Refashioned Shirt

AFTER

BEFORE (forgive the wrinkled shirt)

I had a large shirt. I cut it apart, princess seamed it, which made the armholes smaller to fit me. I opted not to cut the sleeves down, but instead just made tighter cuffs, and gathered the sleeve at the shoulder and the wrist to make it puffed. My favorite part is how I changed the collar, it was so easy. It was a standing collar, but I like mandarin collars. So I ripped out the top pointy part of the collar so just the standing part of it was left, which looks like a mandarin collar.  I think it looks vaguely Romantic era. I am happy :)

Cloak Pictures and a Snowy Day

We went out and enjoyed the melting snow on the porch. Isaiah was jubilant. He ate snow, and made handprints with Dad in the snow, and sloshed in the melting snow, and even said 'na' for snow. He likes snow.

Eating Snow...

  I finished the wool cloak, and took pictures, with a Polar Bear. My boots are too-large hand me downs, which have a habit of letting my foot swim around in them and so my socks crawl down. I hate my socks crawling down. So I had an inspiration and tied the too loose boots to my leg. It makes them look like boots in Skyrim....

Eowyn White Wool Dress SLEEVES Planning part 2

I decided to make the dress unlined (since the cotton material is fairly heavy), and princess seamed. I am not sure whether to use armhole or shoulder princess seams. The armhole ones I already have a pattern for, but the shoulder princess I think works better for me since my nursing figure changes (the shoulder princess the pieces aren't as steeply curved, which helps when sewing the convex side piece to the concave front piece) The neck is going to be a wide v neck, and the back closure will be a zipper since I am not super authentic in this anyway and I want to be able to get into it myself. For nursing access, I will put an invisible zipper in the front. I had been considering putting in some lace up over the front and make it more of a design feature. I think that would be pretty but it wouldn't be Eowyn's white dress. So maybe I'll do the lace up on the Eowyn-inspired jumpers I am planning.

Here is an awful sneak peak of my Eowyn jumper plan. The neck is all wrong here (and I don't even have it laced shut as the baby had recently been eating....) but I am planning to cut the neck much lower, so its more of a jumper and less of a dress. How I set the gores here is a bit unflattering. I will work on that. The difference of the sleeves is one has a ponytail on my arm to help push the sleeve up. I think i will sew in some elastic on the inside....

My white dress will be floor length since I want to be able to actually do cool things in it. Trains are nice, but you can't do much more then pose for pictures or get married in them, and I want something I can actually slay fell beasts in. Kind of. Ok I know she was wearing boys clothes then, but it just feels cooler to think of it that way.

Those were the easy parts.  Now, drumroll, the sleeves. This is by far the most difficult part of this dress. How to do it? I looked online at other peoples beautiful recreations of this dress. Katherine at koska-the-cat.com did a gorgeous faithful recreation from the film.

koshka-the-cat.com

I want my sleeves to be a little less dramatic then this one, though it is quite beautiful, from koshka-the-cat.com

Eowyn at cosplay also made a beautiful one here. (she also made every single one of Eowyn's dresses if you look up her cosplay id)

By Eowyn at http://new.cosplaylab.com/cosplayers/complete.asp?memberid=34153

However, I like the sleeves on the cosplay one better. I guess I don't want the sleeves to hang down q at 90 degree angles when I hold my arms out straight. In this image, you can see how Katherine cut out her sleeves (the construction of her dress with helpful tips is all on her website).

koshka-the-cat.com

While this is how its done for the movie, Eowyn mostly held her arms so that they didn't fall down staight. I like the smoother less 90 degree angle, more acute angle look of this shot here of Eowyn in her coronation dress.

