Summer is halfway over, and I've done more sewing these six months than I think I've ever done in even a year - primarily due to HSF - and at a much higher level (since it's not just measurements and draping and creative designing, but getting the pieces/shapes/trim/fabric/drape/etc. right for historical garments).
Even with how crazy life has been (somehow work and school doesn't slow down, but that's the fun and interesting part of it: balancing it all, and deepening my faith as a result), it's been nice to be able to exercise my creative side... and to do something that increases the art in this world, when so often art and an appreciation for the past (learning about it, not just using it as a setting for a modern-plotline/interpretation mode of entertainment) is being cut out of it.
On a closer-to-home note, doing something like this - sewing or just designing projects, even working furiously to complete an HSF challenge in time (or close to it) - is almost therapeutic, even with those deadlines.
So, because I like seeing what I can achieve... here's a few more self-imposed(ish) deadlines for me - or, perhaps, here's my "wouldn't it be nice" list between now and September.
- HSF 14: Eastern influence (due tomorrow) - remaking of a wood-and-paper Japanese parasol into a early 20th century / late 19th century cloth Japanese parasol. The reason the parasol was so cheap ($4) was because the paper got torn all the way from the edge to the center along one rib, rendering it useless. But the frame is sound (for now - I'll probably re-string it with stronger twine later), and it would be a fun project. And, well, if I can't finish it for this one (aka, get it done by the end of the week), it might apply to the upcoming "Wood, Metal, Bone" challenge.
- HSF 15: White (due July 29) - recutting and then hemming the 18th century plain fichu that I quickly cut out for the Independence Day photoshoot. Shouldn't take more than a few hours - though the hemming will be... fun. Tiny stitches, yay, lol.
- Finishing the 1865 evening gown (this, I fear, will be my major-project-of-the-year-that-takes-forever-to-complete)... I have all of the fabric, all of the trimmings (unless I get very ambitious and decide to add beadwork) - I just need to make the time (perhaps this will be my in-between-courses-two-week-break project in August?).
- HSF 17: Robes & Robings (due August 26) - ok, this will probably be the second-most crazy project of the year (the first being the 1865 gown). After going back and forth a lot about it, I decided that in fact I will try my hand at a saque using that blue-on-white floral indienne fabric, after all. I have the fabric, I don't need another anglaise, and even if print cotton saques were rare, I have found two examples in museums - so they did exist. Hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew with this one... hopefully. :-)
- HSF 18: Re-make, Re-use, Re-fashion (due September 9) - knowing where in the year this one falls, and that I might be either not quite finished with (or else worn out from) the previous adventures, I might skip this... Else, I'll remake an Elizabethan-esque shirt into a doublet/jacket; or find something else historical that I'm not so happy with and make a few needed changes/updates.
- HSF 19: Wood, Metal, Bone (due September 23) - so, either I'll finish the parasol for this one (if life intervenes yet again), or I'll make those metal shoe buckles for the Kensingtons that I hinted about in my Independence Day post. Either way, at this point I'm probably (read: definitely) going to need a break from making clothing.
Yes, I'm crazy (and too challenge-happy for my own good sometimes). Moving on.
After that set, I'm guessing with the course I'm planning to take this fall, that I'll probably just stick with finishing some of my LOTR costumes (aka, sewing trim, hemming, re-doing the fit) for my "sewing therapy", instead of embarking on new projects for the fall-winter. Of course, I say that now - and then in a month probably find out the new HSF themes and that expectation goes out the window.
Some of those unfinished (or even not started) projects - just to get them on the list whether they get worked on or not...
- finish my golden Arwen/LOTR dress (essentially just needs hemming/trim)
- hem and redo the top for an evening dress I got on sale six months ago for a gala I didn't end up going to... but the dress should still be redone anyway (else it's useless if I can't wear it)
- 1880s/90s bustle dress (got the fabric last year, just have to make it - and a bustle to wear with it)
- Padmé's Tattooine light blue outfit (fabric from stash) and (perhaps, if I can find the right chiffon next year) a blue version of her Lake Dress
- and, since the Hobbit Part 2 is coming out in December, in homage to that, make a "Mirkwood elf" gown in similar style to the Hobbit Elven dress... again, this is all designed and the fabric is bits and pieces (a remnant here, some clearance yardage there) from my stash... just need to actually make it. And this will probably be the last of my LOTR outfits, unless I'm inspired to make a Galadriel-esque white dress for some reason (haven't been particularly inspired by the ones I've seen so far in the LOTR or Hobbit movies).
For something to check off the list... I did manage to finish my version of Eowyn's golden/ROTK coronation dress (it badly needed some refitting, some hemming, and trim), so will (eventually) get some pictures of it to put up.
I'd say I have my work cut out for me. No pressure or anything... :-)
