Just Blame Jane

18th century progress & other things I accomplished

Tonia — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:01:52 +0000

I had a five day weekend, and put it to good use! Mostly. I guess I had enough vacation time accumulated that I was on the verge of losing several days of it. So, it was a use it or lose it. And, boy did I use it! I took Wednesday through Friday off, and had things planned out as to what I wanted to get done. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans….. On Wednesday, after dropping the girls off the their schools, I came home with the mind set to have a bowl of cereal, finish the last couple chapters of my book, and then get started on washing and drying the bleached muslin I was going to use. I had the bowl of cereal and finished the last of my book. Then, instead of heading for the washer, I promptly took a three and half hour nap! I woke up just in time to start picking the girls back up from school, and trying to figure out what to do for dinner. Guess I needed the sleep. lol. I did get the muslin washed and dried for Thursday.

On Thursday, I started out the same, but by passed reading and the nap, and headed straight for the sewing room. I go the muslin ironed and the shirt cut for the hubby’s 18th c. shirt. I had the shirt finished in time for him to try it on when he got home from work. I then spent the rest of the evening reading, after making dinner, of course. lol. I do like this shirt, and will probably make another one at some point. I just need to find buttons for it, and make the button holes. *You can read more about this on the Men’s 18th Century Outfit page on the side bar.

On Friday, after the morning school run, I hit JoAnn’s to pick up the bit of broadcloth needed for the waistcoat, and the grocery store to a few items for dinner. When I got home I went straight back to the sewing room, and set about getting everything else cut out. This took me the better part of three hours, and I found that my new fabric scissors (which have a rubber grip around the inside of the finger holes) had rubbed a blister and popped it on my little finger. I hadn’t even realized that it happened until I looked at my hands. In between the afternoon school runs, I got dinner in the ovenand got the breeches sewn completely together. We had a pretty good dinner of BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy with homemade corn bread. Again, I spent the evening reading and watching tv with the family.

Saturday, I was back in the sewing room around mid-morning and started on the frock coat. I had that finished by mid-afteroon, and promptly started on the waistcoat. I had the waistcoat done long before dinner (for which we order pizza). Both went fairly quickly, and went together nicely (you can see more about these on the page listed above). I just have a bit of hand sewing do on both, and the buttons and button holes to finish them off. I’m not sure what buttons I want to use, I’ll just have to hit the store and browse a bit to find what I want. I am hoping to find some nice antique looking half dome buttons, in a silver or pewter tone to use. Or maybe some of the cover-yourself buttons. I’ll just have to figure it out once I’m in the store.

On Sunday, was back to the sewing room about mid-morning. I pulled out the pattern I wanted to use for my 18th c. chemise, just to find that the size I traced a few years ago was way too big. I retraced it, about 4 sizes smaller. Then I ironed my bleached muslin and started tracing and cutting the fabric. I had it about half way sewn when PJ dropped in to have me help her with her hubby’s frock coat. She used Simplicity 4923 for the whole outfit, and the shoulders, sleeves and cuffs of the frock coat just didn’t want to co-operate with her. We found what was wrong, and as she went about fixing that, I finished off my chemise, and even got a set of pockets finished for myself. So, now I am just down to my underpetticoat, a new bum pad, my over petticoat and my dress. Only after I make sure that my stays still fit, or if I need to make a new set, of course.

Well, there was a nice sized update with a few pics sprinkled in. lol. For the rest of this week, I have a few pairs of pants that I need to finish hemming or fixing for several co-workers, and whatever else I can get done of my 18th c. underpinnings. This coming weekend, Miss PJ and I will be back in the sewing room to start on the dresses. I’ll try to take more pics. Oh! And we are having a blog give-away at the Emerald Parlor. It’s a pattern give-away. You can see the details and enter for your chance to win by clicking here! You have until the end of the month to enter, all you have to do is comment on that blog post. The winner will be announced on March 1st. Until later….. Happy Sewing!

I tripped and fell…

Tonia — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:53:09 +0000

..face down on the couch for a couple of days. I am so tired of these illnesses sneeking up behind me, and jumping me when I’m not looking. Lol. I’m still not up to snuff, and hoping I feel much better by this weekend as I have a ton of sewing to do. I did manage to find the cutting table under the mess from cleaning Monday night just before I got sick. However, I still need to find both work stations and the couch. I hope I feel well enough to get that done tomorrow night, that way I can get started bright and early Saturday morning.

