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Sep. 4th, 2013 01:03 amMy summer sewing project is complete and in the hands of its owner. It nearly wasn't - after I'd overnight-expressed it to his last known address, he told me on Facebook (four days later) that he'd not gone to get it and was already packing. Boy, was I hot! Not even a 'thank you'! I learned of this when he posted on Facebook that he was looking for a piece of luggage to borrow. I asked him if he knew that I hated him right then... Later, he wrote to me to say that the clothes all fit except (go figure) the tunic with the embroidery, whose sleeves are about six inches too long. I have no idea how that happened. He didn't say how he got his clothes and I didn't ask but I'm figuring that one of the other guys in the group, who he was renting a room from, drove all the way down to the new-owner's house to deliver the clothing after he saw my response online. If so, I owe that driver some embroidery or something. Anyway it's done now, and that is all that matters. (And I got over my mad but it will be a long while before I'll be willing to sew for him again without money upfront as a regular commission job. No more 'for free just because I'm nice'.)
Having said that, I'm making a Norman tunic for another member of our re-enactment group- - - for free just because I'm nice. But I absolutely know that this guy will be quick to respond to any messages I send him, and he certainly deserves something that looks good. Heidi/Oda made his hosen for him so all he needs is a split-front tunic and an undertunic to complete his second kit. He's not going to need them soon as he's a new Second Louie in the Marine Corps and is busy with training, then expects to be shipping elsewhere for more training before he gets his real orders. He dropped by on Sunday to pick up his feast gear (I'd knitted cotton bags to store & transport them in so they would be safer as he moves around) and the linen-lined wool hood & mantle that he'd washed and dried... my fault, I've been so busy telling the guys that "this is washable and dryable" when talking about their trous and tunics for the past few years that I'm sure he completely forgot me telling them all that they should either dry clean or just wash & air dry their hoods. It was a long while ago that I'd made them. The wool shrank a bit. Not too badly, but the yarn-woven braid along the edge of the mantle puckered up and the linen lining was, of course, too large for the wool exterior. I was able to 'fix' that by creating a horizontal tuck all the way around the inside bottom of the mantle and hand-stitching it down. He's been instructed to use a steamy-but-cool iron to stretch out the wool braid when he gets a chance. It's not as though he won't have access to an iron on base!
Theoretically right now I'm prepping for the class on Viking-era Norse garb that I'll be teaching this Saturday. You can tell that I'm doing that by the fact that I'm typing an entry in here instead of hunting down my references on the web. I'm building up to it, really. Oh that reminds me - I need to find out if the school has an overhead projector I can use. One thing I'm doing for the class is hand-sewing another pair of Thorsberg trous. I want to have examples people can actually hold and play with during the class. It is giving me something to work on while we're watching TV at night. And now Bossman will have heavy trous for Ymir, something practically jeans-weight and sturdy.
I was thinking about how I could help with our need to purchase a new pavilion before Pennsic next year. The one we want, a 16x16, is between $1300-$1600 depending on which fabric treatment we opt for. Right now, with us looking at needing to buy a new car (mine bit the dust) and renew some dental work, things are looking tight. Money for something like a pavilion is going to be dear. So after some thought I've decided that I will attempt to merchant at a few events - nothing too stressful - and sell things I am comfortable making. I believe my plan at this point is children's garb and (of all things) cooler covers. Ours are made of a heavy upholstery fabric top with a soft skirt underneath. They look a bit like a ladies' boudoir stool, actually, or like a table covered with a cloth & a table carpet. The advantage is that we can get into the cooler without removing the cloth cover so it isn't too much of a modern-item jar when we use them at events. Lauren went with me to JoAnn's Fabric, where there was a very good sale, and I was able to pick up a nice selection of skirting and top fabrics. I also got a good bit of linen/cotton fabrics for kid's clothes. Not a huge amount, but enough to be a starter for the project. I plan on ploughing the profits back into the supply costs while skimming off a little each time. Even if I only earn a small amount, it will help. And of course there will be some parent out there who will be able to dress their kids comfortably and affordably without having to scramble to find the time to sew new stuff. I like that.
