After watching an Ira Glass video for Slice with TWT

Tags

sewing, slice of life, teaching

I have not posted to the Slice of Life in almost a year and a half and for that I feel really bad. I want to try and get back into that. Originally, I started this blog because of that challenge combined with a strong urge to write again. Since then, my blog has become less about school (teaching reading and writing) and more about historical sewing and living history events that I participate in. I watched the Ira Glass video this morning before starting my day. It lead me to two interesting conclusions.

1. Practicing a skill that I love and am passionate about does indeed take a lot of time and quitting when I’m only just beginning is not something I do. (Ira’s skill was storytelling btw). That skill is sewing historical clothing.

2. I’m amazed at how my own journey of creating historical garments has taught me to be a better teacher.

 

1. I taught myself to sew because I needed clothing to wear to reenactments. I started with nothing. I bought a few things, but then couldn’t afford to continue to buy ready-made or custom made items, so I busted out the sewing machine. Each time I wear a new garment to an event, the people I hang out with know about each other’s sewing projects and always ooh and aaah over the new piece of clothing. It’s really nice to have someone notice your accomplishment and say, “wow this looks fantastic.”

Then that transitions into a conversation of, you know your inner seams can be hidden this way. Or let’s take a workshop class on gown construction (which I did and it totally got me hooked on hand sewing). Or have you ever thought about cutting your skirts in this shape? Reenacting / living history (some people argue it’s two different things, but whatever you want to call it is up to you) is a fabulous hobby where you are constantly learning to perfect your impression of a certain historical persona. The people I’ve met and now consider my very good friends are extremely willing to help me and anyone else to improve their sewing skills. I can call them on the phone or email or message them on fb and they respond within a few days time with an answer based on their own experience as well as the resources they consulted.

I love how Ira Glass says even when you’re a beginner, you have killer tastes. I agree. I’m awesome at choosing fabrics that look good on me (or other people) and I’m not too bad at fitting myself during the sewing process. He follows it up with instead of quitting because the product does not turn out exactly the way you want it to, to keep pushing through and increase the volume. (I would love to do that Ira Glass, however, sewing historical clothing by hand while attempting to keep track of 160 some students and grade their work while coaching an after school activity is a bit stressful; sewing can wait. My students can not). I had a good experience with this last summer when I made a new gown for an event. I got really helpful advice from two more experienced sewers and I fixed the problem areas of my garment. And I’m extremely proud of the fact that it is a historically accurate gown made completely by hand. I love wearing something that I made for myself that fits me and that brings history alive for myself and others.

2. Literally, everything I wrote above (and more that I most likely didn’t say) can be applied to my teaching. When I decide to sew a new piece of clothing, the first thing I do is look for examples (usually an original garment if I know it’s dated correctly or a fashion plate) to guide me on fabric type and color, the angle of side seams, trimmings, etc . This process reminds me that modeling the end product for students is so important. Most of us need to have a visual – to refer back to often – while working on a project.

Clear directions are crucial. A sewing pattern with directions that don’t make sense is useless. The sewing blogs I follow have quite detailed step by step tutorials with pictures. Soooo helpful. I bookmark them and reread them all the time.

Having an expert you can rely on in a time of need is the best. I know many of us are getting pulled in two directions: be connected 24/7 vs. turn off technology for several hours each day. Balance is key. I get that. I think kids get it too. I truly cannot answer their question at 2 a.m. when they are finishing their research paper. But I can put resources in place if they need a reminder about MLA format. When I see them in class, I also try to acknowledge that I read their email and I thank them for reaching out to me for help. The other thing I always keep in mind is, if I asked someone the same question (even if it’s a really stupid one that I should know the answer to because I just learned this a few months ago), how would I want them to answer me? All my living history friends are the best teachers – they lead by example and re-explain something when ever I have a question. They are never short with me and always smile. I really appreciate this quality and try to emulate it with my students.

Just because I’ve achieved my goal of finishing one project does not mean that I should never try it again. Upon completing a sewing project, I usually say, well that was fun, but now I want to try it again, only with these adjustments! Retakes, redos, rewrites – whatever you want to call them are tricky in the classroom setting at the high school level. Traditionally the same skills are taught to everyone, we practice, we test, we move on to the next skill. I am pretty good at getting kids to reflect on their work and set goals and work to achieve them. I know I can do better and I want to do better. I will do better. When I look back at the first completely hand sewn gown I made, it’s pretty impressive. I had a lot of help. I love wearing the gown still. But I notice the little things I want to fix. Like some of those stitches are a little wonky, that seam could be a little neater, this edge is a hair off from that edge. But taking note of these “not so great aspects” has forced me to pay attention to them when I start a new project. (My mother always said, “If you don’t do it right the first time, you’ll have to do it over). The instructors at the gown workshop told us not to be caught up in making every stitch perfect. We even looked at an original gown as proof that women of the past were not perfect in their teeny tiny stitches. I think in the classroom, whether focusing on reading or writing, you can’t be perfect 100% of the time. You can strive toward excellence, and that’s what I aim for with my sewing. I want students to step back from their writing or annotations and say to themselves, “Yep, these kick butt. But I’m ready to do it again and even better the second time around!”

