Back at my home away from home

Yes folks...I am in New York. Just when I thought the travel was nixed for the rest of the year work was able to squeeze in two trips across the states before Christmas. This trip will be to attend the Apparel Tech Conference; an annual event where companies showcase their latest products that are revolutionizing the world of apparel manufacturing. It's actually facinating to see all of the 3d modeling and design applications as they improve over the years. Last year was the first time I saw applications that actually felt like they were helping to speed up the process instead of making it overly complicated and ridiculously technical (and not in an awesome Steampunk style). I've got fingers crossed this year things will start to become integrated and we will start to see seamless transitions between applications. Imagine if illustrator spoke to a pattern design program and drafted the initial pattern without me having to do a whole lot. Oh the beautiful world of 2025 ; )

Also this means fabric shopping!!! I will be trying out a new hotel that is blocks away from the fashion district so hopefully my nearly empty suitcase will be full of goodies for Dickens and the Miss Hatter Costume that has been ratteling around in my head.

What to make next...

As Dickens approaches and I come to terms with the fact the I barely have time to make one dress much less two I am now faced with a choice. I have patterns and fabric for two dresses. Below are pictures of the sillouhette and fabric of each of the items I could work on next.

The first is a ditsy blue floral on a white background in a light weight cotton. The dress is a super cute and is a pleated dress that is the right years for Dickens.

The second is an adorable dress from the 1880's (more my time period and sillouhette) in a beautiful white and blue plaid that is a medium weight cotton.




Audience participation time! Which do you think I should work on? 1) time appropiate blue floral pleated dress - OR - 2) super re-wearable blue plaid???

Costumes for a new day

Tonight was spent at a dance theatre watching the first draft of a new piece for Double Vision to help all the collaborators get inspired. I'm inspired! It super rocks and I can't wait to get started on the costumes!!!

So initial thoughts include stripes, maybe cat wash or asymmetrical skirts, and some strappy top (probably also asymmetrical). The piece feels stiff in a good way, rigid. It inspired stripes and steel grey with black and white. Shiny may be required ; )

Here are some concept sketches... (also maybe some wristlettes and anklettes???)

Recap of a Brass Filled Weekend - Steam-Con

For months everyone has been listening and watching me prepare for Steam-Con.  Sewing pretty much took over my life, minus a life changing road trip in the middle, for most of 2009. This all consuming passion helped me in ways to focus, feel productive, and motivate me to do what i love...that i sometimes forget just how much i love.

Steam-Con took place in Seattle at the Airport Marriott with an approximate 1,200 person cap of attendees the hotel was completely infiltrated by brass, airship captains, and stupendously creatively like minded people...it was fantastic!!!  I swear posts will follow with costumy bits, but first the con.  We arrived Thursday afternoon and had already noticed a few who looked like they had the same destination as us.  Hat boxes were a plenty on the plane and more than once prior to take off you heard someone say "i have a hat up there, do you mind moving your bag?" so awesome!!!  Upon arriving at the hotel, via free shuttle, room was gotten and suitcases exploded.  I took a fifth of what i brought to the con when i traveled Europe in the fall for three weeks.  The Con was only 3 days; but in all fairness the Victorian/Steampunk styling does require both a lot of undergarment layers that are otherwise not necessary, and more costume changes a day then a wear in a weekend.  There were day outfits, evening outfits, and even some morning/dressing outfitness.  The many pieced outfits were pulled out and hung out to increase the sanity by decreasing the quantity of ironing required.  Some how we went the entire weekend iron free.  Thursday evening there was a bit of exploring and lots of discussion of what the next day was to bring.

Friday morning i awoke to a small line of people visible in the indoor courtyard of the hotel.  Over the hours as we got ready we watched the line slowly increase, but not move.  Somehow the line was only growing, not moving or having any kind of processing.  Early afternoon we may our way downstairs to said line and found that it was for on-site registration which had been announced to be nearly sold out and lots of people wanting to join the party.  It was fantastic to see so many people at a con that was in it's first year and awesome to watch over the weekend at how well the whole thing went off!

Friday afternoon involved lounging around and fluttering from panel to panel.  All good, but all hot from the large amounts of people in each room.  This wasn't frustrating and everyone remained calm and collected.  When we got to hot we ventured outside for a bit, no biggie.  Friday evening offered a DJ hosted dance, where *much* dancing and fun was enjoyed.  The room had a good amount of people especially for being a 21 and over event.  I was glad to see that they offered a dance as it gets people out and together.  Most of the con's i've been to over the last few years have been seriously lacking in the after hours activities.  Well i took full advantage of the dance, a bit more enjoyment that was necessary and thus spent the first half of Saturday sleeping off the fantastically good time had on Friday.

