And the jacket repair and modification begins!

A little info:  our wee Georgia ate out the pocket with some bubble gum when she was a puppy (like 2 years ago). I'm finally gonna fix that! Plus, I'll be adding a few more pockets! 1 specialty for concealed carry.

Dan had a professional fix the underarms because they dug into his pits.....he failed and just made it baggy under the arms. Not lowering the pit area at all. So I gotta fix that.

That same professional was supposed to modify the hump to hold a Camelback. With that I'll be cleaning up the area, reinforcing the opening and installing the bladder.

Patches need added.

All my work will be using the massive scars he left along the sides. Let's see if I can make this no longer made, expensive, leather jacket comfortable to wear!

Feeling rather accomplished today. I think I'm getting better at all this domestic stuff! At least I'm knocking out projects.

I finished a curtain commission and Aidan's costume. Started alterations on Dan's dress pants and hemming the last 2 curtains for our patio. Which, with the cold weather finally making itself known, I should probably hurry.

That was all yesterday mind you. Today we walked to Krogers for some cream and came home to bake like crazy! Poor Aidan didn't make it home before the sandman got to him. Most of the way, but not quite. So I carried him up to his room, put away the groceries, nooked my coffee then pinned them hems I could.

With no more to do without my machine I cleaned the kitchen and began to mess it back up!

Biscotti made with my hickory nuts! Yah, those that I beat the squirrels to and then took forever digging out of their shells!

Pumpkin oat cookies! All vegan and gluten free goodness!

Banana cider bread! Definitely a recipe for Iron Shot Cafe! Seasonal but damn is it good! A bit pricy though.....

Tomorrow will be to finish up the curtains. If I get more done then yay! Recleaning the kitchen from our dinner of deep fried stake tacos doesn't count. Shoot! I gotta make biscuits for dinner tomorrow too...hmmm.

It's sad when you spend a lot of money on a dress and then have to fix the zipper so it's hidden. Such poor craftsmanship these days! David's bridal special! It's still pretty and really not that much work.

Helping mommy capture the hem length! 

Sadly I have to hem. Even wearing 3" heals.

Or should I keep it long! 🤨

Back detail is nice!

More curtains!

Aidan's curtains are done and the video process is uploaded.

Progress. Now some hand stitching.

Update:

All done with 2. Not sure how many I should make for market. Also, wee Aidan has been kicking and moving about the whole day. So incredibly nauseous.

Toasted Marshmallow Mead!

I added a clarifying clay today. We'll see how that works and if it alters the flavor.

Hemmed the new table cloth for market. A big thanks to my mother in law for finding this adorable fabric for me!

Now to make some equally adorable tea wallets! I don't know about you but I hate digging around in my purse [aka messenger bag] for my tea only to discover it's not only at the very bottom but also squished from all my crap! These little beauties should solve that issue!

The scarf is all done! That fine [thick] fleece and that nice soft, wool, flannel is the perfect combo. It's so warm I didn't want to take it off. O.o The buttons are from a 100 year old maple tree that had to come down for a road the city was building on our land so I made use of it! It had LOTS of branches! Everything is hand stitched! A true work of art .... if I say so myself!

Even though it's coming to the end of the season I'm still taking orders on these. $45 plus shipping just send me an email with your paypal email address. Or if you'd rather I can make an etsy listing just for you!

Hope everyone had a lovely St. Patrick's day!

Progress

So I got a commission from a friend for a gift. My friend and her sister are both big Outlander fans and she requested a green scarf. So I'm gonna do a bit of an Irish theme [even though Outlander is Scottish]

A couple of years ago we had to chop down an old maple that was about as old as our house [upwards of 200 years]. It was a sad day seeing that mighty tree fall. However, I took a large branch and sliced it into disks that I could then use in projects, adding that extra special tough.

I brought that up .... because I think buttons made from that tree would be a perfect finishing tough to this scarf. Now just to figure out the fancy stitches I'll be using to bring it all together.

The fabrics I'll be using. The green is a touch paler.

Wearing the scarf down. Can be pulled up to cover the nose and ears.

Scarf

Got some sewing done! Whoop! Cuffs are the only thing left on the costume. However....while working on this my wee guard puppy commandeered the ottoman and proceeded to growl at the neighbors shooting their wee machine guns! I'm so setting up my archery target! >.>

Whip Stitching the hood

Guard doggie!

Sniper's in training!

In my attempt to organize my studio I've decided I need to clean out some projects.

From previous posts you see that I've finally gotten some mending out of the way and here I'm getting some finished projects out. They are for sale on my facebook page Jewett's Faire Shoppe. I'm also trying to knock out my WIPs .... this is gonna take forever!

Link inspired booties!

Working hard to finish this corset for the renesaunce festival! I honestly need a rump roll or paniers to help the authenticity of it, but I'm not seeing that happen without my sewing machine. Which is inconveniently packed away. I'll definitely have to get one made for Rendezvous!

