Weekly SO

I think it is really not a nice form that someone buys a hank of handdyed yarn from someone, for whom dyeing is just a hobbi, a side-things and only does two events in one year, where the main thing is teaching, not selling, and s/he teaching an ancient skill for free, and it is really said that those handdyed skeins are one-of-a-kind, not repeatable, etc, and you open the skein, start to use the yarn, then decide that your skills are not up to that yarn (which is fairly thin), or realize that you do not like the color after all, then frog back said sample and after more than half a year, take back the skein and ask for an exchange... 

Yes, I know that there are rules of sales, and consumerprotection and all that. But as we say in Hungarian, sometimes we fall over to the wrong side of the horse, and some costumer abuse that.

I could have said no, as there were MONTHS since the sale and the hank was OPENED, and I did not. Mostly because dyeing is really a hobbi for me, and it is not my livelyhood that depends on just how many skeins I sell, only just how many unddyed skeins can I buy before the next one. Still I do not like when somebody thinks I am an idiot.

Ps.: The same goes for clothes, you had someone to sew for you personally, you try it on before you take it, then you use it, ven more than once, then think up things you do not like on it, and had the whole thing taken apart, and of course, saying it is under "guarantee" in other words, you are not paying for the extra work.

Underwear ... and repeat

 Yes, you know it by now, that for every historical dress (at least for women), to get it look correctly, to sit on a body correctly, proper underwear is crucial. 

So the big project I mentioned earlier, also started with the proper underwear...

And the first layers are the drawers (that are long underpants, but split in the middle), and a chemise (undershirt). 

There wasn't many things new, or challenging, I did a similar set last year, for Viki, who regurarly portrays Empress Sisi, and now I used the same pattern, the difference was that instead of the embroidered fabric I used fine, but plain weave cotton, decorated with borderie anglaise edges, and instead of the blue, purple ribbons. 

As usual, even though we've started to talk about this project in the early summer, because of burocracy and changes in plans, and other stuff made it if not rushed case, but really thight deadline, which was made even thighter by things, like the three days out for the gall-stone affaire, and other family matterns.

So, once again, I am only showing the end results.

(Oooops. I just see that I took the photo before I ironed the pintucks... I promise, they are all flat now and looking downwards.)

Pattern: Truly Victorian

Monday's pattern-muster

At the Day of Wool last weekend, somebody told me that she really likes my weekly pattern-suggestion column, so all right. maybe not EVERY Monday, but I will try to look up patterns and talk about them, and I have not forgot, that I also promised to suggest sewing patterns as well. 

In the same discussion it was also mentioned, that I could talk about patterns that I actually do NOT like more often.

So there you go. The Enchanted Mesa by Stephen West is such a pattern. Actually I bumped into it, that I was trying to lookup something totally different, and a Reddid thread came up, in which they discussed how Stephen theratened someone with legal retaliation because S/he was trying to sell a shawl knitted from his design (as a used item). Of course, I do have an opinion about this one too, but I rather write about it (if I come around to it) in a weekly Strong Opinion post. However, reading that thread reminded me, that I kind of gave up on him, when he came out with the Mesa sweater, because, even back then I though, it feels for me, like he was just testing, how big of a sh*t he can throw at his fans who would happily eat it up- I never felt the slightest inclination to knit it, even though, there is unlimited amount of yarn in this house. 

No, it was not the assimetry that hurt my eyes. I always loved assimetrical clothes (even - or especially) in historical clotes, but it felt like it was just thrown together, withouth really thinking the thing through. I don't think it can be comfortable under coats, nor for any activity that requires more movements than sitting at a desk. 

(And the usual disclaimer: the above are MY opinion, it is not a reflection if the design or pattern itself good or not, or it cannot or should not be liked  by others, or those who like it, lack taste or anything. Luckily we are not the same. I am not a Stephen fan. Thats all.)

Sunglasses

 What you would need to look at the wool I just dyed for the day of wool that is on tomorrow. 

I am sorry, I fell off blogging for a week or so, but beside of dyeing wool and yarn I was working on a big project (in fact three of them), besides my regular work, and the event last week, and had no time to even breath, or think, let alone write. 

But here I am, take on your sunglasses and imagine all thecolorful yarns that could be spun from these. 

After tomorrow, I will come with details of that other thingie. 

Weekend Program

 On Saturday we are heading to the Gödöllő Castle, where we will introduce the Mare Temporis Time Travel Agency...

We will show the guests fashions of the last 250 years, from the 1750-ies to the early 1900's, not only on ourselves, but we will bring our "hands on history" living history, where visitors can see up close what women were wearing, how, why clothes fitted like they did and such.

If you are near to Budapest - (or Gödöllő), come and see us.

The Facebook event is HERE.

Weekly SO

 First a fact, an advice, then an opinion...

The fact:

Gallsones and hot potato-pasta (nudli), with sweet, grounded poppy-seed (typical Hungarian food) are NOT friends. 

The advice: DO not eat them, especially if you have to work with very strickt deadline, and do not have three days to wallow in your bed.

The opinion... After days of suffering and struggling, and then more days of feeling weak (because of not daring to eat literarly ANYTHING), I had the idea of having some soup. Asked N. to order some for me (because 1. I am still weak as hell, 2. working on something really important, with a really strickt deadline) I really don't have the time nor the energie to cook. 

N. went on the food ordering app, to find me some light soup, and all he found:

Goulash soup (from beef and paprika - thanks, I love it, but not now).

Meat soup (in the three days I was out, I managed to throw up some meat-soup, so thats a no for now)

Ragout-soup with tarragon (it has sourcream and onion... no again). 

That is it. 

Every darned place that would deliver on a Sunday afternoon had only this three on the menue. 