Once i did arise on Saturday a couple more panels were attended and totally enjoyed.  There were smart people there with smart things to say.  Some things said were things i knew, especially things about sewing/costuming/tricking things out; but there was also large amount of insightful dialogue theorizing about how it was and tons of great explore conservations about what steampunk is and what it means.  I am really enjoying watching this new genre form and listening to all of the idea forming conversations around Steampunk.  People are making it up as they go and finding evediance to back up their statements, and it's good!  I can't wait to see how this continues to evolve over the next few years with new cons popping up all over the world.

Also on Saturday afternoon was a tea and fashion show.  Fantastic tea setup with goodies and weak or strong tea for all while we enjoyed a Steampunk fashion show.  No pictures, they were hauling it down the runway and back so they were all blurry city.  A recap of some of my favorites: Mens Ties sewn together as the back of a jacket, some Illig inspired strappy skirts, and a wide stripe black/white dinner jacket very circus inspired.  Everything reminded me of some great items collecting dust in the closet.  I really enjoy how much of the brighter side of the industrial scene comes through in Steampunk.

Saturday night was the "Airship Invasion" concert.  Abney Park was the only band we caught, after the great changing of the clothes.  It was good, but i've seen them before and just wasn't feeling large amounts of energy in the room.  It was "sold out" but there was TONS of space in the room so it felt kinda sparse.  Still worth the $15!

Sunday was packing and returning home.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed again without a line of people hanging around outside my window, but i also miss looking at all of the creativeness that was at Steam-Con.

Panels that rocked
* Faux Finishes , Aging Gear & Apparel | Panel members were costumers and the audience participation in conservation led to fantastic technique discussions
* The Sharp Dressed Man | There were quite a few panels focused on mens fashions, nice to see as often only the women get this attention...also the most packed with people

Panels that *sounded* like they would have rocked, that i missed
* Celestial Navigation | Super helpful for character building of anything airship, also stars rock
* Dungeons and Dickens: How to Steampunk your RPG | anyone helping people be better story tellers gets points
* Rusty Gears & Shiny Sprockets | The con was so well organized they even scheduled a "tell us what you like and didn't like" panel.  The entire con was this well planned and excuted, very impressive for the turnout and for the first year.


Bottom Line ... Yes, i would/will go back next year.  The panels were fun and interesting, the location was easy and affordable, and the people were super cool.

Let the Holiday crafting/cooking begin!

I love the fall and winter.  So many different celebrations for all different walks of life.  Time for hand made gifts, fantastic recipes, and time with friends and family.  Of course Christmas gifts always sneak up on me, but this year i'm taking it all in stride and have already decided that the world will not end if everyone doesn't get fancy things this year.  Between looking for a house and my crazy works schedule i am hoping to fit in some good baking and cooking time so watch out Thanksgiving...

Part of my holiday plans this year include attending Dickens Fair in San Francisco a couple of times which means a couple of new costumes.  I do love sewing no matter how much i complain about it.  There is some fabric lying around and a couple of cute time period appropriate patterns hanging out that have been givin each other the eye.  I need to give everything a once over and nail the outfits down so i can plan the holiday creativity out and set some goals.

Holiday gifts will also need to be made this year and a couple of birthdays.  I do have parents and a brother to think of and lots of fantastic friends that have been there for me a lot over this trying year who super deserve some awesome treats.  Luckily the family is very easy going and low key.  The brother has requested another beanie, which shouldn't take more then a day or two, and the mom/dad got blankets and socks last year so this year can be on the smaller side.  I just finished a pretty rockin Christmas Stocking for me that might work with different setups for some others...I can't wait for the yarn shopping!!!  I always forget that i can also "Sew" for others.  For some reason gifting pops into my head as knitting and a bit o' crochet.  Sewing is just as awesome and something i have been doing a bit more of this year.  Any ideas for some cute sewn gifty items?

Released from the Sewing Machine for one weekend of fun

Hi!  Yep, i'm actually *not* dead as many probably figured.  No no, what really happened was silly drama and a super evil costume deadline when i was totally not in the mood.  For the last two months i have been sewing non-stop day/night/twilight.  I managed to finish a large amount of the wish list prior to heading off with a costuming buddy to Steam-Con last weekend.  Luckily i finished enough and had other goodies in my closet that i was able to outfit for the weekend even with an evening costume change ; )  Unfortunately i spent all weekend posing for other peoples pictures of my fantastic outfits that i only ended up with a couple of pictures on my own camera (nothing really to be ashamed of).  Below are pictures of the daytime outfits and more "fill in the gaps" posts to follow now that the sewing machine has been tucked away for all of an hour.

