New things

I've been extremely busy - more so than usual - recently. Two of my sisters are getting married!!!! In between trying to reorganize our household, move, get some houses ready to go on the market and plan two weddings I've been dividing my time between altering Leah's wedding dress and sewing little things therapeutically.

This is my accessory post. :D

I made a purple silk belt out of scraps - linen backing, some belt stiffener cut to size sandwiched in the middle and some blue/red changeable taffeta for the outside with a self-fabric rosette and a faux jet button in the middle of the rosette. I really like it! It stays where it's supposed to, unlike the ribbon belt I'd been using before.

The second accessory which took the longest (November til May, seriously!) is a swiss waist, made out of the leftovers of the red silk dress I made for the weddings LAST year. It's dupioni, which is NOT period correct, but it's not very slubby, and from a little ways away the slubs are barely noticeable. I'm not wearing it over the proper skirt, it's just two petticoats and a white waist I made for Anna.

I shall post my ballgown, which is also finished (!!!!) when I get good pictures of it, becuase it is too glorious to post ok pictures of, which is all I have now. Here is a teaser, however:


And now on to the accessories:

Teaser....

A preview of Amanda's dress:

My new sewing room

One of the reasons I have not been sewing lately is that we've been getting our house ready to move into. Here is my new sewing room! I have been in the basement for so long it's been strange to try and figure out what to do with an actual room, and I've been having fun decorating it. Let's face it: I had a hard time decorating an unfinished basement...I may have creative genes, but I never put them towards making the basement nice looking...

So here is my room! It's about 15 x 13 with a small bathroom and small walk-in closet, which I'm going to use for storing lots of stuff in. I'm going to put shelves on the walls, and I've got curtains on the windows, and it's starting to come together! I have always liked a Georgian style, so that is the overall look I'm going for, even while I'm not being authentic. :D

but anyway, this is what I've got so far, and some pictures of putting it together. Two good friends who are excellent wood workers helped me or I'd never been able to do it so nicely.