Anything left over can go to Gold Key in the spring. Here's our current cooler-cover. I'll be making mix-and-match sets for 'daytrip' sized coolers, and can measure & take orders for the larger ones since those are not so uniform in size and shape.
Countdown: 239 days until I'm done with the (lifesaving) Gleevec and finish with its side effects. I thought I'd put that somewhere so I can recalculate whenever I have bad days - because the number is only going to get smaller.
Having said that, I'm making a Norman tunic for another member of our re-enactment group- - - for free just because I'm nice. But I absolutely know that this guy will be quick to respond to any messages I send him, and he certainly deserves something that looks good. Heidi/Oda made his hosen for him so all he needs is a split-front tunic and an undertunic to complete his second kit. He's not going to need them soon as he's a new Second Louie in the Marine Corps and is busy with training, then expects to be shipping elsewhere for more training before he gets his real orders. He dropped by on Sunday to pick up his feast gear (I'd knitted cotton bags to store & transport them in so they would be safer as he moves around) and the linen-lined wool hood & mantle that he'd washed and dried... my fault, I've been so busy telling the guys that "this is washable and dryable" when talking about their trous and tunics for the past few years that I'm sure he completely forgot me telling them all that they should either dry clean or just wash & air dry their hoods. It was a long while ago that I'd made them. The wool shrank a bit. Not too badly, but the yarn-woven braid along the edge of the mantle puckered up and the linen lining was, of course, too large for the wool exterior. I was able to 'fix' that by creating a horizontal tuck all the way around the inside bottom of the mantle and hand-stitching it down. He's been instructed to use a steamy-but-cool iron to stretch out the wool braid when he gets a chance. It's not as though he won't have access to an iron on base!
Theoretically right now I'm prepping for the class on Viking-era Norse garb that I'll be teaching this Saturday. You can tell that I'm doing that by the fact that I'm typing an entry in here instead of hunting down my references on the web. I'm building up to it, really. Oh that reminds me - I need to find out if the school has an overhead projector I can use. One thing I'm doing for the class is hand-sewing another pair of Thorsberg trous. I want to have examples people can actually hold and play with during the class. It is giving me something to work on while we're watching TV at night. And now Bossman will have heavy trous for Ymir, something practically jeans-weight and sturdy.
I was thinking about how I could help with our need to purchase a new pavilion before Pennsic next year. The one we want, a 16x16, is between $1300-$1600 depending on which fabric treatment we opt for. Right now, with us looking at needing to buy a new car (mine bit the dust) and renew some dental work, things are looking tight. Money for something like a pavilion is going to be dear. So after some thought I've decided that I will attempt to merchant at a few events - nothing too stressful - and sell things I am comfortable making. I believe my plan at this point is children's garb and (of all things) cooler covers. Ours are made of a heavy upholstery fabric top with a soft skirt underneath. They look a bit like a ladies' boudoir stool, actually, or like a table covered with a cloth & a table carpet. The advantage is that we can get into the cooler without removing the cloth cover so it isn't too much of a modern-item jar when we use them at events. Lauren went with me to JoAnn's Fabric, where there was a very good sale, and I was able to pick up a nice selection of skirting and top fabrics. I also got a good bit of linen/cotton fabrics for kid's clothes. Not a huge amount, but enough to be a starter for the project. I plan on ploughing the profits back into the supply costs while skimming off a little each time. Even if I only earn a small amount, it will help. And of course there will be some parent out there who will be able to dress their kids comfortably and affordably without having to scramble to find the time to sew new stuff. I like that.
Anything left over can go to Gold Key in the spring. Here's our current cooler-cover. I'll be making mix-and-match sets for 'daytrip' sized coolers, and can measure & take orders for the larger ones since those are not so uniform in size and shape.
Countdown: 239 days until I'm done with the (lifesaving) Gleevec and finish with its side effects. I thought I'd put that somewhere so I can recalculate whenever I have bad days - because the number is only going to get smaller.
