green_martha

SQUEE !!!
My latest Mode Illustrée just came. In the first minute after I stopped the electric sander and was actually able to HEAR the bell ring, mind you. I see the box, think to myself "uhoh, this is big for just one year". But then, the listing said only 414 pages, so that's one year. 1871, I was more looking for 1872, but well, 1871 will do.
Open the box, and guess what ? The book is a bound edition of year 1871 AND 1872. 414 is just the number on the last page of 1872. I actually have 828 pages to drool over. And I got it for 40 euros plus shipping. Some sellers are nuts and I'm a pretty darn lucky girl !

BTW, if you go check my site, February 1898 is entirely up !

I'm scanning ahead in my Mode Illustrée stock, and I just came accross a theatre review... Seems to be a review from the premiere of my favorite play ever, Cyrano de Bergerac. That made my heart flutter a bit...

La Mode Illustrée, 1899, with color pictures AND some color plates, too. It's here ! Yaida yaida yaida !

Lookie !

The cover is in a really sad condition, but look at that starting price !

Now my back is insulting me because I spent two hours trimming the plants, cleaning the balcony and taking out two trash bags. And that's only one half of it. Huh. Anyway...

I'm taking a break form gardening (or should I say balconying ?) and came back to uploading pictures and making new pages. And I'm wondering how I should put the needlework, crochet and knitting pieces on my site

[Poll #1155043]

I've been daydreaming about some way to search the fashion illustrations and needleworks patterns I have and will put online, but I don't think I'm up to the challenge of coding that just yet, and the HG already has a lot of more pressing stuff on his plate.

Hey, I've just found someone else who's uploading bits and pieces from La Mode Illustrée books ! Check out Le Journal des Demoiselles, there are some hats and hairdos, too, and (s ?)he even tested some recipes !
In French, with some funky photoshopping of the pictures (which I like, but it might surprise some).

La Mode from the 18th of January 1914 is up on my website !

These magazines are seriously addictive, and so is putting them up.

On the actual sewing side, over the last two days I have :
- cut out and started sewing together the "bodice" (may it be called that way ?) from the Pillow Flower. I had to recut the V-shaped plastron (I had originally intended to have a bright flower in the middle but in the end it looked better with a black V in the front and only some leaves on the sides of it), otherwise no major mishap.
- traced out and guess-worked the alterations for the 1913 jacket, and spent 15 minutes wondering what one pattern piece was. The numbers on the pattern being somewhat odd I first mistook it for a weird belt thingie. Then for a pocket. It's a sleeve cuff actually. *feels dumb* Much easier to understand when you have access to the instructions and the picture of the finished garment.
- unpicked the sleeves from Provence's mock-up and took apart the underbodice, in preparation of mock-up #2. Because I find I can't move my arms around enough and there were some weird wrinkles at the sides that I want to make sure are eliminated.
- eBay-ed a 1923 issue from Le Petit Echo de la Mode, been outbid on a 1876 bound volume from La Mode Illustrée, and kept an eye on some other stuff in the like that I'll bid on tomorrow before leaving for work.

So I feel kind of okay with what I have accomplished so far. I'm in a mood to keep on sewing for some time and work on Provence mock-up #2, except I know it's a bad idea. Tomorrow is a workday, and it's already late. So to bed I must go.

I've finished scanning, uploading, and typing the texts for a new issue of La Mode Illustrée. It's here


Those magazines are getting into my apartment faster than I get them up on the web. Much faster. We must scan quicker. We wants to show you all the precious pretties !

Which, BTW, reminds me that I want to include a "What's new" feature in my site. And make a proper twirling page, rathe rthan just the non-selection of crappy fire pics.

... or maybe the fabric shrunk during the cutting and sewing process. Anyway, I had to recut the waistband for the 1913 skirt because 1) it had suddenly became 5cm to short and 2) I had completely forgotten to include an organdi strip to strenghten it. Now it's almost too long, actually. And I fear it may be a little wide. But it's hard to tell since my dummy won't scale up to my mom's size and when I last called her she hinted that her measurements might (or might not) have changed. Grumble.
At any rate, it's a pretty, flowing, long straight skirt. I ended up changing the side darts into simple knifepleats, works better witht he hang of the fabric and, as mentionned above, my dummy only gives a vague impression of my mom's hips.
The pleats in front and back are ironed and kept in place with pins, and will stay so until I'm sure I can sew them down. Same goes for the provisory absence of closure and hem. Skirt mock-up crossed from the list - let's just hope the un-zigzagged edges won't fray to death before it gets tried on by the future wearer...

Next step : make a jacket mock-up.

In other news, I'm baking again, this time for a friend who's defending on Wednesday. We'll also bring him all the fruit juice, paper plates and plastic glasses we have left. And no, I'm not baking the whole thing, just two cakes and some muffins. Not THAT crazy.

I also heard back from the doll person, another matter cleared.

And last but not least, I've put up a new page up. I've scanned and webbed the first of my 1920 "rewards". Here's the mantle I've been wanting to make since something like 4 years :


And here's the dress I'm currently much drooling upon :


Errr... I think that's all. sorry for the lapidary style, putting on the waistband took a bit longer than expected so it's late now, and I'm tired...

Squeeeeeee : my parents are getting me TWO bound year of La Mode Illustrée. Payment has been sent via paypal yesterday, so here's hoping I get them reaaaaally soon. And really in advance.

Aaaaaargh : the b-day party is tomorrow night and the polonaise is still not done ! I'm still killing my fingers with a bazillion pins, pleating a folded strip of the Satin of Doom (tm) into place. And it must get finished tonight !