Belt done yet..?

Not quite. Because suddenly I decided that it needed a little bit more. And so I'm adding a few pearls. They're made from glass, not real actual pearl, but better than plastic. They have a nice glow to them that I think is a good counterpoint to the shine of the findings.

And yes, I'm struggling mentally about the imperfect spacing between elements. I didn't measure them exactly with a tape or anything because I felt that back in the day when women adorned things with simple repeating designs like this, they might have just eyeballed it --and hooray for authenticity. If I hadn't made the decision to add the pearls, I might have gotten away with it. And I'll probably just go ahead on and let it be what it is unless it looks really obvious.. Next time, though, I'll be a bit more discerning about my in-betweens.

Sew In Tents!

I promise I'll stop with the tents/tense puns as soon as they stop making me smile. Honest. Also, I learned how to format the width of my writing space, so now I can make my pictures a little bigger and easier to see!

I stitched up all the panels last night. As all the sides are the same size and the main function for the walls is sun and wind protection, I've only made three panels, figuring we will always have one side open to the great outdoors. We have another tent for sleeping in, so privacy is not a huge issue.

Half-inch twill tape is stitched at intervals to make ties to attach the walls to the frame. A slip knot  is used so when it's time to break camp, a quick tug on the short tail of each knot loosens it. These pictures were taken before the ties going down the sides were sewn on, so the panels look more flappy than they will be when properly secured. I just wanted you to get an idea of the ongoing progress. There will be two ties going down the corner posts, and a loop at the bottom hem for a tent peg to secure them to the ground, plus two ties at the middle opening so we can tie them shut or pull them back like curtains, if desired.

Sally, my sewing machine, worked hard to punch through the five-plus layers of middleweight cotton fabric. She's a persnickety stitcher; there's only one bobbin I've found that she likes and won't turn into a knot of snarly tangles, and the heavy-duty needle I wanted to use was another no-go. "I can do it just fine with my regular needle, thank you very much. Just give me a moment." She can't help it -- she's made in England and has that stiff-upper-lip, no nonsense work attitude. Gotta love these vintage Singers and their little quirks.

Looking at it now, I'm thinking if I had it to do again, I'd pick a lighter-colored fabric, to help reflect sun and to look brighter. But as I got the entire bolt of 20+ yards of fabric for $10, I'm not going to complain.  After I stitch on the rest of the ties and give it all a quick treatment with water repellent, I'll post pictures of the finished tent in all it's glory. Stay tuned!

Belt tip?

Okay, I think I found something that will pass as a suitable belt tip. It's actually a piece of a small brass easel. I got two of them as a set from the thrift shop for three dollars, and it was just a little quick work with a hacksaw to cut off the bit that I wanted to use. A metal file took off the sharp edges, and then I drilled a few small holes to allow me to sew it in place. I think it looks pretty good. The only problem is, it's too big to fit through the buckle I found for the other end. Just have to thread it through and then sew the tip on, I guess. That's not so bad.

The two easels were slightly different, as you can see in the picture. I can't remember what made me choose the one I did, as I actually like the other one better, but I'm sure I had a good reason. Maybe the one I didn't use was a tiny bit wider. Whatever. It looks pretty good for a buck and a half!

Oregon Country Fair!

The one time of year that I take rare days off for vacation is to attend the Oregon Country Fair -- OCF.  It's not a reenactment event or a medieval/renaissance faire, more of an art fair, with everything very hands-on and communal and creative. There's a lot of face painting and tie-dye to be had, but it also draws the steampunk crowd and reenactors and weirdos in general.  Check out the link. There's tons of pictures!

All the food is made on premises and no commercial entities are allowed. So if you want a cold beverage, maybe you'll get a lemonade or a homemade rootbeer or an iced tea, but you won't find a Coke machine or Starbucks here. At mealtime, there's all kinds of cultural foods, fresh fruits and veggies, and pizza, burgers, and spaghetti -- but if you want McDonalds or KFC, you're out of luck.

