Just Another Day

Second Post of the Day

Speaking of Lisa, she called me mid morning yesterday and asked if Rosie could come over while she took Nash to the vet.  Having Rosie over always means lots of activity and play time for the other dogs, but especially for Tammo.

He's jerking on the poor little toy mouse so hard that his ears are flying!

One of Rosie's strategies is to simply lie down and hang on to the toy. Like Mama was, she's built like a Mack truck and solid. It's muscle, not fat, and that little girl is STRONG.

Usually the other dog wears out after working against that dead weight for a while and gives up. Smart girl!

Speaking of dogs, my arm still looks pretty gruesome scary shocking icky. It has gotten infected so we are watching it.

At one point I drew a line around the infection boundaries but since the infection never crossed the line, I knew it was not getting worse. I washed off the line and at the moment have no plans to see my doctor. 

Despite having Rosie over, I finished the camel/elephant block print shirt. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

The sleeves look overly long because its a 3XL and the shoulders are much wider than the hanger and thus the shoulders hang down. That makes the sleeves look like they were made for Bigfoot.

Those printing errors that looked so glaring are small and spread out across the fabric making them hard to see. I will still let interested buyers know, though.

Today's plan? An early morning walk with Craig, Tammo, and Pepper, and then heading back into the sewing room again. I got started on a 2XL trade shirt yesterday and I'd like to finish it today if I can.

Ian has a football game this evening, but the heat is so oppressive, I'm most likely going to stay home and indoors. (I wonder if they might cancel the game due to the heat?) I'm also getting ready for a visit from Sarah - she flies in tomorrow to spend Labor Day weekend with us. Can't wait!

Stay 'tooned!

Inside & Outside the Sewing Room

First Post of the Day

Inside the Sewing Room

Last week I got a lot done in the sewing room, but the thing that I enjoyed making most happened on Saturday.

I pulled out the wool roving, something that is soft and pliable and doesn't shed or make a mess...and is very relaxing to use.

Wool roving is used in  various ways for making 18th century items - like stuffing pin pillows.

Saturday morning I took a break from pleats and sleeve buttons and made some easy peasy pin pillows.

Sempstresses and tailors used these to keep their needles and pins handy at all times.

A loop on the end of a long ribbon or tape allowed the pin pillow to hang from the apron strings.

Other loops were shorter but functioned the same way. (That green ribbon is silk.)

I had some scraps of really good 18th century reproduction fabric to hand, and I am so happy with how these turned out. Unfortunately I ran out of silk and grosgrain ribbon and had to stop, but more is on order.

I also completed a second chemise this week. This is a 2XL and that size sells out quickly. 

I want to make at least two more 2XL for the Feast.

I really like this pair of sleeve buttons - they look simple but elegant.

I also made another pocket. (Hmmm, guess where that one pin pillow came from??) This is a very accurate fabric, and I got it for free at a Feast sewing circle - a lady had put her remnant pile out and told us to take what we wanted.

Outside the Sewing Room

Brooke Sauter texted me Sunday morning with several photos for me to look at.

"Not the best photos in the world, but I used a Jolis Chevaux trade shirt in the display for last night's Feast-themed dinner."

That's it on the left, peeking out from under the waistcoat.

Well, that was a surprise. Brooke is the sewist I ask for help from when I get stuck. She makes all her own clothes (18th century as well as modern) and not only is the director of the Feast but she also runs the Feast sewing circle. 

Putting the trade shirt on display was an affirmation that it was a good example of Feast era clothing. And that is something that I work hard to achieve when I sew for Jolis Chevaux. (Research, research, research!)

Thanks, Brooke, for the heads up that you had used the shirt and for sending me the photos. (They were taken by Bridget Slack.)

The Shirts of February

As of yesterday, February 14, I have made 6 more trade shirts for Kalamazoo. Since it takes me two days per shirt to make them, I am right on schedule. (Twelve days of sewing plus the two Sundays - I always take Sundays off.) 

It's a good pace, but I have to admit I am perplexed by another living history sewist, one I have never met but follow on Facebook. This person sews the same pattern as me and says it takes three hours for them to stitch up a shirt.

How that happens is a mystery to me but I think it may partly be the ironing. To me, the iron is a must-have sewing tool and the finished piece looks much better when it has been ironed throughout the sewing process. Many sewists skip even rudimentary ironing and it shows in their end product. That may be why this person can make a shirt in three hours.

I'm not trying to throw rocks at that person; I've just been curious as to how they can work so quickly on the same thing that takes me much longer to make.

