Music, Corsets and Star Wars

Hello again, friends!

2012-02-05T22:09:00.003-05:00

I've missed you!

As always, I am ever so sorry that I could not keep up with blogging for the past few months...well, actually I've been terrible at blogging for the past year. But no worries! I've got plenty to blog about and it most likely won't slow down anytime soon.

Firstly I must tell you; I have banned Devin from viewing my blog. Yep. That's right. He is not allowed to look at my blog from now until the wedding. Which means that you all will get to see my progress on everything wedding! And we've got a little under 5 months to go. I have to let you know about the shoes, the jewelry, the veil, the dress, the bridesmaids' dresses, the venue, this and that and the list goes on. and on. AND ON.

ANNNND if you get tired of weddingy things for the next 5 months... there is nothing to fear! I have plenty of other exciting new subjects to blog about. And they're Star Wars related.

I also wanted to give a quick shout out to all of those who have contacted me the past few months regarding my blog and my creations. Thank you so much for all your support and happy emails. It really brings a smile to my face when I read them. I wish you all the craftiest of luck! Thank you again :)

And now I leave you with a picture I am currently in love with:

Look at those shoes!!

Weddingy things.

2011-12-19T16:48:00.001-05:00

Well, everyone, it's wedding time. I've got a little over 6 months until I tie the knot, so time to get crackin'!!!

I've been working all break on my wedding veil. The fabric is a silk gauze and I am beading and embroidering based off of a gown at the Met. Here's some peeks at my progress.

woo!

Welcome, Ms White.

2011-11-06T23:59:00.001-05:00

Hello all! I'm back after a long hiatus. I'm not dead, if any of your were wondering. A little has changed since I last posted, I finally got a job! Not an awesome job costuming for some company or organization, but a waitressing job. I'm working 5 days a week, so that plus school, plus wedding planning, plus house-hunting, has been keeping me busy. But, I am sure glad I got that job.

Because with my first paycheck I bought:

My newest toy

....A Treadle Machine! This particular model is from 1890...edit! After further research I have found that it is actually from 1912. Patented last in 1890. and is the White brand from Cleveland, Ohio.

Gorgeous.

The colors on the machine are superb and has very little rust or discoloration.

See the bright green silk???

I also found while rummaging through the 6 drawers on the original cabinet, 5 extra bobbins and 4 extra needles. Though, the needles are mostly rusted, it's still amazing that it's all together. The bobbins also have silk tread on them. I have no idea when it was last used.

The pedal is deceptively responsive

Here's the underside, again showing off the brand name.

The tin itself was just cool.

And the coolest part... Another goodie I found inside the drawers of the cabinet... a tin box with:

11 attachments! For what? I have no clue.

A ton of attachments! And the original packer's slip!

Also, the hardest part to find for this model is the bobbin shuttle. I found 2 inside the tin.

They're weird and evil looking.

....and one in the machine itself! with a bobbin inside as well!

I'm so excited to clean it up and get it working. I need to purchase a new belt, but other than that it seems to work exactly how it's supposed to.

I bought this lovely piece from an antique dealer here in Athens. He had bought it 30 years ago and had it as furniture in his own home. He told me that when he moved 10 years ago, he put it in his shop to sell. Unfortunately, or more fortunately for me, it ended up being put to the back of his shop and got buried underneath things. I came in a month ago, just wondering if he had any sewing machines and he pointed me to this one.... I fell in love. Just look at the tiger-stripes!

He then told me he just needed to get it out of his shop and would part with it for $100. It was mine.

Carrying it up my two flights of steps was certainly an adventure. My mom and I aren't built for such things. She now lives in my apartment, almost ready for use.

I'm so excited about getting going. I don't know much about the machines, other than what they go for. If any of you have tips on using them, PLEASE let me know. Any help is welcome!

The Hat

2011-09-30T02:40:00.000-04:00

My absolute ultimate, ultimate-ultimate favorite project for the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop was recreating a hat from a painting. This painting, to be exact:

Lady Edward Bentinck,
Painted by George Romney
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!!

The portrait is of Lady Edward Bentinck. The date on the painting, I could not find, although it would have had to have been after 1780 because Miss Elizabeth Cumberland married Lord Edward in 1780, thus taking his name and reference in the painting. The story on the portrait itself is that Lady Bentinck was trying on hats and picked up this "old fashioned one." The painter, George Romney, saw her put it on and had to paint her portrait. Still, I cannot find the exact date.

The hat in the portrait seems to hint that it was a straw hat to begin with (seeing the slight ridges along the brim) and covered tightly with white silk, bunched silk gauze at the crown then finished with a lovely, large blue bow.

Working on the straw

I can't tell you how much fun I had on this project. It always seemed to make me hungry. I always got comments that it looked like a wonderful dessert. It really does look like meringue...

That is a wool cherry ;)

mmmmmm..."Food" Porn.

The hat was lined with a changable blue silk which was also used for the bow at the side as well as the ties. I love it because it's a surprise when you see the underside, the rest of the hat is so very white!

The lovely blue lining, all my stitches too!

Here it is finished, sigh. I'm definitely going to make another very similar. It now belongs to Doris, the Journeywoman Mantua Maker and Milliner, at the shop!

"The Lady Bentinck"

I'll model it for you...

What do you think? I think it turned out pretty well ;)

A visit from the 'rents

2011-09-27T02:10:00.001-04:00

While I was in Williamsburg, my parents came to visit me. I was sooooo happy to see them, as any person would be, but especially because they would be able to experience Colonial Williamsburg while I was there.

Daddy and I

First thing in the morning, I met them after getting dressed and gave them the low-down on the key areas to visit.

Mommy and I

They took my advice and really took advantage of the lovely weather we had that weekend. They visited each and every stop. Including the Millinery Shop of course!

Eliza and I working in the window of the Millinery Shop for light

it's me!

Eliza and I in the shop

They really liked the gardens, too.

Mommy under the canopy

100 years of fashion in London

2011-09-13T00:02:00.000-04:00

While stumbling, I found this cute little fashion vid. Enjoy!

Museum Adventures

2011-09-11T20:47:00.002-04:00

While I was in Williamsburg, I had the wonderful opportunity to look at their museum exhibits. Here are the pics that I most enjoy:

WAISTCOATS!

ooooo

ahhhhh

Ohhhhh!

*swoooon* to see Devin in one of these....

My favorite pics are of lovely embroidered waistcoats, which apparently were very common. Nevertheless, it's pretty and I would like to make one. The second one, in particular, was so sweet looking. As I captioned the picture....I really want to see my dearest Devin in one of these. le sigh

TAMBOUR!!! While at the shop, Sarah showed me how to do a little bit of Tambour Embroidery, which is basically embroidering with a sharp crochet hook..... and I LOVE IT. I reaaaaaallly reaaaaaalllly reaaaaalllly want to make this men's cap:

Downright purdy.

There were also some wonderful Calash bonnets that I desperately wanted to try on.

soooo muuuucccchhh ffunnnnnn

This one reminds me of an accordion.

Then there was this gown:

What's so interesting about this gown is that it is black and in superb condition. The black dyes tend to deteriorate the fabric, so to have a gown like this one, that is so well preserved, is an extreme rarity.

The motif you see on the gown is actually embroidered to the fabric itself. A lot of time went into it.

Sorry for the shakey pics
(museum lighting)

Another interesting tidbit pertains to the trim. It is done by a series of knots, and to my knowledge, was an entire trade to itself. O.O There's a bajillion yards of this trim on the gown. Can you imagine only tying knots/making this kind of trim for your career?!?

muy impressivo

The last things I took a peek at were the tools on display on the lower level. My favorite.... The Waffle Iron.... I want it.

nomnomnom

A really old wedding gown...

2011-08-25T11:13:00.001-04:00

*ALERT ALERT*

The video has expired and I cannot find it anywhere on the interwebs. This is the article where I found the video... Sorry to disappoint!

edited Sep 2011

This morning I was perusing the internet and came across a video that I found interesting. So, I've brought it to you.

This young woman is the 4th generation to wear this wedding gown. I'm not sure if I would choose to wear it for my wedding; but if I did I would surely wear the proper undergarments! By watching the video, it seemed they didn't wear them. I don't mean to dog them about their decision to wear the gown, but if it were me, I'd pull out ALL the stops for it.

What do you all think? Would you wear this gown for your wedding?

Bedgowns and Petticoats

2011-08-23T21:01:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to be able to blog again! I am able to use Devin's old computer until mine gets fixed, so I can show you some of what I did this summer in Williamsburg!

For those of you who are not familiar, I spent my summer in Williamsburg,Virginia, interning at the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop. The shop is still a thriving trade shop; preserving the art of Mantua Making, Millinery and Tailoring of the 18th century. Every stitch is handsewn, every method is period. I was lucky enough to get a change to taste for the first two. It's pretty intense.

Upon arrival, we were thrust into work. The first projects were small; a pin pillow and work-bag; mainly to practice stitching. I whipped them up a day a piece then was on to bigger projects. The first big project being a petticoat to wear.

That is a bumroll making me so very "pronounced"

I chose a lovely reddish brown linen for the petticoat (in the 18th century, most skirts were called petticoats) It was a heavier linen, so hand-sewing on that thing was a bit of a bother, especially since my handsewing experience is not very extensive. Luckily for me it was mainly backstitches so I got in the groove pretty quickly. The project took 3 days to complete and fit wonderfully.

Since it's almost like a kimono???

Next on the agenda was a bedgown. Now, a bedgown of the 18th century is not a garment that is worn to bed or in the bedroom. It is merely a woman's more informal garment. They are extremely easy to cut out; as we were not using patterns and had to cut completely by eye; relatively simple to make, though I got my first taste of hand felled seams. Phew. This one was finished in 4 or 5 days and I was very happy with the result.

Finished salmon colored bedgown and brown petticoat!

Bad News Bears.

2011-08-12T12:35:00.003-04:00

Hello all! Again, I am so sorry about not getting around to blogging. Things are busy here in Williamsburg and it seems I could never get the chance. And now, there's a new wrinkle in the fabric...

My computer CRASHED. That's right. It crashed. Last weekend I had managed to accidentally unplug it from its power source and it went haywire from there. I'm writing this post using a friend's computer, so unfortunately I most likely won't be able to blog about the things I've made until I get back to Athens; when I either can get my computer fixed or get a new one.

To give you all a taste of what I will be blogging about; While interning here I've made a ton of items including a cap, petticoat, kerchief, mitts, and various parts of gowns and am currently working on a hat. :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D It's a really pretty hat too. :)

Well, I hope you all are having a glorious summer! I'm having a blast here in Williamsburg and can't wait to fill you in on my wonderful summer!

Update!

2011-07-24T16:56:00.000-04:00

I have to say I'm extremely sorry about my lack of posting this summer during my internship. Even though I'm not posting regularly, I am making many things on a daily basis. I'm simply finding it hard to fit blogging into my busy schedule. It seems every evening there is something new to do and also I have been receiving visitors every weekend.

Soon I will post more in depth on some of the things the employees at the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop have been so gracious to teach me. If you simply cannot wait to hear of the things we are doing at the shop you can follow our projects on Facebook.

Hoop!

2011-07-08T23:54:00.002-04:00

While I've been down here, in Virginia, my personal projects have been pushed to the back of my mind. I either haven't gotten around to them or didn't feel like working on them.

Yesterday I finally checked one thing off my to-do-list.

I covered my hoop!

Hoops!

For those of you who don't know, I am recently engaged. And though I had known for a long time that I would be getting engaged soon, I decided to not start on anything "wedding" until after the official engagement. Now I have a year to go until the knot is tied, so I'd better get to crackin'

I am not going to make my dress, but I am going to make my veil. Before I left for Virginia, my most trusted seamstress ordered some silk gauze that is absolutely STUNNING. I plan to bead and possibly embroider the veil, but in order to do either one needs a hoop. And hoops can scar.

