Rejoicing with the Truth

I don't usually do year-end posts. To be honest, it's mostly because I can't remember everything I've done. And that's because I've been getting lazier and lazier about even mentioning what I've been working on, much less actually dress diary-ing them.

So I have a resolution for LJ: I'm going to regularly mention, at least, what I'm working on. And this is the first post on that subject!  I have a lot of UFOs right now, but if I list them I'll just get discouraged. What I actually have been working on:

* Two baby blankets. They're for giving to mothers-to-be through pregnancy centers and adoption centers. I'm knitting one in pale yellow wool blend in a fun checkerboard pattern; the other is crocheted in an argyle-like pattern in two colors of blue, green, and white. Both are about a third done.

* An 1860s baby dress for Eleanor. This was her major Christmas present from me. Sarah ordered the patterns from Elizabeth Stewart Clark shortly before Christmas. I didn't have the pressure to actually finish the dress, but I did manage to get everything assembled. Yes, I stayed up late on Christmas Eve, finishing the stroked gathers on the skirt.

The dress is a lavender calico that I've had in my stash for quite a while. Sarah's favorite color is purple, and Eleanor doesn't get a choice yet, so it was the obvious choice. I made an "infant" style dress (full bodice gathered at waist and wide neckline), using the smallest (2-year-old) size in the pattern. Eleanor is only 8 months, but (a) she was 10.5 lbs when she was born and (b) it will be some months before there are more reenactments. The only pattern change was to shorten the bodice 1", and I made the waistband halfway between her actual waist and the size 1 pattern size.

I just finished the inside waistband, effectively finishing the stroked gathers on both bodice and skirt. Now I need to hem the skirt and sleeves, and do three buttons and buttonholes.

* This fall I made two more skirts out of my current favorite skirt pattern, a 1950s 4-gore skirt. It's full enough without being enormous, and has awesome big patch pockets. One skirt was a really nice soft navy flannel suiting, and the other a thick gray wool blend fleece. I do a 2" waistband on these skirts, and with the gray one I put short pieces of boning in the front to keep it from folding. I didn't do that with the navy, hoping that the extra-heavy layers of interfacing would keep it straight. It didn't! Partially because the waistband is extra snug. So yesterday I opened up the front waistband, and this afternoon I put casings on the reverse of the band and sewed it back up. It feels really good to have that done!

* I got started on the patterns for the robe de style undies and bodice. I didn't get far, because I need a work computer to convert the images back to PDF so I can poster print. But that should be in good shape.
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* Speaking of, I got robe de style fabric for Christmas! Namely, navy blue silk taffeta. It's super pretty. I also tried to order a first batch of beads, but one item was out of stock. So I'll wait on that. I need to pretty much make the whole dress and undies before I can do the beading, anyway.

* I did decide that I'll probably need to do a real pannier for the dress, too. My favorite picture of the dress is on a model, and on her the skirt has a rather triangular shape more than a bell. Just netting or side hoops, added to my own hips, would give the skirt a wide top and straight sides. So a simple pannier like this, just a little smaller and shorter, is more likely to give the right look. I think. Opinions?


So that's all that's actually in progress. And actually the robe de style stuff is still mostly not started. But I need to do that so I can be beading steadily instead of frantically this summer!

1. Finishing the retaining wall! A family friend came over with his truck and his trailer. He picked up a cubic yard and a half of dirt to finish filling in the area behind the wall/in the flower beds, and he also got the rocks we had unearthed to help build up his driveway. With my parents, my cousin Abe, our friend, and his grown daughter and teen son, we got it all done before noon. Including two trips to Mansfield. He was only able to get 1 yard of dirt on the first trip, and only about 2/3 of the rocks.

2. Completing my Christmas shopping. You know, the most frustrating part was trying to get out of parking lots. The roads themselves aren't bad, parking is available if you don't mind walking (I don't), the stores are busy but not bad, and the checkout lines aren't that long. But getting back into the street is murder!

3. Making lots of good progress on the gifts I'm making. They should be done in time for Christmas Day, which they don't even need to be - our family Christmas isn't until the 27th. :p

That cold front? The one that was supposed to hit about midnight?

I was sitting in my sewing room (upstairs, west side), working merrily along, watching Dick Van Dyke, trying to get thestupidcaketobakethatwon't AHEM, and

WHOOM

and

WHOOO-OOOOM!!!*

Smart me, I checked anyway, and yep, northside shows trees swaying and leaves blowing and a definite coolness in the air that wasn't there at dusk. (77 degrees at 5 pm, and it's sat at 75 for 3 hours since then.)  I opened the window, just cause I CAN, and the wind is making lots of whistling noises at it goes by, but not getting in (much) Scratch that, it's gotten in and trying to wreak havoc with the mess on my cutting table.  It's still 80 in the sewing room, but it'll drop over 20 degrees tonight.


So for the record, the cold front has arrived!  And my cake still won't bake GRRR.


By the way, jordannamorgan, your package arrived! Wow, I had a ball unpacking it all! I need to get back to work and get the stupid cake out of the oven againbut more to come! It's all so lovely!



* That's the first gust of wind with the front hitting the house, if you haven't figured it out by now. ;)