Frock Chick

Mantua page updates

2024-06-02T22:33:30Z

So far it’s essentially how I cut my Mantua, in two parts.

The first is an easy draft using modern fabric widths. and the other is how I cut mine on the floor. I originally posted that over on this blog but now that I’m working on the rest of it now (including stays) I really understand what is going on so I’m transferring those posts across, I’m trying to figure a way to make sure people don’t wind up in a redirecting loop. But I also don’t want to erase my original posts as they have little notes that are not needed in the final page.

So I also need to update my page on the drafts of known mantua now that I know I have them all. And I can use photos of picked pieces to create a draft of them. There are far more images of just the trains laid out than picked items but these can be partly inferred from the drafts that are from the same time.

I try to keep my research and my blog separate in part to make sure it’s easy for people to get to any page no more than two steps from anywhere they might have landed. It’s a realllllly old web development principle that’s actually even more important now with devices and the contraction of time people spend even around sites they enjoy. It’s also why my research site uses a really stable but basic child theme with functions straight from Core and so it rarely breaks while this one has several times. I do need to check what current mobile device screen sizes are because this contributes to time to paint and when that includes resizing everything to fit people can see the bare bones before the customisation. Luckily I can do that fairly easily. I can make tables change the number of cells across based on screen width. I don’t think I can plan well for devices rotated to landscape though. But it should work by using the closest size.

I did also find my photos of how I took a pattern of my Effigy stays to convert them to later stays, and I think I found the source I used to do that. I started getting worried I’d misinterpreted it but no. I’m good. I will want to add one of those little panels that curve at the waist. I need to stitch a finer tape around the new set, I would love to use my green leather for my Effigy stays but I do worry about the dye coming out. So I’m using the same heavier tape I originally used.

I really need a day to file allllllll the bones, but as I’ve used the same boning for both, and for my bobbinet corset and probably for my Elsa long line stays I think it’ll go faster than facing steel. I don’t need it for the Effigy and Mantua stays because they are both fully boned. I’m still working out how best to make it easy to wash all of these, and how to line up edges for the intended gowns.

I have two lovely busks with gold toned studs and loops and I really want to use them. I should be able to make removeable panels for everything metal. It’s just a matter of making sure the stitching and edges are secure. My very aggressive corset for my Bubble Gown needs a lot of steel so for that it’s a matter of making the upper binding secure and the lower easily picked to let them out. It might mean avoiding the channels when I sew the binding that’s pretty easy really. I can use the plastic boning as graduating support and for over the bust.

comments

what to do?

2024-06-02T22:10:35Z

I’m at the point with my research to feel confident to give myself a break but I’m so behind in getting my North Rhine gear finished including some alterations. I’m deciding which frock to give tube sleeves and which to leave open. I think I could convert my startling orange to a shorter kirtle and make tube sleeves to my red linen.

These later costume albums might overstate brightness but it would make a fabulous version of this:

I just love the orange tube sleeves as they remind me of the tube sleeves worn by a figure in two of Leyden’s paintings:

Playing chess:

Watching fortune telling.

They do appear all over tapestries, longer usually. And oh they are so beautiful.

And there is this sculpture of Saint Cecelia with the same tube sleeves- her left arm goes through the cut, her right arm through the wrist.

Flemish School; Saint Cecilia; Trinity College, University of Oxford; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/saint-cecilia-282323

So much for lowlands, what about the North Rhine.

I cheated a bit in including Anna Tom Ring as she was further into Westphalia.

And the stained glass might have been restored. So much stained glass was dispersed when the French invaded. It’s good that it was all sold off rather than be destroyed but what a reality. Sadly the lack of understanding of North Rhine culture and dress means a lot of restoration inserted Flemish or German details that now wind up informing what we think of dress of the region.

And all of this of course comes back to my timeline being uploaded to wikipedia. It’s a kind of archive of my site that might survive me, and as there is full credit it’s not like researchers who need to date or fix a restoration can really easily find the timeline.

Anyway. I need to fix all my accessories and get photos. I really want to record my modular linen layers as they are based on extant items, and they make life so much easier in terms of comfort and ability to wash different layers differently.

comments

Happy Rheumaversary

2024-05-22T02:16:36Z

I went from literally throwing myself across the stage to not being able to move overnight. Quite the thing to have gone from studying immunology to feeling the full power of it. Essentially my immune system thinks my own tissue is an infection and that tissue is literally everywhere. Nose to toes. Joints, tendons, ligaments, organs.

