Bag of Happiness

In a previous post I alluded to a bag of vintage sewing supplies I found. I figured it was finally time to show off what I got.

Couple of months ago I went up to Ojai to visit the farmers market. My favorite coffee is a local roast, which I've only found for sale at a Cajun restaurant and the farmers market. After some shopping, I was trying to kill time before another store I wanted visit opened, and I discovered I was lucky enough to be there while the monthly peddlers fair was occurring. After wondering the tables, I found one selling some crocheted lace. There was at least a yard of each, so I bought a few.

This one is actually two pieces, each one over 18 inches long

Then there's this lovely edging

This piece isn't crocheted, but it's nice and will add some pop to a costume one day

Most of the lace was rolled into little cakes, and safety pinned together, with some mother of pearl buttons threaded onto the pins to prevent them from damaging the lace. So on top of the lace, I also got 6 buttons.

After that first find I decided to really explore that table, and found a ziplock bag with some fabric and other sewing stuff in it, so I grabbed that. After buying it I was able to discover all it held.

There were three pieces of fabric. The brown floral and the white with periods and commas are both fat quarters. You'll recognize the brown floral from my 18th century housewife. The piece to the right with the tea and croissant is not much bigger than shown, and I'm thinking it will be a steampunk bag (to hold tea supplies, of course).

 There's some blue and purple floral trim, a long, triangular piece of cut lace, a ton of hooks and loops or bars, and some packs of pins and needles. There's also buttons, plastic and mother of pearl, and some flower appliques.

Here's more buttons, a bunch of snaps (various sizes), three zippers, and a spool of gold and red trim. That plastic container in the upper right is full of tiny buttons.

Check out this button. It's hard to photograph, but its lavender with a pearlescent shine that makes it look light blue.

Now my favorite part. Besides the beeswax and piece of elastic, there is a whole lot of cotton bias tape and rayon seam binding. There's also a pack of nylon stretch lace seam binding. Some of the packs have been used, but some are completely unopened. There's also some iron-on patches.

The bag was $10, and the lace was $3 each, but I was able to get the lot for just $15. An awesome find, one I'm really happy with. I almost made it out with just this, but then I found some pins and had to get one.

This guy is about 4 inches long and only cost me $1. I've been trying to go back, but I've been working the Sunday of the peddlers fair every month. Hopefully this month, cross my fingers.

Remembrance

On this day in 1919, my grandmother was born. And sixteen years ago, almost to the day, was when she died. I was ten. There's a lot I didn't get the chance to do with her, and there's a lot I never got the chance to ask her. And being adopted, it can be hard feeling connected to your own family because whether intentional or not, people equate blood with family. Like there's something that people who don't share genetics are missing, even if those people literally raised you.

Though her health didn't really allow it during my lifetime, my grandma used to be an avid crocheter. There were doilies she made on every end table. There were crocheted dresses on the extra roll of toilet paper in every bathroom. And there were crocheted glass covers, only used on the sacred of days, the rare Rootbeer Float Friday. I tried to learn, but grandma couldn't teach me, and my mom is left handed. (Nowadays I can crochet left handed in order to teach others, but at seven or eight it was beyond my ability.)

But even though there was a lot that couldn't be passed on, a desire to be crafty was instilled in me. That and the fact that a house isn't a home without copious yarn crafts. As I grew I learned how the things I saw everyday were made, and through books I taught myself the skills I had been surrounded by.

Now, almost two decades after her death, I make my bed with purple sheets in remembrance of her, with pillowcases that I cross-stitched with violets and lace trim  I crocheted. I top my bed with the quilt that I made, and add a crocheted counterpane that I inherited from her. And I know that even though we didn't share a drop of blood, she was family, and I wouldn't be the person I am today without her influence.

I love and miss you, Grandma.

Still at it

I have the mock-up for my corset all done and good, so I moved on the Samifer's corset. I'll be doing the fitting tomorrow, but I already took what I learned from mine and applied it, such as making the bust an inch higher to begin with. If that's too much, I can mark the fabric and and transfer it to the pattern, but I'd rather start with too much and trim it down than to start with it too short and have to worry about making another. I realized I can only fit one mock-up at a time, since I only have one set of lacing strips. It's helped me pace myself. I've been working on lace for Crowley's chemise, as well as socks for Crowley. In Weldon's Practical Knitter Vol. 10 there's a pattern for Scotch plaid socks. They're two color, Fair Isle socks in a lovely pattern that's a hell of a lot easier than argyle. I also bought yarn for my socks (black wool), Samifer's (white wool), and Castiel's (black cotton). They have some nylon content so they won't be period correct, but I hate droopy socks. I still have to decide on sock color for Gabriel. I think he would have crazy socks, but I haven't decided. This project is making me ask the hard questions: "What color underwear would Lucifer wear?" "What kind of socks would Gabriel have?" "How do I take the excessive number of layers most actors wear on the show and fit it into the Victorian aesthetic of two, maybe three colors, and a bodice that matches the skirt?"

First World Problems

Castiel's Chemise and Drawers

Castiel's chemise and drawers are finished. They are a yoked style, more popular during the Civil War, because I found a pattern for one dated for 1888 titled "Old-fashioned Chemise." So although yoked style was no longer popular, it was still present. And considering that Jimmy Novak, Castiel's human vessel, seemed like a modest, old fashioned kind of guy, I went with it. Also, that previous sentence had a lot of commas. It is trimmed with "Mile-A-Minute" lace, that actually was surprising fast. As in, I crochet almost five feet in a day. Not a 'I'm going to crochet until my fingers bleed' day either, a day where I was babysitting a five year old, driving around a lot, and having to take regular breaks to push her on the swings.