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Miss F’s Dress: Skirts

Tags

19th century clothing, hand sewing, Miss F's Dress 1815, Regency, sewing projects

My fabric isn’t wide enough. I have the back skirt panel gathered and pleated and I pinned it to the bodice. I tried it on to see how it felt in terms of flowy-ness and what not. It felt okay. (Miss F and I are similar in stature). However, I think I’m going to add 5 – 7 inch-ish panels to either side so I can have a bit more pleating in the back. I like the fuller back skirt look.

 

 

Sleeves still need to be cut, sewn, attached. Belt/waist tie still needs to be cut, sewn, attached. Front big needs to be played around with: I can’t decide it it should be gathered, pleated, etc. I need to make these decisions now. Then that needs to be attached.

I’m enjoying making another dress of this style. I think it’s giving me another opportunity to refine my hand sewing skills and learn how to alter parts of the pattern for someone other than myself.

Year of the Re-read

Tags

Books, reading, The simple life, Year of the Reread

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to reread more books. I keep reading new ones because I want to read more new books by Sarah Dunant or Fitzgerald. However, we all know that you discover so much the second, third, or fourth time you read a book. Thus far in my life there are two books that I have consistently reread (and up to this point, I’m not a huge rereader).

First book was from my youthful summers on the shores of Lake Superior. In one of the tourist shops on either Mackinac Island or at Fort Michilimackinac, I discovered the book Traders in Time. It was the first time travel book that seemed plausible to me. Two siblings are playing in the woods; one gets hit on the head or falls out of a tree or something and gets transported back to the time of the fur trappers and traders in the Great Lakes regions. Awesome! I think I read this book almost every summer. Sadly, I have not read it since high school I think.

The other book I’ve read about once every 5 or 6 years is The Great Gatsby. Like all high school kids, I read it in American Lit. Then I read it in college just for the heck of it. Then I read it again when I was teaching it a few years ago. I LOVE THIS BOOK. It is my all time favorite. I love it so much, I even bought this shirt. And then I bought one for my sister too. Seriously I love it that much. Fitzgerald is a genius. I love the movie as well. Also genius.

Anyway. I made a group on facebook for this year long challenge. It’s called “Year of the Re-read.”

If you follow me and you’d be interested in joining the group, check it out. Group.

There are some ground rules.
1. No book bashing. No hating on people just because they love a certain book.
2. Read for at least 10 min every day.
3. Try to keep track of when you start and finish the book. (Hard copy in a journal or join goodreads.com and friend us on there too).
4. Each month, take a picture of the book you read and add it to that month’s photo album. For each book include the following information:
– First time you read the book:
– Why you decided to reread it:
– How long it took you to reread it:
– New insights, epiphanies, and/or overall reactions/feelings about the book the second time around:
– Recommend it for others:
5. Post general awesomeness on this page to get people reading!

We hope you join us!!!!

Progress on Miss F’s Dress

Tags

Miss F's Dress 1815, Regency, sewing projects

The HSM 2015 is really forcing me to kick it in to high gear. I realized I have less than 160 some days until Waterloo. Deadline fear?!! Perhaps. But not yet. I could have been working on this over Christmas break, but instead I did something else. And what that is, I can’t exactly recall.

Yesterday’s achievements:

– Cutting out both skirt panels

– Cutting angled gores for front skirt panel

– Stitching gores to front panel

This does not seem like a lot of work and probably more advanced seamstresses could accomplish this in a few hours. But I was washing clothes, cooking food, playing with the cat AND my sister is 5’11”. I think I’ve said this before, but sewing her side seams will be the longest part of most of my sewing time.

 

Kitty helping determine how to cut the pattern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the front panel, the top of the picture shows the gore lined up. The bottom of the picture, where you can barely see the pins, is the gore pinned in place and ready to be sewn. Under the pins, I did a medium sized basting stitch. Then I did a rolled hem and whipstitched it in place, making tiny pin pricks going through both layers of fabric. The result is kind of like a French seam. All the raw edges are encased.