In RA, the synovial tissue becomes markedly expanded, with a striking increase in cellular infiltration. This leads to hallmark “pannus” formation at cartilage-bone interfaces; pannus can be composed of macrophages, FLS, leucocytes, plasma cells, and mast cells (14), and behaves like a locally invasive tumor, mediating damage and erosion formation in later disease (15).

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2019.00045/full

I’m celebrating surviving all of this.

comments

Research is mostly long days of not much then

2024-01-08T06:07:46Z

Suddenly you find ALL THE THINGS! Finally finding people interested in the 16thC even if it’s only the first decade. A portrait that’s disappeared (sold at auction but I can’t find the catalogue) but includes completely new clothing information for children, a book on all the pieces at a Cathedral, a dissertation about the Cleves-England marriage that builds in a totally different direction that other authors that rely on the same resources he used but matches the day by day details in L&P, stained glass window book.

Seriously, just so very cool. I need to add some of the images to my timeline ASAP as the painting with new clothing information? Includes multiple depictions of the same pattern of goldwork on the kopfbedeckung in two, maybe three, other paintings. I think that might mean they are a specific pattern to a specific group of workers because I haven’t seen this kind of decoration elsewhere.

comments

Sad day

2023-12-13T22:24:29Z

We have a new Dx for Mr Carlo. A blood clot in his femoral artery that has lead to a loss of blood to his hind limbs. But it explains his sudden onset of paralysis and his haematoma and really fits in with what mum and I thought. We thought he might have injured himself because as a climber he can land heavily on his legs.

We did get his haematoma drained again, about 22ml which is a lot for a little dude and I didn’t want to ask but it looked more purple than red so it’s from a vein?

But he’s getting lots of love, he’s got his favourite cushions and fur throws and he feels safe.

comments

Blue and red

2023-10-21T23:24:36Z

I have to admit I’m sort of working my way through all of the Codice de Trajes depictions of people in the North Rhine. It’s really fun but I’m suddenly faced with working with a synthetic for my Gelderlander frock and after so many years using them only for historic inspired work that I’m struggling a bit.

You see the stunning silk brocade loses it’s brilliance when it’s paired with even crimson. It is however stunning when paired with the magenta velvet ribbon I have been using on my farthingale. And that makes me want to use it to make a very different gown.

Yep that’s my Mantua fabric and you know… I’ll keep it that way. I think the power of the particular texture really does work best how I’ve already got it. But oh boy does that red velveteen cause it to flash beautifully. But it’s pleating that really makes the most of the shot taffeta.

The blue wool is documentable with rich reddish velvet so I think if I can push the red into true crimson I’ll be happy to use my blue wool.

There is going to be a heck of a lot of fabric dyeing but I’m also hoping to luck into a shade I can use for my pulled apart frock and so I probably should rest up from a week of exhausting health care.

comments

Fall For Costume is back on

2023-10-05T20:27:44Z

For the first time I’ve got mixed feeling looking back on my work for #FallForCostume. I think it’s because of what a struggle it is to make anything. That is once source of sadness and frustration. But the destruction of so many of my extraordinary patterning and stitching expertise by the environment has just been overwhelming.

What do I do with it all? I am just glad I’ve kept the card pattern pieces even though they take up so much room. It’s something at least.

Latex headpieces were a bit more durable but still not entirely. But yeah.

The armour is fine, even if glue delaminates the pieces are fine.

Some boots have also suffered the same fate.

So it’s a difficult time. I might just get them all on coat hangers in the studio so I don’t have to think too much about them.

comments

Slow progress but progress still

2023-10-02T00:17:01Z

Something that’s a bit of a myth in the historical costuming world is that you can’t use allegorical images for clothing information. But it’s not entirely true. I’ve been building up a collection of instances where both saints and background figures are based on real people. This is not new, I’m trying to get the examples specific to women’s dress. While organising some folders into what I like versus strictly catalogued I spotted these two images clearly use the same figure.

The family portrait that includes the young woman in red is dated to 1502 and is by Hans Holbein the elder.

