Exciting New Ventures

Woo!  I'm changing topic a little today, to tell you what I've been up to these past few weeks whilst you've (hopefully) been admiring my mini photo shoot.

There is a kit fair in Bristol, where wonderful people who sell all those lovely costume bits and weapons gather to sell their merchandise.  This year a new trader will be there!  Stuff and Nonsense is their name and I'm part of it!  I'm both hugely excited and beyond nervous about it.

Please head over to our website or Facebook page and let us know what you think. 

The Kit Fair is being held at Brunels Old Station, Bristol on Saturday 11/02 10:00 - 17:00, Sunday 12/02 11:00 - 16:00.

If you're there please drop by and say hi, we'd love to see you!

Larp Chemise and Shawl

Is it really Thursday already?  Where do the weeks go?!  As you may be able to guess I'm feeling horribly rushed at the moment, but oh well!

So - Astrid's kit again :)

 This is her short sleeved chemise.  It's made from blue linen off cuts and is slightly unusual for me in that it's straight (I normally make an a-line chemise for movement).  To combat the lack of movement it's got slits in it to just above my knees.
 

As you can see here it's tied with a drawstring and can be worn on or off shoulder.

I wasn't entirely sure what the weather was going to be like for The Gathering, so I made a long sleeved version as well!  This one is blue poly cotton, a bit longed and a lot baggier.

The sleeves are elasticated at the cuff, and this chemise is cut on an a-line shape for freedom of movement.


I also wasn't sure how warm I was going to be, and whilst I didn't want to make another cloak for myself (I have 4 different larp coats already...) I did want something to wrap around me for warmth.  I debated knitting some kind of shawl, but lets face it - my knitting skills are not up to that kind of challenge yet!

Ducks!

Luckily for me my local fabric shop had a faux wool in.  It's very soft and was sold cheap as they aren't sure of the fabric type.  To make the shawl I worked out how big a rectangle I wanted by draping it over myself (no not very scientific, worked though) then folding it in half.  I stitched down 2 sides, turned it the right way out and stitched up the last side.  And ta-daa!  I have an amazingly warm soft shawl that also seems to be reasonably waterproof.

So there we go - Astrid's kit in all it's glory.


Next week I think I'll show you a fun waistcoat I made as a Christmas present and hopefully have some exciting news to show/share with you all!

Astrid and the Lorien Trust

Last year I started slowly exploring LT.  It's good fun, but if, like me, you aren't keen on big crowds of people you don't know it can also be daunting!  That said, I did have fun and I have a lovely group of friends to help me out so hopefully I'll be back as Astrid again.

Ribbons...  I do love ribbons!

Astrid is part of the Unicorn faction and a healer by stats but a generally nosey research type by personality.  She's non-com, but I still wanted to be able to run around a lot in case of need so her stuff had to be practical enough to withstand anything!

The chemise pattern is one of my own drafting.  I got some linen offcuts from my local fabric shop very cheaply.
















The bodice is Butterick 4669.  It was a fairly easy sew.  I used black cotton from my fabric boxes and lined it with more of the black cotton.


















The skirt is McCall's 5431.  Again, it was a really nice sew,  I used a heavy corduroy for the skirt.  I have plans to use the pattern again for a summer skirt or two for my wardrobe!















She has a fair few accessories, but the shopping is about to turn up so I'm going to stop writing this and show her shawl and other things off on Thursday!

Steampunk Bustle Skirt!

I love this skirt so very much!  I found the tutorial in a random online search, then a few months later I was given a load of dark red taffeta so I was all set!

I didn't totally follow the tutorial, as I didn't want a skirt that opened at the front, so mine is actually a kind of bustle belt with a matching underskirt, but I still think it looks fun!

So many ruffles!

The corset is a shop one, from corsets uk and the top is a mans shirt I picked up in a charity shop and altered.  I used an online tutorial for that as well,but sadly I can't find the link for that anymore.

The bustle is done up by kilt straps (our local ribbons and whatnot shop stocks them so I use them a lot!).  The skirt is trimmed with black embroiderie anglaise and the shirt with the widest black lace trim I could find.














