A new hood.

Part of being creative is being adaptable.  Many times I've started a project with a plan, and ended the project with something entirely different -- and that's what happened this time. The green wool hood and sleeves I had planned to go with my new brown wool dress didn't play as well as I had hoped. It seems like too much work to pick out the too-slippery silk lining I'd put into the green hood, so I set it aside and looked in my smalls drawer for other options. (I think smalls is a much nicer term than scraps, don't you?)

I made a pair of brown woolen trousers about a year ago that didn't work out. The thick fabric made the drawstring waistband look bulky and unattractive. I've been cutting bits off the legs for this and that ever since and there was enough left to cut out a new hood. It's the perfect thickness, too, to keep one's head and shoulders cozy, warm, and dry. 

So here it is, in all it's odd-looking glory, gracing a plaster bust of my husband (hooray for theater props) and making him look a bit like ET because I've had to stuff dishtowels under there to make shoulders. I promise you that both the hood and my husband are more attractive in real life.

The seams were made with a running stitch and a half-inch seam allowance. Then I pressed them flat and whipstitched them for added strength, and hemstitched the edges down for a neat finish. Normally I would tuck the cut end under to resist fraying, but that would be very bulky and with wool it's not such a worry.

The buttons were a thrift store find. I got fifteen of them on a blouse for five dollars. I wish they were little bigger, but at that price I wasn't going to argue. They're not beads and wire -- they're one piece, solid cast. 

Sorry for the lousy quality of these photos. It was a little overcast this morning so there wasn't much natural light in the kitchen. I had to crank open the exposure to get a decent shot. 

There's a short liripipe tail on the back. I could have made it longer by piecing on an extra bit, but frankly, it bugs me to have that much going on in the back and they're a pain to turn out after sewing the seam. Short tails are just as period-acceptable, so there we go. 

Here you can see the hood, casually open as it would be on a temperate fall afternoon, with the brown dress. A very attractive match, I think! I'm still deciding if I want to add decorative embroidery. I think I'll get the sleeves done and then figure out if I want to add that touch of fancy. 

Autumn dress

Well, the sun didn't come out. Instead it's been three days of damp grey drizzle, with occasional downpours. After a record 48 days of dry weather (that's actually Seattle; I couldn't find Olympia's report, but it's basically the same) the rainy season is finally upon us.

Even more reason to have a new wool dress to wear!

I promised you a picture, so here it is. Imogene the Dress Dummy would like you to know that she was having a bad day and felt the hallway lighting was unflattering. She says this is a terrible picture of her. Maybe so, she does look a little lumpy (sorry, Imogene!) but I've never figured out how to get that dress dummy to have a figure similar to mine so the fit isn't really the best, especially in the bust area.  You get the idea, anyway.  I haven't hemmed the bottom yet, but I mean to leave quite a bit of length. Usually I like to have my hem just brush my toes, but long hems are very period and it might be nice to have a little bit extra to keep out any drafts when I sit. The bit of green on her left is one of the pin-on sleeves I'm making to go with the dress. There will be embroidery to pretty them up and add a bit of fancy, as well as a matching hood.

The hood is giving me fits. I chose a piece of gold silk to line it, and it looks very nice except that it slides all over my head and won't stay up! The silk is too slippery! So I'm going to have to unpick my seams and replace the lining with linen that has the sense to stay put. Ugh, what a bother.

More as it comes!

Brrrr!

As the mornings become colder again, I've taken to having more savory breakfasts. Today's is naan bread with garlic hummus and some leftover bean soup. Delicious! 

I need to get you guys some pictures of  how the brown wool dress is progressing. I have one side's worth of eyelets (15, to be exact) and the bottom hem to stitch and it's done. It gets easier every time. To anyone who says that hand sewing a garment would take forever, I say unto you Nay! Two hours in the evening for the last few days and I'm well on my way to a new outfit. 

Outfit? Oh yes -- I made the sleeves short with the intention of making pin-on sleeves. That would make the dress more adaptable to changes in the weather, like when it's cool and foggy in the morning, but warms up and gets sunny in the afternoon. And then I thought it would be totally cute to embroider the sleeves with a design, and then use the same design on a matching hood. Oh my! A new hood! So exciting!