HANS HOLBEIN D. Ä. (1465-1524)
Epitaph der Schwestern Walther: Heilung des Besessenen, 1502

The second image is also by Hans Holbein the Elder and approximately the same date.

HANS HOLBEIN D. Ä. (1465-1524)
Kaisheimer Altar: Darbringung im Tempel, 1502

I had both in my folder for deeply scooped necklines like this which is probably most famously represented in Bianca Maria Sforza’s potrait by Strigel.

Kaiserin Bianca Maria di Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1472 – 1510), Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Gemäldegalerie

I’m not going to lie, I’ve loved this gown since the time I only had low quality black and white prints to go by. So this may be what I make from the small amount of “Cranach” gold fabric I have. Oh no. No it’s okay, I can reuse my Heuke fabric into a ropa to go with my wool kirtle for a more comfy ensemble.

comments

Return of the Sluglets

2023-09-24T00:38:42Z

Ummm… after a winter sans sluggies we had 3, yes 3, seek shelter from the rain last night. All pretty small maybe 6cm fully stretched, 4cm travel sized. But fast! Yeah fast slugs who knew? The one I rescued from the front door also looked at me. I rescued it using a piece of card and it zoomed to the edge and elevated the front half to look around and it turned to face me.
I’m not really prone to hyperbole but it was sufficiently creepy for me to go into said rain and throw the card and sluggie a little further onto the grass than I would normally. And it was upon returning that the third sluggie was found zipping over the front steps.
I did get more card to rescue/remove it to the grass but ummm.
Fluffy stepped on it.
I tried nudging it to get it to start to move, but…
Fluffy is now a, Absolute Unit.
A hefty chonker.
Sluglets don’t really stand a chance.

comments

hats, hats, across the board!

2023-09-24T00:06:38Z

An upbeat title for what’s actually been a very tough week. I’ll get back to the title but I had to cancel my “Stickelchen” class. Barely a few hours before I needed to be asleep my pain levels were ramped up and despite being also fatigued I was no where near able to sleep. Horribly I’ve needed to recover as if I actually did do the class.

It’s hard to really explain fibro pain, despite being a classic patient in that I have a very strong and vivid memory and recall. So I should be able to articulate it better.

But if you’ve ever been in a situation where heavy machinery is used all day every day for a week then you know how noise and the deeper vibrations really drain your ability to concentrate and make you more aware of the noise not less.

The hyper stimulation that’s external is I think easier to understand, and respect, than when your nerves are doing it to themselves. But the effect on said nerves is still the same. They are firing overtime and no matter the cause the effect is the sensation that the external world has seeped into your blood and bone. You can’t shake it out. You can’t walk it off, and because so many of our senses are physically in our head and close to each other you find smell overbearing. Light is that much brighter. At least it’s fairly cheap and easy to gargle with mouth wash when taste starts getting in on the act.

But I’m taking this as an opportunity to further refine what I’ve been trying to articulate.

I have a timeframe in mind. And in the days since I’ve been working to make sure I’m properly utilising the work of researchers I need to rely on. For example I’m quoting from Textiler Hausrat and I’ve already found differences in translations I did a few years back and now.

I’ve got some more documents that are really patchily OCR ready which means I need a mix of A5 notebook compactness of terms to search for manually. OMG. Had I known this when I first accessed these I’d have already worked out where we have all gone wrong.

It helps that I can read these fairly easily. And much better than translation software for modern translations.

I am really excited by the prospect of both the research and making sides of all the hats. Especially given these were worn by my ancestors! Not the super OTT gold and pearlwork obviously, but Gelderland keeps springing surprises on me by how wonderfully Dutch and NRW influenced they are.

These two pages from the Codice de Trajes really do reveal this dual influence. And I love it.

comments

Sneaking in an update

2023-09-11T21:05:37Z

I’m still very much fatigued and have only a short time each day but am working on my essay/class “Will The Real Stickelchen Please Stand Up.” And I’m now dealing with the effects of AI. Before recently google couldn’t translate “stickelchen” nor even “stickle.” But now that people are confidently using it in books (art, history, and fiction) and in blogs and social media google is now confident.

The problem is it’s wrong.

If I take the full set of meanings in dictionaries it’s clearly wrong, because the meanings translate more correctly.

But this means that now when people use google translate they’ll get a result that seems right, but isn’t.

