Sparked by the question, posed by love3angle on one of my previous posts, I went back to check what I had said previously on the issue of boy clothes, and I found that my entry of 3rd April has my thoughts in quite an organized manner.

From that list I find item: Full circle cape. For male use I'd add heavy-ish ties and wear it tied sideways over one shoulder, under the other arm. Dashing like.

This was something I had completely forgotten! However, I shall just pull down my cloak and see about adding ties. Can't be that difficult, just got to produce or procure ties, preferably with tassels.

I've also got to fix the hooks and eyes down the front of my doublet. I tore one eye out the last time I wore it, and they're set too close to the edge in any case.

So, sewing circle today. Was great fun as usual, and I was rather productive. However, in the middle of all this fun-having Helwig happened to mention that next weekend is the last weekend before the first weekend of Double Wars. In other words, two weeks until the event and AAAAAAAHHHHHH! my mind just exploded a little bit on the spot.

However, I shall not panic, no indeed. I shall not panic. No panicking going on.There will be no need for a big red panic button.

Right, then. As long as we're clear on that.

I know I do not as such have any projects to get done for the event, only my shirt, a couple of cauls and the boy-clothing project. There was much progress on the last one today as the stated purpose of sewing circle this Saturday was: make breeches.

Helwig had prepared by pulling out patterns, books and a number of left-over cuts of fabric suitable for the project. I was given a nice plaid woolen fabric, green and brown, to coordinate with my brown corduroy doublet. Spiff. Herself will be a much more flashy version with a black velvet appliquéd with gold cord to be made into a pair of mid-thigh slops.

I picked no-frills venetians, the kind gathered at the waist and tapering off to tight just below the knees. Margo Anderson's patterns provided the basis for Helwig's slops, while I went to Patterns of Fashion for my venetians. Armed with the scaled down sketch in said marvellous publication I then set to work with fabric, a piece of chalk and a measuring tape. I felt all sorts of crafty and clever once I had it transferred with some minor alterations.

A quick test of the pattern, I pinned it together and they look to be just fine. A bit high in the waist, after I'd already removed 2 inches, but that's a simple job with a pair of scissors. I would have started machining them together on the spot, only I had neglected to bring anything suitable to line them with. So I brought them back home with me and as homework for tomorrow I have to cut out the lining to the same pattern as the venetians. Tomorrow we have the morning set aside for more sewing. Hurrah!

In addition to this progress of leaps and bounds, I finally machined together the sleeves for my brown doublet. They have been sewn together, just awaiting the lining, for ages now. I finally just zoomed the one seam of the lining, bagged shell and lining and the last thing I did was top stitch the upper edge of the sleeves. Left to do for those are now the cuff finishing and adding some means of attaching these sleeves to my doublet. I currently have not decided how - possibly a couple of rings on the sleeves and a corresponding pair in the doublet. We'll see.

Playing around a bit with my LJ theme and style. Tried out the 'Mixit' style which makes it all dark and gloomy. But I like it. It's clean. It may change at any time.

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I've been annoyed by working on the new doublet sleeves because the fabric is uncooperative. I'm topstitching the seams open just to make it all neat and prevent the seam allowances from bunching. I won't do anything to finish the seams off, just add the lining.

The lining I will pin to the sleeves right sides together and then stitch around the top, turn inside out and finish it off neatly ... somehow. All I know is I don't want to fold in the top of the sleeves "by hand" because you'll never get it neat that way - much easier to "bag-line" from the top and fold in the lower edge, which is straight not curvy, by hand.

I was having a wierd dream the other day, just before waking up properly, in which I served (to eat, mind) both wool and linen which you cut into little strips with a cheese cutter...

I ... I don't know what this means, but obviously my fabric snobbery has infiltrated my dreamscape, because when asked about it I said that "Of course it's only wool and linen, nothing else will do".

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Also, if I did not mention it before, I am now the proud owner of The Tudor Tailor and a string of pearls, all courtesy of the ever generous helwig. This, of course, from before Visby, but at the time I only had two hours to organize my wits and pack my stuff so it slipped my mind. TTT comes well in handy now for making a middle-class outfit out of grey wool.

Hmm, wait a moment - I have green wool as well, given me by oldergoddess, in enough quantities to make a lovely outfit. The grey is nice, but it is a bit on the thick side, felted, whereas the green is nice and drapey. This will take more pondering.

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Also, website has been updated with the test doublet diary promoted to finished, and new blurb about Visby added to the event section. I did some other changes to the event page as well; namely adding links to other people's event galleries. More photos for everyone, I always say. I'll add more as I find inspiration.

With the promotion of the test doublet to finished diary that leaves NO large project that is currently open. All I have are small things, accessories and the likes - which of course has prompted me to really think about what I want to do next with the fabric in my stash.

Before I forget, I looked at and admired Lady Cristina Stolte's lovely drapey blue wool GFD at Visby. It's unlined and moves like a dream prompting me to want to make a similar type of dress. Fitted, laced, unlined - perfect for warm weather garb. Right now I have three lengths of wool that I can start using; brown, grey and green - so potentially three new outfits.

Of course, I could just finish all the small, niggling mini-projects that I have going at the moment, for lo, they are legion:

1. woolen hose
2. leather gloves
3. tudor court gown foresleeves
4. french hood
5. linen head cloth (needs hemming)
   
6. silk veiling
7. garb repairs of various and sundry nature: hems, ripped seams etc.
   
8. sleeves for test doublet
9. lacing cord for various and sundry gowns
10. rip open and add eyelets on second side-back seam of tudor court gown
11. leather 1400-ish shoes
12. sort out jewelery for 16th C
13. Manufacture girdle belt with the heart-shaped pomander I have waiting
14. Make a new bag to replace the ratty one I always use for events (and mundanely too)
15. one or two secret projects to be given away

Yeah, maybe I should do that...

Recent discussions on certain email lists has me thinking about creating standard kit packets that we can give out to newbies as they come. A selection of five different periods that they can look at and choose from as their starting point - with instructions for a simple, complete, outfit for that period. It may be just a pipe dream though. Also, I know so very little about male garb.

Double wars is coming up fairly quickly now, and I feel I ought to look over my list of projects that I said were due for DW this year. So, let's review the list from 9/4-06.

On that list three items were finished, leaving the following:

1. Wool hose
2. Gothic Army Dress Sleeves
3. Brown Test Doublet
4. Shoes
5. 1410 Surcote

How am I doing? ( Words, words, lots of words )

In other news, I started on the 6th of the Drachenwald needlecases today at the Tuesday meeting. My detached buttonhole stitch is looking very nice. The outline of my pine trees continue to look like the drunken scribbles of a blind parkinson's patient. But it's all hand made! (*eyeroll* & *sigh*)