Yes, I'm still here!

Oh. Look. This is quite sad. I haven't posted for entirely too long. But I can tell you, I HAVE been working on the stays; I've sewn on most of the binding (all visible stitching hand-sewn, of course) and I'll be doing them eyelets next. Sigh. There is some mysterious thing about hand-sewn eyelets that makes one was to go into an enchanted sleep or something. But after that I'll have finished stays...

Charlotte and Jane =)

Because I am a boring costumer, and though I didn't have much homework today, I haven't gotten good pics of my 18th century stays. I can tell you that they are going, though, I've decided on a blue/copper shot silk for binding (yeah white would of been more historical, but since there are only some extant stays left, I'm sure some lady had stays in my colors. So hmmmph) and I have to do HAND SEWN EYELETS! Joy.

So again, for lack of better post and because I hate posting without pics, here's old drawings of my friends Charlotte and Jane!

Yes, these aren't the real pics of Charlottle and Jane. But they make both novelists look extremely pretty, and in both cases they are the drawings that will immediately be recognized. The drawings that I know for sure are the real people aren't as nice, because in Charlotte's case, her brother Branwell's artwork of she and her sisters was truly horrifying (So.Ugly. and then he paited himself out poorly, resulting in the paiting looking really creepy) and in Jane's, her sister and best friend Cassandra never finished the drawing she started of jane. Though it does show that Jane had brown hair and a pointed face, unlike the drawing below...


Charlotte Bronte

Jane Austen

Of course, the fact that they were made to look pretty makes me happy, because maybe someday somebody will tweak me like that, when I'M a dead famous novelist! We'll just have to see...

Another quick post...

It seems as though I'm doing a lot of these, aren't I? Very unfortunate! I'd rather do ones with pictures, but as I'm exausted and slightly stressed, I'll just give a few costume updates...

18th century stays: I chickened out and decided that I absolutely could not use a polyester fabric for my stays... even if the embroidery on it was amazing. Of course, I'm using polyester thread.... anyway. It would have been more work to use the embroidered fabric anyhow... because the cut, if you'll recall. And it would show through a chemise a la reine if I ever felt so inclined to make one... so I've cut out and put together a front layer for the stays out of this lovely, slightly changable light blue/gold silk. It's really un-slubby silk (makes me wonder if it is part linen?) and quite nice. It's so fine and beautiful! I still have a couple yards left (stash fabric yay) and while I was debating white silk for the stays I sort of thought, HEY! Maybe I should make a caroco/petticoat outfit out of the white silk and the light blue silk! ...maybe with an amazing floofy hat.... anyway. The stays need to have all their layers assembled (blue silk, main stays, light brown lining) and then the lovely (not) hand-sewn eyelets, and then binding...

...in other costuming thoughts, I'm suddenly into the 1950's. Augh. I want a pair of wide-legged, waist-high pants. Like beach pjs. But with more modern material. ...And I am good at epically failing at making pants. Like the shorts I *tried* to make last summer... actually those are partially canibalized for materials. But I want a pair of pants! I'd put a pic on, but I couldn't find one I wanted to post here...

And I want a 50's ballgown...

I know, I'm crazy.

~c

Why the stays must be finished

Get ready for A Series of Complicated Steps (yes, play-on-words of A Series of Unfortunate Events, which is one of my favorite movies, along with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Penelope) but anyway:

I need to finish the stays

So I can finish the Robe a la Francaise

So I can see if there is any fabric left over from it

So I can make a modern (okay 50s) ballgown with whatever fabric is left

So I will have something to wear to the wedding (and other things, but whether I will need it for other things is to be determined)

...Do you think I'll be able to do this before the 14th? No? You don't think so?

You are all so pessimistic. (Yes, the fiend Chesterton in Othodoxy has been talking about pessimism. I read 33 pages yesterday. Drudgery.)

~c, who wishes she had some pics to upload with this, but this is a quick post so I can go work on the stays when I should be doing homework

This is somewhat a random post...

I've worked quite a bit on my new 18th century stays, but I'm short one piece (okay, two; I have one I did wrong and I need to take out and replace) of boning. But my mom says she will drive me to go get more after school tomorrow, so all is good. I have pics; I'll post them probably after I get all of the boning in.

Even though I wanted to do stays with the style of the pic here (NOT MY STAYS! EXTANT ONES!) I realized that that'd show through the chemise a la reine I'm planning (don't expect updates on it; I only have four yards of fabric... would that be enough? I'm 5'8) so I'm thinking about using this lovely white silk I have. But although pretty, that is SO boring! Practical. But boring. And stays usually had some color to them. Or at least for upper-class women.

I'm also *thinking* (that means dreaming) about making a little silk dress (I want red!) to wear to my cousin's wedding later this month... it'll be really cold though (obviously this isn't near my house) so I don't know if that would work. I was thinking about boning it... augh but I wouldn't need to do that if I didn't eat all the halloween candy! *giggles* my brother is going to be a groomsman.... the color scheme for the groomsmen is absolutely lovely! Dark red and black.

What's up with Peter's face?

*Gasp* a post about my novel? Are you all about to faint from the shock? That I'm writing a post about my characters? Long story short, I have a major character named Peter. And I'm drawing my characters so I can get a feel for what they look like. OR NOT.... I was leafing through my drawings tonight (when I should have been working on a reflection essay, but tha'll be done tomorrow, cuz it isn't due until wednesday...) But anyway. Look at these pics of "Peter..." and see for yourself how fishy it is!

So I can draw profiles, easy peasy. They turn out fairly nice... this pic pretty much shows what I've made out this character to be like from the side.
....But look what happens when I try to draw from the front! Here's one drawing of Petey... (quite cropped because there is Very Distracting others around him... "Matt" is giving him bunny ears, hence another need for the crop =P ) And this is all fine and well, (well I don't like his expession) until you get to the next drawing....

...where, suddenly, he is a totally different person! Oh-so-different face! (Yes, cropped too; obviously my characters stick together as if they are Harry/Hermione/Ron.) But if I hadn't told you, would you know it was the same kid?

...And then this. Excuse blurry-ness of picture (the original is pretty smudged anyway) and Peter's weird, mushy expression (which is Classified Infomation) but look! He's even more different from the first two!

And waaaaaaay different from his profile in all circumstances.

But do scroll back up (after reading this!) and notice that in each of the three frontal-faced pictures (especially the first two), his face shape is almost the same. So is it his eyes? It seems like I've done them differently each and every time. Or maybe it's that he has a different expression in each pic!

And the worst part is I don't know which to use! The first one looks like he's *kinda* an anime character, but he looks too guarded and old in the second, and in the third, too mushy and weird! I don't think any of them work. (FYI he's a highschool freshman and a little cocky when I write the book. Book characters must Look Their Part!) Should I just try to 'invent' another version of Peter?

=\