A new blue skirt

Well, I thought there were some pictures of me all decked out in the almost finished black gown at Le Bon Ton’s Haunted Summer Evening, but it seems they have disappeared from the ether. Not to worry, I still have some trim work to finish on it, and shall post images later. In the meantime, I’ve finished cleaning up the seams on the purple sheer, and I’ve got some of the box pleats made for the black dress. I’ve also started a (gasp!) modern skirt from this Simplicity pattern.

I’ll have a white lining under a solid blue, and I’ve sketched out a design for embroidering one of the godets; I like the idea of a darker blue embroidery on the light blue fabric.

I like the two outer lilies and think I shall place one above the other, with possibly some hint of leaves or something to round out the design.

I also have a couple of lovely finds here; Nora and I were shopping at the wonderful Button Emporium and Ribbonry some time ago where I found the printed image. I decided this would be a lovely addition to our room at the Regency retreat coming up in December, and it needed only a frame, which I found today. Perfect!

More Drawstring progress

I had a minor setback of setting my sleeves slightly off kilter (which I do

more than I'd like to admit - it's not that I put them on the wrong side, I

just rotate them slightly off) and after the ensuing panic that "it fit without the

sleeves, what's going on?!?" I realized my mistake, then went through

the painstaking process of removing french seams, resetting them and

now they are good again. As you can see, I've attached the skirt to

bodice, added two drawstrings and it looks pretty good. Except for

my enevitable issue of the back being too big, right in the top center.

Which is so weird, because this is the exact same pattern that I used

for the purple sheer, and that back fit beautifully. Sigh. Well, I should

be able to get some pleated ruffles made and I suppose I can tuck that

 in when attaching the trim. I'm so close to being done at this point. And,

happy day, I have plenty of the linen left over, so I made myself a simple

drawtring skirt for daily wear.

Drawstring progress

These gowns never look as good on

the dress form as they do on,

however, here is the bodice finished

(save for the sleeve hems), and the 95

inches of fabric crammed into 30 or

so inches of knife pleats. I have only

to attach the two and decide where the

drawstring goes to finish the main

construction. Then, should I

have time, I shall trim with ruffles.

Drawstring gown

Time to start a new Regency gown. I have this lovely black linen stripe that I will wear this weekend to an event hosted by Le Bon Ton.

I started out thinking that maybe I would make another bibfront, since I now like it much better with my new long stay underneath giving me the proper shape. But, like I've stated previously, I'm still not sure about this design. I almost feel like it's the Regency version of overalls, and frankly, overalls are no one's friend...
See why one should wear a petticoat ladies? Muslin is rather see through.

So, the mental debate rages on. I've attempted the drawstring previously, and failed to make one I particularly like. Nora has given me a few tips that give me hope and so I am altering a patten from two that I currently like. The back of my new purple sheer...
(This is just showing my alterations of the original Janet Arnold pattern.)

And the front of my bodiced petticoat.

So far, so good.

I've actually gotten a bit further than this stage, but have failed to take pictures yet. Have I mentioned how much I love this fabric? The stripes are subtle yet give it visual interest. I have the notion to add box pleat ruffles around the sleeve and neck line. We'll see if I have time. After the event this weekend, It will make a nice under dress for sheers to go over as black was not an oft used color unless one was mourning, or (gasp!) worked for a living.
Cheers,
Charlotte

A Year in Review

Yes, it has been well over a year since I stumbled through a posting. But! I am happy to report that time was not wasted and following is a bit of my activities over the months.
Rolling back the calendar to…
Summer last, we went to the beach with friends several times, because that’s what Oregonians do you see.
I think the pups enjoy it as much as we do
The view just sets my heart at ease

My Regency events were as follows:
In May, a picnic in Eugene

a little dancing
a group shot

I just loved this blue gown

The Annual Pittock picnic in July

Reposing under an obliging tree

Miss Nora in all her loveliness

The (faux) Fox Hunt in September
I decorated a top hat for my riding outfit, and I really just want to wear the thing all the time

the group milling about pre-hunt

The October Autumn Assembly. My and Nora’s first event that we planned and executed. It was quite lovely and simple.

at table
a stroll around the lake
and some dancing

The JASNA convention!! Oh how I wish wish wish I could have attended this conference as it was right here in my home town!! I, however, had to settle with merely perusing the shop that was set up.

some inspiration for a shawl in progess

A Tea in Sumner, WA November last

A bouquet of bonnets

a view of the lovely room we dined in

A crossover gown I think I’ve taken apart since…

Nora and I
Oh and the Masque in November. Dress as a villain, pre 1820.

What sly look is this?
And we keep on rolling on into this year…
January brought our 2nd Winter Feast, with, I believe, over 30 dishes. It was a culinary delight, especially the lavender cheesecake with a blueberry topping. We had dancing, singing and a charming puppet show.

oh the cheesecake!!

Which brings us to February, and a mutual birthday between Mary and me. We had a lovely tea in honor of the occasion. Here is a gown I don’t think I’ve shown before. I embroidered the bodice with silver thread (something I don’t recommend for the easily frustrated) The jury is still out on this gown as I’m not entirely sure I like bib fronts.

I may regret posting these, but I did make a new corset around this time which I am in love with. It makes all my gowns fit better and makes me look so nice. I have plans on making this again, but shorter waisted for ease at events like picnics.

Still with me? Excellent!
May brings us to the opening events of the town of Astoria’s Bicentennial celebration. Nora and I celebrated the year 1812 in style. Oh yeah, and we got to take a 3 hour cruise on a period appropriate vessel in the harbor. It’s ok. You can go ahead and be jealous now. Oh I have a new gown here, however, I’ve just detached the bodice form the skirt to revamp it, so I’ll probably show progress picture of that at some point.

We next had the notion to emulate Miss Austen’s Emma and gather our friends for a picnic and strawberry picking excursion in June. We were blessed with beautiful weather and many friends.

And now comes July, and the annual Pittock picnic. We had so much fun, we met many new friends, played blindman’s bluff, I saw some card playing and I believe some magic tricks. Nora and I each made a new gown; each entirely by hand. Each had intricate detail and we are prodigiously proud of them.

And brings us up to date! I have many projects in mind and have only to post about them as they happen. In theory, should be no problem.
Cheers,
Charlotte