    

Bustle Appropiate Petticoat and Traveling Bustle Complete

This week was all about getting the under garments for the Checked Wool Costume complete and ready for me to begin fitting the garments next week...and i did it!  I finished the petticoat that has the extra length for the bustle to be worn underneath as the over garments require a bustle.  I again used the Truly Victorian pattern for Victorian Petticoats #TV170 selecting view B (small bustle back, flat front).  For the outer fabric i found a plaid weave linen in unbleached cotton.  The entire petticoat is lined with a heavy unbleached muslin.  And again all clean finished seams.  It will be great to have a petticoat that works with a bustle!

      

Also i drafted a pattern for a "traveling bustle".  An under garment to help with the bustle effect on the back and be completely fold-able.  I did some rough math and then went for it.  I am very pleased with how the traveling bustle came out (Full instructions to follow in separate post).  The petticoat above is shown with the traveling bustle underneath.  It gave it a perfect 2 1/2" extra length in the back.  Some pretty pictures!

   

   

Petticoat #2 Update!

Progress has been made on the new petticoat (#2)!  Everything was cut out on Sunday, About 50% sewn yesterday with a bit of working from home to help, and this evening another 15% was completed.  If work would have released me at a reasonable time instead of nearly 12 hours after walking through the doors that morning i may have gotten through more...but who knows.  This one is moving much faster than the first one, but also i have been able dedicate large chunks of continuous time which super helps.  We are now down to:

1) Sewing the grograin ribbon along the front and side seams (This requires a Stone Mountain run to procure the correct color of thread tomorrow after work)
2) Shirring and attaching the ruffle along the sweep
3) Sewing the grograin ribbon along the Ruffle seam to clean finish
4) Pleating the Back Waist to Fit the Waistband
5) Sewing the Waistband to the garment
6) Crossing my fingers that i have enough left over ribbon to use for the tie at the waist
7) Starting the next project!!!

Next project is the "Traveling Bustle".  Here are some links to pictures.  There are patterns out there...but the sewn up versions look awful!  I am *so* capable of doing better...so i challenge me to do better.  The plan to complete this task is to draft a pattern and test it this weekend, hopefully it's close enough that i can cut and sew one up real quick afterwords and call it complete with the undergarments for the Checked Wool Costume this week.

Let the Costuming Countdown Begin!

So i have 8 1/2 weeks to complete all of my costume goodies for Steam-Con.  Ummm... Yes, i could you a very hard kick in the pants to get moving.  All of last week should have been spent sewing, but alas.  I decided it was much more enjoyable to read, take long baths, and go to the movies.  None of which have helped me prepare for the trip.  Tonight i finally found some motivation and got moving.  I cut out the petticoat for the Checked Wool Costume and should have no problem sewing it up over the next couple of days.  This week i need to complete the petticoat, traveling bustle, and begin working on the Checked Wool Costume if i'm going to get three outfits completed in less than 2 months.  Ahhh!!!

The petticoat will be a quick sew as this is #2.  I am using the same pattern, with an added scoop to the CB to accommodate a bustle, that was used for my first petticoat.  I found a super cute woven fabric the shade of un-dyed muslin with a plaid weave style running throughout the fabric and have cut out a heavy un-dyed muslin lining.  It will be a bit heavy, but super cute, and the weight will be necessary to stand up against the wool, heavy twill, and velveteen of the Check Wool Costume.  Also things are going tons faster since the purchase of my fantastic dress form.

Hunter Green Lacy Beginnings

So i have 3 complete Victorian costumes to finish in about two months ... so i started a new knitting project, the Hunter Lace Tank, to help keep me sane amongst all of the sewing madness that will be happening.  I have had the yarn, Tsuki in a hunter green, specifically for this project for about a year.  It was purchased way back when Artfibers had a store in the city (SF) and one could get lost in there playing with sample yarn and knitting swatches.  I had come across the pattern and thought " i totally need a lacy fitted tank top!"  Ummm...it was cute, but also going to be tons of work with the full square skirt, elastic thread, and a lacy front.  The lacy front kept me coming back, it's super cute.  Also i haven't explored the lace much so this project has been itching to get started for a while.

What it should like like when finished...


What it looks like now, post 2.5 days of a knitting weekend...

A Headband for all Time

I have a queue in Ravelry that every now again begs for attention. After two weeks of hiking and mostly reading (with a bit of sock knitting) I found my queue calling to me for a quick project. Nothing fancy, but something quick and easy and practical...a headband!!! I have tons of hair and love head bands so it's perfect. I pulled out the recycled cotton yarn that i used for the star stitch skirt last year and grabbed a pattern from the queue. After two days of tv/podcast knitting i was done!

