A necessary break

Work, life, relationship, moving, travel, and so much more.

There have been many things keeping me from my lovely blog. BUT, I am back, feeling refreshed and ready to think, share, and type.

I've accomplished quite a few things in the past months. I'll highlight my favorite here.

I was inspired and challenged to recreate a Han dynasty article of clothing called a shen-yi. It is a crossover dress that wraps around the body numerous times. It has beautiful lines, and was a NIGHTMARE to draft patterns of.

note: while i like to link to wiki - my resources for the history and construction of this garment include MANY books and websites including:

Smith, Bradley and Weng, Wan-go. China: A History in Art. Doubleday & Company, 1976.

Vainker, Shelagh. Chinese Silk: A Cultural History. New Brunswick: The British Museum Press, 2004.

Xun, Zhao and Chunming, Gao. 5000 Years of Chinese Costumes. San Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, 1987.

Yingchun, Zang. Chinese Traditional Costumes and Ornaments. China Intercontinental Press, 2003

So, I started with the patterning. I had been given a digital pattern for the garment a long time ago. It was found posted on a Hanfu forum website. It was a good pattern, with one huge problem: all the annotation was in Chinese. I spent months and months doodling on it, turning it in different directions, trying to understand the cuts, the grainlines, and how the pieces went together to make the form.

then one day it came to me. truly. it just clicked. I doodled in my notebook, re-checked my measurements, pulled out my drafting paper, and it was ON!



I did all this work, then pulled my fabric. I cut, did a loose fitting, then had to re-cut. For some reason a couple of areas were just really loose or baggy or didn't fit quite right. I thought I had it down, so I started serging pieces together. I had the whole thing together (with edges unfinished) and tried it on. It fit weird. The neckline was HUGE and the angle of the cross accross the chest was too much, making the whole front hang badly.

i took it apart. i cut and serged and trimmed. I cut the sleeves off the top to cut in shoulder seams - so I could take it in more and make it fit better.

Once I had it fitted well I had to decide how I was going to do all the trim. It was hundreds of inches of trim. I decided to just use the reverse of the fabric. It was done in period, and looked great. In the end, I decided that the only way to make the trim lay correctly and have the whole garment look good would be to HAND STITCH the whole trim and hem.

it hurt to do. but i did it!



there it is laid out on my living room rug.

this garment was an intense project. In the end, there are quite a few things I'd do differently. I haven't cut up my paper pattern yet, because I want to manipulate it again so that it will be perfect. Next time, I'm making one for my man - because he doesn't have hips or boobs - those things complicated the whole process!



me at March 2008 Outlands crown list.

oh dear, how the time has passed

i had such good intentions with this blog...and I am not a quitter!

I have made quite a few crafting accomplishments over the past year, and I may go back and document a few of them, but mostly I'll move forward from here to establish what I'm currently doing.

Mostly, in the past few months, I've been getting acclimated to my new home - Albuquerque, NM. But in my new job I've been able to do some fun stuff:

This is a tablescape I did for an event at work on Halloween. I had so much fun with it.

I've also been cooking and baking up a storm. I was inspired by Alton Brown in one of the many food network holiday shows in December and cooked up these little devils:

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies. Absolutely decadent.

I'm in full force preparations for the annual SCA Estrella war. This means, a few new outfits, some fixing of old outfits, and a new banner for ME this time! We moved into a new place in downtown Albuquerque 2 days before Christmas, and the day we moved in I got my letter from the Atenveldt heralds that my device was passed - after over two years of trials, tribulations, and resubmissions. This is quite a relief! and I LOVE my device. I am truly pleased with the outcome.