I love the drape of these sleeves

I am aware that both these dresses sleeves probably are cut at 90 degrees, but that her arm position is giving them more of an acute angle look. But I want to cut them at more of an acute angle to start with.  I also think I will have them fall only a couple inches below the knee...we'll see./ I found this awesome website http://www.threadsofrohan.com/  with awesome screencaps and illustrations from 'The Art of the Two Towers' (must get this book from the library) / Eowyn has a lot of cross-lacing on the bicep of all her outfits. (I just realized it was also on her coat in TT, its on her white dress, its even on her refugee outfit. In contrast, Arwen has thick, embroidered sleeve bands.)  But what makes me happiest, is THIS Which clearly shows some lacing on the underside of the wrist, to pull the sleeve tight at the wrist, and then let if fan out to the thumb joint. I love this look, but before thought I would have to make buttons and button holes (like a cotehardie) which can be bulky and uncomfortable, if its an underdress, and you have to roll the sleeves up.

Thursday Quick takes

---So I decided I wanted to do it Princess seamed, with a back zipper closure, and a front invisible zipper down the front for nursing access. It will be a shallow v neck like the movie. It will be floor length. Still working out the sleeves. I think I'll make a mock up...not sure what fabric to use yet..

In which Isaiah teaches Jehanne what Stethoscopes are for

Stethoscopes are tasty, really

He offered her Josh's baseball

---Isaiah was falling asleep in his crib, and I usually lie on the bed right next to it while he comes to terms with the fact he is going to have to go to sleep. Every night, when he's moved passed the denial and anger stage, and into the acceptance stage, he will push his little hand through the slats and hold my hand and fall asleep. He was going through the denial stage this night, and I was side-nursing Jehanne on the bed, and fading out myself. When I came to, I realized he had already gone to sleep. I was amazed, since he had not done this without holding my hand. I looked up and saw he had reached through and was holding Jehanne's hand through the crib slats. I got up and left them both sleeping angelically, holding hands through the crib slats.

---Another time Jehanne was wanting to suck on something (she still refuses pacifiers, and wants my finger), and then became quiet. We looked and saw that Isaiah had climbed onto the bed and put his finger in her mouth, which she was happily sucking. It was sweet. And then I wondered where else his little hands had been (he has an obsession with trying to open the diaper genie. He will embrace it and even though it is taller then him, carry it around the room, then lay it on its side, and try to crack it open...)


---Isaiah woke up very thoughtful and quiet on Sunday morning. As we were getting ready for church, Josh asked Isaiah how he was. He looked thoughtful and said "Ca"  so now we know he thinks about the Cat a lot...


---Jehanne has found her voice. Sometimes we wake up in middle of the night to hear her talking loudly to herself, and then she goes back to sleep.



---Isaiah said (a word we had never taught him before) "coat" very clearly when he wanted to join Josh in driving Sarah home. So he got to put on his coat, and said "Shoes" and got them on too, and went out with Dad.

---Isaiah will watch the cars going down the street through the glass door out to the porch. He got very excited when we bundled him up to take him OUTSIDE to watch the cars for 5 minutes. He was so happy. Poor city kid.... Now its like a ritual. Yesterday, at 10:30 pm (I know I know...) it was raining, and we all bundled up, Jehanne poking out of my coat, Josh in his green coat looking Ranger-ish silhouetted against the sky, and Isaiah decked out in the full glory of his coat and blinking spider man boots to go watch cars under the dark raining sky. It was fun. It felt epic. And I was pumped about Rand Paul filibustering and saying what needs to be said. I'm a neocon really, but I loved him for it, speaking truth to power and all that. It felt like the beginning of an adventure, and I imagined Josh and I and the babies embarking on an adventure out into the world....Then I noticed Jehanne had gotten rain on her head, and there was a possible homeless guy doing something strange in the street (maybe putting a secret mark on the pavement, the 'Striders' of the city....yeah that would be cool) and so we went inside.

Eowyn 'White Wool Dress' --Planning

About the zelda thing....

