Update

So since i finished my hat i have crocheted pair of mittens, some small lace motifs and a pair of slippers, i have also finished one book and have been working on a few more. I am starting school on monday so i probably wont be able to keep up the pace of my crocheting, but hopefully i can do a project or to on the weekends. Oh, yes, i did crochet a hat for my boyfriend and a pair of socks for him as well. hopefully i can finish cleaning my room today before radio...:D

Ah, summer is almost over, but im excited for school to start. there shall be many exciting things to look forward to this year. And in almost a week it will be my two year anniversary with my boyfriend.

Happy Crafting.

Mittens

I am hopefully planning to start a pair of mittens today. we'll see how far i get with them...im really tired today after a wonderful show on the radio last night. I did also mangage to get my hands on a copy of civil War: a history. i am quite excited to read this, and then i will also try to finish "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" which is an incredible book.

Wish me luck.

Lace

So now that i have finished with my civil war day dress i can go back to my crocheting. Last thursday, me and my boyfriend went up to geneva for the day. we had a really raelly nice time and found two yarn shops which was a dream come true since the jo-ann near my house closed (nothing against you michaels, you just have a poor collection of yarns). So whilst in geneva i picked up a size 4 crochet hook and some beautiful cotton thread. i then procceded to crochet two doilys. then yesterday i picked up some smaller white thread and a size 10 steel hook. since then i have completed one small doily and i must say, i am proud of my lace.

so for now i return back to the world of hooks and yarns.

happy crafting :)

Hooray!

After slaving(not literally) over this dress for the past two and a half days i have finally finished it! The dress looks incredible and im so proud of it. the color is perfect, the style is just right! and it wasnt a total pain in the ass to make. i had so much fun sewing it together, and i can say i did it the old fashioned way :D

Its almost done!

After about five hours of sewing by hand today and four hours yesterday, i am almost finished with my shirt! today i tried it on with my skirt and was very surprised to find it looked incredible. For this being my first article of clothing i've sewn (well i did a pair of pajama pants for school), it is absolutely amazing. plus i was able to do this all without a pattern, i was too stingy to buy an actual pattern and probably would have goteen confused/frustrated by it so instead i just sketched out the design, drew it out on the sheets and cut it out. plus the shirt i purchased to be used for undersleeves it the perfect complement to the dress itself! the only thing missing is a brooch which i expect i can find in the town thrift shop or good will. if not there is always ebay and amazon. the brooch will be the only thing i pay for besides the shirt. the dress itself is free since i used old sheets <3

all i have left to do on the shirt is sew on buttons and hem one thing. it will be maybe an hour left of sewing tops, my next project is going to be an apron for the dress. i am quite excited to see the finished product.

in other news, i inquired about joining a reeacting unit today. hopefully i'll hear something about this in the next few days. that way all of my sewing wont have been in vain...haha either way it wasnt in vain, i finally have a beautiful, hand sewn creation to call my own. its my baby and i love it with all my heart!

Shirt/Bodice

my fingers are aching but i think i might attempt the bodice tonight. though it is less fabric than the skirt, it will probably be more sewing. if only it was possible to crochet this piece and have it look just like the skirt. i am making plans to crochet a shawl for my ball gown.

i feel kind of silly about ordering my ball gown, i love it and i havent even recieved ti yet, but i rushed into buying it without thinking of the historical acuracy. luckily for me, it is historically accurate and was really cheap for a ball gown. on top of that i got to choose the color satin and ribbon i wanted, so it was still a great buy! once it arrives i am posting pics, ive been dreaming of it since i payed for it.

i also have another day dress coming in the mail. it cost me about 4 dollars, 9 with shipping, so i figured even if it was a bust, i wasnt emptying my wallet over it. it should be here before the ball gown.

now i will have three outfits to wear for reenactofest 6 in chicago two day dresses and a ball gown, it just so happens there is a ball.

the white shirt i am wearing in the toher pictures was actually purchased to wear under a short sleeved day dress for undersleeves. now i can use it as a second bodice for my skirt which gets me two outfits in one :D

the only dilemma i have is what shoes to wear for my day dresses. i have a pair of black lace up converse that go to my knee and could possibly pass as boots but i'd feel like i was betraying my costume. i just dont want to shell out the 40-60 dollars for a cheap pair of boots. a trip to the local good will is in order.

sadly the jo-ann by my house (5 min away) is now offically closed. i am confined to hobby lobby for fabric unless i want to drive 30 min to go to the other jo-ann. im sure the pull of jo-ann will be too strong and ill be over there in no time.

well now i am off to relax for a bit before diving into more sewing :D perhaps by the end of tonight i will have myself a bodice! now that i think of it, the sewing shouldnt be all that much. 2 front pieces, one back, four pieces for the sleeves, its totally do-able.

happy crafting

That was easy...

So i awoke at 10 am not 8 am as planned, but it didnt really affect my plan for the day. after tampering with the ancient sewing machine for an hour and a half i gave up on that idea and decided to make my dress the old fashioned way. Last night i got all the peices cut out so this morning i sewed two of the three 40"x47" together then i sewed on the third peice but i did not connect the two. instead i folded down the top of the skirt that would sit at my waist and sewed in the elastic band.

note on the elastic band: if you are going to be sewing a dress/skirt and are using sheets, try to cut out the pattern with the already hemmed part at the bottom so you dont have to hem the skirt. then if you are also taking fabric from the fitted sheets with the elastic band, you can cut off the elastic band and save it for later.

i ended up making my skirt a drawstring skirt because it gave the effect of being a pleated/bustled dress with out all the extra work, and it is adjustable :D

i havent gotten around to the shirt/bodice part of my dress, but i think for now i will work on an apron, which i shall make out of a old pillowcase :D

all in all my new day skirt cost me all of $0 which makes me a very frugale seamstress. i'd say this was a very sucessful day.

the pattern for this dress was taken from http://www.shasta.com/suesgoodco/newcivilians/womenswear/dresses.htm

thats an awesome site if you are looking for descriptions of what women wore and didnt wear during the civil war days. :D