There's music everywhere, and craftspeople selling everything from ironmongery to shoes, musical instruments, clothing, hats -- you name it. I always stop at the place that sells leather, fur, and horn/antlers, because they have a scrap bin that I enjoy rooting through. That and the library. The library is set in a grove of trees, and wooden shelves are set up between the trunks. There are benches, hammocks, swings and rugs to sit on and read, and there's usually a gentle breeze. It's lovely to sit and take a quiet moment there.

There's no reason for me to wear my 14th century anything there, but I often do anyway, just because it lends to the magic of the event. Last year I wore my parti-colored dress and straw hat, and I was very cool and comfortable all day, despite the 80 degree heat. (that's about 26 c to you metric folk)

This year we're camping for two nights and three days and I'm not sure what all I'm going to wear. Probably I won't garb up for all three days. I'd really like to wear my new blue dress and belt, but I'm not sure wool ---even a lightweight wool like this blue-- is the best choice for the hot weather. I mean, I think I'd probably be okay if I were sitting in the shade a lot and tucked up my skirt, but as I'll be with a group of friends who won't be similarly dressed, I don't want to slow them down or be the reason we don't sit in the sun to enjoy a show or something.

I'd love to go to a real reenactment event sometime, where everyone would be dressed in a style similar to mine, so I could talk and learn and shop and not feel so alone in my odd little hobby.  I'm so jealous when I read blogs like Neulakko and see everyone having such fun playing and learning together!

Until I find something like that, OCF will have to do. (Along with trips to Camlann Medieval Village!)

Doodad update!

I know it's late and we're all tired and want to get to bed, but I just wanted to post these work-in-progress pictures of how the belt is doing. I got the upholstery tacks glued onto the buttons tonight, and I think it looks splendid. Got a few other filagree-style thingies from the scrapbook section and played around with placement. I'm excited about how good it looks! With some gold metallic stitching down the edge, I think I'll have a very nice-looking belt to show off this summer!

Doesn't look so much like a bottlecap now! Yay! 

The filagree needs to be Rub-n-Buffed to match,
but you can see what I'm aiming for, yes? Isn't it great?! 

Doodads for the Belt

I decided that the cogwheels by themselves were just not enough to give this belt the look that I wanted. After some thought, I came up with a plan. I glued buttons to them and sewed them to the belt, and I'm going to glue fancy domed upholstery tacks (with the pointy part clipped off) on top to hide the button holes and stitching. The whole doodad is given a brush with Rub-n-Buff to give it a uniform color and we have a rather nice-looking decoration.

Here's the buttons glued on, showing them before and after painting with the Rub-n-Buff. The buttons are just cheap plastic ones. I had to sand them a little on the back to make sure the glue would hold.

And here they are stitched six inches apart on the belt. The upholstery tacks have not been put on yet, but they will cover the stitching and holes so that it's not obvious that I've used buttons.

I really hope the decorative tacks are convincing in making these decorations look more appropriate. I was so happy while I was busy gluing everything and painting -- it wasn't until afterwards that I looked at these things and thought : Bottlecaps. It looks like I've put bottlecaps on my belt.

I found some filigree bits in the scrapbooking section at the craft store as well, and they will fill the interstices between the doodads, and also hopefully help with the illusion of medieval metal-mongery.

It'll look great when I'm done, I just know it. It's just going through an awkward phase right now. Stay tuned!

I'm Sew Tents!

Camp, sweet camp.

We have a reliable old pop-up for camping or in the back yard to provide an extra shady spot to hang out. A few months back, I got a bolt of cotton fabric for $10 on an online auction thinking it would be the prefect thing to make side walls.  And I was right in so many ways!

 Not only is it a nice color and weight, it is the perfect width so that two full panels of it completely cover one side. I cut six seven-foot lengths to be the sides, and then cut three strips to make a kind of oversized bias tape to bind the tops. I put two panels together, overlapping them in the middle by about six inches, and pinned them to the top binding. All I need to do is two rows of stitching up top and a hem on the bottom. Then I'll pop some grommets into the top so we can hang the panels with laces or cable ties. I'll put three ties down the middle so we can tie them shut or tie them back, as we choose.

Best part? There's enough fabric left for me to make that steampunk work skirt I was talking about a few posts back. And perhaps a matching vest!

Here's Bosco, being a typical helpful cat.