P.S. Though the fabric looks blue-ish in the photo, there is a tad more green to it. I’m not sure this would fit in to the “blue challenge” though. Trying to figure out where it does fit….

Little House Addition – Part 1: Planning

Tags

House addition, The simple life

Perhaps I’m a bit optimistic and naive. Owning a home is swell. Getting to build an addition to the home is even better!!! We’ve been in our house just three years. I fell in love with the old historical charm; Mr. H adored the giant yard. It was our compromise. Lovingly he has put up with slanty floors (they’re not that slanty IMHO), a broken sump pump, a chimney that was good when we bought it, a shifty furnace, an old hot water heater, and a host of other things that accompany old houses. I’ve lived in old houses my entire life and actually my house is the oldest one I’ve ever lived in with – according to the previous owner – the first part (a log cabin) built in 1843 (why that date I have no idea) and the second part built in 1911. The 1911 part has similar details to my parents’ home, built in 1915.

Our house is very cozy. I love the bright yellow walls in the living room. The exposed logs of the cabin part are tres rustic chic. The house is built exactly on the NSEW axis so we get fabulous sunlight in our big east/west windows in the living/entryway.

We are truly “green” people: buying an old house that was already available. I know there is a huge tiny house trend right now too. I get it. Live within your means. Don’t go to extremes because you can. My parents are large proponents of buying a house within your financial means when you are first married and make do until you can afford to either add on or move again. (The first house my parents bought was a cute 1920’s-2 bedroom-1 bath at 1500 square ft. Within a few years of owning it, my dad built a fabulous library with floor to ceiling book shelves and cathedral ceilings. However, with two growing daughters, sharing a bedroom through the teen years was really not an option. When I was 13, we moved clear across the state to a house of 2,000 square ft). So I think I’ve followed their advice pretty well. However, even with just two of us, (having kids is still up in the air for us), the house is cramped. Maybe I have too large of a historical clothing collection. Nope. Definitely not the issue. Maybe it’s our every growing book collection? Nope. Not that. Maybe it’s…..yeah. We are definitely *not* tiny house people.

My dad, an awesome architect, measured the house this fall and drew up the blueprint of the house as it is.

Here they are!

 

 

Over Christmas break, we spent a few hours drawing possible additions. Now my pinterest board “Remodel” is added to daily.

My dad and I made a list of requirements:

1. New kitchen w/ lots of built in storage, especially a pantry, and more windows

2. Laundry room w/ a built-in folding table and more storage

3. Bigger-ish closets in bedrooms

4. Two new bedrooms

5. Built in bookshelves anywhere that seems awesome

6. Decent sized windows

Our main goal is to keep the addition looking a lot like the 1911 part in style/dimensions/feel. I really want it to be seamless when you travel from one part of the house to the next. This also means mimicking baseboard and trim styles.

Who knows how long this series of posts will be!!! But the wheels are turning as we move into 2015!!!

Year in Review in which I ruminate about past and future sewing projects

Tags

18th century clothing, 19th century clothing, future sewing projects, historic clothing, Regency, sewing projects

 

The past week and a half of 2014 has resulted in cloudy skies and zero sun. The Monday after Christmas in the UP, there was a ton of sun for our drive home. I had to capture that sun through the snow-covered branches before we left town in case I didn’t see sun again the rest of the winter.

Despite the sun, the kitty was not a huge fan of the icy temps and only spent a few seconds outside.

 

I did not meet any of the challenges for the 2014 Historical Sew Fortnightly, except the first one. Woops. But I finally got to wear my creation a year later at an event! Hurray! I’m a little disappointed in myself, but by now I should realize that Christmas break is deceptive in that I think I have all this time to sew and then forensics season starts and I coach every day from 3 – 6 p.m. and when I get home, I barely have enough time to make dinner. By 8 p.m. every night, I’m washing my face, brushing my teeth, and then crawling in bed to read. Sewing until midnight – totally not feasible. I’m still determined to finish my projects though that would have fit into the challenges from last year. Though I won’t post them on the HSF fb page, I’ll still post them here eventually (aka once they’re finished).

Unfinished projects:

I think many of these did not get finished because I ran into roadblocks. Sometimes I don’t know what stopped me from just pushing through and figuring it out on my own. Maybe fear of getting it wrong and not having enough fabric? I don’t know. It’s frustrating to say the least.

Yellow Regency Half Robe – which would have fit into “bodice,” “yellow,” and “political” challenges

– Roadblock: I was worried that if I didn’t have a proper Regency corset, that if I sewed the bustline in place, it would be wrong and I’d have to take it out and redo it. That’s not a huge deal at all because it’s a simple, straight seam.

