gold work, fashion and silk, oh My!
Nov. 7th, 2005 06:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threadwalkerWhat an awesome weekend. From here out I blather about embroidery, Italian fashion, planned projects and my crushing victory in Catan Sunday night. Read at your own risk of yawning and nodding off.
Saturday was spent learning a new embroidery technique. Too bad I have no idea what it’s actually called. We crushed chalk. “Someone” (not me!) busted the wooden cutting board by using a wooden rolling pin like a mallet while turning sticks of chalk into dust. We were all a bit wide-eyed at that. The instructor wasn't as concerned about the cutting board as she was about her nice wooden rolling pin. I'm glad I didn't follow through on my impulse to offer my marble rolling pin. What kind of damage would we have been visited by if she'd been slugging that around?
We pierced vellum and ponced our patterns (I have no idea if I’m using those words in the right manner but we did the things that go with those words). We painted the pattern on fabric by connecting the chalky dots. We then embroidered gold on the pattern in a sneaky twisting/untwisting fashion. It was fun. Now – someone please give me the gizmo that creates pockets of time (without loosing sleep) so I can do some more of this (and all the other stuff) that’s so exciting to do.
During this F took the kids to a kid’s party at the Jungle. He came home exhausted – no surprise. In fact, I was really surprised he went knowing what a zoo (a jungle?) it would be. Brave man. He came home with two tuckered out kids and he took a nap, too.
About Sunday: it was the best “let’s get the court organized and figure out what they are wearing for coronation” thing I’ve ever been part of or heard of. It was at a facility, not someone’s home, so there was plenty of space. There were 12 or so models wearing Italian Renaissance styles from 1470-1550, so there was a “live-action” display of clothing in addition to some books and pictures. I think that helped those who were not experienced at “seeing” the clothes in the pictures as real clothing. They got to really see how the garment moved, how it hung, etc and it was presented to everyone simultaneously. There were several experienced people on hand to drape, there was stuff people could try on and Renaissance Fabrics showed up with her goods so everyone could shop. You got to “see” what you wanted to make; you got to get draped; you got to shop for the fabric right there. It was “One stop shopping” for getting ready for a coronation. I think everyone left with a pattern and fabric. Some people even got started on their clothing. Several of the models also got hooked and were talking about what they want to make. “Yay” Eliska and Fabian for promoting this (and for letting me run-a-muck - which is what I do best).
I must be suffering withdrawl from teaching because my mouth was moving and I'd swear I heard myself saying things like "yeah, let's get together during the week and work on your project." "It's easy, you can do that by 12th Night and I'd love to help." or, "You can come to my place and we'll work on that after the kids are in bed." and other foolishness. What was I thinking? As Countess Kickass said, it's my crack. (Let me point out that it's bad when other Pelicans know what you can't resist saying "no" to. You find yourself hearing your lips say "yes" even as your brain is screaming "no" as they hook you.)
About the fashion show: A pack of wonderful folks gave up their Saturday mornings to be dressed and laced into other people’s clothing and sashay around in them. For the “Fashion Show” we paraded men and women through based on time-line. Countess KickAss brought a bunch of stuff and showed it off, too. Then we gathered the “models” and started comparing/contrasting their outfits. The experienced seamstresses in the audience started asking really smart questions and it was a great opportunity to have the dressed models step forward and compare seam-placement, evolution of silhouettes, sleeves, etc. There was a lot of the seamstresses sharing horror stories - I'm impressed by the number of us who've made the same mistakes. Like "how 4 layers of canvas can be used sooooo wrong" in the pleats of a skirt.
Then pizza was delivered (yay, food!). The models fled or hung out as it suited them. It was pretty fun. We’re going to have to do this again on a bigger scale and for a public venue. Countess Kickass is alreayd percolating on it and she had some really good ideas. Maybe she'll be in charge and I can just be a segment planner for the Italian stuff with D'Salai. We were thinking![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
callistotoni would be the perfect person to plan a segment that highlights the evolution of English fashion through the 16th century. It's calling to you callistotoni ... event in 2 years ... part of a multi-cutural fashion show - Italian ren, English Ren, German Ren ... maybe French or Flemish, too .... maybe Spanish ... music, food, fancy clothes, ... as a real event... We're spending the next year to clear our project/commitment dockets and then a year to plan the event.
