It's Fall, Ya'll!

It's Fall, ya'll!

Or, as Lisa likes to say with glee, "We're in the "er" months!"

Indeed we are - and just like Lis, it's my favorite time of year. I'm ready to switch over my outdoor summer wreath and doormat, get a few mums, and maybe even a pumpkin or five.

Bring on the cooler weather, the falling leaves, and flocks of migrating birds.

Yeah, that's going to be a while - we're under a heat advisory (again) with indexes in the 100s and high humidity. Even at 5:00 this morning when I took Pepper out, it was warm and muggy and missing the usual refreshing early morning coolness.

I started off Fall with a birthday celebration with local family. With help from their mama, Ian, Mila, and Lukie went through their childhood artwork and made me a collage.

It is really cool and Pepper is in there as well as five horses that are scattered about. What a great idea and way to keep and display childhood artwork!

(That was actually Sunday, August 30 but I'm counting it in the "er" months. You know, "Auguster", right?)

Then I got a little injury that looks far worse than it really is. I'd had an early morning physical therapy session and afterward decided to drop by and visit someone who lived close by the physical therapy facility.

Their pup was very excited to see me, jumped up, lost its balance, and grabbed my arm as it slid down and backward to the ground.

The owner felt terrible but honestly, the dog was not trying to harm me; it was greeting me and simply lost its balance. In its defense, I bruise and bleed very easily, and the injury isn't as bad as it looks.

I've had some fabric problems in the sewing room, too. Block printing is a hand done process, and part of its charm are the little errors that you can find occasionally.

Well... I have a piece that has more than a few little errors. And it was whoever was responsible for adding the black dye who made them.

Aside from the initial black outlining, there is no black color on this part of the fabric.

Here's how it should look.

Another spot, this time a camel, that the printer missed.

And how it should look.

Another missed elephant.

and how it should look.

I'd already gotten a lot of work done on the trade shirt before I discovered those mistakes.

The good thing is that the errors are hard to find and that errors are a normal and accepted part of using block printed fabrics. 

I will go ahead and finish the shirt, but I will also put a note on its tag about some of the missing color and let the buyer decide if they like it or if they want to look at a different block print shirt. (One person I've already told about the errors said, "Whoa! That is so cool!" Go figure.) 

Of course, the very next block print I opened had an issue on the selvage edge. 

That's an easy work around, but still smarting from the elephant/camel block print, I did a careful inspection of the piece.

A pulled thread, a noticeable issue on the wrong side of the fabric.

But on the right side, it's not very visible and is another easy work around for me.

So, hot weather, an overly exuberant pupper, and issues with block prints...

How are your "er" months starting off?

Stay 'tooned!

The Shirts of February

As of yesterday, February 14, I have made 6 more trade shirts for Kalamazoo. Since it takes me two days per shirt to make them, I am right on schedule. (Twelve days of sewing plus the two Sundays - I always take Sundays off.) 

It's a good pace, but I have to admit I am perplexed by another living history sewist, one I have never met but follow on Facebook. This person sews the same pattern as me and says it takes three hours for them to stitch up a shirt.

How that happens is a mystery to me but I think it may partly be the ironing. To me, the iron is a must-have sewing tool and the finished piece looks much better when it has been ironed throughout the sewing process. Many sewists skip even rudimentary ironing and it shows in their end product. That may be why this person can make a shirt in three hours.

I'm not trying to throw rocks at that person; I've just been curious as to how they can work so quickly on the same thing that takes me much longer to make.

Anyway! Here's a look at those six shirts. And can I just say, I LOVE block prints? Their uniqueness, the places where you can tell someone hand printed the fabric, the vibrant colors and patterns...  They are so cool to sew.

I think of this as the 4th of July block print because that's when I first found this beautiful block print.

It's a size Large and, like all shirts that I make now, has sleeve buttons. My new Janome has an exceptional buttonholer, and I can whip out the four buttonholes on a shirt in just a few minutes. The new machine has literally saved me hours of time just on buttonholes alone.

Take a look at this jaw dropping block print. And no, that's not hyperbole on my part.

Details can be difficult to discern when ordering block prints, and honestly, I bought it for the green color, a color that is very popular among living history people right now. It wasn't until it arrived that I could see the print design more closely.