The bigger problems are that my reach is obviously not the same as actual influencers. And it’s power of numbers when it comes to AI. So I’m getting more tired dealing with formatting and style in order to get all the information out there and without errors. Hah!

comments

Some good news

2023-09-09T00:49:38Z

Mr Carlo has made so much progress that today he got himself across the lounge three times and even meowed to me! His little mrr-ow? with the upward inflection that sounds like a question. He’s normally so chatty that this is absolutely a good sign. He’s now within the healthy weight range, but still low, so I think the vets want to make sure it’s stable.

We both are dealing with neuropathy from about the lower spine/hip, and probably for the same reason some erosion in our spines. Yeah I haven’t really written much about this but it sometimes makes it hard to walk as the numbness can work in a weird way that it feels like my hip and knees are not bending the right way. But it means I have a bit of understanding of what he’s going through too.

So I’m also trying to work on my own health because on top of this lower limb shenanigans I’ve been dealing with undiagnosed POTS* for a while. I need to swap from lying, to sitting, to standing to limit any kind of pressure from my lower spine but that’s meant my pulse shoots up with each and takes ages to come back down.

I do indeed use breathing exercises- I am a singer so breathing techniques are a thing I just do- and it does help me get through that without becoming anxious.

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. And yes I’ve on occasion stood up fast and then just dropped to the floor.

comments

Mr Carlo has developed a disability

2023-08-25T00:51:36Z

Of all the disabilities it has to be the same as what I’m currently in a waiting list to understand. We both have neuropathy in our legs. We both seem to have degeneration in the (very) lower spine. Mine is made worse if I have any compression at any point from neck to knees, but his seems to be permanent. He also has had a really sudden health crash that obscured just how very determined he is. When he is unwell he just stops eating. Which, again, is what I do. I took a chance on a product that seemed to be the equivalent of what I need when I get to that point. It’s basically fluids, protein, and sugar in a very tasty sippy (or licky in his case) form.

It was exactly what he needed. In fact he’s even eating his preferred hard biscuit food. He has turned the emergency corner I think. He is so very tired so I’m under no pretences that he is cured.

My sleep is just…. but he seems to have learned that if he stands on my feet I pick him up to get water. If I feel him next to my feet that means he wants food. If he stands on my chest he needs the litter tray. He really has learned that I’ll loop my hands under him to let him get back on my bed himself and I’ll protect him from falling.

He is such a scrapper.

Boo was too.

I am too.

It’s not about denying this really important part of how you interact with the world and even more importantly how the world responds to you. It’s knowing that and doing what you can.

I’m worried that his habit of jumping is going to cause more injury to his spine, so during the day he has the entire lounge to himself. The sofa seats are low, he remembers where his water and food and tray are, all low to the ground.

Boo being deaf was also disabled and we also needed to find a way to gradually open up his world in a way that would prepare him.

If this emergency period is coming to an end I really hope we can try one of the two treatment options. Healthcare for pets is under pressure just as much as for people. It’s still a bit of a difficult wait.

comments

Another figure traced back

2023-08-20T00:25:47Z

And another figure I’ve been interested in a very long time. It’s from The Book of Costume by Davenport. Like my figure from the Eton and/or Escorial Codices I have regularly tried searches based on the information provided in the figure descriptions. Normally a collection name . Even a reverse image search didn’t work.

Until it did. But not her. This is a pair of stove tiles at the Boston museum of fine arts and the details of the background match so perfectly. And now I realise why I thought she might have been part of an architectural element, the size of these tiles “68.6 cm (27 in.)” mean that yes the glazing blurs some fine details but they still show through.

DESCRIPTION Tile with portrait of Jacobea Maria of Baden.
PROVENANCE Igo Levi (b. 1887 – d. 1961), Lucerne. April 11-12, 1962, Levi sale, Weinmüller, Munich, lots 385-6. Edward M. Pflueger (b. 1905 – d. 1997) and Kiyi Powers Pflueger (b. 1915 – d. 2008), New York; 2006, bequest of Edward M. Pflueger and gift of Kiyi Powers Pflueger to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 26, 2006)

Stove Tile – Works – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (mfa.org)

But wait, there’s more.