Anyway! Here's a look at those six shirts. And can I just say, I LOVE block prints? Their uniqueness, the places where you can tell someone hand printed the fabric, the vibrant colors and patterns...  They are so cool to sew.

I think of this as the 4th of July block print because that's when I first found this beautiful block print.

It's a size Large and, like all shirts that I make now, has sleeve buttons. My new Janome has an exceptional buttonholer, and I can whip out the four buttonholes on a shirt in just a few minutes. The new machine has literally saved me hours of time just on buttonholes alone.

Take a look at this jaw dropping block print. And no, that's not hyperbole on my part.

Details can be difficult to discern when ordering block prints, and honestly, I bought it for the green color, a color that is very popular among living history people right now. It wasn't until it arrived that I could see the print design more closely.

I got far more than I'd expected - look at the detail on this elephant. This block print took a LOT of work to produce.

A closeup of the sleeve. This shirt is already sold and I will deliver it at Kalamazoo.

There is an unusual swirl at the hem of this block print but it is documented as correct for the 18th century so I bought the fabric. It, too, has already sold and I will deliver it at Kalamazoo.

This next shirt was first, a surprise, and then, an experiment. Another time when it is hard to really see the details of the fabric when buying,  and I was surprised at the size of the flowers when I opened the package.

Generally, a flower or other print (like the elephant) should be no larger than your hand. This passed the test and so I went ahead and stitched it into a shirt. I am curious to see if it sells. (I have the same print in blue and depending on how this one sells, I may make it into something else.)

I get asked a lot if I have any clothing in purple. This fabric has purple and so on my Facebook page I included that in its description. 

I love this particular set of sleeve buttons - isn't that an interesting design?

Finally, the shirt I just finished yesterday which is another that is already sold. A customer saw this same shirt on my Facebook page but it was in a different size than he needed. 

I ordered more of the fabric, got it sewn, and will send it out to him tomorrow. (He lives in Nebraska and is unable to come to KZoo.)

The shirt may look familiar to you - it is the shirt I was cutting out in the sewing hacks post a few days ago.

This gentleman asked for the same sleeve buttons I'd sent with his last shirt. I asked him about it to be sure I didn't misunderstand, and he said he wanted another pair of the same. 

I shouldn't be surprised; this is my biggest selling pair of sleeve buttons and he got the last pair I had on hand. I'll have to order some more buttons and make more before Kalamazoo.

Just two more shirts to make before I move on to making bedgowns. Those two shirts are already cut out as is one bedgown (in purple!)

Hopefully I will have the shirts finished by Wednesday when I will have a marathon bedgown cutting session since the dogs will be with us.

Stay 'tooned!

Sewing for March in January

Second Post of the Day

With the weather so cold, snowy, and icy this month, I have gotten a lot of sewing done for Kalamazoo. Which is good since I sold nearly everything I had made at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon last October.

Here is what I've sewn this past week.

My biggest seller are trade shirts (also called a voyageur shirt.) This is a size small in a block print with lovely shades of indigo.

And, of course, sleeve buttons to close the cuffs.

A trade shirt, size medium, block print fabric.

You can't see it well in the first picture, but look at the beautiful Christmas red and green colors in this fabric!

There are six sizes of trade shirts that I make (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, and 3XL.) For an event, I like to have at least two shirts for S and M sizes, four to five each for L and XL, and finally, two each of 2XL and 3XL. That's a lot of shirts to make! (Currently I have eight finished and ready to go.)

My next biggest seller are women's chemises (also called "shifts.")

Chemise, size small, cotton.

Chemises are the basic undergarment for women. Regardless of whether you were nobility or underclasses down to the poorest of people, you wore a chemise. So these sell very well, too. 

The cuffs end at or just below the elbow and can be closed with sleeve buttons, twill tape, or ribbons.

I make chemises in S, M, L, and XL. (I need to draft a 2XL. It's on the to-do list.)

For events, I try to have in stock two each of S and M, and three each of L and XL. That's ten chemises and I currently have three completed and one halfway done.

Also on the sewing list are a cloak or two (thank you, Feast, for the sales of the others), and at least four bedgowns (Feast affect again.) I should make some panniers, too (yep, Feast).

I am happy that my things are selling so well, but I am also a one woman company.

Lisa helps me with sales and set up/take down and Belle helps me present at School Days, but neither woman sews. Even if they did, though, I don't really want to hire any sewing out - I prefer to make everything that is sold.

One thing on my sewing list is to make myself a new riding habit.

