18th of February 1883

All the magazines I've put online so far are in French, and frankly, I don't think I4ll translate anything until I've scanned the whole bulk of them, and learned some more fashion and fabrics terms in English. Some of the mentioned fabrics I had never heard of before, even in French, so I'll have trouble translating that.
Anyway, I hope you'll like it.

As for me, I'm going back to my dolman's closures. Or should I put my things into the suitcase already ?

(That's what you get to hear if I catch my reflection in the window) I currently have something on my head... like errr.... my sewing notions dealer's shop just exploded ? And there actually are two vivid green flowers with feathers right on top of it... Huh !
In other words : the hat is done.

( Let's feel accomplished : )

Not sure I can work on the dolman tonight, but I have tomorrow afternoon aaaaaaall for myself !

I prepared the bodice, boning channels and boning for me to sew at work tomorrow. Then I worked on the hat while watching Devil's Advocate with the Home Geek. And I liked it. The hat, mainly. The film was okay. Next time I get to choose and it will either be Man to Man, age of Innocence or The Perfume :D

I've got a dumb headache again, it's late, and I've found my lime colored velvet ribbon again, so I'm off to bed with one of my Preciouses - I think year 1881 this time. ;)

We're gonna melt next week in winter bustles... and yet it will still be winter, going by the calendar... *looks at all the green on the balcony*

Back to sewing. Buttonholes done, bodice in need of :
- buttons
- some boning
- inner waistband
- find something to get the collar to behave.

Underskirt :
- move one bar

Overskirt :
- add hooks and bars
- add ribbon bows

Only after that will I worry about the hat and the dolman. Hat first I think.

Finish the overskirt.

Ready... set... sew !

I'm sooooo tired... and I could have been in bed much earlier, given how clouded the sky turned in the last half hour *grump* Good side ? That gave me an excuse to stay up, and thus, I got my underskirt done ! Hem and closures included, yay !

Must not think about empire ball gown. Other projects first. Not enough info about empire ball. Must not think about tambour embroidery. No needles yet. Must not skip mind from beaded flapper dress to empire ball gown....

The overskirt is done ! Technically, it still needs a hook and a bar at the waist, but that will wait till I try everything on to check the waist measurement. Lots of handsewing, that was - only two seams were done by machine. Which means yes, I have my machine back and according to the repairman it's old and tired. I just hope she lasts me some more years *sigh*.
I've moved on to the underskirt. I have taken the front and back pieces apart and must now procede to flatline the nex front piece. I'm redoing the waistband too, as the opening of the skirt has moved its position isn't right anymore. But I had done a very hasty job when I put it on the first time around, so it's a good thing I'm redoing it.

Just finished reading the Half-Blood Prince - what the hell is *that* for an ending ?!? I want to know what happens next ! I have enough of George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones), Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy and its sequels) and Glenn Cook (Black Company) in cliffhanger matters ! Not Harry Potter too ! Tssss.... well, as I was orginally saying : I've just finished covering the buckram frame for my hat and I'm not sure how I should proceed next. I think I'll let it rest for some time until I have a mor eprecise idea of how to trim it. I've got ribbons, flowers, fabric scraps and lace, I just don't know yet how to throw it together... Pictures to be found here, not updated with this weeks small progress. Now, should I work on the dolman's closures or drape the underskirt ?

The hat has been successfully mocked up ! Yay ! It's a bit different from the inspiration image, because though I love the shape, I can't exactly picture myself with such a big thing on the head. I have some pictures to show, but not of the finished mock-up, because my camera's battery died when the HG was snapping a final picture. And then the second battery wasn't charged and died just as I clicked on "import". The crown of the hat now has a womewhat larger base, so that the hat doesn't sit that far backwards anymore.
I kind of wanted to have a hat to handsew tomorrow on my break, well, no such thing. I think I'll bring my bodice and some linen and will start on my corset cover instead. Big tables at the tea-shop, enough to cut out a small piece of undies ;)

ETA : why do I always want to "chop" the tea, he ?

No matter how much I sew, I don't seem to make any progress ! This feeling of not moving any further is frustrating, even though I DO get a little something accomplished every day - just too little a little. Sadly, I can't do anythign against the fact that I don't have enough time, staying a bit late at work and with a few medical apointments lately... It buggers me that the things that have got to give are the ones I want to do the most, like sewing or dancing. Actually, ot sort of depresses me, I'm trying to avoid the un pleasant black hole by thinking at least a good part of the medical stuff will be over next week, and the job front should be cleared in two weeks.
I think I need a good book.

Anyway, on the actual sewing front...
Today was so slow at work (I mean... one person enters the shop every 30 minutes at best ? Am I to die of boredom ?) I actually took the bodice out of my bag and sewed. As a consequence, only one half of the lower hem (and a tiny bit at the neck) remains to be done. Good. (Now I hope it will snow tomorrow too, or reach the predicted minus 15 celsius, so that everyone stays at home and I get to sew the second half tomorrow :D) A propos bodice, I know just exactly how I want it to be finished, and thus, the amount of work needed - and I'll have to postpone a few things if I want it done for March. I'll make normal buttonholes, and will wait for another occasion to try my hands on bound ones, but I'll do them by hand, as I really hated how the machine-made ones looked on the HG's vest. Then there are some seams on the front, namely the centre front one and the one net to it on the right, which look a little odd to me, like they don't have a purpose and I could have drafted them out if I was brilliant enough (I certainly could have drafted the center front one out, I just hadn't thought the overlapping design over enough at that point). *But* they would really make sense if, for instance, the panel between them (center front right) had some specific embellishment. Yes, I do know it would have been easier to put a brocade applique on it before assembling the bodice, but you know, Martha = masochistic !

I also got the petticoat completely cut out, and my love affair with the linen ended at the very minute my scissors first met said fabric. It stretches in *every* direction, just when you're not looking at it, I'm sure it would stretch right into the fourth dimension if it could ! Of course, the cat found it funny to go play inside the fabric while I was cutting it, so that I had to recut one half of the back. And don't you even try to talk to me about the straicht or cross of grain. Both are twisted anyhow. The good news ? It's done. And I have lots of fabric left over, I'll be able to make a pretty corset cover and possibly something else out of it.

Good night LJ-Land ! (Since this is a semi-rant, I get to use my pink angry icon. I love it !)