Turns out I own a “universal corset”. Hahahaha! It flattered practically everyone who tried it on and those who wanted the 1540+ silhouetted traced it and then got draped with it on. I thought it was funny how it was being passed around and tried on and traced. Who would have guessed I’d make something so useful to so many people?
I loaned out a dress and two chemises. That’s very trusting of me, but I know one of the loanees fairly well (and I know her Laurel even better - she swings a mean rolling pin). I’m just getting to know the lady I loaned the entire outfit to, but I got a good vibe. Here’s crossing my fingers and hoping I’m a good judge of people.
An unexpected twist is that now I’m totally burning up to make something whereas before I wasn’t feeling any urge to sew. I took advantage of Rosalyn being there with her shop and I know what I’m going to make. I got a brilliant blue/red cross-shot silk; it’s very “me” and when it's not covered by the black Ropa, F should be able to pick me out in a crowd from several yards away. Woof! Did I say bright? But dahling, it's the new red.
I’m even feeling the urge to follow through and convert the apple green/cherry red brocade from the 1470 Italian it was last year into the Spanish it was really meant to be. (That’s what the fabric has been whispering to me and I keep kicking myself for not listening). I have a picture I’ve been staring at for over a year now pinned up in my office of a 15th century Spanish dress, but it will have to wait for next winter. or maybe … just maybe …. perhaps … I’ll “whip something up” by this boar hunt since that’s when that fabric was last worn. Last year someone told me I looked like a squashed sofa cushion and I agreed, … I looked very “period” with proper cut and fabric, but a sofa cushion nonetheless. Sigh. It wasn’t the right fabric for that project and I sort of knew that, but I was ignoring the whispers coming from the threads. The fabric has too much body for what I was trying to do. That’s what you get when you ignore the inner voice – a lot of rework and seam ripping. And indignant fabric grouching at you from inside the closet for ignoring it in the first place. Bad thread-walker, no biscuit.
To cap off last night, I crushed Vic and Unka in Catan. I kept falling asleep towards the end - I even checked out in the middle of my own turn while they were passing out resources. But I won and then went straight to bed. I think we need a new game. As F pointed out, Vic and Unka haven't beaten me in over a year. Maybe Vic, Unka and I will start playing hunters and gatherers - I haven't gotten the hang of that game yet.
Today started with littlest throwing up. Twice. On me. *sigh*. Poor thing is sick, running a fever and doesn’t understand that the doctor is a good guy. The end result is that we got someone to watch her, but I got to work pretty late. Now it’s dark out and raining. I am not looking forward to the drive home. Something about getting older, poor eye-sight and crappy traffic. Ah well, I’ll pop in my favorite CD and scheme what I’m going to make with the fabric I got from Rosalyn the Evil Enabling Addictive Fabric Faerie (REEAFF) and how I’m going to massage that sewing time into my schedule. And then squash in a Spanish gown. And do a scroll by 12th Night. And possible help several people make dresses for 12th night. And do a bunch of goldwork, opus embroidery, gold couching, etc. and, and, and ....
Saturday was spent learning a new embroidery technique. Too bad I have no idea what it’s actually called. We crushed chalk. “Someone” (not me!) busted the wooden cutting board by using a wooden rolling pin like a mallet while turning sticks of chalk into dust. We were all a bit wide-eyed at that. The instructor wasn't as concerned about the cutting board as she was about her nice wooden rolling pin. I'm glad I didn't follow through on my impulse to offer my marble rolling pin. What kind of damage would we have been visited by if she'd been slugging that around?