– Why it’s still not finished: Sleeves are sewn together, just not attached because I’m lazy. And I wasn’t sure how to properly line up the seam for the sleeve, but I figured it out with the brown gown and now I’m just lazy.

Wool Jacket – which would have fit into “black and white” and “bodice” challenges

– Roadblock: I ran out of time. I decided to flatline the outer pieces of wool with an inner wool lining and that took an exorbitant amount of time to cut out the pattern for each piece a third time. I still have to cut out the sleeves, but I’m waiting on that because I still never figured out the exact size for the sleeve pattern from when I jumped into the blue striped jacket.

– Why it’s still not finished: The event I needed it for came and went back in mid November so now I don’t have a real reason to finish it except maybe for an event in April when that winter chill is still in the air. I’ll shoot for finishing it over spring break? Ok so I lost motivation and was lazy again.

Pink Bedgown – which would have fit into the “pink” challenge

– Roadblock: I thought I lost the last bit of pink fabric I needed for gussets and insert for collar. I found it.

– Why it’s still not finished: Other projects took over my life/living room. This was one of those, it’ll be nice to have when it’s finished garments, so I tend to work on it slowly at an event because it’s a nice conversation piece. (Except when I’m tavern staff, there is zero time for sewing).

Miss F’s Dress

– Roadblock: Time. Midweek since summer, I would casually daydream about working on this dress and then all this other stuff got in the way: mainly back to back weekend events for about a month.

– Why it’s still not finished: See above. Considering this will be the 4th time working with this pattern, I don’t have an excuse at all. We need it for June. June. Deadline is in 5 months. I *think* I have time.

Blue striped Jacket

– Roadblock: I gained weight (but not a lot) since I first fit this pattern and stopped lacing my stays as tight as I used to. I didn’t remake/remeasure my mock up – woops – and so I had major fit issues (which almost brought me to tears) until friends came to my rescue at an event and helped me magically fit a piece into the sides. Oh yeah and then the first sleeve pattern I used for my rose gown DID NOT fit me at all (huge muscles right here), and attempting to fit the mock up sleeve on me was akin to stuffing gobs of sausage into a too small casing. Ha.

– Why it’s still not finished: Sleeves have yet to be refit. Other projects took over. I got lazy – again – gee….is there a pattern here?

 

Finished Projects Review:

Brown striped regency gown – this gown is delightful to wear once I recut the sides and hemmed it in front and added loops to the back to hold up the ties. I want three more like this. But I really should branch out. First wore it to Years of Napoleon in June. This one will go to Waterloo with me.

Grey wool petticoat – I needed another wool petticoat simply for warmth. Normally I always wear just one because I’ve found that the slightest breeze or drop in temps at events makes me cold. (I’m such a baby, I know). Because I love making petticoats, they now take me about 5 – 6 hrs (depending on life), when I was getting ready for the event in mid-November it was either struggle with trying to line the wool jacket and cut out sleeves and line them and sew them and attempt to not cry OR sew two rectangles together. Rectangles it was! I’m all about binding the hem with tape and I chose a dark navy from WM Booth Draper…..well somehow we mis-measured and I was short by 10 inches. So Mr. Booth kindly gave me the missing tape and sewed it on himself!! Wow such service from the draper. I first wore the grey petticoat to The Gathering where, upon dressing and skipping about in my new garment by the fire when I went to fill the coffee pot, Mr. B the elder, accidentally splattered bacon grease on me; my apron caught most of it, but there are a few spots on the petticoat – not super visible except to me. Christening by fire?

Regency cotton petticoat with shoulder straps – I couldn’t wear my flannel petticoat to an event in June, so I needed this one. It’s heavy duty so it actually puffs out my brown Regency gown a tad. This is not a super flowy-graceful-go-to-the-ball petticoat. I still need one of those. But it’s not see through either so at the end of the event after it closed to the public, off came the gown and I sat around in my petticoat and drank wine with my friend. It was very lady-like.

1920 Robe de Style Prom (chaperone) dress – I really wanted a period appropriate dress to wear when I chaperoned prom. I’ve always really wanted a purple prom dress. While I had major shapewear on underneath the dress, the style was oh so comfy!!! It’s just a basic shift on top with a super poufy skirt that could be embellished multiple ways, so many in fact that I just couldn’t settle on one type of trim! I would love to make another dress like this.

 2015 Insanity Sewing

My goals for this year are simple: at least by the event for which I want to wear them, have the unfinished items finished. If I get any more specific than that, it may lead to more laziness. I also realized that most items don’t get finished unless I NEED to wear them to an event. Isn’t that how it is with most of us?