No, I don't think I can quite do it. Not with the shoulder armour and the hair casings and all....Its a bit...much. I don't even have the skill to make that armour , even were I to try it.  Maybe I'll make the purple coat  embroidered 'inspired by the armor' goldwork  embroidery...  Now, about Zelda's white dress...

from Zerochan.net  by Aishia

Eowyn's Dress

The white dress reminds me of Eowyn's white wool dress in the Two Towers. (www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Human/Eowyn/Wool.htm 

http://new.cosplaylab.com/cosplayers/complete.asp?memberid=34153  http://www.costumersguide.com/cr_lotr.shtml   

http://www.koshka-the-cat.com )  But I am not concerned with an exact replica. For one thing, the bliaut 2 piece bodice construction with only shaping in the side seams doesn't work for me. So I am going to unashamedly make this with princess seams (no medieval authenticity here either...) So I am going to kill two birds with one stone. I think I will make this with some really thick cotton I got for a discount, and I'll pretend its wool. I'll do bliaut style sleeves like Eowyn's, with tight muslin undersleeves. I'll embroider the neck, armbands, and perhaps...even the end of the skirt. Then, so I could use it for both, I'll make a removable belt for when its Eowyn's, and I would make a purple jacket for when its Zeldas. Maybe. We'll see. I've never played a Zelda game in my life, but somehow I think this will be fun :)

Josh Link Outfit--Planning

 So we can break down his outfit.  First,

1.  There seems to be a long sleeved tan undertunic with a mandarin collar and a little lacing up the neck. This is very similar to Faramir's quilted undertunic. I think the mandarin collar is there to keep the armor from chafing against his neck when he moves around in combat. And it just looks awesome. 
2. Next there is a chain mail tunic thing with sleeves to just above elbow and mid-thigh length. It is almost completely covered by the overtunic. 
3. Over that, there's a green overtunic with sleeves to just above elbow with some nice detail embroidery work. 
4. He wears tan brown pants.
5. Absolutely awesome tall brown leather boots, reaching to just under the knee
6.  A thick brown leather belt, suitable for hanging things off of
7. A sword scabbard with a double strap and buckle across the front that just looks cool
8. And some combination of brown fingerless gloves and black bracers held together with brown leather straps, 
9. With a really big tooled leather second bracer on his left arm (for blocking?), 
10. A SWORD
11. ...and a ridiculous hat.

I love the detailing on the green overtunic in this one, especially on the sleeve edges and around the neck.  Artwork posted by zelink4ever on fanpop.com 

Many of these components are similar to the components in Faramir's outfit. 1 (tan ls undertunic, green overtunic, belt and cool belts on the weapon holder, tall boots, combination of brown and black bracers).

So, back to the list, I think I will make

1. (1) like Faramir's undertunic, just without the quilted sleeves. Perhaps Josh can use this with his Faramir outfit in warmer weather, so as not to have to wear quilted sleeves in summer. (
2. 2)chain mail is alas, beyond my skill, 
3. (3)overtunic I can definitely make and will be the most 'Link'ish of the whole set, not interchangable with his Faramir outfit. 
4. (4)pants will be very useful, I like how they are fitted but not clingy and they will be interchangable with his brown pants for his Faramir outfit. 
5. (5)boots is a must have, and beyond my skill, and when we do get those awesome tall brown leather boots will be for both his Faramir and Link Outfit. 
6. (6)belt we kind of have, but I will keep on the lookout at thrift stores for more awesome brown leather belts, which I will use to make 
7. (7)scabbard but modify it to a quiver perhaps? Josh can use this for his Faramir outfit as well. 
8. (8)Bracers look kind of like a non-fancy version of Faramir's bracers, so I will make Link's first, and perhaps when I learn from them...
9. ...then I can make Faramir's true bracers and Link's tooled leather over-bracer(9). 
10. (10) Sword is alas, too expensive for us to justify buying right now (but like the boots, when someday we do, it will be a plain good sword to serve for all his outfits). I will make him a bow to carry in the meantime. 
11. (11)hat is ridiculous, and I shall not make this for Josh unless he really really wants it. It looks like a dunce cap to me.  

