So Here's the Thing...

 

 

It's been a minute, huh?

2022 sure was another year. It started kind of (suspiciously) wonderful, but by late spring things started to go downhill. Then I caught the 'rona over the summer, and though thankfully it was a mild case (vaccines save lives, y'all!), I ended up with long Covid and I'm still struggling with that two years later.

Despite literally everything, I did slowly but surely keep crafting. I just didn't document any of it. Oops.

I took photos here and there, intending to document it all. But I often didn't have the energy to both do the actual crafting and take photos and do write-ups, and sometimes I just plain ol' forgot.

I don't know that things are better now. I still have good days and unfortunately a lot of bad days. But I'm learning how to live around it. And I really miss not just costuming more, but the whole documentation process too. 

I've got another backlog of projects and events I could cobble together some posts for, and a whole lot of new stuff coming up. So this is day one of trying to get back into the habit.

Stay tuned!

Costuming in the Time of Pandemic

All jokes aside, YIKES.

It's been a rough few months of winter and spring for everyone, and for me it's followed a difficult few months last summer and fall. As a result, even though I've still been sewing and crafting and going places (before lockdown this month anyway), I haven't had the time or energy or sometimes the memory to document any of it. Now with more time on my hands than usual, I'm hoping to go back and catch up on posts about last year's events and costumes, many of which have been sitting here as unfinished drafts.

In the meantime I'm also switching costume sewing over to medical mask sewing, and I highly encourage anyone with the means to ask around in your communities or on social media to see if any facilities could use help. The Million Mask Challenge groups on Facebook accept members nationwide and internationally and offer resources for constructing and donating masks in approved designs where they're needed most.

Stay tuned!

Vague Updates or Something

The end-of-semester school crunch is in full swing, so not much else has been going on around here. BUT...

King George is still very much in-progress. He's taken a backseat to some other impending costume deadlines, but I'm still casually picking away at it. I painted the whole crown with DecoColor Premium gold paint pens, which had turned out well in swatch tests. But like the liquid leaf paint, it turned out hard to get a smooth non-streaky surface on the larger flat areas, and I ended up hating it. So now I'm in the process of sanding that off as much as possible and looking for yet another gold option. Top contenders right now are gold leaf and spray paint. Gold leaf has the potential for an amazing finish but really depends on my ability to apply it well, and could be either easier or harder to work around the rhinestones (don't have to tape anything off, but also have to manually work around every stone). Spray paint has the benefit of being quick and easy, but I'll have to tape off the rhinestones and the finish will never be as dimensional as I want. This whole process has been so out of the ordinary and experimental for me, I'm also seriously considering just relegating this crown to a glorified mock-up (probably finishing it, and maybe trying to sell it or use it as a back-up?) and making a second one out of metal. We'll see what happens.

We did make it to the Great L.A. Air Raid in February, and it was a blast! It'll definitely be a yearly event for us. We assembled a civilian outfit for my friend from a combination of our regular vintage-esque clothes (my red crepe chiffon blouse and brown belted jacket, and her plaid tweed trousers and saddle shoes), and I wore an unholy amalgam of several mismatched uniform pieces (modern lookalike Army 5-button sweater, replica Army HBT pants, authentic Navy leggings, and USMC EGA pin, oh my).

And French Revolution Zombaes are a go for Labyrinth Masquerade. Most of the fabric has been bought, design is finalized, petticoats and dresses will hopefully be started in the next few weeks, and I'm getting ready to order stays and sourcing some fabulously gaudy rhinestone jewelry. Exciting stuff! Full post on all that coming soon once things get rolling. Stay tuned!

Busy Winter Update

Well, I did the thing again.

I guess in my defense, if there is one, the fall/winter was and continues to be hectic.  I got a hellish cold in October, moved (back) to Long Beach in November, got sick again and crammed to finish the fall semester in December, got sick again again (!) in December-January, prepped for the start of spring semester (which started today, yikes), and managed to have something of a social life with a few indulgent trips to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and some local urban exploring.  In the midst of all that, I did work on some projects and got a fair amount done.  The problem, as usual, was just posting about any of it.

Crimson Peak costumes are coming along nicely.  We officially finally have all the materials, and I've started constructing Lucille's nightgown while my friend has started painting her Ghost!Thomas pieces.  Not that it means much since I haven't actually posted about any of it yet, but I have a few in-progress drafts saved to post soon.

On a whim I also started my King George III costume (from Hamilton: An American Musical, like you don't already know what it is).  So far it's just A LOT of research and the beginnings of the crown, but it's fun and I'm really excited for the whole project.  I'll post something detailed about that soon too.

And, as always, I'll *try* to be better about timely updates.

Busy Summer Recap

Lots going on lately, if only I could get things organized enough to actually post about it.  I've been working on an indie film, which has taken up most of my costuming time, and that's ongoing until at least late fall.  As a result, I haven't done anything for the Historical Sew Monthly since April - though I did a lot of research and came close on a few things, and having finished one challenge, I'm still doing 100% better than past years.  What I have done, however, is make some quality progress on a few other personal projects.

Lucille's robe and nightgown from the finale of Crimson Peak are coming along nicely.  I've got the nightgown sleeve drafted, maths (eww) figured on customizing existing patterns for the rest, and lots and lots of swatches and dye tests.  I think there's enough worth compiling for a post now.

I've also finished step one of a new project: French Revolution Zombaes.  Essentially, Queen M's most fashionable groupies who got the guillotine and came back as des morts-vivant.  Chemise dresses, huge hair, bloody stitched-up necks, and of course bedazzled mini portraits in honor of their dearly departed queenie.  It should be a lot of fun, and as a bonus, all of the non-zombies aspects - namely the dress, jewelry, and hair-styling practice - can be reused for more serious historical costuming.  The bit I started with was the mini portraits, and I'll post about that soon too.

Round and Round

Let's try this again, for realsies this time.  I've set myself the mid-year's goal of keeping up with my costuming and its documented progress on a regular basis, partly just because I want to (and, really, because I should) and partly to spruce up my skills and keep better track of my work.  I've got movie replicas in the works, historical originals on the brain, some old stuff I might transfer over from the old blog (Throwback Thursdays maybe?) and plenty more going on besides.

Let's do this thing!