I ran into some scarring with the Ophelia beaded sleeves, so I know how easy it is for it to happen. I certainly don't want to do that to my wedding veil! I decided to cover my very large hoop (a quilting hoop I purchased for $7) so as not to scar.

Last weekend I stopped into the nearest JoAnn Fabrics and found a remnant of a flannel that's pretty cute. It was cheap and should grip well to the fabric, while also providing a little "kush" for the silk gauze.

Wittle Polka Dots

Since I didn't know what I was doing, I used a nice Tutorial by Mary Corbet of Needle 'N Thread for some reference and flew from there.

My pseudo artsy photo of what's going on

My hoop is of larger scale and I didn't use bias tape. I cut the cute polka dot flannel on the bias and wrapped away.

A lovely view of my worktable ;)

Since I do not have ample space in my apartment, my bed has been serving as my table. As you can see; I lay a piece of cutting cardboard/sewing mat on my bed that was so kindly given to me last summer. ;) Resourcefulness.

Nearly finished!

After the initial wrapping, the fabric has to be sewn to itself in order to stay put. Et Voila!

Add caption

A lovely polka dot covered hoop!

Now I need to figure out the exact design of my veil!

Under the Redcoat 2011

2011-07-04T16:50:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make..... I have never been to an 18th century reenactment before. D:

Fortunately, my living in Williamsburg has changed that. My debut was Under the Redcoat at Colonial Williamsburg, just last weekend. It was wonderful.

Photo Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg

For those of you who don't know what UtR is, I'll give you a quick overview. British. Invade. Williamsburg. And let me tell you, there was a LOT of red.

The redcoats leave town.

I spent my weekend walking about with Eliza and befriending quite a few redcoats and fellow costume bloggers. They were very pleasant and great fun; teaching us some new dice and card games, as well as letting us try some of their homemade meade, which was very delicious.

Eliza and I with some members of the 40th

That was the only picture taken of me (that I know of) at the event. I hope to trim the new hat I bought (it's the one I'm wearing) once I get hold of some nice stuff to work with.

I had a great time and hope to attend it next year too :)

Internship Beginnings

2011-06-28T23:35:00.003-04:00

Saturday marked the end of my first week interning at the Margaret Hunter Shop in Colonial Williamsburg. So far I have had a blast!

Our work area, Right to Left;
Eliza (fellow intern), Doris (Journeywoman) Tori (fellow intern)
and me! At the Margaret Hunter Shop

The staff is extremely friendly, and every day proves to be more enjoyable than the last.

My typical outfit for the day time.

So far we've worked on perfecting our stitches and I patched and mended a cute blue jacket that I love to wear.

Such lovely patchwork, wouldn't you say?

Then on Saturday we got all "gussied up" in beautiful silk gowns and wonderful hats. We walked about town, letting millions of little girls take pictures with us.


Us ladies of the Millinery Shop (I'm first on the left) Don't we look lovely?!

Me in a Coral gown (I do not normally
wear this color)

Eliza in a peach, ivory and green cross-stripe gown

I got to wear a coral Polonaise gown with silk gauze and a bum roll; feeling wonderful. The other intern, my new friend Eliza, got to wear a Saque-Back gown and AWESOME HAT. I was jealous.

All in all, we've had a wonderful time so far. Things keep getting better, and we're getting into some more "serious sewing"; which we're very excited about. More to come!

Ophelia Bodice: finished

2011-06-08T01:13:00.000-04:00

Hooray! The time has come to show you the finished pictures of the Ophelia Bodice! After 2.5 weeks of working on lots of beading and tucking the finished product was sent to Santa Fe on Friday to be graded. And here are the pictures from an impromptu photo shoot right before it was sent away. My mom was the photographer and did a fabulous job :)

This pose was mom's idea.

I'm pretty happy that it looks almost identical
to my concept drawing

I thought she was only taking a pic of the bodice, not of
my face with it

My mom thought it a good idea to take the other curtain and wrap it around as a skirt, so the pictures would look a little better. It did help the photos, but you can still see the creases!

I've got a bit o' giraffe neck goin' on.

I was trying to pose as my drawing, but closed my
eyes at the wrong time :(

The following pictures are not the correct color, but thought they were fun and should be included in my post XD

Cheese!

I think I saw a fox in the field, which is why I'm squinting...

Close up!!!!

I can't wait to get it back and start the skirt portion! But I need some undergarments first....hmmmm

The Queen of Tucks

2011-06-04T00:35:00.000-04:00

I think it should be my new nickname because I have sewn over 350 tucks for the trim of the bodice. That's. A. Lot. Of. Tucks.

Just some of the tucks...

The tucked trim had to be done in 6 pieces to get the length and contour correct. And it took a very long time to do them all. Looking back, I should have done a large rectangle then cut it down into the strips needed, but I did it the other way around; cut a bunch of strips THEN did the tucking. Well, now I know what not to do. Despite the intense labor, after they were pressed and all put together, they look kinda fabulous--I'm not gonna lie.


Aren't they perfect?

Now the scary part... application...There were a couple ideas thrown around on how to apply them. I couldn't think of any other fullproof plan than to simply top stitched them to the bodice. It was nerve-wracking, I'll tell ya, to sew all those tucks to the bodice. The whole time I was consumed by a fear that something utterly terrible would happen.

Pinned and ready to go...

After being stitched.

But it didn't! After all was said and done they look pretty spectacular (I was fully expecting them to look very terrible) I was also nervous that having the tucks the same fabric as the main part of the bodice would be a bad idea, but I think the texture is all it needed. The last pic is taken in natural light, so it's the closest to the real color as you can get. and you can see the texture really well. I'm really excited for the next post. You'll be able to see it finished!

Project: Progress

2011-05-31T21:24:00.064-04:00

The project is done, but you all will just have to wait to see it. For now, I'm gonna give you little snippets of it so I can make my posts more detailed!

And now back to the project: After a little bit of tweaking, I got the modesty panel to be just right... I had a really hard time getting the pretend chiffon to work properly... or how I wanted. I had to manually pin each gather where they were supposed to be, instead of the usual, gathering-thread-then-sew method. It was kind of a pain, but I managed.

It is lined with the same hospital sheets I used for my Regency petticoat. It was finished with a chiffon edge.

Panel, not yet attached.

In attempts to make sure the panel was the right shape and fit, I got a little creative.

I don't think I've looked that attractive
in a long time...

Idk.

yeahhhhh....

Well, maybe I got a lot creative. It seemed to look okay though....

So, with the panel now done, I inserted it after the sleeves in; and here's what it looked like:

On my clone.

Isn't the turquoise-blue gorgeous????

On me and my late 1860's corset XD

I don't have a 1910's corset yet, so I'm improving with the one I do have. Since this is only for the top of the gown, I figured there wouldn't be much of a difference in size or shape.

Next step....TUCKING!

Beading!

2011-05-17T07:51:00.017-04:00

For hours, upon hours, I spent my time trying to find a good image of 1910's beading on gowns. I wanted to find a design from the period, to keep it authentic as possible. Well, I had very little luck finding anything with any real detail to help me. There are lots of great pictures of garments, but none close enough to see it! The best I was able to procure were pictures like this:

All to small....

...to be of...

...any help.

I even checked out beading patterns for purses, I wasn't able to find a design/motif from the period that I really liked. So I used a postcard for "inspiration" and proceeded created my own design. I just wanted a hint of the pink beads and used mainly the green and pale turquoise, like in the postcard.

The Wonderful Postcard.

I had never done beading before and I found that it's certainly not a hard thing to do. But it is TIME CONSUMING. Lucky I had Netflix because I watched the entire season of Firefly, plus the movie, Serenity, and the 2nd season of LOST to finish both sleeves.

Before I applied the beads, I finished all the edges with a "chiffon hem" It really helped keeping it from fraying and looked nice too. Then I did the beading before sewing the arm 'round because the fabric was flattest and easiest to work with. And BAM!

Here's the motif I created

Then I finished off the sleeves with French Seams.

First run with French Seams!

And Voila! Pretty sleeves! I'm really happy with them, they lay nicely (just like in the design picture) and to my delight, the colors are far more muted than I was expecting! My mom took some great detail photos, too. Yay Momma!

Doesn't wicker furniture make wonderful scenery?

A pretty feather. I think I'm most proud of this one.

Not exactly matching garments, but the sleeve lays nicely.

Lilies... that don't really look like lilies...

Final Project: 19-teens "Ophelia" Gown Bodice

2011-05-11T15:12:00.065-04:00

I'm taking a Specialty Sewing Techniques course, which consists of different couture techniques and finishing methods. This is what I'm making for the final project:

For the project, we have to use at least 4 techniques we have learned in class and apply them to a blouse/shirt type garment. My techniques will be tucking, piping, beading, ruching and hem treatments. I'm going to make the gown in two pieces for now and put the two pieces together to complete the gown... just at a later date.

The turquoise silk cost me a mere 5 bucks for 6.5 yards!
Discounted Drapes. BOOYAAH!

It's a vest type garment in a powdery turquoise silk with attached sleeves in a nice creme chiffon and ruching in net at the bust. There will be a copious amount of delicate tucking as trim in the blue silk and in the belt part. I'm also planning to have a beaded motif on the sleeves and overlay for the skirt. Look at the the beads I got! They go so prettily with it.

The colors are a little more muted in real life.

I was initially inspired by the actress Miss Lily Elsie. Her gowns and pictures are phenomenal.

She has Rachel Weisz' profile.

Sigh

How perfect, right?

My second inspiration was the idea of Ophelia. Whenever I think of Ophelia (from Hamlet) I think of water lilies and consequently Lily Elsie.

I don't really care about the title, just the design.

It's so pretty!!!

The project has to be sent to Santa Fe, NM by June 3rd... leaving me 2 weeks to get it finished. Luckily, I only have to send in the bodice :D No sweat!

What the veil?!

2011-05-06T11:06:00.064-04:00

Now that I am officially betrothed, I am getting my butt in gear for my wedding. We're hoping it to be in June of 2012. Now, June 2012 seems like a long time away, but with me being in Williamsburg all Summer and being in class full time for the rest of the year, it's going to fly by.

For my wedding, I want to give the air of simplicity, but have lots of details; because... I love the nitty gritty, tiny, almost-insignificant details. That being the case, I'm going to go with subdued Art Nouveau and Art Deco themes.

Similar to this, but not really

So, first things first, the veil. The only veils that I like are a little pricey. $200? Higher. $400? HIGHER. $600?!!??! WAY HIGHER. Try..... $1,650.

Kenneth Pool Veil: $1,650

What's a girl to do? Why, make her own of course!

That is why I love the Kenneth Pool veil so much. I like the lots of little details, but it's not overpowering. I also really like the corners on it. The caption on the site reads "...beaded-border veil with metallic thread embroidery" Alrighty, now I know what to get.

I went to our local bead store here in town and found some gorgeous beads for less than 10 bucks.

And I already have a lot of drapey tulle I can use for it. Just to settle on a design!

Regency Dress progress

2011-05-03T22:33:00.071-04:00

So far this quarter, I've been trying to juggle taking a mere 12 credit hours (I normally take about 17), piano lessons and wedding stuff. But here's the progress on the Regency dress!

Certainly not the most beautiful pic
of me, but there's the dress.

The pics have the dress pinned together (sans sleeves) in what I hope it will look like. I decided to gather them Corded style, so wonderfully explained by The Dreamstress...though, I did mine by hand instead of machine.

pretttttyyyyyy!

I really like the cording method rather than a running stitch. It's way more secure and delivers the most gorgeous gathers! I do believe I will use this method of gathering from now on.