 

Just paint it green, and then you can feel cool :)

 Now, if Josh is Link.....dare I? It seems like crossing some definite threshold of nerdiness :)

 

Update: Breath of the Wild made me cry. So good. I'm gonna make the champion's tunic for Link instead. LINK HERE when I get to it.

Leah's Red Regency Dress

 

 I sewed Leah a dress yesterday. I am so proud of myself. I made the pattern myself. And it WORKS.  1. I had her try on my dress. 2. I roughly approximated things like, she could use a couple inches more in the shoulder, etc. 3. I redrew pattern pieces from my pattern pieces, and made a mockup (from an old sheet) and tried it on her. 4. Tweaked it a little more, and now was ready to make the dress.  Here are the initial pictures. We took these at midnight. I will have better pictures up and how we did it soon. Also I have the cutest little girl in the world. 

This gives a good view of the bodice. It is a drawstring neck with elastic inserted to keep it from gapping when she moves her arms. She moves her arms a lot. When I was a kid my mental image of 'industrious' was Leah.

.

I am so proud of the skirt. Its an A line, with a hem and a tuck running along the bottom to make it stand out more. The back has pleats, the front is smooth but cut at a shallow u. I learned through trial and error that cutting the top waist part into a shallow u, makes the drape soo much prettier.

 The cat was trying to drink out of the water in the sink. I love how her braid hangs down her back. (Yes Leah was trying to do my dishes at midnight. She tried to convince me to clean the house instead of sew her a dress. She is my conscience.)

Did I mention I had the cutest baby in the world?

Wool Cloak Diagrams and Notes

So I tried a half circle cloak.

Things I learned.

Hood make a rectangle, if any shaping is to be done, snip off the pointy bit at the top like this. Try to round it a bit at the back. It will turn out pointier then expected. Don't add a rounded bit at the tip, it will look like a smurf.

[INSERT DIAGRAM HERE]

Even using 60" (here shrunk down to 55 or so) with the neck hole, it becomes shorter, a short cloak hitting only a few inches below my knee.

So piece the bottom like the Medieval extant example
[INSERT PICTURE HERE]

Or try my brilliant piecing idea
[INSERT PICTURE HERE]

Or line the bottom like the starry mantle
[INSERT PICTURE HERE]


(to be expanded)
-Neck binding inside edge so not scratchy
-use lotr neck thing so can pull tight, maybe with couple helpful hook n eyes for tight setting
-new hood dimensions
-make neck cutaway bigger then hood, pleat it onto the hood bottom, maybe even putting in darts to neck...
-face front edge so hangs straight.

Dyeing Wool

I dyed the wool. Things I noticed

Shrinkage. On initial hot ("heavy" setting on washing machine) wash, my nice woven wool went from 7.5 yards to 6.75 yards, and 3.3 yards to 3 yards respectively. Thats shrinkage of around 0.3 per 3.3 yards. After dyeing (at 130 F) each 2 yard increment shrunk by an inch or two. So if buying (nice woven) wool, but 1/2 yard more per 3 yards.

How I dyed them. I cut them into approximately 2-2.5 yard increments of my prewashed fabric. I filled the bucket with around 3 gallons of water 130 F (I acheived this with around 2.5 gallons of hot tap water, and 0.5 gallon of boiling water) and checked it with a meat thermometer. Then I put in a package of RIT dye (dark green) and around 2 T. laundry detergent, mixed it up. Then put in the dry fabric for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. After 5 minutes, I added 1 cup white vinegar, then stirred for 5 more minutes, then cold rinsed over and over. The pieces each only shrunk a couple inches or so. I found putting half a pot of boiling water per bucket was much nicer to the fabric then a full pot (that fabric felted more).