We pierced vellum and ponced our patterns (I have no idea if I’m using those words in the right manner but we did the things that go with those words). We painted the pattern on fabric by connecting the chalky dots. We then embroidered gold on the pattern in a sneaky twisting/untwisting fashion. It was fun. Now – someone please give me the gizmo that creates pockets of time (without loosing sleep) so I can do some more of this (and all the other stuff) that’s so exciting to do.
During this F took the kids to a kid’s party at the Jungle. He came home exhausted – no surprise. In fact, I was really surprised he went knowing what a zoo (a jungle?) it would be. Brave man. He came home with two tuckered out kids and he took a nap, too.
About Sunday: it was the best “let’s get the court organized and figure out what they are wearing for coronation” thing I’ve ever been part of or heard of. It was at a facility, not someone’s home, so there was plenty of space. There were 12 or so models wearing Italian Renaissance styles from 1470-1550, so there was a “live-action” display of clothing in addition to some books and pictures. I think that helped those who were not experienced at “seeing” the clothes in the pictures as real clothing. They got to really see how the garment moved, how it hung, etc and it was presented to everyone simultaneously. There were several experienced people on hand to drape, there was stuff people could try on and Renaissance Fabrics showed up with her goods so everyone could shop. You got to “see” what you wanted to make; you got to get draped; you got to shop for the fabric right there. It was “One stop shopping” for getting ready for a coronation. I think everyone left with a pattern and fabric. Some people even got started on their clothing. Several of the models also got hooked and were talking about what they want to make. “Yay” Eliska and Fabian for promoting this (and for letting me run-a-muck - which is what I do best).
I must be suffering withdrawl from teaching because my mouth was moving and I'd swear I heard myself saying things like "yeah, let's get together during the week and work on your project." "It's easy, you can do that by 12th Night and I'd love to help." or, "You can come to my place and we'll work on that after the kids are in bed." and other foolishness. What was I thinking? As Countess Kickass said, it's my crack. (Let me point out that it's bad when other Pelicans know what you can't resist saying "no" to. You find yourself hearing your lips say "yes" even as your brain is screaming "no" as they hook you.)
About the fashion show: A pack of wonderful folks gave up their Saturday mornings to be dressed and laced into other people’s clothing and sashay around in them. For the “Fashion Show” we paraded men and women through based on time-line. Countess KickAss brought a bunch of stuff and showed it off, too. Then we gathered the “models” and started comparing/contrasting their outfits. The experienced seamstresses in the audience started asking really smart questions and it was a great opportunity to have the dressed models step forward and compare seam-placement, evolution of silhouettes, sleeves, etc. There was a lot of the seamstresses sharing horror stories - I'm impressed by the number of us who've made the same mistakes. Like "how 4 layers of canvas can be used sooooo wrong" in the pleats of a skirt.
Then pizza was delivered (yay, food!). The models fled or hung out as it suited them. It was pretty fun. We’re going to have to do this again on a bigger scale and for a public venue. Countess Kickass is alreayd percolating on it and she had some really good ideas. Maybe she'll be in charge and I can just be a segment planner for the Italian stuff with D'Salai. We were thinking
callistotoni would be the perfect person to plan a segment that highlights the evolution of English fashion through the 16th century. It's calling to you callistotoni ... event in 2 years ... part of a multi-cutural fashion show - Italian ren, English Ren, German Ren ... maybe French or Flemish, too .... maybe Spanish ... music, food, fancy clothes, ... as a real event... We're spending the next year to clear our project/commitment dockets and then a year to plan the event. Turns out I own a “universal corset”. Hahahaha! It flattered practically everyone who tried it on and those who wanted the 1540+ silhouetted traced it and then got draped with it on. I thought it was funny how it was being passed around and tried on and traced. Who would have guessed I’d make something so useful to so many people?
I loaned out a dress and two chemises. That’s very trusting of me, but I know one of the loanees fairly well (and I know her Laurel even better - she swings a mean rolling pin). I’m just getting to know the lady I loaned the entire outfit to, but I got a good vibe. Here’s crossing my fingers and hoping I’m a good judge of people.