I got far more than I'd expected - look at the detail on this elephant. This block print took a LOT of work to produce.

A closeup of the sleeve. This shirt is already sold and I will deliver it at Kalamazoo.

There is an unusual swirl at the hem of this block print but it is documented as correct for the 18th century so I bought the fabric. It, too, has already sold and I will deliver it at Kalamazoo.

This next shirt was first, a surprise, and then, an experiment. Another time when it is hard to really see the details of the fabric when buying,  and I was surprised at the size of the flowers when I opened the package.

Generally, a flower or other print (like the elephant) should be no larger than your hand. This passed the test and so I went ahead and stitched it into a shirt. I am curious to see if it sells. (I have the same print in blue and depending on how this one sells, I may make it into something else.)

I get asked a lot if I have any clothing in purple. This fabric has purple and so on my Facebook page I included that in its description. 

I love this particular set of sleeve buttons - isn't that an interesting design?

Finally, the shirt I just finished yesterday which is another that is already sold. A customer saw this same shirt on my Facebook page but it was in a different size than he needed. 

I ordered more of the fabric, got it sewn, and will send it out to him tomorrow. (He lives in Nebraska and is unable to come to KZoo.)

The shirt may look familiar to you - it is the shirt I was cutting out in the sewing hacks post a few days ago.

This gentleman asked for the same sleeve buttons I'd sent with his last shirt. I asked him about it to be sure I didn't misunderstand, and he said he wanted another pair of the same. 

I shouldn't be surprised; this is my biggest selling pair of sleeve buttons and he got the last pair I had on hand. I'll have to order some more buttons and make more before Kalamazoo.

Just two more shirts to make before I move on to making bedgowns. Those two shirts are already cut out as is one bedgown (in purple!)

Hopefully I will have the shirts finished by Wednesday when I will have a marathon bedgown cutting session since the dogs will be with us.

Stay 'tooned!

Kalamazoo 2025: Setting Up

Huzzah! Frank gave me permission to use his time lapse of Friday night's set-up in the North Expo where Jolis Chevaux was located. Thanks, Frank!

For background, vendors don't have hours and hours to set up. We gain access to the building Friday at 7:00 PM and can stay and work until 10:00 PM. Then, Saturday morning, we can work from 7:00 AM to 9:00 when the event opens to the public.

When you consider how much is brought in and the displays that are assembled and then stocked... wow. It is pretty incredible as you will see. (Time lapse video by Frank Jarboe and used with permission.)

Wasn't that amazing?

Frank and Carol help Leslie by selling her block print fabrics so they were setting up while I was. (They also helped me.)

I don't buy from Leslie at shows; I don't want to buy things that might be a sale for her. I buy later because she can always order me something I want.

She also made a lot of petticoats to sell (and they sold well.) The walnut-dyed shirt was Rick's, I think, and he decided to sell it. (It did.) 

When the show opens, people cluster around Leslie's tables and the block prints fly off the tables. It's a very busy spot in the building.

She also sells block print scarves that are made from a lighter weight fabric. That gold one called my name, but it sold. But, just like the other block prints, she can always order me another one.

Frank is a minister in both the 21st and the 18th centuries. (Parson John.) He has a Bible from 1723 (it's 302 years old!!) that he brings for the Sunday church service he conducts each year.

I always ask if I can see it - there is something about holding a Bible that is centuries old in your hands, 

or turning the pages and knowing that that book has been used by many, many people of faith over the centuries. I always get a shiver and feel connected to those people through our shared faith despite the gulf of time between us.

Carol offered to help me get the rest of my things out and then Leslie sent Anita, a staff member, over to see what else I needed help with.

My newest display - the sleeve buttons! (They garnered a lot of interest during the event and I sold several pairs!)

My booth was finished well before the closing time of 10:00 thanks to those who helped me. (Grateful!)

I had some of Rick's books on my table and Gretchen brought some wool blankets she wanted to sell - there was plenty of room for all of that. (Can you see the Francis Rumps hanging on the left of the rack?)

Staff had to stay after 10:00 and clear the building and then check in the security crew for the night. Because Gretchen is staff and I rode to Michigan with her, I had to stay late with her. We finally got back to our hotel rooms around 11:00. I called Craig and spoke to him briefly and then set my alarm for 5:00 AM as staff had to be back at the Expo Center early the next morning.