RIT dye errs on the side of being blue. Very blue. So the dark brown had a purple undertone to it (I prefer oranger/tan undertones), and the 'Dark Green' when dyed lightly (10 min) anyway, is kind of a dusky blue green. I want something more like olive. So next time I will always have some 'sunshine orange' (something kind of orangey yellow) to add to my greens and browns. I think I will try redyeing my batch with sunshine yellow, to acheive a warmer brown and olive green.

Goals for 2013

My goals for 2013 are to (surprise!) make my home more like Rivendell, a place of peace and re-filling of strength and LIFE to go out and face Mordor/Smaug/all thats wrong with the world. First off, with myself.I need to be filled with something for my home to be filled with it. I became keenly aware of this when I left home--each home, had a 'feeling' or an 'atmosphere', some felt like mausoleums, some like gardens on a sunny day at 10 in the morning with the sound of birds....
At college I would wilt in the stress-filled dorms, and crave what I could only call 'LIFE', that strength/peace/joy/what-the-singing-elves-had-that-made-the-dark-rider-flee/ what-the-saints-had....that holy joy, that bright peace, the joy of the tallest hickory trees thrashing in the bright wind at 10 in the morning, with the calls of the crows and honey-suckle in the wind....
In short, I think it is the presence of the Creator, the Life-Giver, the Holy Spirit. So for my house to be a place where He dwells, where there is life, Life must dwell in me. So to start, I mean to make an effort, for the first time since I was a teenager, to have real daily time spent with him, reading His words, rejoicing in who He is, listening to His voice. My total lack of discipline prevented this from ever happening on a real basis. No more.
Secondly, Rivendell was not full of dirty dishes, and people stressed by not having forks or a place to put their feet on the floor. There's something about mess that does not invite mental peace. So, on with the discipline part, my house is going to be clean, and my kids are going to follow a routine, to organize their daily life. If I really get my act together we might institute some form of the daily office.
My last resolution is creative goals.

1. Finish Eowyn Shieldmaiden Outfit, 
2. Eowyn's White Wool Dress,
3. Arwen Blood Red Dress,
4. Medieval linen Kirtle,
5. Medieval Wool Kirtle 1& 2
6. Medieval Wool Half Circle Cloak
7. Medieval Linen Smock,
8. Medieval Apron,
9. Medieval Belt,
10. Medieval Linen Cap of St. Birgitta,
11. Regency Hat (for Easter)
12. Regency Bodiced Petticoat
13. Pink Regency Easter Dresses for two of my sisters and I,
14. Regency dresses inspired by 2009 Emma,
15. Regency inspired coat, from refashioned old coats
16. 'Indian' Maternity dress 2.0,
17. Medieval 'Link' inspired outfit for Josh,
18. Faramir Ranger Outfit 2.0 for Josh,
19. Tower Guard Outfit (Like Pippins) for Isaiah
20. Medieval (Link Inspired) outfit for Isaiah,
21. a comfortable yet matching medieval outfit for Jehanne.

And I will update this blog every Monday.

Liebster Blog Award

I was tagged by Sarah from Romantic History for the Liebster Blog Award. (Thank you Sarah! I feel honored) So here goes.

The Rules

1. You must post eleven random facts about yourself.
2. You must also answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in turn.
3. Tag eleven fellow bloggers.
4. Notify them that you've awarded them.
5. No tagging back.
6. The eleven blogs you tag must have less than 200 followers.

Merry Christmas from AZ!!!

Eleven Random Facts about myself

#1 I am half Korean. My mother's family came here in the 70's when she was a teenager, to flee a rumored re-invasion by North Korea and a restart of the Korean War. Her father giving up a position of authority in the military to start a little wig store in North Philadelphia, he literally went from commanding men to taking orders from little old ladies how to style their wigs. He did it for his kids, it was hard on him. He was a great man, I miss him.

#2 When I was a tender child, I had a book in which Sleeping Beauty was portrayed with floor length brown hair. I have been trying to grow it out ever since.