So, I'm working on a silk painted banner that will only be approximately 22 inches wide by 34 inches tall. not huge, but big enough. The big difference is that I've ordered a few different shades of dye-na-flow colors from Dharma to really make it nice and give it more layers and depth of color. I'm VERY EXCITED. Today I spent quite a few hours perfecting the central design - a koi fish. And then decided on turning an SCA blazon of a "wavy bordure" into something more appropriate to my Chinese persona by utilizing the beauty of the Qing and Manchurian water/wave patterns as my border. It's going to be SO AWESOME.

at least i accomplished something!

in between battling a monstrous migraine this weekend I actually managed to get something done!

I got 5 different articles of clothing cut out for D for Estrella - which only comprises 2 outfits. But, it puts me so much farther in my process!

I'm very happy about this.

One of the outfits is a shaolin monk. It includes a new white cotton underrobe, orange linen crossover & "shants", and a brown cotton overrobe. Very Zen. :)

The other is another creation from the gorgeous silks that my mistress bought for me in China. The underrobe is a basic crossover with bell sleeves made of this brown silk that has a beautiful "chinese coin" detailing in it. And the over robe is a sleeveless crossover that is beige in base, with big embroidered medallions of dragons and such.

So, my goal is to get both of these outfits sewn this week, and then next weekend I can get D's last outfit and my outfit cut out, then sewn next week!

If I actually pull this off - I will be in SUCH good shape!

a busy little bee is me

SOOOO - the countdown to Estrella War is here, and I'm strangely calm. I've got one outfit done, another cut out, and am doing other little tasks in the interim.

First - the completed outfit. My SCA mistress did me the kindness of buying me and D countless yards of beautiful silks and actual silk brocades (as opposed to the polyester american imitations). This amazing treasure of fabric is being used to make a number of beautiful things, the first of which was a new Tang crossover for D - which he wanted before 12th Night last weekend. The result was:

D is the cute boy on the left wearing his new red & gold Tang crossover. (as an aside - 12th night was a "masked ball" and the boys felt the need to make it a little more lively, hence the lucha masks - LOL)

I still need to finish making his belt that goes with the outfit. BUT, I have to say that there was a DISTINCT and OBVIOUS difference in sewing the chinese silk vs. the american cousin. It sewed so easily and beautifully. I have adapted my sewing style to accomodate US brocades and how they twist & fray - but NOT THIS STUFF! It is heavenly. I need another friend to go to china and buy me $300 worth of fabric!

One of my other Estrella tasks is to make a banner for the top of the NEW PAVILION THAT WE BOUGHT! (SQUEEE!) The friends we bought it from gave us all of their finnials to go atop each pole, and red pennant banners for all of them. But I thought that the one on the very top should be different - more individualized.

So - again I'm silk painting golden monkeys! Being that this banner is only roughly 10 inches tall, but a very long pennant - I decided to spend $1.30 and get the largest needlepoint circle I could find. It has been MUCH easier to paint (compared to the monstrous thing I already made). I've already done the monkey - the body of the banner is red, but I'll probably do golden yellow edges. I'm very proud, and I hope it looks rockin on the pavilion.

OK, THEN my INSANE self found these fabulous beading kits on clearance at Michael's, and I've already blown through 2 of them, with one more to go...

THE KIT

THE EARRINGS

THE SET

See - I'm insane. Yet, doing all this has kept me busy, and kept my mind calm.

I have tons more to do, and will do my best to keep posting my processes and the fruits of my labor.

a project for everyday

I've been thinking for a while about making myself an "Arizona-friendly" pantsuit for my 8-5 corporate life. I found 2 simple patterns a while back, and decided that the way I would make the outfit AZ friendly would be by using lighter fabrics that would breathe better in the desert air. I chose a nice weight of good quality black linen (and then let the fabric & patterns sit in my sewing room for a couple of months!).

tonight I took initiative and cut out both my sport coat & capri pants. the proof is in the pile!:


in the end the pants are only 2 fronts, 2 backs, and waist lining = pretty simple:

I really like this pattern. It is really versatile, and extremely simple. It came with a lot of different looks/pieces - and leaves me with a lot of room for artistic individuality.

