedges rimmed down, and most of the subsquent mess cleared.
Then I had just enough time to take a shower, and say hi to friend who opened her shop in the town center. while I was at it, I grabbed flyers for next week's craft fair and an invisible zipper foot for my sewing machine.

I am rather content with myself tonight. And slightly amused because my Clue app really doesn't have the right type of exercise for me. No "hiking", no "yardwork", no "running back and forth between sewign machine and ironing table". I'll just have to randomly assign those between "yoga", "running" and "cycling", I guess.

Yesterday :
- patterning and cutting out Milady's jacket. For a while I had forgotten how much I love the part where it goes from a simple patern to allt he pieces to the shell sewn together. It becomes a real something so fast ! I actually almost forgot to go pick up the kids while doing it...
- ottoman. I just love ottoman, even if it's the synthetic stuff
- heileen being the best personal cheerleader in the world over FB chat. I'll almost forgive her the mention of 18th century  cat fur muffs. Almost.

Today :
- yay heileen is coming!  Yayayay !
- cheddar. I went to the market since we won't be able to go on Saturday, and the Wednesday market is a little pice of heaven, with fresh pasta, italian rice balls, fresh strawberries that smell heavenly, and cheese. Lots of cheese. And fresh apple juice, too.

I took some time to upload the last pictures I took in the workshop/living room, type a quick update on the blog, and thought I could share some detail shots here.

I have added padding to Ursula's corset, and sewn down the tentacle-looking voile pieces. Finishing the edges (even with the machine) and sewing them on took over most of my sewing time today. Wait, all of it actually, because the one seam I finished on Effie was stolen from meal prep before dinner (thanks to the Home Geek for boiling water, and to the italian fresh pasta booth at the market this morning).

On the flip side, I stocked up on super-yummy cheese, found tasty strawberries, and Heimlich had a swimming lesson that went really well. And Ursula is ready to walk  in theory she should get a shoulder pieces of strings of seed beads, but I need the seed beads to be there befor ethe show for that. No news on this front yet, so it's still in limbo.