#3  I want to wear Medival clothes and LOTR movie inspired dresses and Regency dresses for everyday life. I don't go to enough reenacting events to wear the clothes I really like, so why not dress the way really want to now? Still working on the courage to go shopping etc. in them...

#4 I have 8 siblings, and they are AWESOME

#5 I love Lord of the Rings (in case you were wondering...). My dad read it to me and my siblings every night when I was 8-10 (yes it took a year and a half), and it gave me a picture of  heroism and that indefinable beauty of holiness. Narnia too, it shaped so much of how I see the world. In real life "Its like in Narnia when Digory went through the door to get the fruit, but the witch climbed over the wall...it matters HOW you do it as much that you do it..." etc.

#6  Kids tv cartoon shows terrify me. (the kinds that were produced very fast, to fill a timeslot and never seen again) As a child they would scare me, and they still do.

#7 I want to write children's books, and teenager books. They shape how kids see the world (see #2 # 5), and as such can give children a framework of beauty and truth.

#8 I have 2 kids, Isaiah (17 mos) and Jehanne (3 mos), and they are the cutest kids ever born into this world.

#9 Jehanne is named after Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc is awesome!!! I did a lot of research on her, and she is so so so awesome. Read primary sources or books by the historian Regine Pernoud for a good introduction to her awesomeness.

#10 One day I will make a movie of Joan of Arc. I already am working on a screenplay. I just need lots and lots of plate armor, 2000 extras, actors, and access to French cathedrals. But its going to happen....

#11 I love America (see #1), their intervention in "The Forgotten War" is what saved my grandparents lives. My mom says, 'The Americans came like angels, these tall men from far away to help us.' That doesn't mean I think anything America does is great (Lord have mercy on us) but I am very grateful for what they have done in the past.

Now to Answer Sarah's questions

1. What is your favorite era of fashion and why? (sorry, had to ask this, I always want to know this about everyone I meet!) Medieval. Because its the most LOTR-ish, and because its so practical (nursing in kirtles) and beautiful, and its cool to think you are wearing something that so many women before you (including Joan of Arc..) wore. And men's medieval clothes (knee length tunic, leggings, belt, cloak etc) is how I always imagined the Elves dressed. I like Regency too, its nice feeling pretty when pregnant...



2. What is the worst hair cut you have ever received? Hmm...this is a tough one. I was 12 and went on a shower strike, telling my mom she was too obsessed with cleanliness, and what's wrong with greasy hair? Its natural! After 2 weeks she responded by cutting off a foot of it.
The worst executed hair cut was probably when I asked my husband to give me post baby hair loss hair cut, and he just grabbed it in a pony tail and confidently chopped with one stroke...I turned around asking him if he was done, and he was holding the pony tail in his hand.

3. If you could afford anything, would you have your clothes made or would you prefer to sew them yourself? I would make them. And I would buy a lot of cloth :)

4. What has been the happiest moment of your life? It was a dark night, on a mountain road through Virginia. My family's car had rolled over 2x in the dark, smashing out the windows, crushing the roof, and sending all our luggage littered across the side of the road. When the car came too, the scariest moment was calling out each siblings name, to see if they answered. When they all eventually did, that was the happiest moment of my life, it felt like overflowing and abundant love. The doctors at the hospital kept telling us it was a miracle. We were doing 70mph and slammed into the mountain. It was a miracle. I knew we shouldn't all be alive. And yet we were. It felt like receiving this huge huge huge gift, my life and the lives of all my sibs and parents all at once.

5. What is your greatest inspiration for daily living? My kids smiling at me. Knowing God loves me like a Daddy, and as one very wise friend tells me 'bears the brunt of the pain on Himself, and only gives us what is necessary.'

6. If you could be remembered for one thing, what would that be? It depends on by whom....If by my family, it would be someone who loved them. If the world...um.....Joan of Arc Movie???

7. What is your favorite season and why? Spring. Flowers, Sparrows singing where it once was cold and silent, the white petals of the Azaleas covered in dew....the pale blue sky with the dawn through the new leaves on the high high branches of the trees, the wind cool and sweet and full of adventure on your face, and the birds singing.....