the coat, on the other hand, will be a little more challenging - only because (as usual) I have my own idea of a creative alternative to the contruction, which makes using part of the pattern a little complicated, but it will turn out! I promise!


see, pretty simple! I'm actually doing view C, and I probably won't even bother with the fake pocket flap either. the change I am making in the pattern is that I want to do a cute/colorful lining with a contrasting textured fabric. since the outside of the coat is going to be black linen, I was thinking it would be super cute to have the inside be some of of pink polka dotted satin - or something with equivalent cute-factor.

my theory is that then I can put the whole outfit together with pretty pink camisoles or pressed shirts, and if my jacket opens for some reason, there will be that little accent of flair or flavor.

I don't know, maybe I'm just making more work for myself...

we'll see!

one step forward 2 steps back

being so tired this week has set me back a little bit, but not too bad.

my dress & belt are completely done. my overcoat, however, needs all the trim. 280 inches of 6 inch wide trim - to be exact! it's really not that bad. I have learned over time that my 6 inch wide by 24 inch long clear acrylic quilters ruler is my very best friend when it comes to measuring and cutting trim. So, my sewing machine is coming with me to Flagstaff tonight and i'll be finishing up this little project in the hotel room tonight.

then, once I get back from flagstaff - I can finish up my flemish dress!

a hard days night

I left work today and immediately went to put another coat of dye on the banner.

then, after dinner and brief relaxing I got to work! I was able to complete the green dress, and am 85% done with the fat belt. I still have to quilt in the lining (i'm using a stiff thick quilters lining to make sure the belt doesn't cave in on my waist and stays nice & stiff!), then it's just the hidden clasps that I am putting on it.

soooo, here are pics!

The dress, underneath the fat belt AND my chinese knotwork belt that will be worn on top of the fat belt and hang down a bit.
























a close-up of the knotwork that made me feel a bit cross-eyed trying to do...lol.






















that is it for my sewing/crafting adventures tonight. I was going to wax my brows (which I have decided is a craft unto itself!), but I'm just too tired.

tomorrow night I finish the belt, make the sheer overcoat, and wash the banner.

and maybe wax the brows & dye my hair....ha!

happy crafting!

it's not easy being green v.2.0! better! faster!

so, contrary to my last post - I finished filling in my banner design with the first round of dye-na-flow paints on sunday afternoon/evening. I was worried that I had to let the gutta rest for 24 hours before painting, but apparently 45 minutes is long enough, and I had already waited about 2 hours.

The yellow filled in beautifully, but the red I'm a little worried about. you can see my paint streaks, and i'm concerned that they won't wash or fade out. I'm going to go in for a 2nd coat to make sure the color is bright, and hopefully I can counteract the paintlines with the 2nd coat.

last night I cut out my Tang dress out of a beautiful green cotton gauze, and I finally found my overcoat fabric at Joann's. for once - something I needed WASN'T on sale, so I was actually able to use one of those 50% off coupons they send twice a month via mail & email. It worked out well too, because the sheer fabric I am using was like $11 a yard before my coupon...and I needed 4 yards!

I also found a new & exciting fabric - polyester shantung. It is a faux duponi silk that is actually a washable polyester. I bought a yard and a half of it to use as trim & such on my belt, and am excited to see how it turns out! if so, that is a MUCH cheaper alternative for duponi! It has obvious right & wrong sides, and isn't quite as nice feeling as duponi - but it's really not that bad. and the color selection was FANTASTIC! they had a shade of orange that the boy would LOVE - I had to restrain myself from just buying it to buy it.

I also bought some green cording and made a chinese knotwork belt last night! i was laughing at myself because the intructions for the various knotwork patterns that I had to work off of wasn't very helpful, and I kept getting "tied up". lol. but I got a beautiful knot made and turned it into an adjustable belt for my tang piece.

anywho, tonight there will be no crafting, as I have tickets to see Wicked. (!!!)

more tomorrow!

pics of projects

up a little late with an upset stomach, so I figured it'd be a good time to load up pics of 3 of my complete projects from last week.