And I found some wonderful inspiration to share with you all. Check out this guy's stuff! It's AMAZING. 

Stay tuned for some pictures of the brown wool dress later today once the sun comes out. See you then!

Fall!

Now that I've been sewing stuff for over a year, I've gotten to a really comfortable point.  My stash is full of all sorts of notions and yardage, and I've got a basic pattern for a standard dress that fits well and is easy to play with. Used to be when I wanted to make something in particular I'd find the bits as I went.  I had to draft up a pattern first, and I'd remember things I needed halfway through and have to make late-night trips to the fabric store. But no more!

Yesterday afternoon there was a slight chill in the air, and I saw a posting on the Glymm Mere mailing list that Yule Feast is coming up. Folks, it's Fall, and that means it's time for me to make a new wool dress. When I got home, I pulled a few yards of caramel-colored wool out of my closet, took a small cut of dark brown to use for trim, chose a piece of linen to line the bodice, grabbed my tried-n-true pattern and a spool of thread, and got to work right after dinner.

I cut out all the pieces and sewed the lining for the two front bodice bits while watching Battlestar Galactica, so this project is well begun. I even chose some crewel yarn colors out of the drawer to use for an embroidery design on the cuffs and collar.

The yarn colors seem especially bright in the sunshine. I haven't chosen an embroidery design yet, so I don't know if I'll be using all the colors or just one or two, but they all looked suitably autumnal together. Anything can happen!

Gluckhaus

Here it is, my finished Gluckhaus game. Well, I still need to attach at string so it can be rolled up and tied shut, and I still need to craft two six-sided dice to go with it, but the big pretty embroidery work is done.

See for yourself!

Told ya I was making something!

It was time for another quickie project. I've been busy, like I said in my last post, and I really just wanted to have a little something at hand that I could pick up and put down fast without a lot of fussing around. So I whipped up a plan for a Gluckhaus board.

What's that? you ask. Well, it's a game. It's easy to learn, fast to play, involves gambling, and doesn't require any strategy or even  much thought.  (Click here for more info.) Mostly you just give or take coins. Because of its simple nature, I find it a little boring. I intend to spice things up a bit by involving a drinking-game element to it, or perhaps something in the way of a truth-or-dare or forfeit. We'll see.

So up there at the top, you have The King (12). And right under him is The Wedding (7). At the very bottom is The Pig (2).  If you roll 12, you get to take all the money in all the squares, because you're the king! If you roll 7, you get to take all the money on 7 as a wedding present.  And if you roll 2, you get to take all the money on the board, you greedy thing, except the coins on 7 -- because not even a pig would steal from a wedding.

I think I need to add an outline on the figures.
They're a little indistinct without one.

The cloth is a piece of wool/linen blend, and I'm using tapestry wool for the embroidery. The brown stitching on the natural-colored cloth looks very rustic, and I think a climbing vine with leaves and flowers will decorate the framework of the squares before I'm done.

There's a chill in the air these mornings that is prodding at me, reminding me that all that wool in the closet would like to be made into warm clothing. I wonder what I'll make next..?

Oh, where have you been, Wenny-girl, Wenny-girl...

Jeepers! It's been a long time since I updated. To be fair, though, it's been a while since I did any sewing. The last two weeks have been pretty much non-stop petsitting clients and working with my horses at the stable. Seems like the only times I stopped were to eat or sleep, and sometimes that felt like the same time. It's hard to eat a sandwich when your head is nodding, and yawning with a mouthful of that sandwich is just gross.

Now that Labor Day is past, my schedule is almost back to normal. With one exception: I've found a woman who will let me work with her horses since the training stable where I've been going is closing down. She has three out-of-shape horses that I have nicknamed "The Three Little Pigs" (TLPs, for short) and I have made it my goal in life to get them into good condition. Once the stable is closed, I'll be working with the TLPs three or four days a week.

Oh no! I hear you crying, But does this mean the end of Wenny Makes It? 

'Course not!  I still have all that wool in the closet, remember? And if you'll pardon the cliché phrase, Winter is Coming. New garments for the rainy season must be made. Plus there's my magnum opus! So never fear: Wenny will go on, probably far longer than anyone holds an interest.

Stay tuned. Tonight I'm gonna make a start on something and pictures will be forthcoming!