Sewing and Raising Alpine Dairy Goats. . . and occasionally finding time to do other stuff
We decided to host a dragon themed ball, my friend and I. This of course left me with a burning question, what would a historical dragon ball gown look like?? Now, to be clear, the ball was pure fantasy. I just like to take any excuse to make, or wear, a historical gown so I wanted to add some history to my fantasy and make a fantastical historical dragon ball gown. But where to begin??? Red and…
I did not finish everyone’s Easter outfits this year. The 4th of July outfits were finished 3 weeks late. I’ve already decided not to attempt to make everyone’s Halloween costumes and just buy those instead, however. . . The annual Steam Engine Show featuring old tractors and farm equipment? Yeah, I decided the week of that I was going to make alllllllll the kids (the 4 in my house plus my two…
Hey look! I made my children adorable matching 4th of July outfits!! . . . I only finished them 3 weeks late. No problem, right? The kids can wear them to church one Sunday looking all matching and adorable! Only on the Sunday where I got everyone dressed up in these cute new outfits, and we were actually going to be on time for once, and I actually got the girls' hair brushed and braided, our…
"On the Twelfth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me Twelve Drummers Drumming. . ." Ok, I think I'd rather pass on that particular gift. I'll take the 3 french hens, the 5 golden rings, the 6 geese a-laying (my chickens are on their winter strike right now, so any laying birds would be useful), or even the 8 maids a-milking (Although since all of my goats are currently dried off and pregnant,…
Who wouldn't want a goat dress? No, No, No. I don't mean a dress for the goat to wear! I mean a human dress, with a goat print on it! Despite my years and years of raising goats, and my (slightly fewer) years of making myself what ever dress struck my fancy, I actually never considered making myself a goat dress, until The Dreamstress shared this Gilbert Adrian dress on Facebook last year. It has…
We watched the forecast all week leading up to our Anne of Green Gables Picnic. Rain. Rain. Rain. Photo by @samithefae It was supposed to rain. It was a good thing we'd rented a picnic shelter for the occasion, so we would have some protection from the precipitation, but really, who wants to picnic in the rain?? Finally, the night before the picnic, there was a ray of hope - the rain was supposed…
"Her hat was a little, flat, glossy, new sailor, the extreme plainness of which had likewise much disappointed Anne, who had permitted herself secret visions of ribbons and flowers. The latter, however, were supplied before Anne reached the main road, for being confronted halfway down the lane with a golden frenzy of wind-stirred buttercups and a glory of wild roses, Anne promptly and liberally…
Over the course of the two years I have owned this fabric, I’ve brainstormed quite a few ideas for my green herringbone Edwardian skirt. There are so many cool Edwardian skirt designs! I could make a dozen skirts from 1900-1910 and they would all be different! Heck, I might be able to manage that entire dozen just in the first half of the decade! Trying to pick just one style was. . . A challenge.…
Well it has been a while now, hasn't it. This month has been something. A roller coaster really of ups and downs - high ups and low downs - and I still feel like I'm trying to catch my breath. The month started off fantastically with our Anne of Green Gables Picnic! Photo by @samithefae And that picnic was everything we envisioned it being! But before I get ahead of myself, let me tell you the…
Yesterday's picnic was absolutely delightful! Lovely weather, beautiful setting, awesome people, yummy food! Now, I'm going to hold off on telling you all about the picnic until we get the pictures back from our wonderful photographer ( @samithefae ), but I will tell you about the food! " And I want you to come over early Saturday Morning to help me prepare lunch. I'm going to have the daintiest…
My friend and I may have, somewhat accidentally and most certainly impulsively, started a fantasy event company early this year - and our first event is this coming weekend!!! (If you follow me on Instagram this probably isn’t news to you, as I’ve been sharing about our events there for a few months now.) We’ve got balls and a tea coming up over the course of the next year or so, but for this…
As soon as I made Simplicity 8085 (8 years ago now!) it became my favorite pattern. Basic sundress in the front, wrap dress in the back, beautiful fit - it was fantastic! I went on to make that pattern 3 more times (and I highly doubt I'm done with it yet!), and it gave me a love for dresses that wrap across the back. Along with versions two , three , and four , of the Simplicity pattern, I also…
