Doublet!

This has been a long time in the making!  Since January in fact...  But, it finally got finished on Wednesday.

So here is a red velvet doublet!

The pattern is Simplicity 4059.  The fabric is velvet, with a gold metallic trim.  The buttons are metal roses and very pretty!  They were an ebay find.

Proof he can smile if you catch him unaware!

There will eventually be hose and a mushroom hat to go with it, but they've been put on hold whilst I tackle the new larp year kit demands!

An Important Lunch Party

Small Bean is one!  Where has the last year gone?

Cute Family Portrait!

So we went out for lunch and then to the park and then to the inevitable afternoon tea.  I do love afternoon tea!  but I digress.  A birthday means a present.  Here's what I gave her.

 It's a racoon, incase you were wondering!  From Simplicity K1549 (oh how I love this pattern!), made from leftover Alice dress scraps, Briony under dress scraps and my steampunk skirt scraps.  There's a tiny ammount of embroidery on the face and overall I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Small Bean however, in the way of all small people was utterly uninterested.  

She much preferred her tasty birthday card!

Aunty Physara's phone was considered a wonderful toy (much to Aunty Physara's disapproval, bad Aunty Luthaisea!)

So we ended up in the swing.  Because why not?  All in all, it was a wonderful day.  Next week I shall have a wedding gift and a long awaited doublet to show!

Red Party Dress

We had a Red Party at work last week, so I needed a red frock.  Did I have one?  Nope!  So I ran a quick one up!

It's another Simplicity 2359 (same pattern as I used for Magrat)  but this time I made it knee length for a change.

 
As you can see I made droopy sleeves, though I'm not as keen on this attempt at sleeve drafting.

Also, please excuse the derpiness of my expression.  I've been home for about two hours at the time of writing this and I'm more than a little bit sleepy! 

The gold ribbon trim is something I had in my stash and I had the perfect amount to finish the dress!

All in all, I was fairly pleased with ho it turned out.  It certainly pleased the party girl and at the end of the day, that's what really matters.  Come back on Thursday to see what I've made Small Bean for her first ever birthday!  (And to find out how much cake she managed to eat...)

A Wedding at the Park!

So, I've not got anything sewn to show you today (because I've been lax about photographing stuff, making presents that can't be revealed yet and preparing for a Very Important Party at work), but I thought as at least some of you are also readers of A Fresh Page you might want to see what Katy's been upto as well.

Yep, she and Mr P made it official.  It was a really, really good day and I'm so pleased to have been there to share it with them!

We ate a lot of these!  (No really, I had so much sugar!)

 And following the brides excellent example, we spent a fair amount of time on the bouncy castle!

As you can see, here I am, trying to balance as Crazy Greg bounces over to our corner.

It was an amazing day full of fun, love and laughter.  Everything a wedding should have!  But as revenge for having to stand up in front of a room full (marquee full really) of people - have a picture of Katy's dress in an earlier stage of construction!

Doesn't she look darling?

See you on Monday where I shall share what I wore to the Very Important Party!

Introducing Gemini

 Yes, it's that time of year again, the time when all Bath larpers start gearing up for a new campaign, complete with new characters!  I made this tunic for Gemini who I believe is an air mage.

The tunic is made from Navy cotton drill and has two bands of silver ric-rac bordering a checked ribbon around its hem, cuff and neckline.

It also has a hand embroidered Tower Mage symbol on black silk.  Making it hexagonal was interesting, but I managed by finding a hexagon template, pinning it in place and ironing it flat in the end!

New Character Kit - Alice

I have started a new larp.  Bath's Nights which is a vampire larp and I am playing Alice the Toreador (who can be found hiding behind Ghost should you need to speak to her!).  I wanted pretty kit for this, but I also knew I wanted it to be grey.

All photos were taken after the game so excuse the random faces and poses.  I was very, very tired!

 The pattern is McCall's 6504 version D.  I made it out of grey satin (finding grey fabric was surprisingly tricky) and I added a lace inset to the neckline as otherwise it felt a bit low for the character.

I get cold easily though, so I knew I wanted something to wear on my arms.  So during the afternoon before the game (nothing like a bit of last minute sewing...) I made this bolero from the  Alabama Studio Sewing and Design book (I love this book so much!)

 All in all I'm pretty pleased with the dress and the bolero!  It's comfy, pretty, an unusual colour and shape, but it doesn't make me stand out.

 

All in all, it was a fun outfit and I'm looking forward to the next game and a chance to wear it again!

Petticoat!

Sam was a simple person to make a gift for.  She's wanted a petticoat for ages and so I made one to go under Fran's kit for her!  (With help from Andy who measured the skirt for me).

It's constructed out of lining fabric and a soft net.  The waistband is bias binding with a drawstring ribbon so Sam can make sure it fits.

Not a lot else to say about it really!  New kit to show on Thursday!

Birthday Surprise!

This was originally planned to be a bit different...  I'd decided that a cushion with a patchwork background and then an applique boat on the front would be just the job for Andy's birthday.

Can you see what's missing in this picture?  Yes, I didn't put a boat on it.  I'm afraid I fell more than a little in love with this machined patchwork and in the end I left it as it was.

The back is a simple envelope style as I didn't want to detract from the front.  Next up a petticoat!

Final Discworld Convention Post!

Ok, last post on Con stuff I promise!  It's only a quick one, but two of my very good friends took me to the con, looked after me whilst I was there and bought me home again.

So it seemed only fair to make them a small something!  At the con we all managed to collect a complete set of the trading card game (that you could only get at the con, it's very pretty!).

So I made us each a pounch to store it in!

The pouches are the same on the outside, but are all lined in a different colour.

As you can see my cards and instructions fit in neatly!

The pouches also all have a different coloured drawstring! 

On Thursday I have some presents (not related to Discworld Con) I've made to show and I might even show off the redecorating we've been busy doing here!