Rejoicing with the Truth

I haven't sewn anything since the last time I reported status. So Eleanor's dress is still unfinished (but still looking adorable), patterns are un-printed, and the sewing room is still dark. But I did drive an hour plus to the guild's Tiaras and Top Hats Tea Party on Saturday. That was fun! The tea was lovely. I liked the main course best, and the white tea was very good instead of disgusting. (My only previous experience with white tea, alas.)

I finally wore Maid Marian to a guild event, too! She's been out for Costume College and Halloween for two different years, but this was the first time at a guild event. As usual I had some minor difficulties with the belt (this time because I forgot which set of hooks to use), but it was fine for a mostly-seated event. Although I would have liked to wear a tiara, it was nice to check the "Maid Marian @ guild" box and not have to worry about anything else. And Maid Marian does have a circlet!

Pictures from Jen, as always, because she's generous and I'm a moocher. :p

Me and kaesha_nikovana. She made her crown. It's mesmerizing in person!
( More pictures! )

I did order Jill Salen's Vintage Lingerie on jenthompson's recommendation. Not that I don't think a bandeau would give the wrong look as such, for me! But a longer type of brassiere would probably be more appropriate for me back then. And most importantly, with a pattern, I don't have to make it all up. :D

Note: I was surprised at the number of critical/negative reviews on Amazon. I have her earlier book, Corsets, and I can recognize some of the complaints; but most seem to show a basic misapprehension. IMHO the negative reviewers are both (a) legitimately reflecting the lack of construction detail, along with the condescending tone of her commentary, and (b) not reviewing the book for what it is: scale drawings of actual garments. As more recent reviewer said in response, "Sewing and pattern drafting aren't the same." Yep, this book is not the same thing as buying a pattern envelope with multi-sized block-drafted patterns and illustrated directions.

So with that book on the way, scheduled to arrive Saturday, what should I do? (When I actually have some free time, that is, which may be Wednesday evening; or Friday afternoon.) Hmm... I think I'll finish tracing the patterns Lauren lent me, and then start on the white wool stays. I've sized up and drafted some shape changes on the pattern, but I haven't actually tested anything yet. My least favorite part, but when I get into it, I tend to make rapid progress.

New book today on Project Gutenberg:

English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop (William I - George IV)
Published 1906

It's... interesting!  Pretty watercolors, if nothing else. And excerpts from things like Pepys' diary. I'll bet it was very useful for fancy dress balls!

This one from seawasp. 


1) What author do you own the most books by? Not sure. With the weekend's acquisitions, I have 32 Saint books, so that's probably the highest.  The Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew collections surpass that, but both are jointly owned by my mother and I. And the majority of the Louis L'Amours are Nathan's.

2) What book do you own the most copies of? With far too little space for the books, I don't like having multiple copies of many things unless there's a reason for a particular edition. I have duplicates of some Austens and Sherlock Holmes, but I think the winner is Bibles, with five. In length-of-ownership order, I have the Living Bible I was given for Christmas in... 1989, I think; the NIV I got for Xmas in 1992 or 1993; a slimmer NIV, this time from the church, upon my high school graduation in 2001; an 1855 pocket-sized KJV I bought on ebay while in college to use for 1860s reenacting, and which I often carry to church because it's the smallest; and the NIV study Bible given to me by Mr. and Mrs. Klob when I graduated from college in 2005.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? Nope. Sometimes I try to avoid it in my writing, but only when it doesn't sound too contrived.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with? Oh, I love Richard Diamond, but that's hardly a secret; and he is a radio character, not a book character. There's plenty of others I could love, but none come to mind right now when I want them.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life? Err.  I never keep count. The Bible, Ben-Hur, Alistair MacLean's Where Eagles Dare and The Golden Rendezvous, Rifles for Watie, maybe Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime and The Man in the Brown Suit; probably lots more. I love to re-read.

6) What was your favourite book when you were ten years old? Nothing stands out; probably a Nancy Drew. I read all of Mom's before I was 8, and I added to the collection for years.  I also loved The Black Stallion; it's one of the earliest books I remember reading, certainly before first grade.  I would have read it to death except that I never owned it.

7) What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? Not sure. Probably the book I stumbled across on Project Gutenberg that ends unhappily, with the central character going rather nuts - after the reader's been suckered into really really rooting for him and the woman. I loathe books wherein the main character(s) really, truly are insane.

8) What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? Impossible to say. Thanks to Project Gutenberg and Google Books, it's a choice among hundreds.

9) If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? I can't think of one. People tend to hate what they are forced to do. I sure do!

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature? Not a clue.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie? There was something I was thinking about recently, but I'm dashed if I can think of it now... I would love to see the Lensman books made into good movies, but there's No Way In The Universe that's going to be done acceptably.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie? There's an ocean of drivel that should never be given the shred of dignity conferred by movie release. And then there's the Lensman books, as I just mentioned; honestly, I would cringe if I heard they were being filmed, because they wouldn't be right.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character. I don't remember my dreams. This phenomenon has long been a cause for passing puzzlement and frustration.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you’ve read as an adult? I have no pretense to any brow. This question and all its implications annoys me.

15) What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? Maybe the textbook for discrete mathematics, although I don't remember a thing about it. It's more likely the first programming text I had, since it hopelessly confounded me for the first fourteen minutes and put me to sleep within the fifteenth.

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you’ve seen? Neither The Tempest nor King Lear is obscure, methinks.

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians? As authors, neither. Judging from what I've read, French, for the sake of Victor Hugo and Jules Verne.

18) Roth or Updike?  Who?

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers? Who?

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer? Shakespeare. I haven't read enough Milton to know for sure, though.

21) Austen or Eliot? Austen.

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading? The biggest gap would probably be the so-called "Lost Generation" writers, both American and British. I have little-to-zero interest in the worldview of those writers or the content of their writings, and no plans to ever close that "gap" in my reading.  I'm not embarrassed about this gap.  I do wish I had read more 19th-century literature back when I had more time and less tired brain cells, but it's still a strength in my reading and I'm planning to continue.

23) What is your favourite novel? Another impossible question. I'd probably have a list of 50, even if I limited favorite authors to one book. The ones I've read multiple times are there.

24) Play? The translation of Molière's Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite in my high school lit book is hilarious and made of awesome. (So is Wishbone's version of The Hypochondriac!)  I want to find out which translator did it and get Tartuffe, and others if possible, by him.

25) Poem? Not sure. Maybe If.

26) Essay? Either "On Faerie Stories" or one of C. S. Lewis's writing ones, such as "On Writing for Children" or "On Science Fiction."

27) Short story? I have no idea. There are way too many to tell, especially considering the SF ones.

28) Work of non-fiction?  The Bible. Aside from that, Costume in Detail. I've pored over the drawings in that book for years, and it still never fails to fascinate me.

29) Who is your favourite writer? I can't pick one. Alastair MacLean is waay up there.

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today? No idea. I read little that was published in the last 10, 20, or 30 years.  I'd take a stab at Stephanie Meyer, but for all the raving I haven't heard anyone actually building up her writing.  (I don't seek out such discussion, though.)

31) What is your desert island book? Swiss Family Robinson.

32) And… what are you reading right now? LJ, with forays to Wikipedia (drama on the Lost Generation talk page, ahoy!), Amazon, and my tags list, to garner links.

Book meme, last seen on suededsilk's journal.

( I DID try to keep it short, I promise. )