It felt great to pull something out and finish it, quick and easy.  This was a great reminder that not all projects need to be giant epic projects that span decades of time and sanity.  More lite projects here and there to come.

Sunny Sock Sunset

The Sunny Socks are done!!! They were the fantastic trip knitting for the two weeks of camping and they were tons of fun. I love the colors. I am not a bright colors gal, but there is something about bright socks i adore. I had some cotton sock yarn and was itching to give it a try. The socks came out mostly ok. Since they are cotton there is not a lot of give. They aren't too big, but they do stand away from the ankle a bit. Also they have not been washed or blocked. I'm guessing if i treat them like socks, washer and dryer, they will shrink up to the perfect fit. I enjoyed the traveling eyelet pattern. It's nice to have something interesting on the sock but to not have to stare at a pattern all the time to get it. I will definitly do these again as there is no need for the instructions. The short row toe is easy and neat as well is the short row heel. Paired with the roaming eyelets my only complaint was not being able to knit both socks together on one circular needle at the same time. The only reason this doesn't work is because at the ankle you need to move stitch from one needle to another to keep the eyelet pattern seam less. I think the next pair may have a zigzag instead of a ring to the eyelet placement to allow for two at a time knitting.

  

 

Arches National Park = Hot and Sandy Trails

After the lush fields of plants in Zion we drove on Eastward through Bryce and onto Arches National Park.  Arches totally deserves it's name with beautiful natural arches everywhere and gorgeous desert terrain like petrified sand dunes.  We camped at the park camp grounds and found a fantastic spot to erect an amazing "Radiation Deflector" = a piece of fabric for shade ; )  This turned out to be a super must as the temperatures rose to nearly 100F at lunch time ... ouch!  There were massive sunburns earned along both of the longer trails we journeyed.

Negro Bill Trail | This trail is just off the highway and considered "highly shaded".  This translates to at mid day nearly 30% of the trail being shaded.  Given the other trails in the park this is tons of shade and most are full cover, but it still felt a little misleading.  The trail runs along a stream for about 2 miles going over rocks and crossings over the stream in multiple places.  The trail itself is well marked with signs and there is some over growth as we went rather late in the season.  The trail ends into a beautiful large arch and a small pool.  This was most non-existent as we were there in August, but there was plenty of stream to stop and soak the feets in.

    

Devils Canyon Trail | The trail head is just past the campgrounds inside the park.  The trail is considered the major trail in the park and is totally worth the just over 4 miles round trip.  All of the guide information will tell you to bring 2+ liters of water per person...you will want to do this.  The trail is very poorly marked in places and it is quite easy to get yourself set on a side journey.  The water is key to keep up your spirits and energy while you get through the minimal cover (7-10% morning and evening |  less than 2% midday) and if you need to go back and find the real trail.  Gorgeous arches at each of the off shoots and all are recommended.  The view from on top of the fins is amazing as you can see across the entire valley to the north; this is a different view from the south facing camp grounds and adds to the beauty of the valley.  The compass was *very* helpful for this one.

    

Vampires delaying my knitting!

Knitting was totally brought on the vacation...i swear!!!  The problem was that so was two large books that i wanted to tear through immediately.  I got a little sucked into the Stephanie Meyer Vampire Books.  A little sucked in equals the first two books (Twilight | New Moon) in one week prior to the trip and the last two books (Eclipse | Breaking Dawn) in 5 days.  Yep, the trip consisted of me somehow managing to read 1300 pages in 5 days, yea for someone else driving and motion sickness medication!  Now that i'm through them...i liked them!  Not my Anne Rice Vampires, these ones are sparkly cute vegetarians...but fun!  They were all quick reads and totally read like film.  Not heavy books, thus the "teen" section at the library.  I guess there is a 5th book | Breaking Dawn | with some nonsense surrounding it.  The letters and such seem a bit overly dramatic for someone posting a copy of the book early, considering how popula the series is, but i get the author is hurt by the whole thing.  Has anyone else read these or kept up with the drama over the 5th book?

Well the "Real" books in the series have all been read and book 4 even said The End so i have been able to rejoin the world of the knitting.  Toe up socks!  These are so quick and easy.  After only two daqys i have nearly a whole socks done and no crazy instructions were followed for turning the heel.  I think i still prefer the top down socks in final appearance and the working both from the very first stitch to the last.  One pretty Sunny Sock nearly complete ... his brother is on the way ;)

Beautiful Scenic Views brought to you by Zion National Park

Pictures from the Canyon Overlook Trail in Zion National Park | Fantastic short hike, 1 mile round trip, with only one weary bridge and lots of great views.  Not a bad way to start the nature part of the trip : )

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