DATE: ABOUT 1550
ACCESSION NUMBER: 62.618
Description Figure of Sybilla of Saxony, on yellow ground, in shell-topped arch in blue and green.
Green skirt with yellow, blue and brown bands, blue bodice with green, white blouse,
plumed hat.
Provenance Igo Levi (b. 1887 – d. 1961), Lucerne; April 11-12, 1962, Levi sale, Weinmüller, Munich. R. Thornton Wilson (b. 1886 – d. 1977), New York; 1962, gift of R. Thornton Wilson to the MFA

Stove tile – Works- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Firstly hooray for these two depictions of powerful women because despite idealised faces these tiles were important works of art that are about political connections and aspirations and that is predominantly through clothing.

Secondly this now lets me find my figure through an entirely new term to me, and let’s me imagine just how very vibrant this tile must have been. But first I need to prove she is on a tile, and hopefully identify who she is.

But I needed the translation and google translate did help: Ofenkachel I also tried the reverse to find the entire stoves in case any view revealed more uses of these particular kinds of tiles depicting clothing as revealing identity.

And wow. Also, oh no, another folder of new to me information including from archaeological finds, and unfinished tiles that really do reveal such an interest in essentially pretty clothing because aside from depictions of well known nobility, there are tiles that mimic the wedding dancer prints (a totally separate post for that.)

But I did eventually find her.

Ofenkachel-Paar
Datensatz 71298056
Aufsberg, Lala: Ofenkachel-Paar, 1961/1964
Beschreibung: Ofenkachel-Paar. Keramik, farbig glasiert. Nürnberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum

Deutsche Fotothek

So this must be the photo used after the sale/auction of the Igo Levi collection when the GNM purchased it. Unfortunately that’s as far as I can go as I can’t seem to search for either the provenance nor an Accession number. I may have better luck trying to identify her partner. Her clothing includes sleeves pinned back and her haube is distinctly shaped which reminds me of the Aldegrever wedding dancers. But I do think I’ll have better luck looking for his beard and short hair. They are almost certainly copied from printed works.

comments

test

2023-01-15T01:08:53Z

quick test

comments

Connected

2023-01-13T04:48:53Z

I’ve finally managed to connect appropriate accounts as I’m working on getting all my research actually published. This is from my talk at the Vision Symposium, and I’m having to edit down my over long extended paper because as I was editing I found some very cool new stuff.

These two quotes really neatly capture exactly why I’m so fascinated with our perception of Anne. While we think of the transactional nature of these marriages we tend to forget that marriage brings overt and covert changes. The overt being introduction of new ideas and fashions, the covert is the ability to travel ostensibly to merely have a catch up while actually being able to discuss great matters without record of them.

Letters could be intercepted, the ability to meet in person was much safer.

But I do love the shock of Marillac at the total lack of shame Anne expressed. It is an attitude that I think has shaped perception to this day.

I’ve also finally managed to get quality copies of references I really need and oh boy. Yes. I remember why they were so difficult to start with.

So connection is a very apt title for this post. I’m using the connections of the courtiers around Anne for one.

comments

I think 60G is pared back enough

2023-01-13T04:44:56Z

Why yes, editing down information is difficult. But I’m pretty happy with what I have and can sync across devices and the cloud. After writing on my flip book in hospital I’ve got some serious disconnects with copies of copies. It was particularly hard separating the tapestries folders. But when you have such high quality images of really incredibly preserved tapestries? It’s fine to limit them for a paper.

I plan on making a time line of images for these anyway, so I haven’t got rid of them, just moved them for that future project. I love these though. So much. The examples I’m using still need to be organised by date. And some have been separated, many copies are around too.

I wish the cartoons of these sets were still around. The figure to the left appears several times sometimes reversed, and different details. The cartoons I mean are the life sized ones that were used during the weaving process.

My Anne of Cleves research keeps coming back to weird coincidences, well not if you already know the history of the time and place. About 1/4 of my family lived in Gelderland and there was a lot of influence between the duchies and one of the nifty smaller cartoons we have of the Nassau set comes back to that.

Mencia de Mendoza is here is full Spanish splendor. While her attendants are not. They wear local dress.