I don't have any full shots, since I don't have good lighting in the evening, but here are some close-ups:

The button is decorative, and the lace has been moved to the side for the photo.

The sleeves ended up being too tight, so I sliced them open to the shoulder and covered them in matching bias tape. Bias tape is the sewing equivalent of duct tape. It fixes EVERYTHING. (Well, almost)

Lace and tucks on the legs of the drawers.

I'll be putting up full pictures later, and if Cas is willing, pictures of it being worn. Until then, here's the pattern for the lace.

Mile-A-Minute Lace Edging

     First Row
Chain 7
Work (2 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) into 4th ch from hook, skip 2 ch, dc into last ch, ch 3, turn.

     Second Row
Work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) into ch-2 space of previous row, ch 3, turn.

     Third Row
Work (3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc) into ch-2 space of previous row, dc into top of turning chain of previous row, ch 3, turn.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 for pattern.

Dean's Combination

I have finished the trimmings on Dean's combination, and successfully taken some low-quality selfies. (the camera on my phone isn't great quality, but I work with what I have)

The pattern for the combination was of my own creation, and could have been better fitted. The waist is too low, closer to where I wear pants normally and not my actual waist, and the drawers could have been pleated more evenly. As it stands, the butt looks like a diaper to me. But being this is underwear, meant to protect the corset and provide modesty, so I'm not terribly bothered by its failings.

View of the front: This combination is made of white muslin, trimmed in lace, and closes with eight buttons, a bow at the neckline, and a ribbon sash at the waist.

View of back: Dropped waistline obvious, as well as that diaper effect I mentioned.

Close-up of front, my messy dreads, and the disapproving expression I wear when dealing with my phone's camera.

Details:

Lace Trimming: This is crocheted lace I made is "Trimming for a chemise" from Weldon's Practical Crochet, vol. 10. It is sewn onto the neck edge as well as both leg openings. Originally, the scallop points along the bottom were larger and more lace-y, but I wanted something more toned down for Dean. The ribbon is a burgundy velvet ribbon found in the dollar bins at Joann's. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough for the legs as well. I may replace it with a different ribbon later.

Hand stitched buttonholes, which I'm proud of myself for actually doing (even if I did do them wrong). My sewing machine does have an attachment for making buttonholes, but they're ugly so I decided to do buttonholes by hand.

Lastly, the belt. This is some burgundy satin ribbon I picked up at Michael's. It's polyester, but it's hard to find ribbon that isn't. Towards the left of the picture you can just barely make out where I sewed the ribbon to the back seam. Then at each dart and seam I used cotton crochet thread to make belt loops.

All in all I'm quite pleased. I'm currently working on lace to trim Castiel's chemise and drawers, as well as drafting corset patterns. With many luck I'll have all my foundation garments done by April.

Nnnnoooooooo!!!!!!

Maybe if I close my eyes and hope, I'll wake up from this nightmare.

No?

What if I pinch myself?

Ow!

Still no. I may be forced to admit that this is reality:

I ran outta yarn two rows and a seam away from finishing my lace. I may have another ball hidden somewhere, but failing that I'll have to finish it in white.

On the plus side I made a washcloth.

The image in the background is the pattern sheet I picked up from Michael's. It gave me a break from all fine gauge lace I've been doing. This pattern is available from Michael's stores or you can get it here: http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=126437

That is all

Relaxing

Had a nice relaxing day today. My husband had the day off so we spent the day napping, relaxing, and fooling around. He made a new Magic: The Gathering deck, I got two crocheted motifs done on the lace I'm making. I felt very accomplished because I finally washed, sanitized, and oiled my wooden cutting boards. I usually wash them, and I put vinegar on them to sanitize them once or twice a week. But the vinegar needs to sit for at least 30 minutes, and then they need to dry before I can oil them. And usually by that time I need to start dinner, so they get dirty again. But not today. Today they were properly cleaned and oiled. It makes me feel good. And my husband unclogged the bathroom sink, which was draining slowly. The house is finally getting some semblance of order. More on this later.

Making Pretties

Been working on getting the house in order. I finally finished a pair of cross-stitched pillowcases I started over two years ago. I know, I'm bad at finishing my projects, but I'm hoping I can work on that. Now with the pillowcases done I'm crocheting a lace border to sew onto the edge. I found a free pattern online, and after fixing the errors I've been speeding through it.

I plan to chart it out, and once I do I'll post the pattern for anyone who wants it. I think it will definitely compliment the duvet cover I finished just about a week ago.

In order news, Monday was Lammas. Lammas celebrates the first harvest of the season, and specifically the grain harvest. Since the only thing I have planted right now is a pepper plant that hasn't started fruiting yet, I celebrated by making a cornsheaf loaf. The loaf is shaped like a bundle of grain, and mine turned out very well. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, which called for 5.5 cups of white flour. Instead I used 2 cups whole wheat, 1 cup spelt, 1 cup buckwheat, and 1.5 cups white flour. I used more oil and water to compensate, and the bread turned out as delicious as it looks.

Interestingly, I did a little research on spelt and buckwheat, since I knew very little, and it turns out buckwheat is currently being researched because it has a compound which may help treat Type 2 Diabetes and PCOS. That's right, soba noodles are magic.