Notice the cream yarn? I'm using it for my cord instead of real cord. Why? It doesn't have a tendency to bulge, requires a very thin channel and I have a ton of it. Yay thriftiness!!!

Le View de Side

You can kinda see the cording on the skirt portion in the side view ANNNND you can also see the Apron-front line. I decided to do something a little different than the typical apron front bodices I've seen. I got the idea from the dress Marianne twists her ankle in.

I understand this is not Marianne, but
it is the same dress, just from Persuasion (2007)

Now, I realize that these pics are not of Marianne, but for viewing purposes, the stills from Persuasion (2007) are a lot more illustrative. The bodice piece is a gathered trapezoid creating a more seamless effect, so in theory, you won't be able to tell if it's an apron front or not... but we'll see how sneaky I actually am later on, when it's closer to finished.*crosses fingers*

See how the lines are angled?

I'm still not positive on the style of the sleeves yet. I'm torn between elbow length or cap. Sometimes I wish I could do both, but it would look rather silly.

Meet the Future Mrs. Brooks!

2011-04-19T00:36:00.002-04:00

It's true! Devin finally asked me to marry him!!! And look at the beauty of a ring he gave me :)


Prettyyyy

For those of you just longing to know, here's the story:

Devin had been wanting to go hiking for weeks, since there are days when the weather is almost perfect at this time of year.Unfortunately, to our dismay, every time we would plan to go, it would rain the day of... and the days it was perfect to go out, we were busy.

Well, on Friday (April 15th) Devin said that he really wanted to go hiking the next day, but they were calling for rain again. So our plan was to A) Go hiking, weather permitting B) Go to Easton (an outdoor/townlike mall) or C) See a matinee movie and get dinner.

Plan A

And so, Saturday morning came. I was horribly awoken by my mom who desperately wanted to know what my plans were for the day while I was also trying to comprehend the weird dream I had. I wasn't sure what Devin wanted to do (since it was 9am in the morning...3 hours earlier than I normally rise) but mom insisted I call Devin and find out; so she and dad could plan their day.

After Devin had texted me back, saying we were going to Easton... my mom told me that I should go ahead
and get ready...UGH. It was only 10am!!! I wasn't in the mood to put on makeup or to curl my hair.... but mom, however, was not too fond of my makeup-less idea. She looked at me and crankily said "Amber. You have to look nice for Devin" (something she's told me time and time again when I don't feel like looking nice) and shoved the curlers at me. Reluctantly, I curled my hair and put on my face. Soon after Devin arrived and off we went.

On the way, we stopped to get a quick bite to eat. I told him about how mom hadn't been very nice to me that morning and told him about the weird dream I had. In my dream, Devin proposed to me and pulled out 3 HIDEOUS rings, one by one, each uglier than the one before it. He laughed and said that it was an odd dream, then we changed the subject. I didn't think anything more of it. We set off again for Easton.

An accurate depiction of the rings in my dream.

We finally got to Easton and went straight for Barnes & Noble, our "Home Away from Home." Devin found some books he'd long wanted to buy and I found the Star Wars Craft Book; smiled like an idiot; found my page and gloated to Devin about how cool it is that I'm in a book. Devin bought the books he wanted while I glanced through the wedding section and we both decided to put the new purchase in the car so we wouldn't have to carry it around the whole day.

Once we got outside, we regretted that we hadn't brought our umbrella. It wasn't raining hard, but the rain was cold and almost horizontal. O.o We trudged back the car, laughing about our lack-of-umbrella-ness and wincing with each raindrop. After what seemed like 10 minutes of trudge-ment we reached the car. I decided to check the weather on my brand new iPhone.

Basically what I was staring at so intently...

I sat in the car with the door open, looking intently at my wee little screen and debating whether we would need the umbrellas after all. And then there was a ring right in front of me.

It took a little time for me to comprehend, as my brain was saying "Umbrella, or no umbrella? Umbrella or no---that's not an umbrella!" I looked up and Devin had the same look on his face as when he asked me to be his girlfriend in high school. Then he said, "I was going to wait until the end of the day, but I couldn't. Will you marry me?"

We'll just say this is what Devin's face looked like.

I was still dumbfounded and after giving him a hug an smiling like an idiot for a while I remembered that I had to reply. Of course I answered YES.... I knew I was going to marry him before we started dating.... but that's a post for another day :)

Me and my Future Hubby

Now I get to start plannin' a weddin'!!!

I'm in a BOOK!!!

2011-04-07T22:42:00.002-04:00

Hello friends, I wanted to announce that I have been blurbed about in an official Star Wars Book!!

OOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!!

In Feb 2010, I was interviewed via email, by Bonnie Burton, to be featured on the Official Star Wars blog. I had been checking that blog every day for 9 months and was somewhat disappointed that I hadn't seen anything on there yet. Then I got the email that perked up my spirits... She had chosen to put me in her newest book, The Star Wars Craft Book! It came in today.....and here I am!

AAAHHHHH!!!!!!

If any of you get a hold of the book, I'm on page 102 and am featured for my General Grievous. As a Star Wars fanatic, I can't tell you how honored/excited/awesome it feels just to have that little blurb in there :)
Aside from me, there's some awesome crafts that I think I may do in the near future. My faves are the Cantina Band spoons and Ewok Hat. AHHH, I want to make them noowwwww!!!! I was like a nerd at Comic-Con. ( BTW, I will attend in the near future). Other features include blurbs about Sammi Resendes, Kayla Kromer, and Amanda Jean Camarillo. All of which have made some pretty awesome things.

All in all, the book is a great book for adults AND kids, I highly suggest you purchase it.

P.S.
Speaking of Star Wars, I have a new shirt to show off:

DAWWWW.

A surprise gift from my friend Travis of Debugging-Life It has become one of my favorite shirts of all times. Thanks man!

Phew, What a day... What. A. Day. :D

Early Regency Dress, start-up

2011-04-03T22:38:00.001-04:00

For my first Regency Dress, I have chosen to do a really simple style to be as a "basic" dress for my wardrobe.

It's a simple cotton print and I believe it might be mattress ticking, but it's awful thin. The fabric is pretty sheer and wrinkles easy, as you can tell. I've got 14 yards of it, so if I mess up, there's more to use! My only fear with the fabric is how stiff it gets when you iron it. I washed it twice to get the sizing out and break it down a bit. It turned to a lovely drape, but the ironing is kind of worrisome. Darn stuff.

For the style, I turned to one of my favorite movies. I really love the dresses in the 1995 Sense and Sensibility. Most have the slightly lower waistline and very drapey fabrics that make my heart go a flutter.

I love the drawsting neckline and sheer fabric


It will be more full like this gown, and will also have 3/4th sleeves

The entire dress will be handstitched; like the short stays and petticoat I made to go under it.

Randomness.

2011-03-13T19:10:00.000-04:00

This has nothing to do with much, but it's cool. I scanned my face and this was the outcome:

It's like I'm stuck under the ice!

My hair looks cool

BIG NEWS!

2011-03-05T15:47:00.003-05:00

!!!!I am going to be interning at Colonial Williamsburg this summer!!!!

I will be working in the Margaret Hunter Millinery/Mantua Maker Shop, making lots of pretty things and being far away from home! AHHHHHH!!!!!! I'm so excited :)

The Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop

Part of the reason I am ecstatic about this opportunity stems from my visit to Colonial Williamsburg when I was about 11 or 12. My family and I had gone to visit and I wanted a dress like the girls had in the brochure that we had. So we all went over to the Margaret Hunter shop to check it out. I was overwhelmed when we first walked in. There were ladies at the counter, all dressed to the 9's in their Colonial Outfits, embroidering diligently on Lady Dunmore's gown. Off to the corner, I remember a little girl, about my age, also working diligently on a little something. All at once she got up in excitement and said to the nearest lady at the counter, "I think I figured out how they do this!" Can I tell you how jealous I was of that other girl???? Very. I wanted to be at Colonial Williamsburg, working on something, while wearing pretty clothes..... And it turns out, that little hope I had as a child is going to come true!

Now, I only need a place to stay/sublease/rent. I haven't had much luck in the 2 days I have been looking, but hopefully something will turn up.

Darth Maul Amigurumi progress

2011-03-03T00:57:00.002-05:00

GRRRRRRR!!!

I've been working here and there on Darth Maul's face since winter break started, and decided to scrap what I had originally made to make a new one. Here's the original flub:

it's truly disgusting.

See how grotesque it is? It looks like the clown from the SAW movies with red and black detailing. Gross!

After inspecting my fail, I decided that I used the wrong hook (which is why the thing was as big as my own head) I was color changing wrong and I didn't really think about what I was doing while making it. This time I've thought it through, am color changing correctly (I think?) and I'm using a much smaller hook, which produces much cleaner results :)

Here's what I've got so far:

muuuch better.

I'm able to get a little more detail and sharpness in the lines about his face, all due to the smaller hook. The rest of the detailing will come with embroidery, as there's no way to get such lines in color-changes.

The contours of the head and face are also
very nice this go 'round

Contour. This is something the original dearly lacked. It was really just a big ball with color changes that I stuffed and cinched to get somewhat of a face and produced a weird lumpy head and nasty, nasty face. This one looks much better :) I'm hoping to finish the head by Friday. Woo!

BIRTHDAY APRON!

2011-03-01T00:37:00.002-05:00

Today, I turned 21. Can you guess what I did for my birthday?

Only what every girl would do....

I made an apron for myself!

Pretty Cute huh?

The inspiration was from Jessie Steele, an apron site I happened to find a week ago. Her aprons are adorable and ever so classy. I simply had to make one.

This is the one I like the most:

Jessie Steele Black and White Apron

......so I decided to make it Sailor style, because I love sailor stuff.

Fabric wise, I used some leftover navy fabric from my 1780's Caraco/Petticoat and some white bias tape. For the skirt, I used a flared half apron from the 50's as my skirt pattern template. The pocket was a quick whack-job of an applique
*NOTE*I've never done an applique before and just barreled through it, only looking at a tutorial for applique's after I had it already been attached

For the Bib, I draped some muslin for the pattern, giving a dart on each side, to give it a little more shape. It's only cute if it fits!

and in 6 hours and 2 seasons of the office later....

VOILA!

SAILOR APRON!

I'm sorry I don't have any construction pics. It was an "on-a-whim" project that I was so focused on finishing, that taking pictures was the farthest from my mind. I plan to make a couple more aprons and experiment with different fits. I'll be sure to take more pics for the coming ones.

Donald?

Ouchies

2011-02-25T02:13:00.000-05:00

I've not posted in a while, I realize, since I am still very busy with my classes.

Speaking of classes! I was forced to attend a late night salsa/samba workshop for OU's International Dance and Music Week (which was last week or the week before?) and got this lovely jewel:

THAT is a blood-blister, my friends. It's still deep in the skin, and will probably be there for the next month. Just thought I'd show you what's up ;)

Belated Valentine's Day post

2011-02-15T01:37:00.002-05:00

First Date 10/20/07

As you all know, yesterday was Valentine's Day. Though Devin and I weren't able to do anything for Valentine's Day due to conflicting schedules I did make him a giant peanut butter pie with Reeses cups on Sunday and for Valentine's Day I got a surprise email from him that was so adorable it made me cry. I'll spare you the mushiness and just pepper you with some cute...and not so cute pictures :)

Prom 2008

After-Prom 2008

New York ATD Trip 2008


Devin biting my face off Chicago ATD Trip 2008

Wash. D.C. Trip 2010

Christmas 2010

Me and my Mr Darcy :D

Boba Fett Amigurumi Pattern

2011-02-05T21:14:00.001-05:00

Hello all! I am pleased to announce that I have officially published and made available one of my Star Wars Amigurumi Designs

The pattern is for my Boba Fett design and costs $9.00 to download. The entire Boba consists of 37 pieces and is 14 pages long. Just click the button to buy if you wish!