Mencía de Mendoza married Henry III, Count of Nassau (1483-1538), stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and Gelderland…

Under Mencía’s leadership, the Breda court developed into a center of science. She maintained contacts with prominent scholars and a large number of scientific and literary publications were produced in her court circle.

https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/MenciadeMendoza

I love that she was so supportive of arts and sciences. And that I really learned about her from her image here in a detour back to Spanish styles for me.

comments

Anne of Cleves

2023-01-06T20:28:55Z

It’s the anniversaries of the celebrations of the marriage of Anne of Cleves so I thought I’d share an update.

Each time I follow another seam of evidence I come back to the same answer. Each time I try to break that answer, I find several authors who can back it up even more vividly with records.

I’m bothered by the misinformation about Anne existing in the first place, I suspect I know why it exists, but also by why we seem to keep repeating it as if the misinformation is real. Over the far more interesting pieces we have.

This even affects the artwork. The St John’s portrait is not original. It’s just not. There is confusion in every element of clothing that the workshop of a North Rhine artist just would not misunderstand.

These four images help explain. The left is a portrait of Elisabeth Bellinghausen. The luminosity and depth of facial features are distinctive. Next is the Bernal/Rosenbach portrait of Anne. The similarity of care in shadows around and under her chin follows the same care.

Next is the St John’s copy. While there is an attempt to copy her features it’s in a very different style.

To the right is a portrait said to be of Anne Boleyn with her features a bit cold, and pulled back. The St John’s portrait is more related to this than anything from the Bruyn workshop. She looks like she belongs on a playing card because of the flatness of the painting. The attempt to create dimension results in very hard lines around the eyes especially.

I suspect the Bernal/Rosenbach portrait was copied locally (the wood came from the Black Forest so I need to look into the trade in art supplies) and the artist tried to extrapolate what was going on under her <<benet/bonit.>> I suspect I might know why they didn’t just copy it, but that’s for a much more in depth chapter.

I also need to share the provenances of different portraits and that gets super weird. And results in some interesting takes in costume history books due to the incorrect attributions.

comments

Breakthrough

2022-12-30T04:38:01Z

I was an a fast push for my second infusion today, which is shorter so not as much time to work on research, but I was writing up some notes, and realised I’ve absolutely got myself on the right track it’s kind of amazing. But it shouldn’t be!

But when you try to break your theory and find it just is better substantiated it’s then possible to trust yourself to keep going.

So that was nice 🙂

comments

traditions

2022-12-25T00:39:52Z

Today is a day many of us celebrate as part of tradition. Ours has changed a lot over the years and Mum and I both need to reduce the stresses that can come with preparing a fest with newer traditions. But it’s also a good time to ask what traditions to keep and what to discard.

Take how to lay out cutlery. It’s supposed to help us, but there are placement rules that mean left handed people are totally ignored. Then depending on where you live you are stuck with how many peas you can skewer with your fork or you can turn tines up and scoop the things.

If you are at a restaurant tradition says you wait for everyone, but I’ve been vegetarian most of my life and for some reason my food always arrived very early and would go cold before everyone else was served.

Eat that food as it’s presented because that’s what the chef put out and it’s supposed to be at perfect temperature when it arrives.

I learn rules so I know if they are based on safety, or about predictable results, or if why we do these have been forgotten over time.

My research into both Anne of Cleves and the various trades involved in producing her clothing and accessories, involves a lot of traditions and it’s really amazing how much is right there. I’m studying in a non traditional manner as well, yet also follows the path a heck of a lot of specialists have trod since antiquity. Many had to sneak into libraries but during my lifetime at least they have been so very open to all.

comments

focus

2022-12-20T23:25:59Z

I’ve managed to send off an application to teach one of my research topics, and I’m working on another. It’s a bit testing as so much overlaps. Extant items, art, written work; all cover my research topics.

But I know that my very specific topic is probably what people are most interested in so I’m willing to move everything I need into one folder to sync across all my devices. I’m probably going to need to use some text to speech for my hand written notes.

But it’s also exciting to have take a chance on a tool used to bend brass tubing as it’s actually going to help me make jewellery that I absolutely could not.

I’ve tried to unbend some brass tubing bent with a tool, and I can’t. Yet I was able to bend it so easily. I can’t work metal like I used to (also I was taught how to make wrought iron pieces at school when I was 11- I was both terrified and loved it.) But yeah. It works. It didn’t hurt.