Normally I don't need an alarm, but as tired as I was, I set it. Good thing I did - I was asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.

Stay 'tooned for a busy, busy, BUSY Saturday! 

Lots of Updates

So much has been happening around here, I feel like I post a few tidbits and then move on to the next thing without wrapping up the first. So, here are some updates on things I've written about but never quite finished.

Count the Kicks

Sarah's event was a huge success!

Curt, Lisa, Sarah, and Vanessa in front of one of the billboards advertising it here in Lafayette.

Two hundred pregnant moms were planned for, and three hundred came. I asked Sarah if they'd had enough food and she responded, "Food? Yes. Cookies? No!!" 

Colts wide receiver and Count the Kicks sponsor Ryan Kelly modeling the event's tee shirt given to all who came.

Sarah said the Kellys were very generous in their sponsorship and support of stillbirth prevention - they truly made a difference by hosting this event. Sarah is back in Iowa now, tired but very pleased with the number of pregnant women who were there and learning about preventing stillbirth. 

Health Update

Speaking of health, look what arrived in the mail for me.

I have very mixed emotions - I've grateful because this will make running errands much easier, especially as it becomes snowy and icy here.

But it also makes me feel old and even bad for taking a parking place that someone who has more difficulty walking than me might want to use. But mostly I am grateful because it has been a big help to me to have it.

I do think my health is improving - the twice weekly physical therapy is really helping my back. The hemiplegic migraines have stopped. I still get a regular migraine occasionally (I've had them since I was nine) but compared to a hemiplegic migraine, they are nothing.

The blood and heart issues have resolved but I am still dealing with blood pressures that are occasionally at stroke level. That's scary, but I've got good doctors who are helping to get that under control. 

The hernia is problematic. It hurts to wear anything with a waistband, so I've bought some muumuus that hang from my shoulders and don't put pressure on my abdomen. I also bought some stretchy yoga pants so that if I do need to run an errand, I wear those. (I can tolerate a waistband for short periods of time.) I see a surgeon next month.

Custom Trade Shirts from The Feast of the Hunters' Moon

I had two orders for shirts from the Feast but I had to wait until Leslie got the fabric for them back in stock.

The blue daisy chain block print shirt turned out really well. 

The man who ordered it sent me a selfie of himself wearing it. I sell a lot of clothing, but I don't always get to see it being worn, so that was a treat for me.

I was prepping the fabric for the other custom order (I always prewash the fabric to get extra dye out and to preshrink it since it's cotton) and was dismayed as I ironed it to discover lots of ink issues. Take a look.

These long random lines were all over the fabric.

I photographed eleven different spots across the fabric

before I stopped, realizing that this fabric was not acceptable and needed to be returned.

Every block print has a flaw or two; it's part of their charm and an indicator of being hand printed. But these lines were not caused by blocks being misaligned.

I think the ink on this fabric was still damp when the fabric was gathered up and taken for pressing and the wet ink transferred along the wrinkles.

Fortunately I had a second piece of this block print without those flaws and was able to get started on the order.

The body is done except for the collar, and the sleeves are ready to be put in. (The triangular pieces are underarm gussets. They keep the shirt from being flat and paper doll-like, allowing for arm movement without constraint.)

Patient Tammo

Pepper is a brilliant dog. She really is; she had to be in order to be selected as a Seeing Eye Dog. She's the smallest of all the family dogs, but she always wins the scuffles over the toys by using her brain. Instead of using strength like the other dogs, she persistently hangs onto the toy and doesn't shake or fight for it. She just holds it in her mouth. And she always gets the toy in the end. 

(Occasionally she uses the ambush approach, surprising the other dog by charging around the corner of the couch and snatching the toy before they know just what happened. Like I said, she's smart.)

If Pepper has a toy, any toy, then Tammo wants it. And that boy has figured out a way to get toys away from her. 

He can be just as persistent as Pepper, but he couples that with patience. He waits her out, watching her all the while.

If she gets distracted or puts her head down to snooze, he makes his move. He sneaks up to her and gently pulls the toy away. If she sees him and grabs ahold of her toy, he goes back to waiting and watching.

From getting a toy or a bed that he wants, his patience almost always pays off. I'm starting to think that Tammo, too, hit the jackpot when it came to brains.

New Hagen Renakers to share tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!