Should I buy the pattern? hmmmm....I think YES!!! :D

Next on the agenda for patterns will be an Accessory Pack for Boba Fett (Complete with Jetpack, gun holster, weaponry, etc) and I'm currently working on Darth Maul.

Chillin' with Darth Maul :)

Stash Hats

2011-01-27T01:50:00.006-05:00

The past few weeks (well, months, really) I've been on a crocheting kick. It started mid-December with a long overdue project a student in my choir has been bugging me about for the last 2 years. She has told me over and over again that she would like a hat.... A pointy one. It's her senior year and her last year in the group, so I figured I would give in to her pleas.

This is what I made her:

A very pointy hat.

It took only a few hours to do because it's a relatively simple idea. I chose the purple Caron Eco-Friendly yarn I had in my stash to go with her coat and I think that purple is a good color to describe her; happy, funky, and original. The hat is my own design and is about 2 feet in length. I think she looks adorable in it. Don't you?! She's such a tiny little thing; so it looks all the cuter on her :)

Just chillin' with my gnomies

Then my friend Travis came back to Athens for his Christmas Break and told me "You still owe me a hat". I completely didn't know what he was talking about and he informed me that it was mentioned a long time ago that he wanted me to make him this hat:

Jayne Cobb, from the TV Series: Firefly

That hat is knitted of course; and alas, I cannot knit at the moment. So I compromised and made a hat kinda similar to a knit look with the help of a pattern on the internet that I cannot re-find for the life of me.

Cunning? Very.

It was all done the very evening he "reminded" me of it; with scrounged up yarn I had in my stash. I made it while watching the BBC Version of North and South,a GREAT miniseries, and gave it to him the next day with his Christmas present. I think someone had an awesome Christmas... wouldn't you say? ;)

#3
Last week I was inspired by a lone piece of ribbon and decided to whip up a hat for myself! Yay! The ribbon has some really wonderful blue and green hues and couldn't get idea out of my head. So, I looked through my stash and found some yarns that would go beautifully with that very lovely ribbon.

:) Smile, Amber! C'mon,
we know you can do it!

Altogether it's 4 different colors and 3 different types/weights of yarn; bamboo fibers (the blue, and ohhhh so soft), Caron 'simply soft' (the dark green, very soft as well), Red Heart Super Saver yarn (the 2 lighter greens, itchy and scratchy and stiff) and the Ribbon of Inspiration (which can be seen in the 3rd photo)

This is how I normally wear it

I was a little nervous at first working with yarns that I've never put together before but I think it worked! I started with the middlemost spiral then switched yarns and stitches when needed. It consists of alternating single crochets, double crochets and puff stitches in different rows to get most of the effects.


The back... a "hipster snail" as one of my friends called it

In 6 hours I had a fabulous new hat!!! Now that the basic bit is done I kinda feel like I should add some more things to it. Hmmm... Maybe some more ribbon? Beads? Embroidery? I don't know. It needs a little something to give it some"pizazz".....Or maybe I'll just wear it like this?

...like a Crown!

Guess what I'm playing?

2011-01-17T02:09:00.001-05:00

I am ever so sorry that I have not been blogging regularly. My reason: piano. The Ohio University School of Music holds a concerto competition every year. Those who enter get out of their jury for winter quarter and the winner of the competition gets to play with the orchestra at a concert; which is a HUGE and cool opportunity for pianist... if they're good enough.

I'm hoping to enter the concerto competition with a piece that I've been playing for 5 weeks. 5 weeks? You ask. My gosh. That'll be easy peasy, right? You say. I say wrong. My track record with learning pieces has been ridiculous. I have been known to spend 6 months on a song that's only 8 pages long. If you didn't know, that's a long time! So this is a brand new breakthrough in Amber's music abilities; to be able to learn, memorize and perform a piece in less than 2 months...a 17 page piece to be exact. Needless to say I'm a little proud of myself at the moment, but hold on folks. We're not done yet!

I plan to enter none other than J.S. Bach's Piano concerto no1 in D minor. The competition is a little over a week away. I've been practicing the darned song every day so it can be sparkling clean by January 25th (the competition).

For those of you who are not familiar with the piece, or you just like to hear the genius that is Johann Sebastian Bach played by none other than the genius that is Glenn Gould. Please, if you are not accustomed to the awesome that is this video, do not press play.

Enjoy!!! (and wish me luck) ;D

Bodiced Petticoat: Finished.

2011-01-02T02:52:00.001-05:00

Finally, I'm getting around to posting this! I finished my hand-stitched petticoat right before Christmas and took pictures on Christmas day. I'm set with the undergarments and am ready for the real dressmaking now!

side view

me being goofy

ick, I look very ticked off. but here is the front.

Back view

The entire garment is stitched by hand and made of a white cotton bedsheet from a hospital which was bought from a thrift shop.

Rebel Symbol Scarf

2010-12-29T02:38:00.000-05:00

YAY! I finished something this break! A Rebel Symbol Scarf!!!!!!!

The scarf was a request made by Devin (above) because he got a wonderfully grey peacoat and needed a scarf to make it complete. In 6 hours I created and finished this scarf while watching the BBC's Wives and Daughters.

Awwww, isn't he adorable?!

Hoorah for accomplishments :) My next post shall be my hand-stitched petticoat, so STAY TUNED

Christmas 2010!!!!

2010-12-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas equipped with all the festivities, family and fun. I had a very blessed time with my family and I got a lot of awesome things this Christmas that I'd like to show you all :)

BOOKS
The past couple of years, I have been receiving books for the majority of my presents. I have an Amazon Wishlist and from it I received:

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth-Century Fashion in Detail by Susan North

and

The Nineteenth Century Fashion in Detail by Lucy Johnston

Both these books are from the Victoria and Albert Fashion Museum collection and are really fascinating. I love being able to see individual stitches, minor flaws (that make me feel better about my work), and simply the wonderful detailed photographs/descriptions of the garments. The only thing to make them better would be to have photos of the whole garment instead of really up close ones. The book is great though. I'm soooo glad I have them now!

The Cut of Men's Clothes: 1600-1900

and

Corsets and Crinolines both by Norah Waugh

These books are just wonderful. I got a used/older version of the Cut of Men's Clothes and a new version of Corsets and Crinolines but I couldn't be happier. These are definitely must-haves.

After a Fashion: How to Reproduce, Restore, and Wear Vintage Styles

and

The Edwardian Modiste: 85 Authentic Patterns with Instructions, Fashion Plates and Period Sewing Techniques

both by Francis Grimble

I knew these would be great the moment I saw them. Last year I was happy to get Francis' book: Reconstruction Era Fashions and to say the least, It's fantastic. After a Fashion is chock full of very useful information for me since I'm quite a novice at just about everything. I was looking at some of the chapters in it just thinking "Oh, that makes sense now!" and the like. Very good book. The Edwardian Modiste is also good. I find it funny that each fashion plate has a pasted face on it.

Heirloom Embroidery by Jan Constantine

This was a surprise book my mom happened to find. I keep telling her that I want to start embroidery so she got me a book on it :) I love my mommy.

Spencerian Penmanship by Platt Rogers Spencer

Another endeavor I would like to start on is my handwriting. I would like to write well and beautifully. I think of all my books I got, this present got the biggest reaction from me. This is something I'm dying to start on.

OTHER THAN BOOKS
Apart from all the awesome books I got the following things:

Young Victoria

This movie is superb. I seriously love it.

Return to Cranford

How can you go wrong with a period miniseries? You can't. Especially if it's from the BBC. My brother and I bought Cranford (and other series)

The whole show is just so darn adorable. Judi Dench plays a really caring/naive character, which is soooo refreshing compared to her role as M from 007, which is pretty rigid. The series is definitely one worth watching.

Pennywhistles!

I recently played an original arrangement of O Come, O Come Emmanuel at my church a few weeks ago. I decided I wanted more of them (they're fixed key instruments) so I got 4 new ones in keys other than D so now I can play WHATEVER I WANT :D

I also got a Yarn Carrier, Truffles, a 9-headed Dragon Incense Burner, a SnapFish photo album of my boyfriend and I, a LIGHTSABER UMBRELLA, some clothes, a springform pan, and some moneys. It was a really blessed Christmas to say the least. I received way more than I was ever expecting. OH YEAH!!! And I got a necklace that belonged to my Great-Grandmother.

Isn't it pretty?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!!!

Lawn Dress

2010-12-16T11:13:00.002-05:00

It's long past due for a new post. My Red Dress is fitted, now only the sleeves need put on. The Regency Bodiced Petticoat only needs buttons. The Darth Maul Amigurumi hasn't been picked up yet. I haven't even thought about my quilt. But, I can post about an old dress I bought a while back at an antique store.

The dress is called a Lawn Dress. I have pondered the reasons why it would be called such; wearing it for garden parties (on the lawn. harhar), the fabric being called lawn, or some other crazy reason that no one would ever have thought of? Well, I've never really found a good explanation, and don't know enough about fabrics to say if it is in fact lawn or not.

Regardless of my prattle, I'm sure you want to see some pictures, right? Yes, you do!!!! So, here is the ca. 1910 Lawn Dress snatched for $60 at an antique store.

Disclaimer: Yes, that is me wearing the dress, 3 years ago, the day it was bought. At the time, I had never read anything about human oils deteriorating antique fabric. I was very careful and only wore it for about 15 minutes.

These are the only two photos of the entire dress

stupid look on my face.. I know

torqued off Amber? Maybe.

The dress has a lot of rips and tears. It used to have a lot of stains, but my mom read up and found a way to clean antique fabrics without damaging them. It worked like a charm.

The details are much better seen in Black and White

CrAzY picture of my face

the back of the dress is pretty too!


and this is a cool pic of the sky I happened to take that day

So, yeeeah. There's a new post !!!!!!!!

Devil in a blue... I mean RED dress. Oh nevermind

2010-12-02T13:32:00.001-05:00

Hooray! I am happy to say that I am officially done with Fall Quarter 2010 and am off to my wonderful 5 week break. I received 3 A's and 2 B's for the quarter (of which I'm quite surprised to see I did so well).

Now that my break has begun, I'm delving into new projects each day. Right now I'm dealing with a red dress that's being fussy.

The dress is a performance dress for the choir I am the accompanist and assistant director of. Our school colors are Red, Black and Grey; which was all I had to choose from. I bought my red dress from a consignment shop for $19 bucks and I figured I could just alter it to fit me, add some sleeves and be done with it. At the time I was a size 6 (the dress being a small 9/10 wouldn't have been that hard to alter) Well, not to toot my own horn, but I've lost a little bit of weight, bringing me down to a solid size 4. Oh goody for me. As you see in the picture, it is now quite gappy in a few areas.

I also want to add sleeves to the dress since I am technically a representative of the school and probably shouldn't be too revealed. Though, I'm not sure what kind of sleeves just yet. The girls in the choir said I should do a sleeve like this:

the sleeves would be slightly smaller in width

Yet my mom says I should do something more like this:

A much more matronly look

but maybe bigger drape thing like this:

EVEN MORE MATRONLY :D

What do you all think I should do? I'm at a loss

insert HUGE sigh of relief

2010-11-18T21:02:00.001-05:00

Finally, my 1780's Servant Ensemble is done and turned in! I don't know what the grade on it will be, but I'm anticipating a high B or low A. BUT!

~Behold~

The bodice went together pretty well, I'm very proud of the back:

The class this is for is Costume Pattern Tech. The goal is to create your own pattern for the garment based on a rendition provided by the designer. There were 15 people in the class; all making the same dress; in different fabrics. Since we each created our own pattern, there was a lot of variety in style lines. In the entire class, there were only two people who created a more complicated back to the bodice. Though I love the style lines I hate that I did the piping on each piece. It created a lot of bulk in one spot and made the piping uneven, but now I know what not to do.