I have learned so much since I made these two habits five years ago. Stashed away in my sewing closet are a bolt of hunter green wool and one of blue wool. I really want to turn one of them into a habit but the issue is eking out the time to get one made.

Having one finished by KZoo is a pipe dream, but the Feast is possible. A lot will depend on sales at KZoo and how much restocking afterward I will need to sew for the Feast.

I found this meme recently and laughed when I saw how well it described me.

(and 18th century history!)

Don't forget the Give Away! Comment to enter by guessing the answer to the question, "What is Mila's favorite dish?

I'll spin to win on Wednesday or Thursday.

Stay 'tooned!

It's January

Second Post of the Day

January. My least favorite month. Winter settles in and I mostly stay indoors rather than brave the cold and icy weather.

It's actually, though, my favorite month to put out models on the open shelf I keep just for that purpose. (Although if I keep buying models like I did in 2025, I may lose that luxury.)

I really love that bright blue that Breyer has been using recently. Add in a clearware Jol and a silver filigree Killington, and I'm happy.

St. Moritz, Christoff,

and Neva are displayed on the coffee tables on the overlook. Since we spend most of the day upstairs (Craig working in his library, and me in the sewing room or my office) they are a small but enjoyable reminder of January, a reminder that makes me smile instead of shiver.

(I really like that midnight blue on Neva.)

January is generally a time when Indiana gets its lowest temperatures.

And although taking the dogs out early in the mornings of January can take some steeled nerves,

it is also a time of some of the most beautiful sunrises of the year. (If you can stay outside long enough to catch them!)

Due to the repeated freezing and thawing of the soil during this month,

I often find evidence that the ground has shifted right under my feet.

Those two round stones in my stepping stone garden look like they are sitting on top of volcanoes of mulch!

After a warm up into the 60s greened up the grass briefly, 

a flash freeze to near zero left interesting ice patterns on the lake in our neighborhood park.  

Despite some of the beauty of January, I am ready for it to be done. Not that I am fond of February (although I do like the excuse to eat chocolate around Valentine's Day.) I'm already looking forward to March and while March brings quite a few weather tempests in and of itself, at least you know that winter is just about done.

March is also time for The Kalamazoo Living History Event, and already I am in the sewing room and preparing for that.

I just finished this boy's trade shirt made from remnants that I would normally sell.

Rather than put sleeve buttons in it, I used bone buttons - I think kids would be more comfortable with them.

I have two adult trade shirts and four chemises cut out and prepped, so I plan to settle into the sewing room this week and build up my inventory.

I'll be warm, surrounded by dogs, Craig in the next room, and doing something I enjoy.

Perfect for January.

Getting Some Normalcy Back & the January Give Away

First Post of the Day

Life is getting back to normal around here. Slowly, but it is. Craig is still under concussion protocols (and will be for some time) but he is back in his office and has more energy.

I'm still very tired but I am up, 

baking (Yum! Pumpkin bread!),

and cooking again. (Chili. It was very cold outside and sounded good to both of us.) We share the cooking duties so when I felt like getting back in the kitchen, I knew I was better.

I also got busy cleaning up Craig's clothes and our towels after his fall. While he could do that himself, it can be a bit unnerving to clean up your own blood. And there was so much of it.

The nurse at the hospital advised us to use peroxide and NOT wash anything until we had. 

That was good advice.

One hat, two gloves,

a jacket, a shirt, and four towels later, I was able to throw everything in the washer and have it come out stain free.

Although I still am tired, I felt able to get back into the sewing room and finish the men's trade shirt I'd been working on before I came down with Covid.

I can't look at a block print with elephants or camels but think of my experience last October at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon and the man with a license to ride camels!

I also started and finished a quick custom order for haversacks.

This is an XLT in Cave Horses, one of my all-time favorite fabrics.

A Hamilton-sized Traditional in Onaqui Mountain Horses.

This customer is just getting back into the hobby and will be attending her first live show this spring, so I have more to make for her. She wanted to see how these two sizes fit her models so she could figure out how many of each size was needed.

A second post is coming later today, so stay 'tooned!

And in the meantime, comment to enter for the January Give Away!

A beautiful ebony woodcut Hartland Tennessee Walker. This is a really nice piece, but it's a duplicate in my collection. More pics to come.

I bought the Horse Foal Surprise set because I wanted the Cassidy that was inside.

This is the foal that comes with the set. I did not open it and slid it back into its "barn" after checking to see who was inside.

The usual rules apply: Comment on any blog posted starting with this one through Sunday, January 19 at 11:59 Eastern time. Please include your name or initials with your comment for identification when I spin to win.

Good luck!