Handsewn front lacings

I'm hand sewing the front lacings ... because what else would I do! I wonder if it'll fit under my bodice? O.o I gotta check that!

The corset

Damn it! Clearly I didn't trim my seams enough! Now what to do ... besides undoing it.

I even ran out of bias tape. Wonder if I have enough scrap to make more?

Tunic

Well my tunic is coming along nicely.  I just finished all the french seams. Ever since I learned how to make a french seam that's all I use on my stuff. It's just so pretty and professional looking! I have the lacing loops all in & my ribbon of choice for said lacings purchased.  I'm hoping my custom bias tape is enough for the arm holes and neck. I'd love to use it for the hem if I have enough. If not I'll just do a narrow hem instead.

I still have the sides to completely figure out. Guess I have more work than I thought to do.

Farm update:
Looked at a few more homes yesterday with the man ... no luck. Tiny yards or bad neighborhoods ... or just too close together. It'll happen!  I must have faith! In the mean time I must plan my garden & start planting. Awkwardness not withstanding!

Breeches

            I woke up this morning; did a little straightening up, made some hot tea, fed the wee fishies and turned my computer on. It's time to make those breeches! I know it was to be part of my Military Woman costume for rendezvous but I never got around to making them. The embroidery on that skirt just took to long. Thankfully I'm not embroidering this piece. Though I did think about it. In the end I decided it would be to foppish for any dignified military persons of the 18th century.

            I got my muslin out to create a mock up. I must keep in mind my cousins words at all times while this is being make. "Don't make them too tight!" We had those issues with the boys visiting camp. >.>

            Sadly like all patterns I must make modifications. The most notable is the cuff (I'm sure it's got some special name but I don't know it so please bare with me!). The pattern is asking for bias fold tape. If I wish the cuff to match the breeches this wont' work since I can't find bias tape in this gold color. So I have to make the cuffs like they would have back then. It really works out for the best since 9 out of 10 18th century breeches I looked at have this cute little tab and a fourth button which the pattern doesn't have.

Keeping Busy

This is how I show my depression to the world. By putting out crafts of all types and keeping myself very busy so that I might not have to think about that which is killing me inside. In the past few days it hasn't been helping but with time I imagine this pain will become as manageable as all the others. In light of my crying myself to sleep and waking up with those horrid crusty eyes I treated myself to a Starbucks Soy Pumpkin Latte and a warmed blueberry muffin after dropping Daniel off at work. He's driving my rental home tonight. Since I'll be heading back to Virginia in the morning with father and cousin Esther. My pumpkin cozy still fits Starbucks cups beautifully!

My quote of the day "You're really spoiling me this morning!" They got a kick out of that. The guy who rung me up said they try or always or something like that ... I can't remember (it's my alzheimer's kicking in).

So yesterday; my day off, I spent the whole time either in front of the stove or my sewing machine. I started by waking up really early (10am ;3), grabbed a backpack, and hopped on my Saoirse and took off for The Andersons. Totally without eating breakfast first. I warn you, don't try that at home! Lucky me they were making things all over the store so I helped myself to some samples ... watermelon, apple slices with honey peanut butter! So yum! Anywho, I filled both my backpack and saddle bag with Pint Ball jars, rolls, grapefruit (because I was freakin' hungry), some liquor, Darjeeling loose tea, half a gallon of apple cider and a large red bell pepper. Then tromped home!

My colors! Don't you love them!

Once there I put everything away, jumped back into my jammies and started cooking. I put the bell peppers in the oven (I had some green ones from mothers garden) and sat down to sew.

I made a lovely knitting/crochet needle scroll that I have been meaning to make for quite some time just never got around to. I realized after I was sewing on all the pockets that the lovely tan fabric with the brown reliefs is reminiscent of fall and the other two are more spring. In the end as long as one doesn't look too closely it still works. I blame the ornery children who were distracting me while shopping for these fabrics!

Once the peppers were scorched I put them into a calonder in a bowl and covered them for 2 hrs (which I continued to sew during).

1hr till time, I put the apples, cider and water on the stove to cook. After about 30 min I had to take them off and puree them then put them back on with spices and sugar. At which point I had to do some juggling. I had to make sure the apples didn't scorch and peal and seed the peppers. I actually was able to do all this with out making too big a mess. Since I was not actually thinking freely but rather concentrating on each task at hand I never thought to take photos so sadly there's no photos of my peppers or apple butter ... sorry! I did get photos of my peaches and Jalapenos from my other jam I made!

I'm sure you can guess what these are!

All in all I finished cooking at about 5pm. I didn't finish my scroll until 10:00pm. Then I had to take a damn shower! Oui! My day off went by super fast!  I clearly slept in too long!

I got 3 and a half pints of apple butter. The half I brought to work this morning for everyone to enjoy. & I got 1 jar of roasted bell peppers with garlic. I'm so getting ready for winter ... can ya tell?! Next up I believe is pumpkin butter. I just love pumpkins! Unless of course mother wants some roasted peppers.