And so you can see the cute bump at the back :)

For the process pics go HERE and HERE

And now, I have 3 more final until I am officially on my 6 week break! Woo. Wish me luck, the sooner those get done, the sooner I can work on more of my projects for you to see. YAY

Almost..... therrre.....

2010-11-15T03:13:00.001-05:00

I have been sewing like a mad woman to get this project finished. Currently I am done with the dirty work of the bodice and only have to insert the grommets at the front and tack down the seams of the sleeves. Next on the to-do-list is the skirt, of which I have the panels sewn together and need to make the placket for the opening and the waistband. The skirt is almost entirely cartridge pleated... oh joy. I have a long couple of days ahead of me.

Since I've been up until 5am most nights this week, I felt the need for a little entertainment. My mom and I dressed my brother up in my nearly finished bodice and took pictures. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Isn't he beautiful?

Latest Happenings

2010-11-08T21:35:00.002-05:00

Lately, my posts have been about everything under the sun except sewing. This is partially because I have had a fair share of homework and have not been able to work on a lot of my own projects. Lucky for you, I have been working on a project for our Period Construction class. Here's what I have so far:

It seems Mathilde's bust has deflated.

Yes, it's too large for Mathilde. The mannequin I used for the pattern is very busty and a size 8-10 (as Mathilde is right under a 5) Anywho, we are to construct a Maid's outfit in the theme of the 1780s. Since it's for the theatre, we have to sew it much differently than I'm used to. The Piping for instance. I am NOT happy about how it looks


The back seams are pretty, just not the piping....

The piping is all uneven because piping is on each pattern piece; and that's hard to line up. UGH. It's done this way so that if the piece needs altered, the piping does not need to come off. Lovely for those to come, suckola for me. Despite the annoyingness of the construction, the color of the piping is pretty against the tan herringbone.

I must say, it's very interesting how things are done in the theatre world. Everyt garment is made for versatility and easy alterations. I'm used to just making the garment to fit, and that's that. Fortunately, the last two weeks have taught me to properly flatline pattern pieces, add boning to make a correct shape, without the period undergarment, and learn how to properly do princess seams. Very educational.

Soon to come: The piece is to have an attached peplum and sleeves (that look like she's wearing a white shirt underneath. A skirt is also next on the agenda.

Star Wars Amigurumi Patterns

2010-11-03T00:59:00.000-04:00

Hello all,

I have had many comments and questions regarding my Star Wars creations. The main question people have being, "Can I have the pattern?!" My answer: eventually....

Right now, the Boba Fett and Jetpack patterns are near done; and I mean all the directions are there, I need to insert the pictures to finish (and that's pretty good considering all the homework I have to do too). But, for all of you "itching with anticipation", let it be known that I have a couple of hoops I have to jump through before I can distribute my ami patterns to the world.

Hoop #1: Lucasfilm Licensing. I have to make sure I am even able to sell Star Wars patterns before I make them available for y'all. I need to make sure that I'm in the clear and won't get sued.

Hoop #2: Copyright. My patterns need a copyright. There's a lot of scheisters our there that may steal my pattern and resell it as theirs or sell the end products, and that's not fair :( I plan to get this done quickly, but I have to hear from Lucasfilm first.

Hoop #3: Figuring out how to sell them in the first place. I've thought about setting up an Etsy site or selling them only on ravelry but I'm not exactly sure how it works I've also thought about doing it by email/paypal, but again, D: I don't know what I'm doing quite yet.

So, my fellow Crafty Star Wars Fans, My goal is to make the Boba Fett and Jetpack Patterns available by the second week of November. Don't hold your breath on it though, as I cannot make any promises on the exact date and time it shall be available. So, check back often and enjoy a lovely picture of a Scalped Darth Maul!

Scalped Darth Maul!!! D:

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T15:41:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween Folks!

I slept in until 11:00am this morning because of the festivities last night. Devin and I went to the Athens Block Party. Unfortunately I have been so busy this quarter that there was no time to make a good costume for both Devin and I. Devin put on a straw hat and I finagled a "gypsy" costume together. A lot of people didn't know what I was... but oh well. At least I didn't look gross. Here's some pics of my costume.

I had on 6 skirts, a long sleeved black sweater, 2 pairs of thigh length socks and my corset (laced with different colors of ribbon). I was pretty warm actually.

a tad blurry but oh well

I also carried around a black/gold shawl that I used as a head covering at times. I love that piece of fabric.

AND I HAVE A BINDI!! I love bindi's and whenever I have an opportunity to use one, I jump on it.

Here's to the end of another October and a Happy November!

Running in the Rain

2010-10-27T02:42:00.006-04:00

As some of you may have heard, the midwest is in the middle of a pretty good storm. Although most Ohioans don't consider themselves part of the Midwest per se, we are... apparently. Anywho, this storm was pretty bad and we Athenians got hit pretty hard today.

So, back on track (haha. I made a funny)... I recently decided to start jogging 3 times a week, in hopes not be winded when I walk up a flight of stairs. Today was the first day of my weekly regimen and I was excited. The day was beautiful, un-seasonally warm (76 degrees F) for October, and wonderful gusts of wind that though powerful, felt incredibly soft and comforting.

I had a piano lesson at 10am and it was there I learned from my instructor we were expecting a nasty storm anytime from 3pm-6pm. My break between classes being just that, I was saddened but resolved that it was too nice outside at the moment (being 10am) and that the storm would simply be a later one; after my jog.

As my class ended at 3pm, I noticed the clouds being very dark over yonder and thought "Oh WOW. That's a little nastier than I was expecting." but since there was no rainfall in view I enjoyed the walk to my car, taking my good ol' time. I got to my car to change into some gym shorts and put on my shoes when a few raindrops started to fall on my car. Determined as I was, knowing the storm wouldn't start until after 4pm when my jog would be over with, I started on my jog. I decided to take the route I always had because I know it well. Guess what!? This route happened to be directly toward the storm.

I started running. Again, I was very happy with myself for running in the first place and secondly deciding to go on such a lovely day. The women's lacrosse team was running towards me, pretty darn determined to go way past where I was and in a hurry. What could this mean? Hmmmm.... I took no warning, shrugged my and resolved that it was only because the winds were too gusty for their lacrosse practice. I continued. I got to my first landmark, far away from my vehicle; and the sky DUMPED on me.

When I say DUMPED, I mean DUMPED. And here I am, way too far from my car to sprint to it. Wonderful. I've been completely soaked to the bone in less than 10 seconds. But being as wet as a person can possibly be, I tried to enjoy the sloshy experience and turned back; despite being peppered by the HUGE raindrops and little acorns tossed about by the wind.

Finally I got to my car. The sky is still dumping. I look in my car for some sort of drying tool... Nothing...No towel. What do I do now!? I don't want to drive my car anywhere because the seat will be drenched and I don't want a wet bottom going home! What do I do? What do I do!?!?!? Unfortunately, I had no other choice. I had to dry off somehow. So I hopped in my car and drove to the nearest building with a bathroom close to the main entrance. I luckily had an extra shirt and jeans in my car, so not all hope was lost. BAM. I sprinted to the bathroom.

Sigh. Finally, I thought, all is well. Then I realize that a very vital element to my comfort was amiss. The Hand Dryer. D: Ugh. Here I am, soaked to the bone with no way to dry before I get back into my dry clothes. What did I do, you ask? Funny story actually...Ahem....I ended up standing in one of the bathroom stalls for 10 minutes, using toilet paper to dab the extra wet spots dry. .....yeeeeaaaah.. :-\ ...Finally, after all that, I pulled on my jeans only to realize that there were 2 decent size rips in some very inconvenient spots. The crotch and the butt. Sigh. My underwear was completely drenched and not on me. Needless to say, this made for a very awkward evening of concealing the holes in my pants for fear of major embarrassment.

The Moral of the story, my friends? Always have extra clothes in your car, including underwear. You never know what will happen to you. :)

Presenting....

2010-10-12T22:38:00.000-04:00

Dear Fellow readers,

I hope to bring to your attention to a new addition to the blogosphere. My friend Amy has started her own blog: Confessions of a Commuter Student.

Amy adopted my Ellie too! YAY!

She attends Ohio University and has been one of my best friends these past 4 years. Now in her 4th year of commuting and attending college, she has obtained quite a few pretty hilarious stories; and she is willing to share with the you and the internet!

If you like to read something funny, or if you were a college student yourself, give the blog a peek and follower her if you like!

Ohio Renaissance Festival, 2010

2010-10-05T18:56:00.000-04:00

I'm sure my followers are familiar with Renaissance Festivals and the like. Well, this past week I went our very own, 21st Annual Ohio Renaissance Festival.

I meant to take more pictures than I did (which is normally the case), so I'm going to steal some pics from Google Images.

For those who are unfamiliar with a Renaissance Faire, let me enlighten you... Renaissance Festivals are known for being a gathering of many different types of people. Many of the comedic performers make reference to a Renaissance Faire as being " a gathering of misfits; freaks if you like". It's really just that, and those that are the so called "misfits" or "freaks" will openly acknowledge/embrace the title. It's fabulous.

I've never been to another Renaissance Festival other than the one in Harveysburg, Ohio. Devin, Jeff and I had a blast. This is my third time at the RenFest, and was the best by far.

The performers were WONDERFUL. I was rofl, if you know what I mean. I'm being completely serious; I was a laughing idiot at every show I attended. The first show we saw was Saffron Finch (aka Rob Williams). You may have heard of him, he does a lot of odd tricks and has a great sense of comedic timing. His tricks are very odd, but have gained him a bit of fame. Jay Leno? Donnie Osmond? What do they have in common? this Rob guy made a bologna sandwich for both of them, with his feet.

Dirk and Guido, The Master Swordsmen were very entertaining as well. They came immediately after Saffron and were just as funny.

The funniest part of our venture was the pyro show, by performer, Thomas Wood the Pyro Juggler. He does a lot of different tricks including eating fire, contact juggling, regular juggling, and random oddness. While we were there, it rained and was very cold. My coat was in the vehicle, which was way away in the parking lot. It would have been too late to go to the car to get it because we were wet through within about 10 minutes. While we were shivering and chattering, Thomas asked us all to stand up and stretch to get our blood flowing. It was a trick. He was demonstrating how we should look then he grabbed my hand and chose me as his victim.

He juggled some things over me, but this wasn't even the best part.

He asked who I had come to the Faire with, and chose his next victim. I had come with my dearest Devin. MWAHAHAHA.


Latex Glove. Scary face on a Stranger. Devin blindfolded. Devin laying down. Seal and a club. Box labeled "Danger Explosives".

Is there any wonder I was a laughing idiot? The final part of his act was:

Machetes, Devin unaware, Me blindfolding the man holding the machetes. It was hilarious. Believe me, you shoulda been there.

Other than the shows, we ate from The Breadbowl; which offers various soups in breadbowls. We walked around to the different shops, watched a joust and Devin and Jeff both bought.... SWORDS.

We had a great time. I suggest you go, should you ever have the chance!

Sigh

2010-09-28T01:47:00.003-04:00

This weekend I was hoping to do some fun stuff. I.E. sewing, crochet, a few more recordings etc. but was overcome with homework from dawn til dusk all weekend long. My homework consisted of reading the story of the life of Mary Jemison, practicing piano, writing an essay, blah blah blah blah blah. Complete with more blah, blah and blah.

