From the Sewing Room

Second Post of the Day

The Feast of the Hunters' Moon is five months away, but I am feeling that clock tick. I've been sewing as much as I can since Kalamazoo - it's far better to do it now than when it's crunch time in September and I have a deadline looming.

I'm also running low on fabric - I have only one block print left, enough white cotton for a couple of chemises and aprons, and some printed cotton for a shortgown and possibly a bedgown. That's it. My fabric stash hasn't been this low in years.

I do still have four bolts of wool in my stash and I pulled them out last week as I'd decided to work on the display for my Feast button collection.

I began by pulling out the four bolts

and seeing how the dominant colors of the buttons looked against them.

I don't "see" color well. I can appreciate a finished project and how its colors work together,

but I am not good at the start of the project when considering which fabrics to use together. I often ask Lisa or Leslie for help. (I can't ask Craig as he is color blind.)

The dark yellow seemed to be the most predominant among the buttons and I liked it with the green best. 

I cut three long strips and made a casing at the tops to run a rod through and then began adding the buttons in chronological order. (I'll trim up the bottoms so they're all the same length next.)

My collecting goals are 1) buttons that my mother had drawn, 2) a button for each birth year of my kids, and 3) buttons I'd worn as a participant. 

I have them all except a 1985 button for Curt's birth year. (His will go at the top of the middle strip.) I have looked and looked and LOOKED for the 1985 Feast of the Hunters' Moon button to no avail. Even Leslie didn't have an extra to give me (and she has almost all the Feast buttons because she's been participating in it since the 1970s.) 

I will just have to keep looking. Cross your fingers for me.

Anyway, as for other 18th century sewing projects, I need fabric and I am getting to the point where I can't wait much longer to find it. Not if I want to use this time well as I prepare for the 2025 Feast.

 I do have some online fabric sources, but I prefer to feel the fabric to ensure it's suitable for what I'd make from it. Plus, like everything else, prices for fabric have gone sky high. Add in shipping (fabric is heavy) and it won't be worth my time to make any 18th century clothing. (I really don't want to raise my prices until I have to.)

Luckily for me, a fabric store has recently opened in a town about 20 miles north of here. I am planning on heading up there today to see what they have.

Wish me luck!

And don't forget the Give Away! It ends at 11:59 PM EDT tonight!

Not only will the winner receive the Misty pouch, but a surprise inside, too!