After two years of hanging in the closet, I decided my dragonfly volante needed an outing - and the Renaissance festival was the perfect excuse to give it one. A week before I planned to head to the Ren fest I pulled the gown out of my closet, and made the last accessory it needed to be wearable - a stomacher. From my stash I picked a scrap of green and gold shot silk taffeta (given to me by a…
Over the winter, my mom, sister-in-law, niece, and I met up for a morning of fabric shopping at a little Mennonite fabric store we like. We each picked out all sorts of fun fabrics for different projects we had in mind. My niece loved all the fabric (we're training her well) so while we were there I suggested she pick a fabric for her Easter Dress. There were several fabrics she considered, but…
Right after Christmas I had grand plans for my Easter dress. A week ago I had no plans for an Easter Dress. Holy Thursday, I started dreaming of an Easter dress again. Good Friday I decided it was absolutely happening, picked some fabric, pre washed it, picked a pattern, and cut out the pieces. Saturday morning I cut the dress out, then went outside and did animal chores. Saturday afternoon I made…
Upon completing my Dragonfly Volante , I decided I ought to make a few little accessories to go with it, so it would be ready to wear when an occasion arose. A stomacher, sleeve ruffles, bows, and some sort of cap to go on my head. That was my proposed list, and I got through half of it back in the fall of 2021. The stomacher? I cut that out, made a plan, and never actually made it. Two years…
Historical Accuracy was already out the window for my Robe Volante thanks to my Spectacular fabric choice, so when it came to assembling the gown, I went straight to the sewing machine. No need to hand sew the whole thing! Volantes could have a fitted bodice lining, with the loose outer layer draped over top. Or, the lining could be skipped entirely, giving you just a nice loose tent dress type…
I have a really hard time resisting fabric. Especially cheap fabric. I really like butterfly and dragonfly prints. Really like them. A large amount of cheap fabric featuring butterflies and dragonflies? Yeah, that came home with me. It was a large bundle of some sort of poly/cotton drapery cloth (best I can figure) at my local antique mall. $7.50. That's right - seven dollars and fifty cents!…
I was getting carried away with my plans for the pink and burgundy 1882 gown . I was ready to mock-up the bodice and make some real progress on this thing! Then I had to halt and do a pivot. I needed the correct under things to go under this new gown and give it the right shape. And it would really be best to make those things before going through the hassle of mocking up the bodice to ensure a…
Happy Valentines Day! A couple weeks ago, on a cold Sunday afternoon, I was browsing Pinterest instead of doing the multitude of other things I told myself I would get done that afternoon. I happened upon this fashion plate, and fell in love! That pink and burgundy dress on the right! It was so pretty! I made a spur of the moment decision that I was going to make that gown. I had the perfect…
Thank you to everyone who commented (either here or on Facebook or Instagram) on my post about Felicity's Birthday Dress, my birthday, and the infertility my husband and I have been experiencing the past two and a half years. Thank you for the messages of support, thank you to those who shared their own similar experiences with me, and most of all, thank you for the prayers. I truly, truly,…
Once my friend and I set our tea date for me to debut my Felicity birthday dress, I started contemplating my head gear for the occasion. I had the dress . I had the apron . But what would I do with my hair? What would I wear on my head? In the book Felicity didn't wear a cap with her dress, just a pretty ribbon tied around her head. I contemplated doing the same, but did I want to perfectly match…
Alright, now that I've finally told the story of my "Happy Birthday Felicity" gown , let's talk about the rest of the ensemble - starting with the apron. As I mentioned in my last post, the apron was actually the first part of the ensemble that I began. It was a great handsewing project to bring along to work! That said, the apron, or more specifically the fabric for the apron, delayed my starting…
*note: This is a post I wrote 6 months ago but have held off sharing because it shares some personal stuff. I've considered scrapping it entirely and re-writing the story of this dress differently, but, I've decided to share it. So, I've updated it a touch, and here goes: I was not looking forward to my birthday this year. In fact I was rather dreading it. It was a milestone birthday, and yes, age…
In the fall of 2019 I came up with a brilliant idea - I would make a shawl to wear with my new 1840's wool dress ! A nice large woolen shawl, it could be worn with all sorts of different dresses from throughout the 19th century - it would be perfect! I dove into my books to research shawls. If I was going to make this thing I was going to make it right! My family had a re-print of an 1890's Sears…