In other sewing news, Angie and I have decided that we want to join the other costume bloggers in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage. We will be creating evening gowns from 1912, and using mostly materials and notions that we have on hand. I pretty sure that I have my design in the bag. I just need to finalize it, and go through my stash to make sure of what I do have on hand. I will probably not be using a pattern for this one, as I don’t think there is one. So, that means I will have to drape it. Once these dresses are done, we have something special in mind to show them off. More on that later.

Well, I should be signing off for the evening. It’s getting late, and I’m more than a little on the tired side after returning to work today. I’ll try to catch up more later. Which should be easier since I finally found the WP app for my Nook Color. Until then… Happy Sewing!

What a mess!

Tonia — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:07:07 +0000

Well, there was more destruction than there was production in the sewing room this weekend. lol. Miss PJ and I didn’t get to do anything until Sunday. Then, we spent most of the day running from store to store getting material and trim for her next 18th century dress. Once we did get back to my house, we kinda blew up the sewing room. I decided that we needed a new floor plan and a little more organization. We started by moving furniture around. The couch and coffee table went back to it’s near original position, the cutting table went to the middle of the floor, the over flowing costume rack was bagged up by costume and moved into the crawl space, and work stations were tentatively set up for both of us. I still need to bag up a few more costumes, move the small book case, get some heavy duty hooks for a couple of organizers, buy a 3′ wire wall rack and a couple of 2′ wire wall racks, get some 1″x1″ boards to hang the peg boards and shove a few more totes into the crawl space. That’s about all, until the warmer weather hits and we can start tearing up carpet and painting walls once we can open the one tiny window down there. All in all, once we are done down there, it will be a spiffy little sewing room. lol.

As for actual sewing, I haven’t done a thing since I finished the mock up for the husband’s 18th century breeches. I will have to get the cutting table cleared off in order to cut the mock up of his frock coat. So, that means I can’t slack on getting stuff finished off this evening, huh? lol. Once I get the frock coat mock up done, I can go ahead and cut the actual fashion fabric. I also need to wash, dry and iron the bleached muslin I will be using for his shirt. Boy, do I have a laundry list of things that need to be done. lol. Time to get it in gear.

I’ll try to post photos of the before and after as I can, still haven’t gotten a new laptop. Until then… Happy Sewing!

Man Down!

Tonia — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:35:56 +0000

Or, more precisely, laptop down! After four years of abuse from my girls and myself, it has finally given up. The part that plugs into the laptop, has been pushed in a little too far, from ~~Annie~~ one of the girls setting in on end, that end. Plus, the battery has long out lasted it’s life span, so it doesn’t hold a charge for more than 10 minutes. Now, in order for it to get any power, you have to hold the plug at a specific angle, the wind has to be blowing gently from the north east, and the sun light must be slanted at a 45 degree angle. Well… It’s not really that bad, but it might as well be. So, now my only options for internet access is either at work, on my Nook Color (can’t access WP to post), on my phone (I down loaded the WP app, not too sure how it’s going to work), or by swiping my husband’s laptop. That last one really isn’t likely, as he just announced the impending publishing of his 1st novel later this year. Since he is promoting that all over Facebook and several other social sites, it’s hard to find his laptop unattended. lol. That means until I can save up for another laptop, I will be in the sewing room, a lot.

Speaking of sewing….. I have been working on the hubby’s 18th century costume for the upcoming EP Costume Ball in March. I have the mock up of my hubby’s 18th c. pants done, and finalized down to extactly what I need. Next up is the mock up of his frock coat. For his pants, I am using Simplicity 4923, and for the shirt, waist coat and frock coat I will be using Butterick B3072. I will be creating the jabot on my own. I have most of the details on the diary page, listed on the side bar, if you wish to have a peek. Other than that, the only other things have been doing in the sewing room is making plans to do a little remodeling. Not much, just ripping up of ugly carpet, repainting the walls, storage of costumes and totes of fabric in the crawl space, rearranging of furniture, and the creating of work spaces. But, that will come later, more toward summer. lol.

It’s almost time to knock off of work for the day. I guess I will be blogging from work, and trying to blog from my phone. Until later…. Happy Sewing!