Though my homework was exhausting, I felt I should say a bit about The Narrative of the Life of Mary Jemison. I really enjoyed it. The book is a first person account of a woman of Irish heritage and her life as an adopted Seneca woman. Unlike many captivity narratives, she portrays the Native Americans as a lovely people and culture rather than a barbaric cult of savages. It was a long read for me was very good and enlightening, despite the time it took from my other interests. I do encourage those who have not read it to do so if they get a chance. I read the latest edition, with an introduction by June Namais, which also helps keep in perspective what is elaborated upon and what is from Jemison herself. I really do encourage you to read it... and lucky for you it's not an assignment

And now, I'll give you some cuteness to counteract the lame of my post

Joel!!!

Me Playing Piano!

2010-09-22T01:41:00.005-04:00

I found time to record for my grandmother. She lives an hour away from us and doesn't have a piano, thus making it a very rare occasion when she does hear me. Because of the vast interweb resources at hand, I am going to utilize Youtube so she is able to listen whenever she wants and of course share the videos with you all!

I beg you, please ignore the stupid looks on my face, the seasick-inducing movements, the poor sound quality and slight lag in the video. I recorded these via Webcam on my laptop and plan to record again when I have better equipment.

The Sailor Song was born my sophomore year of high school with a friend who was in my Music Theory class. It was first composed with drums and bass along with my piano. It was a bit more "funky" and had some J.S. Bach interjected at points. I have since made my own version of the piece, adding some movie themes for substance. Very early on, my friends fondly declared it "The Sailor Song".

The first 3 melodies you hear in this song are from the following soundtracks:
The Secret Garden by Zbigniew Preisner
King Kong by James Newton Howard
Black Beauty by Danny Elfman

Pirates of the Caribbean Composer, Hans Zimmer, is one my my all time favorite composers. I think I've fallen in love with each and every one of his soundtracks. This is my rendition of my favorite theme from POTC, Davey Jones. I made my own sequence of the piece through different moods from the latter two movies, Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. The first is the main melody played in a high register. Second is from the Musical-Heart of Davey's. Next is a more agitated Davey and the last bits being what I consider a call and response between the ill-fated lovers, Calypso and Davey. This has to be one of my favorites of my renditions. I hope you enjoy it as much as I like playing it :)

Nameless doesn't have a real name, so I call it thus. It is simply a song that I came up with while learning Chopin's Nocturne in F minor. I would play this when I got tired of practicing the Nocturne. That's really all I have to say about it.

SnorgTees Girl Competition

2010-09-20T22:32:00.002-04:00

Of my latest happenings, one of the more exciting is a modeling competition I've entered hosted by SnorgTees. They're looking for a new model and is open to all women/girls regardless of previous modeling experience. Well, I have a SnorgTees shirt and love it, so I figured 'What the hey? Free entry for cool prizes?? Yes, Please!!!!' I also want to buy more shirts but I'm a poor college student of the theatre, music and history departments... I have a bit stacked against me.

The winner is selected from a panel of judges and a separate competition is for the model with the most online votes. Both have really cool prizes, but the official judged part is what gets the photoshoot. If you feel like voting for me, you're welcome to! Just click the link below !!!

Explore Modeling - SnorgTees Girl: Amber Mendenhall

Thanks for reading!

Highschool Artwork: Paintings

2010-09-10T23:23:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I feel like there is nothing to blog about. Then, while being in a completely random place I find something to blog about. Today's topic is going to be part of my highschool artwork, Paintings. There are a few different types of paintings, watercolor, acrylic, etc. These were all done 2005-2008. I thought I would share them with you.

First ever watercolor painting
Beginning Art Class

I'm certainly not a "gifted" painter but I paint better than I can sculpt. So, when working with my paint I prefer to have a bit more control. Watercolor just gave me anxiety. Since we were getting graded on it, I had to have my painting perfect. It didn't come out that way and isn't even close to the rain forest photo I used for inspiration.

3D Painting
Beginning Art Class

I really enjoyed working with acrylic paints because I had more control. The above painting was a completely original composition, the only direction given was 3D. I instantly thought of a beautiful neck with some huge jewelry decorating it. I loved working with the chocolate tones. So warm and comforting. I used wood for the larger pieces, beads for the smaller, and the circles are from an 80's bracelet with spiraling copper wire. For some weird reason my canvas was cardboard and is now extremely bowed. :-\ And still, although not anatomically correct and missing some beads, this remains one of my favorite pieces.

"Chicken Dumplings"
Favorite Foods Challenge
Advanced Art

Terrorized Chickens.

My mother's favorite composition, "Chicken Dumplings" is from my junior year Advanced Art Class. Each quarter we were given a challenge, this one being Favorite Foods. I remember one person did a sculpture of Tacos (from Taco Johns) at war with McDonald's foods (background being that on one of our roads, the two restaurants are across from eachother). Everyone came up with some good ones. But back to my piece, it took me an hour to think up, compose and finish, the night before it was due. Felt tip pen and crayola watercolor paints (thank God my mom had daycare art supplies) and viola! A!!!

Wacky Sun
Advanced Art

This piece was out of boredom, and you can tell. It's got a lack of composition and the black is far too much of a contrast with the very pale, creamy, yellow of the sun. Done with acrylic, I like the reds and oranges and the dark red dots emphasizing my brushstrokes.

"Dream Flower"
Advanced Art

The "Dream Flower" was just that. I had a dream with this form in it and promptly sketched out the shape on the nearest piece of paper I could find. It ended up being a really neat piece. Acrylic paint and 2 weeks of class to finish.

"Henna Kokopelli"
Advanced Art

My favorite piece I ever did is my Indian henna inspired kokopelli. He took a great deal of time to do and I had to wittle down brushes to get a really fine line. Done in acrylic. This is the only picture I have of him, which is really unfortunate. I sold the painting to a teacher who has since moved and I have no way of contacting her for more pictures. I hope to recreate this painting so I have my own copy.

"Henna Chair"
Advanced Art

The best detail shot I could get

Although not a painting per se, but along the same lines, is my "Henna Chair". I was offered to use an old chair of my art teacher's for a project and was delighted. Done right after my Kokopelli I ran with the same designs. The original plan was to cover the chair entirely with the white details but the chair took 2 months to get as far as I did. My eyes were starting to go crossed by the end of the two months, so I decided to call it quits and hand 'er in. My teacher was pretty impressed (at least he seemed to be) and insisted that we enter the piece into an art competition and my chair went to finals! I didn't win anything, but saying that my piece made it to the state finals was pretty fun.

Haircut!!!

2010-09-10T00:22:00.000-04:00

This past week, on a kind of whim, I decided to cut my hair much shorter than normal. And I must say, I. LOVE. IT.

Didn't my mommy do a fabulous job?

My hair is rarely above mid back, normally falling right above the waistline of my pants. I've only had it cut "short" twice since I was little. It's amazing how free you feel after having 8 inches cut off. That's right, 8 inches. I swear, I weighed myself after the ordeal and I had lost 2 lbs. I don't know if it was actually the hair's weight or just my excitement prevented the scales from picking it up.

The most recent pic of my long hair.
(It was longer than this, but you get the idea)

2 lbs of hair.

I am in love with my haircut, if you couldn't tell. I also want to thank my mother for being creative and awesome enough to handle such a job, as I don't trust anyone to cut my ridiculously thick hair. Thanks mommy!

Sewing Room

2010-09-07T14:34:00.003-04:00

I have wonderful news!!! I have a functional sewing room!!! BOOYA!!

My parents are redoing our TV room and decided to get rid of the Entertainment Center. Upon looking at the large piece of furniture, we had a vision:

As you can see, this room does double duty as a music room, too

Viola! Sewing Center. It's very functional, as I have bins for most of my notions and fabrics while being within an arms reach. I don't even have to get up from my sewing chair to get them. I love being lazy.

The room is not yet decorated or painted, but I think I'm going to go with the color scheme of the bins I have.

And as the icing on the cake. I made some pretty filigree-ish labels for my bins. I have labels for different colors of fabric, different projects, and alterations. Of the labels, the "Patterns" label is my favorite. Maybe it's the scissors? I'm not sure. But I like it. C'est la vie :)

In Progress: Late 1790's Bodiced Petticoat

2010-09-02T23:51:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm not entirely sure that it's 1790's but the overall outfit will be. I started this project on Monday and have spent many many many hours in my sewing room trying to finish it so far. It is made out of a bedsheet from a hospital:

kinda spooky...

The sheet cost me $1.50 from a thrift store and had more than enough fabric to do the job. The bodice is a modified stays pattern, lined with the same bed sheet and is entirely hand-sewn. The skirt is attached only with pins at the moment...

Front Bodice


The best pic of the side I could get

It will have a waistband, to bring the bulk of the gathers down a bit, for a smaller waistline. I also didn't notice that the bodice of my petticoat is smaller than my stays until looking at the pictures for this post. :-/ Oh well I guess. Anywho, that's my progress!

Regency Short Stays, finished.

2010-08-25T22:46:00.004-04:00

I recently finished my short stays and I am pretty pleased! This is the first time I've only done an entire hand sewn garment. GO ME!

Pattern: It is a self drafted pattern based off of the Sense and Sensibility "Regency Underthings"
Fabrics: I have no clue what the outside fabric is, but it is like canvas. The binding is the same "canvas-y" fabric. They are lined with muslin.
Other Materials: 14 Zip-ties for boning, hand quilting thread
Time: Patterning, 20 min. Fitting the gussets, 2 1/2 hours. Sewing, MANY MANY HOURS. Binding, 6 hours.
Stitches: Mainly saddle stitches, except the binding.
Cost: $2 mystery fabric + $1 muslin + $1.50 thread + $2 zip ties= $6.50 total.

Here's some more pics and then I'll talk more about it.

Sorry again.

What I like:
It is amazingly comfortable. It is quite effective. It was a relatively fast project (if done by sewing machine). It was relatively easy, being my first run with gussets. It has a pretty back. Some of my stitches turned out fabulous, after I got the hang of it.
What I'm okay with:
It's an odd color of creme. There's some puckeryness around/on the gussets. Ironing took a while to navigate the zip-ties/bones.

What I would do different:
I would have used 3 layers of fabric, to prevent the puckery. Used a fabric that I could identify. I would have made it a little smaller. Make sure that the front was even (it goes slightly downhill on the right side).

What I'm going to do:
I plan to do some flossing on the stays in a light blue or just a white, but I'm still not sure how accurate that would be?

Some pretty stitches

Thanks for reading!

What to choose?

2010-08-10T02:37:00.000-04:00

So, I'm kind-of in limbo for the tea. We still have not set up a date for the Jane Austen Tea Party but I want to figure out which dress I'm going to choose? Here are are the possible ventures:

Danish gown from a Danish Museum :)

This dress is absolutely gorgeous. I would love to make it eventually but I'm not sure if I want it to be my first Regency gown or something more "normal"?

screencap from www.janeausten.info

I really like Marianne's dresses... ugh, decisions decisions...

Regency Short Stays, in progress

2010-08-05T19:05:00.003-04:00

A few of my friends and I have decided to have a Regency era Tea Party where we will all make our own outfits and wear them during the tea. On Monday I started on my ensemble, and this is how far I've gotten:

Sorry for the explicit nature of this picture.

I based them off of this picture on Flickr. They are completely hand-stitched, with muslin lining and zip-ties for boning. Pretty good for 3 days of work. I've yet to sew the straps, button holes and binding but I do plan on getting that done this weekend. I was also thinking about adding light blue flossing to make it a little prettier, but not sure how accurate that would be.

My initial goal was to get by with little-to-no boning, and thought that maybe cording would be better, but I found that without the boning it was far to flimsy. The diagonal bones under the bust really make a difference in the shape and support.

This was also my first run when it comes to gussets. They're actually not that hard! I was so surprised after finishing them. The hardest and longest part was the fitting to get the right shape.

I also decided to add some stability to the back of the stays to make it feel better and I think it adds a little more visual interest as well.

So about the flossing/embroidery, does anyone know when it start appearing on corsets/stays?