I'm slowly adding to this span but in the mean time it's all paternal.

I found this on my jump. I made it a while ago when I was really board. It's my blood line following my for fathers, going back till I reached the bonny shores of England at which point it gets harder ... for me anyways. They were all listed as farmers which I guess is were I get my desire to have my own land to toil in. Slowly I will be adding their other children and making it look less like a tree branch and more like chaos!

Also without a photo is the blanket I'm knitting for Bare Baby Photography. It's a chunky knit with i-cord edges for her newborn photography and a pair of fingerless gloves I'm making for a friend client. I'm slowly getting a lot of commissions, I think everyone is realizing I need the crafts to stay sane.

Old Northwest Primitive Rendezvous

People are always telling me that my drawings tend to look like me. Well this time it was intentional. This is a quick attempt at a fashion painting for a riding habit I'm making for the Old Northwest Primitive Rendezvous this summer. The coat will of course be a last step creation since it isn't really a necessity for the costume. All that is required of me is to look somewhat accurate to the 1750-60s pioneer woman. I'm going a little over board on this costume, however, in my opinion it's better then undershooting it. For example last year (as a spectator) I noticed a young girl walking around in her chemise. Really! That's like her walking around in her panties this day and age. The rendezvous really would like everything to be as accurate as possible so why do they allow such things as indecent exposure (we are judging by their times not ours) and tractors didn't exist just yet so I really feel that they should have horse drawn wagons picking up trash and what nots. A horse and wagon would be no bigger then the tractor.

Rant finished!

So what we have here in order from first thing put on to last is:

Ø  Stockings - I have them white here, knitted of course ... just not by me! I've yet to knit socks. >.>

Ø  Breeches - I've fashioned after the Dutch, really taking after the 1780s but they looked very similar. They are done in a goldish/yellow linen or cotton. I'm not sure which.

Ø  Skirt - ankle length done in a red cotton. Granted dyes were not as fast as our dyes today and very expensive, so this skirt would more than likely have faded.

Ø  Weskit/waistcoat/bodice - I call it so many things because I'm not 100% sure which one fits the most. This will be done in the same fabric as the breeches (whichever I choose) and the same color. A nice lace up or rather down the front with a lining of some kind.

Ø  Habit a la française - styled after either the Italian or French 1735-50s or a military coat of similar time. Done in either a blue, heavy linen (which I'm leaning heavily towards) or wool. Gold trim and embroidery as well as some shiny buttons and red facings. Facing def. a lining or trimming sewn on the edge of a dress, coat, etc.

I'm modeling this costume after a Virginia military fashion of the time. The Virginia military had a blue uniform with red facings and small clothes and gold/yellow trim. Smallclothes def. breeches and weskit.

In order to insure my colors matched as I planned for the costume I decided to draw and paint it. It's not the most accurate paint job but then I'm not too proficient at painting. All in all I don't this it's terrible but perhaps a few fabric swatches will help things considerable. So my next stop will be to a fabric store to get those swatches. Once I'm finished making the skirt and weskit for myself and the costumes the rest of my great party will be needing then I'll order the pattern for the habit a la francaise and start on it. Worst case I'm hand stitching it while at the rendezvous. Talk about advertisement!

I still need to figure out shoes and sleeping arrangements. One of my coworkers might be coming with:  lucky me she's making her own costume, and since this is to be as accurate to the time as possible we will need a tent. Like waterproofed 1750's tent of white linen! >.> Crazy! Crazy expensive! Anything we bring must be disguised as historical. My glasses not withstanding. Did I say that right? I CAN ware my spectacles however I'm going to attempt to find some old frames and get my prescription put in them. Or just use contacts though this site doesn't have bathing facilities. Thus running water! My poor eyes! Lucky us my pa and uncle are getting a hotel room so we can all bathe and they have somewhere soft to sleep. I'd like a tricorn hat but we'll start with everything else first! :3

I'd really like to get my wood working boyfriend to begin making me a few wooden needles and hair sticks but that doesn't seem to be happening. *sigh* Not fair! I hope they don't say anything about aluminum knitting needles. Speaking of I'm also knitting a snood!

As for my painting:  it's sketched out then painted with watercolor. I took it into PS and did the background digitally.

Besides all that I've got another commission for a digivice which I'm going all out for. Carry along crochet body, with foam interior for stability and lack of pooching. Then going back with black embroidery floss to accent and crochet the face with a nice little lip for a screen (taken from an old cell phone) to be fit snugly inside and still see the screen shot of his favorite digimon. I also plan to embroider some of the symbols seen on the face of the digivice around the screen. Should come out nice.

OMG my business cards just came yesterday. They sent a sour punch twist candy with it! How cute! They were supposed to be here Tuesday, which I guess UPS did come but after 5:30 when I left for work already. *pout* Eek! They look so good! Now to get a medal tin to hold them in. Like one of those old cigarette tins gents would have in their pockets!