2011 Costume Year in Review

Tonia — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 02:43:15 +0000

I spent most of the weekend cleaning, moving furniture and tossing out all kinds of things (still didn’t make it down to the sewing room, darn it!). So, I thought I would do a year end (a couple nine days late) wrap up of my sewing projects for 2011. It doesn’t really seem like I was so productive, but when I went back to look at the bigger picture, I’m a little impressed with myself. lol. We had 3 planned events, 1 Dinner in a Costume event, and a “tossed in just to have fun” event. Along with the side projects that I managed to squeeze out. It turned out to be a busy year. So, without further ado, here is the accounting of what came off the machine for 2011:

The EP 1st Annual Costume Ball:

Annie’s 18th Century gown and petticoat

My 1770′s Polonaise and petticoat
My 1720-1790 stays

The EP 2nd Annual Tipsy Tea:

My Victorian Tea ensemble
My Victorian Undergarments

Angie’s Victorian Tea ensemble

Dinner In a Costume – Claddagh Irish Pub

My Celtic ensemble

The EP 3rd Annual Regency Picnic

Annie’s Regency Dress
Annie’s Regency short stays

My Regency Wrap Dress
My Regency linen undergarments

The Mini Martha Washington Project

18th Century dress and petticoat

Katie’s Home Coming Dress

’80′s style bubble dress

Modern Driving Cape # 1

Plaid wool cape with removable hood

Modern Driving Cape # 2

Corduroy cape (no hood)

Victorian Cotton day dress

Simple Victorian day ensemble for the Old West Festival

Annie’s Victorian dress

Cotton dress and petticoat for the Old West Festival

Mens Victorian Ensemble

Bleach muslin shirt, brocade waistcoat and satin tie for the Old West Festival

So, there you have it, 2011 as seen in stitches. lol. This year looks to be just as busy, if not more so. Here’s to another productive year in 2012, and many more hours in the dungeon that is my sewing room with my best friend (Miss PJ), my machine (Anne), and the tv and dvd player is essential to my sanity while sewing. Until later… Happy Sewing!

Out with the old and in with the new

Tonia — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:24:08 +0000

Well, it’s a new year, so I guess it’s time to look forward to another great year of costume work. And, none too soon, with our next event planned for next month. That’s right, the 2nd Annual Emerald Parlor Costume Ball is swiftly approaching. I need to get started on cranking out the costumes needed. I do, however, have a head start. I will not need to make Annie a new costume, as she will be wearing the Mini Martha Washington dress as her ball gown. (I knew that dress would come in handy.) As of right now, I just need to get cracking on the outfit for my hubby, as he plans to attend this year, if it doesn’t interfere with him writing the second installment to his zombie book series. After his is done, then I can concentrate on my new gown for this year. I have been debating on exactly what I want to make, and have been pouring museum examples and lovely recreations by other costume bloggers. I have several ideas, I just need to settle on a design. Here is just one of my many inspirational examples:

Robe a l'anglaise ca. 1770 - courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

As I am still undecided as to what I want to make for this year, so I will concentrate on getting the hubby’s costume done. I want to get started on that this coming weekend, after I get it straightened up and a bookcase moved it. lol. Guess I have my work cut out for me, huh?

In other costuming news, we have all started planning for a joint project. This project has no deadline, and we will not set an event for these gowns until everyone is done. We ladies have decided to do a joint themed project called “The Wives of Henry VIII”. We have each picked one of Henry’s wives, and we will create a costume that we feel personifies that wife. I have picked Henry’s ill-fated second wife, Anne Boleyn. For this costume, I know what I want make, it’s been embedded in my head since watching the movie, “Anne of a Thousand Days.” I have created a diary page for this on my side bar, and have posted up a screen cap of the dress there. Be sure to take a peek if you’re curious.

As for the rest of the costumes for the year, we still have the 3rd Annual EP Tipsy Tea – the theme for this year is the 1950′s, and the 4th Annual EP Regency Picnic. Of course, we will have our Dinner is a Costume events tossed in there as we can, and maybe a few other costumed trips thrown in just for fun, which may or may not involve Victorian costumes. But, in the mean time, back to planning for the up coming ball.

I still know how to blog….. I think?