Boba Fett Amigurumi

2010-07-21T19:23:00.001-04:00

Hello all, I wanted to let you know that I am finally finished with Boba Fett. He is quite adorable, if I do say so myself, and wanted to share the pictures with you!

Boba's going to pop a cap.

Boba being headless, like his father before him.

MAN POSE

FREEZE.

Hellooo ladies, look at your man, now back to me...

And that, my friends, is my Boba Fett. Now, he's going to be more gadgety in the coming weeks (i'm going to add the jet-pack, arm blasters and a gun holster). Also, I'm going to officially write up the pattern to sell, so if you're interested, stay tuned.

Boba Fett in the Works

2010-07-12T14:20:00.000-04:00

In just a couple of days I will be finishing up one of my coolest creations yet. Boba Fett is his name, and awesome is his game. harharhar. Anywho, I've been working on him for a long time now; writing up the pattern as I'm going along. So here's what I have done so far!

The head is almost done, and his chestplate is not sewn on yet

The limbless Fett

And my most favorite part:

Jetpack.

The jetpack is a total of 17 pieces and took 3 full 8 hour days to make. But, it's pretty awesome.

I hope to finish in 2-3 days, Wish me luck!

A New Dress Form

2010-07-01T01:48:00.002-04:00

In an earlier post, I showed my Duct-Tape dress form I made of myself. The duct tape motif just isn't my style, so 2 days ago I decided I was going to cover it.

First I drew where I wanted the Seams to be

Then I patterned out the pieces

I got a little ambitious, and added a decorative stitch to all my seams :)

My sewing machine has a bunch of pretty stitches. So I decorated my dress form. Unfortunately it took FOREVER and had I skipped it, the project would've been done in a day. Sigh, my ambitious self couldn't help it. The extra stitching added a bunch of time and headache, but..... It's pretty stitching!

Sprayed with Adhesive and covered in batting

I used old quilt batting for the kushiness under the cover. I figured it would be much smoother than just polyester stuffing. Smooth? Yes. My size? No. :(

Finally I covered it

There she is.

To finish, I sewn all but the right side seam and I ended up whipstitching. Boy was that hard! I was constantly tugging at the fabric to make sure it was as snug as possible, but it ended up alright afterall

YAY!!!! I'm happy that I now have a working/useful dress form. There are, however, some things I would have done differently in hindsight;
1) I should have used a more heavy duty fabric
2) A slightly thinner batting would have been perfect.
3) The neck would be better in general
4) For the open parts (the armholes and neck opening) I would have instead of sewing the circles OVER the princess seam cover, I should have placed them under. It would have been a much prettier look.
5)The dress form is a size too big. I don't know how I could possibly fix it other than being extremely thin when you tape yourself.

Overall I'm happy that I got it done (on a whim even!) I also had my first real run-thru with Princess Seams. (yay me). Of the whole project, my favorite part was and is the redwork. It made me happy.

Now, after all my hard work, I have to name her. I have no clue. I was thinking perhaps Betsy or something along those lines? What do you think suits her?

The Alexander Tone Definites Tour Georgia, 2010

2010-06-30T02:00:00.002-04:00

This is ATD

I don't know why I have never mentioned this before? Silly Amber... but I have been a part of a choir program for my highschool for 5 years. It is a year round, audition based, after school program that performs all genres of music, from Jr high level music to college music, we do it all. We call ourselves the Alexander Tone Definites. I started my sophomore as just an Alto, but when Ken (the director) found out I had been playing piano for 7 years, he put me to work accompanying the group. I have been accompanying for 5, was the student director my senior year, and for the past 2 years (now going on year number 3!) I have been the Assistant Director.

Every year we fund-raise the heck out of everything and go on a trip as our big finale, with little to no charge (b/c we fundraised it all!). Our "tours", as we call them, have taken us to Canada, NYC, Indianapolis, Charleston SC, and Wash. DC. Some cool things we've done is workshopped and sang with the Cast of RENT, had a Concert with Cantus, and Sang the National Anthem for different kinds of sports events (to name a few NBA Indiana Pacers game, Minor league soccer games, a Lake Erie Monsters game, etc).

This year was special though. Our tour took us to Atlanta, Georgia to sing the National Anthem at an Major League Baseball, Atlanta Braves game!!! It was a really awesome experience.

The students really enjoyed it. I was proud of them too. :)

Other than the Braves game, we went to Asheville, North Carolina to see the Biltmore Estate. It was the most magnificent piece of architecture I've ever seen. It was so much more impressive than any cathedral I've been in, and any mansion you see on TV. If you ever have a chance, GO SEE IT. And be sure to take a tour to the basement, cuz that was the coolest part. The kids really seemed to be interested in it too.

Side View of Biltmore, with my chaperone group, and Mom (in the red)

We also went to the MLK Jr Historical Site... and where, we took a jump shot:

We went to the Museum of Coca Cola

We also went to the Oatland Wildlife Reserve, on a Savannah GA Ghost walk... AND.... a DOLPHIN CRUISE.

yep, that's a real dolphin.

Apart from just being tourists, we did sing a bit. We sang at 2 nursing homes while we were down there. At the first one, their piano bench was wayyyy too low for my 5'2'' self to be able to reach the keys effectively... So, in their Southern Hospitality, they kindly found me 8 phone books to sit on :)

8 phonebooks.

At the top, the first pic you see in this post, we're performing at a 3 story living community/nursing home. It was quite impressive. We also sang for the Captain and First Mate of the Dolphin Tour-boat.

performing, on a boat.

Singing to the Cap'n

We had a really great trip and we're looking forward to next year!

Alexander Tone Definites, 2009-2010

Finished Batik Project

2010-06-06T14:16:00.001-04:00

Woo! The final boiling process is done, and now I can submit my Batik for a grade. I'm not completely happy with how it turned out, but it's my first one so I guess I shouldn't be so picky. (if you've not seen the first part of this process and want to, click here )

While is was boiling, I was happy because the color was still dark

It ended up much lighter than I expected

I was hoping for a really rich, dark navy tone. I added peacock blue and a lot of black to the normal blue dyes, and it somehow ended up this light color. :(

The lines are far from perfect

But I'm really pleased with the brushstrokes and the scarf part. woo!

Civil War Day 2010

2010-06-05T00:37:00.001-04:00

Every year my 8th Grade teacher hosts a Civil War day for her students and I have been part of the festivities for the last 4 years. I normally teach on what life was like for those at home during the 1860's while some reenacting friends/classmates of mine teach on the battlefront aspect.We've had the local newspapers interview us before, but this year I finally got some pictures of us in action!

Matt and Dylan

Matt and Dylan talking to the students about loading the gun

The "Reenactment"

The "Charge"

My portion starts out with some facts about how people lived and whatnot, then I got to the fun part, which was dressing the girls up in the outfits. I dressed the volunteer with all the layers and let them wear the skirt I made a while back. They seemed to really enjoy it.

There's a petticoat after this, but is no picture of it D:

The Whole Get-up

It's a really fun thing to do, and I hope to do it for many years to come. I just need to get more hoops, skirts and corsets so I can have an army of 1860's gals. YAY

A trip to D.C.

2010-06-03T16:28:00.001-04:00

My boyfriend's parents decided to go on a "family" trip to Washington D.C. I've never been there before and had a pretty grand time. Here are some pictures to document it

The things that boy does for me :)

A very small corset that I plan to recreate

Helen Taft's Inaugural Gown... gorgeous.

An early Mary Todd Lincoln gown

C3-P0 from Return of the Jedi :)

Flowers from the Botanical Gardens

Devin being all cute

Me in an "Artsy" pic... and squooshed face

His only picture with a real smile... and giving me bunny-ears.

I hope to go back for a longer trip and do some more sightseeing. If any of you have suggestions of things to see, please let me know!

Cloning Oneself

2010-05-26T23:38:00.001-04:00

Another project I have been working on is a clone-dress form. I think I made it a wee bit too complicated, but I can show you what I did.

Materials so far:
2 rolls of duct tape
1 Cheap segmented floor lamp ( I got mine for $10 at Oddlots)
6 canisters of insulation foam (buying a bunch of polyurethane foam would probably be cheaper)
1 old shirt
2 pieces of wood
1 empty toilet paper roll (jut the cardboard middle)

To start, I covered myself in duct tape, with the help of this tutorial.

This is an earlier dress form of me in a corset.

After my mom cut the duct tape off me, we made an internal structure to support the dress form's shoulders and to help it stand straight. The T is two pieces of wood drilled in a T. The tall part was drilled out in the center and a segment from the lamp is glued into the hole. The T went inside the duct tape shell with the top of the T in the shoulders and the insulation foam is sprayed in to keep it secure. It was really hard to make sure that the T didn't stray from the center. Since the T is meant to screw onto the stand it needs to be as straight as you can make it.

The foam had to be done in sections to fill everything out. Before I did the final foaming, I added the TP roll (picture below). After the foam finally dried I traced the bottom of the form onto some cardboard, cut a hole for the toilet paper roll then duct taped it all in place.

I taped the TP roll to the lamp segment then filled it the rest of the way with foam.

The form is slightly bigger than I am b/c I've lost a little weight since the taping. But a little extra room can't hurt! lol

That's what I've done so far. I plan to cover it with some batting and muslin when I get a chance. But until classes are over, it must be put on hold.

Batiking process

2010-05-25T23:15:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a batik wall-tapestry thing for my Painting and Dyeing Fabrics class. We were allowed to choose really anything we think we could accomplish. I chose a wall-hanging in shades of blue.

For those of you who are not familiar with Batik, it is a process of layer-dyeing fabric with a "resist" that prevents the dye from getting to the fabric. For Batik the resist is a wax that is applied to the fabric with a brush or tjanting. I used a mix of paraffin and bee's wax that's available at Dharma Trading Company.

To start I sketched my picture onto the fabric then treated it with a soda ash/water solution (to help the fabric take the dye) and is stretched onto a frame after it has dried. Next, I added the wax to the places that need to be white. I used the tjanting (a heated pen-like tool that enables for smaller, finer lines of resist)

Now that there is ample resist, the first light layer of dye is added. Another layer of wax is added once the dye is dry.

The last dyeing is a very dark indigo. In order to make sure that the color stays dark, we were told to cover the wet-dyed fabric with plastic wrap. All I could find was a trashbag, so that's what I used.

When I finally got to this point I realized I was covered in blue dye. I have blue splashes on my shoulder, stripes on my arm and my fingertips were completely blue. I guess it's good to I look like I was doing something artsy, eh?

There are a few more steps yet to get this project to it's final stage. I will keep ya posted on what's to come!

The New Kid in Town

2010-05-25T20:30:00.001-04:00

Virgil is now a daddy of 6. There were 3 boys and 3 girls. All the girls being parti-colored Salt and Pepper, and the boys, one parti-color salt and pepper and two mini-Virgils. Since he is the papa, I got the pick of the litter. I have always found the smallest runts and most pathetic looking pups are quite simply the cutest. So, I picked the runt. :) They are all now 7 1/2 weeks old.

We have yet to name her, since we are unsure if we will keep her or not (My parents say that we will avidly try to find a home for her, and if we cannot, we will keep her)

My mom looking all adorable :)


The First Haircut!

Virgil and his daughter

What would you name her if you could keep her? I like Josefine or Elsa.

Painting and Dyeing Fabrics Class

2010-05-22T16:10:00.000-04:00

In one of my classes we are learning different techniques regarding changing fabrics colors/patterns/etc. I have so far, learned how to do:
            1) Hot Process Dyeing (and color matching)
            2) Stamp making
            3) Stencil making
4) Screen Printing

Here are my finished projects


Who is your daddy?