1. Chinese Hair sticks.

This was a fun thing to make. I was inspired by a beautiful brocade fabric that I bought to make myself a new Tang dynasty chinese costume for the upcoming crown tournament, mixed with the fact that I have recently apprenticed to a wonderful laurel in my kingdom - allowing me to wear a green (and yellow) belt. In the end the outfit will feature a green dress, chinese "fat belt" made of the brocade, green belt tie, yellow chinese knotwork tie, and a sheer yellow overcoat with brocade trim.

the fabric inspiration:









the hairsticks:









2. Fabric Box

I LOVED learning how to do this. This is such a simple sewing craft that, truly, anyone can do. It is just simply different geometrical shapes of fabric, sandwiched around a thick piece of double sided fusible interfacing of the same shape.

the whole box. Isn't the fabric AWESOME!








the inside, matching the top. as I was satin stiching the edges of the base I realized that I had fringe laying around and thought it would look really good - so I did it, and am sooo happy about the results!





the inside of the lid - shows the contrasting fabric that is the outside of the bottom as well. such a great project!














3. My newest asian inspired dress.

this is the dress that caused me to rant about 5/8 seams. since I already went over my mental processes over this piece, I'll just glow over the pics :).

the whole dress. the waistband turns into ties in the back - so it has the illusion of being perfectly fitted when worn, but in reality goes on much like a tunic. but it is really fun to have this big bow & fabric ribbons hanging above your butt - it is such a feminine dress.











a close-up of the bodice, sleeve, pleating, & belt/waistband. and how freaking gorgeous is that fabric?! It is a cotton I found in the quilting section of joann's, and just couldn't stand the thought of someone just using this gorgeous print for a freaking blanket! I was worried it would be too much, too bright, too busy...

but once it's on - it just works. it's really pretty.









so - there ya go!

happy crafting!

runs with scissors

So - last night I stayed up until roughly 2am making a completely new dress - from start to finish in 5 hours. It is this great McCalls pattern (pictured) that I have been coveting for a few weeks.

I found a fabric that is oh so very asian, accented in pink & forrest green.

(pictures will come once my digital camera returns safely from Pennsylvania with my boyfriend btw)

Interesting things I learned from this particular project -

Following pattern directions precisely is not a bad thing. In the past I have not been one to do this. In fact, I get angry at myself if I DO follow all the directions. maybe it's the rebel in me...but I just HAVE TO cut a corner somewhere. Last night, however, I did (just about) everything the pattern said to do - and I have an awesome dress! *SHOCK!* The only things I didn't do were the 5/8 seam allowance, slipstitching the collar facing, and slipstitching the hem facing.

Let me say something about 5/8 seam allowances....THEY SUCK! I just don't get them, and can't bring myself to do them! ESPECIALLY when the very next direction from the pattern (after sewing each stitch) is to trim the damn seam! WHAT?!? That is an exercise in inefficiency if you ask me - therefore, I will not sew 5/8 seam allowances. I generally use 3/8 seam allowances because that just makes more sense.

Other than that (and the hand stitching), I ironed every friggin seam flat, I gathered between specified marks, I interfaced, I matched seams & hems, and I am amazed at the difference in quality & look.

This morning I drop in starbucks on the way to work in my new dress - and before I get to my car I receive 2 passionate compliments on my "gorgeous dress." wow. thank you anonymous peoples! I didn't admit to either person that I had made the dress myself. I find that weird, but I suppose (in afterthought) that I should've acknowledged my hard work and creativity by admitting that it was a Ri Ri original.

In retrospect I feel that this sewing experience is much like my education in cooking - in that - recipes are precise & calculated and you can leave out an ingredient, but it just won't be the same. It won't taste as good.

A pinch of salt makes a huge friggin difference - seriously. pick a recipe and make 2 versions - one with the required salt, and one without. I guarantee that you will notice a difference.