Tonia — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:54:11 +0000

Sorry for the radio silence of late. Life have been a little hectic this month. I have been knitting, and the only sewing I have done is to repair a couple pairs of dress pants for an old band mate. Other than that I have been running myself ragged. So far there have been numerous trips to the stores, a couple of trips to the urgent care (Katie has an abscess above her belly button, poor kid), and our trip earlier this month to Amish country. We had a blast! Here is what we did:

On the way down, we stopped off at the covered bridge called the Bridge of Dreams. Here’s a pic taken looking out over the river:

View from the Bridge of Dreams

We have only stopped at this bridge a couple of times, and we love it. We are discussing a special trip to the bridge just to do a photo shoot in our historical costumes. It’s the perfect setting. Next up we have the first winery we stopped at:

Breitenbach Winery

We love to visit Breitenbach! And not just because of the wine tasting. lol. They have a great variety of fruit wines. They even have jellies made from their wines. Yum! Next stop:

Swiss Family Heritage Winery

This winery is directly across the road from Breitenbach. How we have never noticed it until this trip, I’ll never know. lol. They also have a great selection of wines. They even have a watermelon wine called Coal Miner’s Daughter. On top of brewing wine, they also make their own cheese! How much better can it get? lol. Between the 3 of us that went (Miss Elma, Miss PJ and myself), we had a case wine. We each bought 2 bottles from each winery. Here’s the proof:

We packed the wine into the back, next to our lunch. Our next stop was:

Walnut Creek Grocery

Walnut Creek Grocery is another favorite place to stop. It looks like a bunch of store fronts built next to each other, but it’s really all one store with everything under the sun in it. lol. They have the best bulk grocery items, especially in the baking section. We always stock up on things we use, and usually pick up things that others need, like the actual silver bee bee candies for Christmas cookies. After shopping for our bulk groceries, we had lunch. It was a warm enough day that we could sit at one of the picnic tables at the edge of the parking lot. Granted, everyone stared at us and wondered why we were having a picnic in December. lol. But, that’s just us.

From there we made our way into Berlin to shop at Sol’s Exchange. It’s been awhile since PJ and I stopped in. I found several lovely paintings printed on canvas that I fell in love with. They were by an artist named Billy Jacobs. They have them in various sizes for more than reasonable prices. I just wish I had more money to spend, ’cause I would’ve come home with all the ones that I loved. I did buy one that is about a 10″x13″ print titled “Buck County Homestead”. This one was my absolute favorite. I will be saving up and going back for more. Here is what my print looks like:

Buck County Homestead print by Billy Jacobs

After our stop at Sol’s, our intent was to hit Guggisberg Cheese Factory. We headed over there at about 4, as they normally close at 5, but it was just our luck that they closed at 3 for the company Christmas party. Really??? No cheese this trip. From there we headed home. And, on the way home, Mother Nature decided that we had to have a great view. It was such a beautiful sunset. The perfect end to the perfect shopping day. Here is what we saw:

We are planning to go back in March for Miss PJ’s birthday. I can’t wait.

Well, it’s getting late, and it will be time for bed soon. So, here’s one late pic. It’s one of our Christmas tree:

Merry Christmas to everyone! I’ll be back before the New Year to post a Year End Review.

It’s almost what??

Tonia — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:28:34 +0000

I can’t believe that next week is the beginning of December! It’s amazing how quickly this year has gone by. Pretty soon, it will be time to do a Year in Review and a look forward for what is planned for next year.

In sewing news, there hasn’t been any sewing. lol. It’s that time of year, again, and my fingers have had the itch to knit. I have been knitting baby gifts and Christmas gifts. Once those are out of the way, I can go back to working on a few languishing knitting projects until it’s time to start sewing for the Annual Costume Ball in February. I have my St. Brigid sweater to finish, and a wool blanket that I have been wanting to finish. With having a 4 day weekend for Thanksgiving, and a week’s vacation in a week and half, I should be able to knock out the gift knitting in no time, as long as my illness doesn’t drag me down, that is. lol.

Oh! Also, at the beginning of my vacation, we have a road trip planned. It’s time to make another trip to Kent State to see the Civil War exhibit. We have been looking forward to this for so long. And, to add the cherry to the top of the sundae, we will be coming back through Ohio Amish Country, for some shopping! We will be visiting the winery, the bulk grocery store, the fabric outlet (squee!) and the cheese factory, along with various other stores along the way. I can’t wait! I’ll post pics along with a list of our haul. lol.

So, until next time….. Happy Sewing!

“It’s all just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!”

Tonia — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:56:13 +0000

Happy Halloween! Well, trick or treat is over and we are sitting, watching my favorite Halloween movie….. Hocus Pocus! We are going to have to dress up as the Sanderson Sisters one year. But, I have been saying that since the movie came out in 1993. lol.