8. What scares you? Gollum. All my life. Since 8 yrs old to this day. I am praying about it. Seriously.

9. What small item do you use on a daily basis and would horribly miss if it were gone? (for me, this is chapstick - I use it all the time!) Cell phone. It enables me to talk to my sibs every day, even though most of them are hundreds of miles away...

10. What is your favorite Christmas treat? Homemade caramel popcorn balls!

11. If you had a million dollars plopped in your lap, what would you do with it?   Pay off my parents mortgage, and after that...JOAN OF ARC MOVIE!!! :)

Tagged Personages (not quite 11...)
 Its a good think I put 'my sibs are AWESOME #4 in my random facts....

Binky at http://logresshallriseagain.blogspot.com/

Chubbic at   http://chubbicsblog.wordpress.com/

SophieLein at http://lamentationsjeremiah.wordpress.com

and I am afraid that's all I can think of right now....all the other blogs I follow have already gotten the award....

11 Questions for the Tagged Personages

#1 What is your favorite poem and why?

#2 If you could live in any age (and ignoring the theological ramifications of this question) which would it be?

#3 What is your favorite poem you have written? Please share.

#4 If you ever wrote a book, what would it be about?

#5 If you could force the whole world to read 1 paragraph you have written, what would it say?

#6 What is your favorite book and why?

#7 What is your favorite music, and why?

#8 Who is your favorite President of America and why?

#9 Who is your favorite King (on earth!) and why?

#10 Who is your favorite heroic figure (on earth) and why?

#11 What do you think is one of the best ideas understood in the past (pre 1600) and forgotten today, and likewise, what is one of the best ideas understood  now that was not in the past?


That was fun. I am unashamedly asking for some soapboxing :)

Josh's Ranger Outfit 1.0 first pictures

So, these are not the best pictures of his Ranger outfit 1.0 ("Practice" from an old 70's leather jacket and clearance fabric deals, as well as lacing rings made from an old hanger)

 As you can see, these are not the best pictures.

 

As you can see, these are not the best pictures, and he is just wearing his regular work khakis with it (I ran out of time, and didn't get to make the pants or the boots. But I am still planning to work on the pants, and a quilted shirt. As well as a new hauberk (when I have the $ for real leather...). His hauberk was a hideous 70's leather coat, reddish thin leather and very very shiny. I took a lot of the shine off with rubbing alcohol, but the flash makes it see still pretty shiny. Oh well. I can't really complain since it was free.

Here we are as a whole family. I am wearing a bad dye job of my fist attempt at a medieval kirtle (except it has no sleeves, and is actually cotton canvas, its a mockup). Jehanne is wearing her shieldmaiden dress in a previous blog. Isaiah is wearing a quick-costume version of a Tower Guard. I confess I made a stencil from cardboard and spray painted on to the fabric. Only the sleeves are hand embroidered. In his real tower guard outfit I will embroider the tree, or do something more authentically Lord of the Rings-ish.

I also am working on a shieldmaiden outfit (obviously not the dress above). I haven't taken any of the finished corset on me yet, those will be coming when I get back to it and we are back in Philadelphia after Christmas.

Cuteness

Its so cool watching him learn how things work and fit into each other.

Beauty

How to Make 'Moroccan' Lamps (and what not to do...)

Rivendell had lanterns. I wonder what they looked like. I kind of imagine them like Moroccan Lanterns, they look so Elven to me..

I had some old lamps in my house, and I was frustrated by their shades blocking a lot of light, focusing most of the light downwards. I wanted them to diffuse the light more. (When there is not enough light in a room, I start going crazy.) So I saw their cloth-covered lampshades (although cream colored) as culprits blocking my light.
So I tore them off. I have no idea how old these lamps are, I got them at a thrift store, but the glue that held the cloth onto the shades was easy to break apart.

