Weather & Sewing Woes

Denver is expecting as much as 17 - 20  inches of snow today. Flights have been canceled and schools and roads have been closed. Winter isn't over yet!

But Denver isn't the only western town that has weather woes. Jessica has had a strange weather challenge that is connected to wind.

A tumbleweed invasion!***

She lives in Santaquin,Utah and these pictures were taken in a town north of her.

If you have ever been around tumbleweeds, you know they are covered in sharp prickles. You can't just pick them up bare-handed and move them. How do I know that?

I once boxed one up and took it home to Indiana to share with my students. We had a wild and crazy recess one windy day! (With a few slivers in our hands but the fun and learning was worth it.)

Here is one man's solution to tumbleweed clogged roads.

You can just barely see the roof of his truck in that mass of tumbleweeds!

***Photo screen shots taken from a video made by Little Wedgies and posted on social media.

I hit a MAJOR issue yesterday while working on the robe a l'Anglais. I could not figure out how to implement a step in the garment's construction. I read and reread the instructions, I pinned and unpinned, I looked at the online tutorial... Finally, after two hours, I emailed the women who created the pattern and asked for clarification.

With just two days until Kalamazoo, I was in a bit of a panic. In order not to waste time while I waited for an answer, I worked on other things that needed to be made for the gown.

I ironed the petticoat and was pleased to see that I'd been able to match the pattern of the fabric so well that the seam down the middle could not be seen. I had to run my fingers over the fabric to find it.

I cut out and stitched  the stomacher, making two changes. I added interfacing inside for strength,

and instead of doing a white cotton lining on the back, I used the dress fabric. Now the stomacher is completely reversible should Lisa want to do so.

The cuffs for the sleeves are not necessary, but I got started on them. If I run out of time to add them, Lisa can go cuff-less to this event and still be totally period correct.

If I get the robe a l'Anglais finished in time to take it to Kalamazoo, there are a lot of separate parts that cannot be forgotten and left at home.

I began gathering them in one place so that they can be packed. 

When I went to bed last night, I still had not heard from the pattern creators as to how to do that sewing step that had stymied me. I was pretty worried and told Lisa I wasn't sure her gown would be ready. She was really nice about it and said she would just wear it to The Feast of the Hunters' Moon in that case. (Thanks, Lis.)

Heading into the sewing room now - wish me luck!

 

Kalamazoo Week: Packing & Stitching

Leslie asked me to bring my tubs and boxes up to her farm in Brookston yesterday afternoon. She and Rick would be packing the trailer with their things and had offered to take my inventory with theirs. Because they own the event and are in charge of all aspects of it, they have to be in Kalamazoo Wednesday to begin set up.

I was glad for their offer and even more glad that I had taken inventory last week and that my tubs were packed and ready. But, getting those things downstairs was going to be difficult. Craig and I both have back issues, and currently his are worse than mine. I would have to tote them all downstairs and then out into the garage and load my car by myself.

I got the first tote and two wooden trenchers downstairs and into the laundry room and had to stop. My back was already in pain and I had to sit down and stretch it out. There were still four more totes and three boxes of inventory upstairs to carry down and out to the car. There had to be a better way to do this.

I decided to move things in short segments and take a break between each one to rest my back. First, everything was carried out of the horse room and stacked at the top of the stairs. Then, I carried each tub and box downstairs one by one and stacked them in the foyer by the front door.

Light bulb moment - why carry them back through the house and into the laundry room when I could take a shortcut out the front door and into the garage, using my wagon to carry the load?

Bingo! (And probably saved my back.) I got the car loaded and headed out of town to Leslie's.

We loaded my things into the trailer and then I went into their shop and helped gather a few more things that needed to be loaded. 

The Peeps tub was left in the shop for now - it will be put in the trailer just before they go. Why Peeps at a living history event?

I am not sure how the tradition got started, but ever year several volunteers put up a Peeps display of some sort. Usually they are humorous - last year they created a "Peeps-henge" from them.

But sometimes they are a bit more sobering - two years ago the Peeps display honored Ukraine which had just been invaded by Russia.

The Peeps tradition is a wildly popular part of the event despite the fact that it is totally unrelated to living history. Leslie has no idea what the volunteers will create this year, but I am looking forward to finding out.

Robe a l'Anglais Update

I made good progress on Lisa's gown yesterday and I am starting to think I just may complete it in time for her to wear it at Kalamazoo. (The navy color is off in some of the photos because I have three bright lights directly on the fabric while I work.)

The back pleats are finished and stitched down. (I will remove the chalk marks later.)

Some 18th century living history re-enactors sew their garments entirely by hand, and actually all the directions for this gown are for hand stitching. I don't have the time for that, so I am using my machine. There are some areas (circled above) where I don't have a choice and must hand stitch.

The pleats completed, then the bodice must be cut out and attached.

The bodice back lining which was pinned over the pleats before I stitched them down is used as a pattern to cut the gown fabric. 

Another scary part in the making of this gown - if I cut wrong, I'd have to start over from the beginning. I read those directions multiple times before I grabbed my scissors. Sigh of relief, I got it right.

Finally, I cut and stitched four more skirt pieces. These will be attached to the pleated back and then be pleated themselves. 

Still lots to do, but I am making headway. We volunteer twice a month in Indianapolis, and today is one of our days to go, but I can still get several hours of sewing in before we leave.