Alright, after some more scrolling and digging N found some Gyros places that had lentil soup, and some Italian (Italian type) restaurants that offered tomato soup, but that was really the end.

This is a big city, with lots of restaurants and kind of famous for its gastronomy...

oh well. I guess not. 

Pink tricorn

 

I needed something to wear on my head with the pink stripy dress. Tricorns were in fashion for most of the 18th century, even for women. And women could wear it either big, or the sweet tiny version.

However, I am still not fully up to making a hat from scratch, so I looked through the websites for used clothing items, and found this small (probably children's) hat. (Sorry, forgot to take a photograph from how the original hat looked like). 

Then I soaked it in a some leftover starch solution, and pinned the edges up, and let it dry.

It didn't hold it well enough, so I sprayed it throughly with starch spray, and let it dry again.

Added some pink passamenterie to its edges, made a cockade from the bits left over from decorating the dress itself, and added some feathers just for good measure. A nice, colorful ostrich feather never hurts, especially, when we talk about the 18th century.

A kalap néhány kalaptű segítségével marad a fejemen (legalább hárommal).

Leaves and all hallowes

 Just a walk in some cemetaries, at the day of the dead.

Short Comment

 That is a post-series, or columns that born out of the fact, that I just cannot shut up, and always feel the need to explain things, even if it is a picture that supposed to be just a picture and no comment... 

Anyhow, this weeks photo shows a lot about me (and my fabric stash), when a museum asked for a reproduction of a dress off one of their famous painting, I go into said museum, and show them 4 different shades of taffeta to let them choose from. 

Weekly SO

I hate the changes of the clock between summer and winter times.

I never really understood how it is possible to save electricity with it, and as I read, lately it does not even do that, because our lives and the way we use electricity changed so much.

Being the owl type, the one who can hardly function in the mornings, while I hate dark, and the fact that , especially because of this change, it gets so dark so early in winter time, so, if we would ever have the chance to say which time-zone should we stay in, I would definetly vote for the summer (saving) time.

Pink stays

New stays to go with the new dress... and my new sizes. 

The thing is, I made one, when I started this project, and did sized down the last pattern I worked out earlier...

But when I finished it, it was just a tiny bit big. I mean, what I usually say, when I talk about stays and corsets, that sizing down the waist is not their main task. This one was just the size which already gave me the typical 18th century conical silhuett, but did not pull anything in...

So, when the last evening I had a couple of hours left, I thought, what the heck, let's do one that is properly sized...

Rococo, the second time... The Aidah Gown (again)

 At least second time in this year, because rococo is one of my favorite eras (alongside the renaissance), and this is not the second rococo outfit (that was my petrol colored Aidah gown) I made, but it is the second I am showing you... this year. 

And -as most of my stuff- has a story. Back, in 2023, when I applied to be a tester for the Aidah gown, I had their view B in mind, because I was in love with this gown...

The dress is in the MET museum, pictures from Pinterest.

So much so, I had a length of pink and white striped cotton sateen in my stash, for just this dress.

However, it turned out that I either messed up the application, or there were way to many people wanting to do that view, I was chosen to do the one that had the tabs, but without the diagonal cutline on the bodice. I did run out and gotten another fabric, and the result was fab, and looking pretty much like an existing dress, so I did not mind. Here is my blogpost on that dress.

But, I did that at the point when I was almost at my highest weight, and just at the time I started to loose weight. first very slowly, but just enough that by that late spring/early summer the dress was way too big on me, which ended up in some emergency sewing of an other 18th century jacket.

Then, I made my black, "Maria Theresa" francaise gown, and I love it. Not only do i love it, but it is in the style that works well for changing body measurements, its lining can be pulled in with its lacing, and also the "robing" can be pinned in or out on the stomacher a bit more to accomondate for lost (or gained) weight. 

However, one of the biggest event we do in 18th century is the "Baroque wedding" in Győr, wich is in early August, and that means we are out in pretty high temperatures, in blazing sunshine, on teh city's central square that has white, sun reflecting stones... In one word it is HOT there. Which is not going well together with a black taffeta gown. So much last year there was a moment, when I thought I am going to faint from a heatstroke, and at that moment I decised, that there is no way I am going there in that dress again. And since I lost even more weight this summer, I thought, it is high time I actually make that pink striped gown, I've put aside years ago.

I dug out my Aidah pattern (I still have the original test-version), but I only printed out the pages that had the lines for the bodice. 

Of course, I made a mock up, but time was thight and I only did a couple of photos while making it.

As usual, the inner, long seams were done with the machine, but most everything else, by hand... like the tiny stitching of the "zone front".

Pinning the knife pleats for the back, was yet again a feat (done it three times when I finally managed to get the pleats just right...)

Since the fabric came from that I Love Textile chain that sells factory rejects, leftovers and who-knows what, and this fabric was really not expensive, no wonder, it had parts where the printing had faults, though I thought, I had enough to get around those areas, and still have enough for a petticoat... The only thing I did not accounted for, was the fact that the pettocoat supposed to have a wide ruffle at the bottom. I also thought If not the original, wider stripe, but the narrower stripes  I had enough to do the ruffles, but nah, that was only enough for some decorative ruffles. 

I really had to carefully calculate the width of those ruffles to get them working, and since because of that once again instead of a reconstruction piece I ended up with one that was more "inspired by", I went all out of the decorative ruffles, using the bit of light, pinkish purple linen I had in my stash, and some silk ribbon.

And here is the finished piece:

If one really wants to compare it to the one, it was inspired by:

And at the end of the day, during the procession around the city.

Pattern: Aidah gown by Scroop Patterns

Fabric: I Love Textil

Photo: Norbert Varga @Bodeszphoto