Cutting and Fitting

I made the toile for the bodice of the Downton Abbey Dress.  The fit is nice, but may need some refinements before I am totally done.  I then started the long, laborious process of cutting out the lining, dress, and overlay yesterday.  We were so busy today with other projects that I did not get to sew.  But here is the bodice fabric with the curtain material laid over it.  I was checking to see how I wanted the overlay pattern to lay on the fabric:

The Downton Abbey Dress

I have a tea event coming up in a week and a half.  I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with an idea for an historical reproduction dress to wear for it.  I wanted something reminiscent of the costumes in the series Downton Abbey (gorgeous costumes).  I already had a net overlay with a scalloped hem (actually it is an embroidered  net curtain I found on sale at a home store years ago, saving for an occasion such as this!).  I perused my pattern stash, found two gowns that were really appropriate, but too much trouble as far as making complex toiles (samples of the dress or bodice in scrap fabric to check fit - always a good idea, and will be done for the gown I ended up picking as well), and probably taking loads of time that I do not have.  I finally settled on Laughing Moon # 104, 1909-1913 Day or Evening Dress.  It is not a hard pattern, and I will make a few small changes to suit me.  Today I went to Joann's.  I was originally thinking of a gold fabric to go under the overlay, but then I found this celery green fabric that looks gorgeous underneath it.  I also got a small amount of rose colored fabric for a sash.  

I washed my lining muslin, and began the tedious task of tracing out the pattern in my size on Bosal Create-a-Pattern.  Tomorrow I will make my first toile of the bodice.  Since the bodice is not tightly fitted, it should be an easy task (I hope).  I am so excited about this dress!

Playing on Lyn's Harp

As I work on two new, difficult pieces, I went to a lesson with my long time harp teacher, Lyn.  She owns a harp that I greatly admire.  After the lesson, she was looking at my cell phone, and decided it would be a great time to take a picture of me (not!).  If I had known, I would have dressed up.  But the harp is definitely ready for its close-up:

A Lily in the Evening

At a recent trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, we saw (and smelled!) this lovely lily:

Scenes of Summer

I had friends over for an afternoon of Mah Jong.  I wanted to have a pretty tableau.  Kristin and I went to Fresh Market for food, and found summery yellow flowers and sun-kissed peaches.  Kristin especially liked the look of the Doughnut Peaches.  The table was pretty, the food yummy, the game fun, and the company was delightful!

Corset Cover Completed Embroidery

Here is the machine-embroidery for the corset cover front, all completed and pressed.  Of course, it doesn't look like much now, as the fronts are mostly shapeless due to needing extra fabric around the edges in order to do the scalloped edging.  The actual sewing on this project doesn't concern me, even the tucks and whatnot.  It's the scallops and the buttonholes at the neck for the ribbon to pass through that have me nervous!

A Style for Long Hair

I wanted to post a new hairstyle I tried recently.  It is like a "Heidi Braid" (crown braid), but without the difficulty of doing what is basically a French braid all around the head.  For this one I braided the hair, angling it off to the side for easier wrapping, then circled it around my head and bobby-pinned it into place.  Add floral embellishment as desired.