I’m still stalling on cutting out my pearl work. I’m so scared of cutting the threads used to couch. So I’ll try and do a couple of pieces.

comments

investments

2022-12-16T01:14:06Z

Investments of all kinds! But primarily how to dedicate time while every single project of mine has been on hiatus for so very long. I’ve just invested in, and been invested in, one of my yearly infusions of monoclonal antibodies. I can’t express how weird it is to just get these. They were still in the trial stages while I was at uni and I still have some of the references I used for my essay. Just.. it’s weird. Our senior lecturer was highly respected and you can find so much of his work in PubMed.

But I got to invest that time in hospital on transcribing the introduction paper to my Anne of Cleves research. I have already presented my earlier draft, but it’s now fuller and acts as an introduction to chapters based on each slide.

I may use my next infusion (it’s about 4hr) to work on some beading. I don’t have the backing I need for the pieces I’d really like to complete but I’ve also finally sorted the jewellery findings into Cleves first. There is a lot. But that’s how it should be.

comments

so many projects

2022-12-08T23:29:50Z

I’ve been stalled on so many projects for so long I’ve definitely moved into the overwhelmed stage.

But I’m also having to spend so much time dedicated to reading studies and research that has been misrepresented. It’s not far removed from the work I’m doing in my costume research, so that too is weighing on my mind. But with the opportunity to present the first two papers I’ve written and am writing I do need to get on with that.

In terms of projects I’m stuck at some early stages of support. Be it linings or support garments or the boning for each, it’s proving very difficult.

My jewellery too. I desperately need a way to support my nettle flowers and the best option is brass tubing bent to shape. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! No. Not happening with my hands. I can though make some card templates to work out the curves needed and possible. Then I might be able to outsource.

Though there are some bending tools for the size tubing I’d need, and I could probably use a bit of rod inside to hold ends. Worth testing I think.

I’d really like to get the proper connections as per portraits but this is an extant method so definitely worth using.

comments

Apologies and progress-ish

2022-12-04T23:37:57Z

WP has changed source code making all my galleries broken! But it is for a good reason. This brings all the image elements in line with W3 accessibility. I’ve used a bit of CSS to help while I figure out what to change in my child theme if the theme creator has abandoned updates.

I’ve had a few pings recently about my main focus(es) of research which means I have opportunities to consolidate it all around specific themes. I’m not going to lie though, my focus is shattered.

Shattered.

I’ve tried to rewrite my paper to publish it properly but I admit this lack of focus means I’ve been tidying and forgetting my criteria for said tidying when it comes to my physical and research topics.

Add in some very difficult health issues (whole limb numbness and petechiae on my feet that are getting worse) and it’s pretty difficult to dedicate time each day.

comments

Overdue updates

2022-11-09T23:54:53Z

I have a huge project of giving back to work on, because community bonds are not always public. And I have some huge thanks to give my SCA, Lochac, Ildhafn family. It’s so emotional I’ve asked for it to be private until I can do true justice to these incredible gifts.

I’ve been sharing progress of projects on Instagram as there is another conflict between my phone and PC to import images. But I have finally really started to get in some Doing every day.

A little bit of jewellery work

a little bit of documentation of the jewellery

and now my Marie Antoinette stays, which are possibly my nicest support layer ever.

And taking a pattern from my Elsa Ice Gown in case I decide I can use the same pattern as a support for my Epilogue gown. Feel free to use this as inspiration, it uses the super handy double seam/dart of Victorian patterning with the classic modern “princess” type seam.

As for my epilogue gown… The support layers are going to be so important that I’m testing all options. From my 1920s style stays with modern Super Powermesh to my Marie Antoinette stays.
My 1920s stays unfortunately were unrecoverable after the lacing grommets rusted badly. The side lacing though would help so much with keeping the shell supported somewhat invisibly.

And for the shell layers I am so very keen on my mid 20thC inspired darting to keep the neckline entirely on the grain, and trying to use fairly precise, graphed, points for the sparkling layers.

I started with 5cm wide base points, but then moved to 4cm and I think that works better.

I’ve felt like I’ve been in a bit of a slump, but really this is a lot to be proud of I think. I’ve been working on my research in the background including drafting patterns of extant garments.

I think if I take my usual 3hr break now (yes, my fibro controls this time of day no matter what I throw at it) having posted all of this? I think I can come back to my work feeling positive.

Thank you to everyone out there who respond and support me. I value every positive or quizzical response so very much.

comments