(I didn't think of taking a 'before' pic till after I tore off the cloth, hence I had to hold them on for the pic)

all ripped off, and ready for painting!

And I think this pleated cloth will work well for this Medieval hat....


Next I had to clean the gunk off the plastic lamp shade. I did this with Windex.

I was inspired by these 'Moroccan Lanterns' made from jars and gold. Tutorial found here.
http://www.designsponge.com/2011/03/diy-project-moroccan-lanterns.html

I like the dots of the gold paint on the one on the left.

See! Aren't they pretty?!

I had some gold paint, so I fired ahead. The first problem I encountered was the bottle my gold paint was in has a big opening in a great flat headed bottle top. Not like the nice fine-nosed squeeze bottles that Katie used.

So I would not be able to squeeze out delicate little poky things right next to each other.

At this point, I should have waited till I could go to the store and buy a fine-nosed paint tube (could I reuse it by cutting open the bottom of it, refilling, and holding it shut with a paper clamp?) This would have made the process WAY easier, and the paint lines would have looked so much more professional.
But, undaunted I decided to use a paint brush and dab on dots. (I also added a little bit of water to the paint, to make it a consistency I could use with the paint brush)

I had a little trouble with the dots. A lot of trouble. I found that a nice plump dot bled down (since I was painting a vertical surface). A non-plump dot had an ugly scrape from the brush in the middle. So the ideal was something in between, if that in between really exists. And my brush did not make beautiful circular dots.

They are more like ovals. But I used this in the design a little, it was kind of pretty.

And this is what I got.



As you can see, with the lamp off, the mistakes and differences in paint consistency and brush strokes are not as noticeable. With the lamp on and the light shining through it, there is no room for error. Everything shows.


(Here is where using a brush is not a good idea. Because the lamp shade is slippery plastic, the paint doesn't adhere thickly, and no matter how you try, there are brush strokes. often just pushing the paint out to the edges of your stroke)

To cover up the awful brush-strokey-borders, I used (blue) painter's tape, and spray paint. It covered over the messy borders a little. I also added a few more dots to the design.


But, I was still undaunted. I began ripping the fabric off my second lamp.
It totally deconstructed the lampshade, the top spider and the bottom ring falling off. I freaked out. Then I rejoiced, realizing I could solve the paint dots running by painting on a flat surface.
I lay the plastic down on the table, and since I was able to lay it flat I could scrub it with a plastic scrubber and hot water. The gunk came right off, very easily.

Next, I penciled out radial lines, 5" apart at the top, and the beginnings of my designs.
Next, I painted it. It was way easier to paint a flat surface. However, the brush pushing paint away on my stroked remained a problem (making it hard to get a nice thick narrow line...here again, a tiny-nosed squeeze bottle would have been wonderful)

Here it is with the light on, shining through and showing the mistakes

I took my inspiration from henna designs.


Then I had to reassemble the thing. I should have saved the cloth tape, and just put rubber cement on it to freshen up the stickiness.
Instead I used a combination of duct tape and scotch. Then I spray painted the top edge. I found it hard to get the painter's tape to make a nice smooth edge since I am essentially putting a line on a curved surface. I tried to use many pieces, and get the uneveness as part of the design.
Next time, I will trace out the curve when it is still flat, and cut a paper to tape on when it is reassembled. That way the border will be even. I will also paint the border first.

Here is the final thing

Here it is, lights off.

As you can see, still brush-issues and paint thickness issues.



NEXT TIME
-use squeeze bottle!!
-totally deconstruct shade from beginning, save cloth tape
-stencil basic design lines for eveness
-stencil the curves of the top and bottom for spray painting. Spray paint first
- paint the art and dry flat
-reassemble with cloth tape and rubber cement.

Also, next time, I think I want to try this design on a lamp....

 I must get some paint squeeze bottles...
http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/tulip-gold-metallic-3d-fashion-paint-744003/