The above image will be on a shirt very soon. I've wanted a shirt with this image on it since I was 14 and I can finally have it! YAY!! I was able to freehand this by looking at a photo of Darth Vader by only drawing the negative space (what would eventually be white in the stamp). I believe it turned out pretty alright ;)

This is my stenciling. The original design was a Slipper Pattern from Peterson's Magazine, 1864. I repeated the pattern to make a pretty border. Here's the original image of the slipper image:

The latest thing I've done is screen printing. I decided to do another image from Peterson's Magazine. I chose a fashion plate, that I find gorgeous.

My version ended up being this:

Hopefully soon, it'll be on a shirt too! I really like this image.

My next project for the class is batiking. I found a really pretty batik wall hanging picture that I'm going to try to recreate. It should be done next week. We'll see how it turns out :)

Finished Boba Fett Helmet

2010-05-20T01:41:00.007-04:00

a serious pic i suppose?

It's finally here! The finished Boba Fett helmet....I totally got an A on this project :)

And now....... process pics!
*Before this pic was taken I had done the following to get it there:

1) Cut from foam 6 ovals, glued them together, finished carving to get the mold correct

2) Fiber-Glassed the whole thing with Aqua-Resin

3) Cut the cheek-indent things with a jigsaw (SCARY), inverted and reinserted them

Et Voila!

I then finished the T with the jigsaw, added foam to the front and band around, added bendy-plywood to the sides, then rigged an old computer speaker to make the sight adjustable.

Then added paint primer:

For the next step, I found the most amazing color of spray paint for the helm... Italian Olive Green. Next was the burgundy to the front

then the details! (my favorite part) I specifically made it a 'pre-Empire Strikes Back' Boba Fett helm. There is no dent in the helmet, and not all of his battle scars are there, I wanted it that way :)

and now, my vanity shots:

Man-Pose

and a cheesy smile!

...peace...

Sexy-Gun-Pose

Sorry for the Delay,

2010-05-13T13:27:00.000-04:00

I have been without internet for quite some time (about a month) and we aren't exactly sure how long it will be until we get it back again. It seems I have a lot more thing to blog about when I don't have internet than when I do!

At the moment I don't have enough time to post anything but I'll give you a few pictures to give a taste of what's to come. Enjoy!

And there's a lot more where that came from!

Patterning and Props

2010-03-20T19:13:00.000-04:00

I just reached the end of Winter Quarter and I'm now on Spring Break. I'm kind of sad because I really enjoyed my classes, but I get to share with you some of the things I did last quarter! YAY!

First off, I took a Apparel Patterning class. The goal of this class is to eventually be able to look at a picture and come up with accurate and sew-able patterns for any outfit. We learned how to drape and flat pattern. I'm so thankful to have formal instruction on these techniques. Our final project was to choose 2 of 4 dresses to pattern out and mock up in half scale. I chose these two:

Using a mix of draping and flat patterning, I was able to create these half-scale (think big doll sizes) dresses which are really cute:

I was pretty proud of myself since I managed to make these just by looking at the pictures. Unfortunately I had forgotten to put pockets on the 1952 dress :( I think it would have been much cuter with the pockets.

The other class is Theatre Props Techniques. Earlier I had made a Leather Mask, it was a really cool experience. The 2nd project was to be either Millinery, Felt Armor or a Fiber-Glass Helmet. The Millinery spots were taken within a few minutes :'( so I decided to do a Star Wars Project, naturally. Now I'm working on a Boba Fett/Mandalorian Helmet (if you don't know what that is, click this link). Our instructor wasn't in for the first week, which spurred us all into lateness getting our helmets done. But because of this he told me to take an Incomplete so that I may finish it nicely. He didn't want me to rush and compromise the quality, as I was "doing very well" so far. So here is my progress:

The helmet is made from Fiber-Glass and Aqua-Resin. I still have to cut out the rest of the T, paint and add some finishing trinkets to make it look it's best. I have 6 more weeks to finish it, so I'm excited to get it done!

SPRING AT LAST!

2010-03-20T17:55:00.001-04:00

I cannot tell you how wonderful it is now that the cold has finally subsided. It's currently in the high 60's, which feels like a heat wave compared to the below-freezing temperatures we had not two weeks ago. At the moment you can wear whatever you want to and you'll be fine (unless you're naked of course). Because of the fabulous weather, my mom and I went into town for a few things, and came back with.....

CHICKIES!!!!

My mom's chickens are getting older, so they're aren't as productive in their egg laying. We purchased 8 chickies, 3 Silver Laced Wyandots, 2 Road Island Reds, and 3 Black Sex-Link Chickens. We're pretty excited. My mom wants to get some Bantams soon, but we have to wait until the farm stores get them in. I also took some pictures of our other animals today, since it was so nice. I hope you enjoy the pics!

Chickens!

Princess and Joel

Joel sniffin my camera

Emma being the sweet and adorable goat she is

Finished Leather Mask

2010-03-11T15:08:00.000-05:00

I finally got some pictures of my leather mask I made for a prop's class I'm taking. The spirally thingies are millinery wire painted gold. If you want to see some of the process CLICK HERE

Cabled Scarfelette Pattern

2010-02-21T22:59:00.003-05:00

This is a pattern I came up with while making my mom and her friends Christmas presents. A Scarfellette is a small scarf that is buttoned. It requires less yarn than a long scarf and is relatively quick to make up. Estimate about 4-5 hours.

KEY:
Chain= ch
Half-Double Crochet= hdc
Treble Crochet= tc
Front-Post Treble Crochet= ftc

Hook used: G (4.25)

NOTES BEFORE STARTING
~ftc's will always be connected to previous ftc (2 rows down, previously made) except in row 5
~the term over-cable is the set of 2 ftc's that are most visible/forward; while under-cable means the set of 2 ftc's that you cannot see (they are under the over-cables)
~Row 3 is basically an area for button holes, test your buttons to ensure fit.
~Row 5 and 7 will not equal 18 stitches, this is okay. Simply skip 2 stitches (in the middle of Row 6 and 4 stitches in Row 8 to equal 18. {{Some have commented that they did not run into this problem}}
~This pattern can be repeated to create a full length scarf; repeat Rows 5-8 then end with Rows 4, 3, 2, 1.

Cabled Scarfelette:
Row 1: ch 19
Row 2: hdc 18, ch 2
Row 3: tc (in back) 18, ch 1
Row 4: hdc (in front) 18, ch 1
Row 5: hdc 2, ftc 1, hdc 2,( SKIP 2 STITCHES and ftc 2, then ftc 2 in SKIPPED STITCHES underneath previous ftc)*2, hdc 2, ftc 1, hdc 2, ch 1
Row 6: hdc 18, ch 1
Row 7: hdc 2, ftc 1, hdc 3, ftc 2 in over-cable, hdc 1, ftc in next over-cable, ftc 2 in previous under-cable, hdc 1, ftc 2 in last under-cable, hdc 3, ftc 2, hdc 2, ch 1
Row 8: hdc 18, ch 1
REPEAT ROWS 5-8 until scarfelette is 2 feet long

Sew in buttons on 1 side of the tail end 2 1/2 inches apart

If you have ANY problems with this pattern working out, let me know! I would like to make it as user friendly as possible :)

** Please feel free to make this project for gifts, but

PLEASE DO NOT SELL

the finished item or pattern. If you choose to pass along this pattern, link my blog!**

General Grievous

2010-02-13T18:17:00.003-05:00

I recently finished my General Grievous. His body is completely crocheted, with a sewn cape. He is very large, about 3 feet tall. I couldn't get all of him in the pictures, so just know he's much bigger than what the pics show. His arms and legs have wire in them, so he is fully pose-able. Enjoy! :)

The original:

My version^^

De-caped...

There ya have it! My next project shall be Boba Fett. I'm uber excited!!!!!

SNOW!!!!

2010-02-13T13:24:00.002-05:00

If you haven't heard, The eastern coast of the US got pummeled with snow. We got a little more than 8 inches. O.O We've not had a now like this in a long-o time.

Isn't this a pretty picture? The sky was nice to me.

An 18th Century Wig perhaps?

Mom's goats not-really-enjoying the snow

The Deer in the snow...

Virgil in the snow...

More snow....

And we're getting more snow as I type. UGH. I'm about sick of it now! At least it's pretty right?

Living History

2010-02-03T23:42:00.001-05:00

I've decided to post an old, but relevant video. This is of some fellow reenactors and I at our local junior high school, teaching about the Civil War. The boys and I have been participating in this for over 5 years and enjoy every moment of it. Also in this video is my most favorite teacher, Mrs. Redefer. Without her I would have never found my passion for history. Enjoy!

Leather Working, Props class

2010-02-02T23:50:00.002-05:00

I have been avidly working on my newest project, which needs to be fully finished by Monday for a grade. I am working on a leather mask for my Theatre Props class. I'm actually baffled by how easy it is, it's just VERY time consuming. Here's what I hope my mask will end up looking like:

The inspiration for this was from a Venetian Mask website I really, really, really, really love this mask.

I decided to make it a half mask as it uses less materials and is easier to wear.... As for the process, the leather has to be soaked and wrung it out many times. When it finally feels like a slimy tongue it's ready to go. After the soaking you have to drape it over the form and lace it tight so it won't move for further shaping:

After you have pressed and smashed the leather to the desired shape all you can for 1-3 hours (and by this time your hands and forearms are begging to stop) the leather can then dry overnight. After the drying there are even more lovely, time consuming things that need to be done, which shall be in the next post. When it's all dry and shined it looks like this:

I find this to be a very, very creepy mask at the moment. It looks like a lobbed off a mummy face!

In other, less scary pictures, I'm going to show off the 2 hats I made over the winter break. They are both crochet and are basically the same and I want to make more of them!

Well, that's all I have for now! Have A Wonderfully Blessed Day!!!!

Music, Corsets and Star Wars

Hello again, friends!

Weddingy things.

Welcome, Ms White.

The Hat

A visit from the 'rents

100 years of fashion in London

Museum Adventures

A really old wedding gown...

Bedgowns and Petticoats

Bad News Bears.

Update!

Hoop!

Under the Redcoat 2011

Internship Beginnings

Ophelia Bodice: finished

The Queen of Tucks

Project: Progress

Beading!

Final Project: 19-teens "Ophelia" Gown Bodice

What the veil?!

Regency Dress progress

Meet the Future Mrs. Brooks!

I'm in a BOOK!!!

Early Regency Dress, start-up

Randomness.

BIG NEWS!

Darth Maul Amigurumi progress

BIRTHDAY APRON!

Ouchies

Belated Valentine's Day post

Boba Fett Amigurumi Pattern

Stash Hats

Guess what I'm playing?

Bodiced Petticoat: Finished.

Rebel Symbol Scarf

Christmas 2010!!!!

Lawn Dress

Devil in a blue... I mean RED dress. Oh nevermind

*insert HUGE sigh of relief*

Almost..... therrre.....

Latest Happenings

Star Wars Amigurumi Patterns

Halloween 2010

Running in the Rain

Presenting....

Ohio Renaissance Festival, 2010

*Sigh*

Me Playing Piano!

SnorgTees Girl Competition

Highschool Artwork: Paintings

Haircut!!!

Sewing Room

In Progress: Late 1790's Bodiced Petticoat

Regency Short Stays, finished.

What to choose?

Regency Short Stays, in progress

Boba Fett Amigurumi

Boba Fett in the Works

A New Dress Form

The Alexander Tone Definites Tour Georgia, 2010

Finished Batik Project

Civil War Day 2010

A trip to D.C.

Cloning Oneself

Batiking process

The New Kid in Town

Painting and Dyeing Fabrics Class

Finished Boba Fett Helmet

Sorry for the Delay,

Patterning and Props

SPRING AT LAST!

Finished Leather Mask

Cabled Scarfelette Pattern

General Grievous

SNOW!!!!

Living History

Leather Working, Props class

insert HUGE sigh of relief

Sigh