Dec 20, 2018
That time of the year is coming… when a more prolific soul than you or I will post a list of the sixty-five fabulous projects she completed this year. And lo, most people will look at her edited highlights, and compare them to their backstage mess, and feel inadequate.
Ugh. Doesn’t sound like fun.
So let’s release some of our stuck creative energy right now, and release ourselves from 2018 like an arrow departs from the bow.
To begin, let’s release procrastination.
Nov 22, 2018
Remember the Edwardian chemise I made earlier this year?
Well, if you keeping hunting around in the Metropolitan Museum archive, you’ll come across a matching pair of drawers (top of page). They’re part of a set containing an identical chemise to mine – the lace is unmistakeable. So obviously I have to make the drawers too.
Nov 15, 2018
So this was fun…
Last week I was delighted to have an opportunity to speak to a Muggle audience about corsets.
Well, ok, I spoke to an audience of entrepreneurs about business, using corsets to make my point. 🙂
My audience included personal trainers, accountants, healers, coaches, gardeners, herbalists, stylists, tech wizards – an extraordinarily diverse group of experts in all kinds of fields, who are all building businesses online using the same tools and principles. You can imagine the double takes the first time they hear what I’m doing online.
A membership site about making corsets and historical dress?? It’s unimaginable!
Oct 23, 2018
Some of you know that I’ve been having voice lessons… for about six months now.
I’ve always wanted to learn to sing, but it’s difficult to summon up the courage to try a new hobby. I mean, the courage not just to try it, but to sustain that courage long enough, and keep practising long enough, to feel really good at it. Good enough to really enjoy it, you know?
Well courage is neither here nor there, now.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve been forced into voice lessons by a problem with my vocal cords. It’s not so much singing lessons as “voice rehab”… because although my singing is alright, speaking is a struggle.
I don’t know how it began – maybe stress, maybe a physical issue that cleared up and left bad habits behind; all I know is that I am physically fine – the doctors can find nothing wrong – and yet right now, my speaking voice is a croaky, whispery mess.
What does this have to do with sewing? Stay with me.
Oct 18, 2018
You’ve heard it before, I’m sure: you need the right foundations to get the silhouette right.
Sometimes you need them even when you re-purpose historical dress as everyday modern dress, and discard the corset.
I’ve been working on an 1890s wool skirt to just wear around the house this winter. I drafted it from an original set of instructions in the Keystone Jacket and Dress Cutter, with a smooth front, and a back that explodes in acres of gorgeous pleats. I should have guessed that this plan led to an engineering snafu…
Oct 4, 2018
I love wearing vintage, but sometimes I feel bad about wearing really old clothes… especially if an accident happens. ????
My favourite vintage dress shirt has been hanging in my sewing room with a 3″ L-shaped rip for months… and I finally decided there was only one thing to do… mend it the same way its original owner might have done…
