When last we spoke, I was in the middle of making a silk bodice. In the time since I wrote that post and now, I have gotten a new job, and moved halfway across the state, which puts a major cramp in sewing. The plus side is that my new room (I work in a dormitory of a boarding school, so I only have a room to call my own) has four closets. One of them was immediately claimed as the Sewing Closet and has all my things lovingly contained. But moving and starting a new job really just has a way of putting a damper on everything.
But I did get the silk bodice done! There was a hairy part that involved the piping - I think some of the bias strips were not really cut on the bias, leading to this awful wrinkly/puckering thing that required way more time spent on the piping than ought to be. The final result was just amazing - the bodice pattern fits me so well, the friend who helped me drape it is truly a genius!
I suppose pictures are in order....
This is me at Fort Snelling's Civil War Weekend - the day the bodice debuted. Obviously, not a great shot of the bodice, but a lovely shot of me! You can also see the trim on the sleeves really well.
Boy, I really am not photogenic. This is me and a friend - she happened to show up and of course we had to get a picture together! The bonnet ties are hiding the bodice, but you get the idea.
Once again proving that I am not photogenic, here is my dagguerotype from the event. I really do look like Miss Grimm. Use this photo to scare small children and animals. It was overexposed as well - still looks pretty cool!The terrible part is that at some point during the event, I got some mysterious oily stain on the skirt. Thankfully, it is only on one panel, and hardly visible at all (and seems to be fading with time) and I also happen to have an extra couple yards of silk, so if worse comes to worse, I can do a new panel, or even just sew a patch over the stain. I like to think it contributes to my "poor governess" look. That is definitely the last time I wear the silk to a fort or such hard-wearing conditions, however.
This winter, I made some amazing fabric purchases. I found some lovely sheer cotton on sale at Joanns for extremely cheap, so I have a couple pieces of that. I didn't need any new fabric...but then the Mill End Textiles outlet in our neighborhood decided to liquidate. And I just couldn't say no to these....
Aren't they adorable?! The first one I got for $1.89. They told me there were 6 yards on the bolt and charged me accordingly...and then I went home and measured it. There were actually 7 and a half! Being that I'm tall, I need at least 7 yards for a dress (six and a half if I'm piecing) so that will be plenty.
The second fabric was a bit more costly at $2.99 a yard, but I am going to make it into a wrapper, I think. The grey and pink will come first, however.
But first of all - my parents bought me some lovely wool fabric for my birthday present! It is a dark grey with a large black windowpane check pattern. I will post about that soon. But now, it is very, very late...
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