I was able to take my lunch at the end of the day, to make sure I could get Annie picked up, and we could get home and dressed and out the door in time. I wore my Victorian Natural Form Cotton Day dress, minus the fairy wings and mask (here is a pic from work on Friday):

Annie decided that she wanted to be a young Miss Elizabeth Swan from the 1st Pirates of the Caribbean movie. This was an easy one, since we already had a dress, I just needed to do her hair.

Miss PJ and her gang of boys joined us. We walked around for over an hour before making our way back to the house. And before returning to the house, I got to peek in on the neighbor’s new baby. She was sooooo cute in her tiny black leotard with orange tutu! I so wanted to pick her up, cuddle her and pinch her cute, tiny cheeks! But, she was sleeping, so I was not about to disturb her.

Yesterday, we had a delicious harvest dinner at PJ’s house, to mark the final harvest of the season. Soon, winter will be upon us. PJ made an apple and pork loin stew and an Impossible French Apple Pie. I brought a pumpkin pie and made an apple and romaine salad with a home made dressing (containing apple cider, dijon mustard and dried rosemary. Yum!) Definitely a meal worth making again, that’s for sure.

Well, time to say good night, and finish my movie! Happy Sewing!

What’s red & white, and Victorian all over?

Tonia — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:42:19 +0000

A 1880′s Walking Dress!

*I found this image on this blog, one of my regular reads.

This is the inspiration for a costume mission. I fell in love with this dress the moment it appeared on my monitor. I knew in an instant that I wanted to recreate this dress. The stipes appealed to me, as well as the design structure of the over and underskirts. And so begins the fabric hunt. As I shop, I’ll have to be on the look out for just the right red and white striped fabric, as well as the fabric for the underskirt, added ruffle cuffs and collar. Plus, it means that (if I haven’t done it by the time I am able to attempt this dress) I’ll have to make a bustle. Just by looking at the picture, I have started formulating on how I want to construct this. I will have to kind of wing it on the front of the bodice, as it’s not shown, but that’s no big deal. And, it appears that she is wearing striped stockings?? Since I really don’t want to hunt down or make striped stockings, I think I’ll take the options of making gaiters in the striped material. That way, I can match the buttons on the gaiters to any that I may use on the sleeve cuffs and/or down the front of the bodice. This one’s going to be fun!

In regular news, things have been on the busy side. We have had renovations at work that is full of sheet rock dust, paint fumes and carpet glue. I’m on call this weekend, so I get to come in bright and early Saturday morning to ~~stupidvise~~ supervise counter top installation. Hopefully, it won’t take more 4 or 5 hours, but I do have some knitting to bring along. My neighbor had her baby this past weekend, and I am working up a few things to take over in a week or so, after they get a chance to settle in. It’s their first baby, and I want to give them some time to get used to her. Other than that, there has been very little sewing, lots of running and trying to find ways to squeeze in house cleaning. It’s slowly but surely getting there. Katie was supposed to have her marching band showcase this evening, but it has been cancelled due to rain, again. Tonight was a reschedule from last Thursday, when it rained. Well, at least I will have time to get some things done, like pick up 3 dozen cookies for tomorrow nights football game. It’s the juniors turn in the rotation to bring cookies for both bands to enjoy during the 3rd quarter. Tomorrow, I get to play dress up at work! Last year, my company started a Halloween costume contest. I didn’t participate, as I had to drive a fork lift off and on during the day. But, this year we have interns to work the dock. This means I get to dress up as a Victorian Fairy! Here’s hoping I win one of the prizes. (I’ll post pics afterward.) So, tonight I get to go to sleep with my head covered in rollers. It’s been years since I’ve done that. lol. The next sewing project on deck will be a mens’ 18th c. ensemble for my hubby, and a 18th c. gown for me. I have some time to work on these, as they are for the ball in February. We have decided to use the 18th c. theme again this year, as everyone is a little pinched for money. Making hoop skirts is a little on the expensive side right now, so the Civil War Ball has been postponed. But, we will get our Civil War fix when we visit Kent State in early December. They opened the Civil war exhibit in August, On The Home Front: Civil War Fashions and Domestic Life. We have been itching to go since we heard it was the next exhibit to open. Anywho! Have to run. Tons of things left to do today. Until next time, Happy Sewing!