After a very successful first person immersion experience, a group of us here in SE WI/N IL are stepping into the 1830s. We are outfitting ourselves as well as assisting volunteers at the Macktown Living History Center in IL in full 1830s period clothing. Our goal is to sew a bunch of wardrobes for a handful of us who will put on a Christmas first person immersion experience open to the public. (I think that’s our goal the last I chatted with everyone, but plans morph as the year goes, and we are open to all possibilities).

A bit of background about me to get up to my new found love: the 1830s. When I first truly started historical clothing research, I was 19. I was obsessed with the 1890s. I love the graceful feminine lines and the sleek way the skirts fit at the waist and then flared out down around the ankles. I stared at countless images of antique dresses online. Then I had a 1920s dress made for me. I picked the fabric – a pretty blue check – and while it wasn’t the 1890s dream dress I wanted, it was a fun style. A few years pass, college finishes and my teaching career launches. I drag my then boyfriend to a Rev War reenactment north of Milwaukee and I fell in love with the style of the late 1700s. The lines were so simple. The women walked so gracefully. I had to have it!!!! I joined a unit and I taught myself to sew. At the beginning of this time, I did not particularly care for the Regency era. Something about the empire waists weirded me out. Then I was invited to several Regency events. Well I sat down and learned how to use my Viking Turissa. I loved the dress I produced. The Regency style was soooooo comfortable. It was a new kind of graceful. Not having heavy petticoats tied around my waist WAS freeing. Wow!! New time period adored.

As I jumped on pinterest and started looking at images, I was disgusted by the 1820s through 1840s. The odd poofy sleeves. The bell shaped skirts. Ick. I couldn’t stand it. I don’t like droopy shoulder lines at all in dresses. I have a small upper body and while I don’t want 1980s pointy/pouffy sleeves or 1890s leg-o-mutton sleeve insanity, I prefer some structure. But then my group said, hey we should really stop interpreting the 1780s at this site because that’s not historically accurate and we really need to be true progressives and get our stuff together for a full blown 1830s impression. Excuse me? Ummm….search pinterest, interesting – some tasteful styles are not too over the top. I like the colors and patterns of most fabric. Hey! I think I adore the 1830s!!!!!! When do we start sewing? 🙂

This brings us back to the present: my 1830s wardrobe. I have stunning pink cotton fabric that I really want to make into a fancy day dress or more simple Christmas party dress. I also acquired American Duchess Gettysburg boots for this time period (courtesy of my mother-in-law’s Christmas present). (I’m breaking them in slowly; the other day when I was tidying, I slipped them on and they are divine!!!!). This wardrobe will literally be built from the bottom up….or is it the inside out? Like all of us who have been doing this for a while know, you can’t really make that gorgeous Christmas dress until you’ve completed your foundation pieces. Patience is key!!!!

1830s Wardrobe Checklist

Have:

– 1 white cotton petticoat

– multiple cotton stockings and one silk pair

– chemise (technically it’s for an earlier time period, but I think it will work)

– one white linen apron (that is very dirty from incessant almost daily use for the past two years)

– boots

Need:

– corset!!! (The ladies in our group are torn on making our own or just biting the bullet and ordering from a company who will custom make them. The big question: does the $400.00 trump the time / frustration of sewing your own?)

– another 2 – 3 petticoats, at least one of which must be wool if we are first wearing these items at a Christmas event (WI could be deathly cold as early as Oct so one never knows!). I also think one of these must be corded.

– knitted bosom friend

– new cap

– new bonnet (I’m not sure if my Regency era bonnet will work for this time period. I kind of want a different style just because you know….why not?)

– two dresses – one for house work and the other for the party!!! woot! I think the day dress will be wool – again because our first event will be in winter and I will not freeze in cotton, but the pink cotton fabric I have already will most likely turn into a Christmas dress!

– dress patterns

– fun Christmas dress up shoes (I have the shoes; I intend to trim them with pink embellishments to match my dress – hurray!)

And lastly, my “general sewing dream project list for the way off sometime future provided I have an event to wear it to” list

– Downton Abbey 1912 – 1918 style dress

– Chemise a la reine with a royal purple silk sash (to be worn at my oh so fabulous Regency style birthday tea party that I am still planning)

– late 1700s linen working class gown

– quilted petticoat

– Regency era white ball gown

– some type of 1790s style gown

 

Fingers crossed for a mostly successful 2015. I’m not going to be overly optimistic so that come September, I say, “oh gee, I was going to do that…but yeah woops.” I want to be pleasantly satisfied with my achievements.