I wore this outfit for my birthday party last year, when I had an afternoon tea party and invited everyone who wanted to, to dress up.  It was lots of fun!

I have plans for this outfit, for when 'Ria dies/retires as I'd like my next character to be a bit less prudish and a lot more sassy!



















Next week I've got pics of my LT kit to show you.  Have a great weekend!

Victorian Ballgown

Hullo!  Hope you've all had a nice weekend!  Mine was full of the drama-llamas but at least I can say life isn't boring.

The dress I want to show you today is one of my evening gowns I wear as the Lady Honouria Hartwell-Jones who I play at the Clockwork Monkey larps (they're awesome by the way, if you larp and like steam punk you should totally check them out).

I'm not sure why I feel the need to constantly curtsey in this dress, but I do!

I think I need more curtsey practice though - dreadfully wobbly!

Inadvertently flashing my petticoat, oops...

Please excuse the wrinkles, I forgot about this dress until the last minute and due to weather fears I didn't stop to iron it...

The gold fabric has a flower and leaf pattern woven in and I'm sorry to say I don't have a clue what fabric it is.  I picked it up in a sale (£1 a metre, bargain!).  I have a sneaky suspicion it's actually some kind of upholstery chintz, but I don't really care, seeing as it works so well for 'Ria.

The bodice insert and underskirt are make out of green embroidered taffeta (why yes, I do love embroidered taffeta...).  Which again I picked up in a sale.

This is about the time when we got silly, can you tell?

The dress is trimmed with a brown trim and cream lace.  It has cream lace in the sleeves as well, but that's not really very easy to see.  I'm wearing my gold evening gloves with it (charity shop purchase, also part of Angel's kit) and a muff which I made to keep my hands warm (more about that on a different day).

The gun is very pretty.  'Ria hasn't used it yet, but she plans to!  Can you tell I know nothing whatsoever about firearms?  Replice or real!

On Thursday I'll show you my more punky steam punk gear, which I wore to my last birthday party.

A dress for the New Year...

 Another of my mini adventure photo shoot outfits!

Photos taken in two areas due to rain...

 I made this dress during the day on New Years Eve, then wore it whilst hosting a party here.  It's Butterick 5030 again (Remember the red dress?) and made out of a lightweight jersey fabric.  I love this fabric so much!  The lady in the shop was kind enough to slip in a little extra, so I have a top ready to make as soon as I find time...

 As you can see I'm wearing a very pretty brooch with this dress.  I was lucky enough to win a competition the lovely Fi at Marmalade Rose held a while back and I won the brooch!  I love it to pieces and I knew it'd be the perfect thing to wear with this dress!

Next week I think we'll take a look at my victorian/steampunk gear.  Have a lovely weekend!

A Mini Adventure!

On New Years day I had a little jaunt in the company of my husband (to play photographer) and the lodger's boyfriend (to play location scout).  The lodger very sensibly looked at the weather and stayed home in the warm and dry!  However the result of this little jaunt is that I should have some different photos from the usual quickly snapped in the lounge variety and it's something to entertain (I hope) you all with whilst I work on a new and exciting but somewhat scary venture!

And so without further waffle the results of my week of sewing whatever took my fancy!  I made two new dressed and one disaster that's been put away until I can get the hang of altering it into something usable.

The first dress I made is totally inappropriate for the weather but I'm very much looking forward to wearing in the summer!

 Please excuse my somewhat grumpy face.  It'd just started to rain at this point and I was so cold!

I used New Look 6789.  I really do adore this pattern!  The fabric is left over from an apron I made my mother for Mother's Day last year.  It's a navy polka dot cotton and I trimmed it with a dark red velvet ribbon I picked up in a bag of trimmings from a charity shop some months back.

This was never on the list of planned garments I had for the week.  I had plans for frock coats, bodices, piratical hats and all sorts.  However when I went through the fabric and found the cotton I just new I needed a new summer dress and so, very quickly it was done!  I had literally just enough of the fabric so it was a good way to use up that particular leftover!

On Thursday I'll show you my other successful project and a beautiful brooch I was lucky enough to win!