An unexpected twist is that now I’m totally burning up to make something whereas before I wasn’t feeling any urge to sew. I took advantage of Rosalyn being there with her shop and I know what I’m going to make. I got a brilliant blue/red cross-shot silk; it’s very “me” and when it's not covered by the black Ropa, F should be able to pick me out in a crowd from several yards away. Woof! Did I say bright? But dahling, it's the new red.
I’m even feeling the urge to follow through and convert the apple green/cherry red brocade from the 1470 Italian it was last year into the Spanish it was really meant to be. (That’s what the fabric has been whispering to me and I keep kicking myself for not listening). I have a picture I’ve been staring at for over a year now pinned up in my office of a 15th century Spanish dress, but it will have to wait for next winter. or maybe … just maybe …. perhaps … I’ll “whip something up” by this boar hunt since that’s when that fabric was last worn. Last year someone told me I looked like a squashed sofa cushion and I agreed, … I looked very “period” with proper cut and fabric, but a sofa cushion nonetheless. Sigh. It wasn’t the right fabric for that project and I sort of knew that, but I was ignoring the whispers coming from the threads. The fabric has too much body for what I was trying to do. That’s what you get when you ignore the inner voice – a lot of rework and seam ripping. And indignant fabric grouching at you from inside the closet for ignoring it in the first place. Bad thread-walker, no biscuit.
To cap off last night, I crushed Vic and Unka in Catan. I kept falling asleep towards the end - I even checked out in the middle of my own turn while they were passing out resources. But I won and then went straight to bed. I think we need a new game. As F pointed out, Vic and Unka haven't beaten me in over a year. Maybe Vic, Unka and I will start playing hunters and gatherers - I haven't gotten the hang of that game yet.
Today started with littlest throwing up. Twice. On me. *sigh*. Poor thing is sick, running a fever and doesn’t understand that the doctor is a good guy. The end result is that we got someone to watch her, but I got to work pretty late. Now it’s dark out and raining. I am not looking forward to the drive home. Something about getting older, poor eye-sight and crappy traffic. Ah well, I’ll pop in my favorite CD and scheme what I’m going to make with the fabric I got from Rosalyn the Evil Enabling Addictive Fabric Faerie (REEAFF) and how I’m going to massage that sewing time into my schedule. And then squash in a Spanish gown. And do a scroll by 12th Night. And possible help several people make dresses for 12th night. And do a bunch of goldwork, opus embroidery, gold couching, etc. and, and, and ....
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 03:07 am (UTC)Are there going to pictures of the fashion show? That could maybe go up on this history site? It sounds like a lot of people could benefit from the examples...
no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 03:48 am (UTC)Fashion show: Fabian had two camcorders going from different angles. The "techno" men were running amuck with finding just the right angle, lighting, distance, etc. I'm sure you can imagine what a bunch of guys with camcorders and the freedom to play around will do.
Do you realy think people would be interested in shots? I have some pictures on my camera since I handed it to an attendee, but the camera battery died while photographing the 1490 dress, which was pretty early. (Still kicking myself in the butt over that!). The nice lady then switched to somoene else's camera, so I can ask for pics because I know who owns the camera.
By the by, everyone was examining your chemise up close. It's beautiful!!!! THEBLK wore it with the Bacchaiacca inspired "Portrait of a Lady with a Book of Music". She told us about the "hostage exchange". That had us all giggling.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-08 06:01 am (UTC)Shout back at you
Date: 2005-11-08 06:19 am (UTC)Of course, now I'm all about the Florentine stuff in the Moda book. And there's a Venetian happening this year, if it kills me, for the 16th C Salon I'm hoping/trying to put together for Beltane.
I'd love to see the fashion show--that sounds like a *fabulous* event! And it was a stroke of brilliance to have Rennaissance Fabrics there so people could get suitable fabric right away!