Idle Hands Challenge - Complete!

Or at least it is for me. :)

We're off to pick up more of our stuff in NY so I've wrapped up my first two fan projects and sent my final report off to Bella. I suspect she may be holding them until the Challenge is over so I'm still not posting pictures...or even details...but it's nice to know I can actually finish a Realm of Venus Challenge!

And I'm really happy with the fans I have made.

Of course I am also happy with the 2 other fans I have started, the 3 I am musing about, and the muff I have started the planning process for...I've even been thinking about handkerchiefs!

I really like focusing on one aspect of costume at a time. Or maybe I just really like accessories...

Whatever.

Good luck to all you other IHChallengees. I can hardly wait to see your pretties!

Back to work...

on the Pavillion!

Maybe it's the fall weather but I'm getting the itch to get back to work and finish my pavilion before the next SCA Camping season. It seems like forever since I worked on it but the break has been good for me. I thought my way through the quandry caused by finding the roof panels which I had misplaced.

I'd re-envisioned the sections I had at hand into a completely different style of pavillion (a Bell Wedge instead of round) and finished enough of the hand work on the rest of the pavillion that I really didn't want to go back...but I don't have too! I've been wanting to make detachable walls to convert one of the awnings into a bedroom and I think I can dismantle the extra roof to use for some of the parts of the bedroom walls.

Yippee! Now to implement the plan....

Sigh...tassels are a no-go

I've made several attempts at attaching tassels to my Idle Hands fan. I wanted them to cover the bare wire which allows the fan to spin (and very well) but every version I've tried ends up with the tassel caught under the wire and filthy dirty after just a few spins!

Perhaps that's the reason I didn't find any pictures of flag fans with tassels at the stick?

At any rate, after I cut off the last tassels and got all the bits which had lodged themselves under the wire loop unstuck, I darkened the metal of the wire so it's not so noticable.

Much better!

The only bad news is that I'm going to hold off on final pictures until the challenge is concluded.

Tasty Nibble #18 - We has a fan!

I spent yesterday carving the stick for my flag fan and putting it together.

I started with a 3/8" x 48" dowel from my local hardware store. For strength and contrast I picked the heavyest and darkest dowel they had. I don't know what kind of wood it is but I'm sure it's not pine.

I was inspired by various pictures to try a flag fan with a loooong stick. I was thinking somthing around 2 1/2' - 3' but my dowel had a bend in it so I cut it just above the bend and ended up with a 29 3/4" for this fan and a remainder piece just long enough for another fan. (I think I may try my hand at a round fan too.)

So, carving:

I couldn't find my file or carving tools so I abandoned the idea of a turning lathe for this fan and went with simple carving using the tools I had on hand. I used a coping saw to saw the dowel to length, to saw shallow channels for the wire which forms the frame of the fan, and to saw shallow channels at the top and bottom of the ball ornaments I was going to carve. I then used a 1" chisel to shape the wood and an emery board to smooth the finished work. (I told you they were simple tools!) I then heated a small amount of olive oil and rubbed it into the wood to deepen the color and add a slight gleam.

If I hadn't decided to add a tassel or two I'd be done. But since my theory of late period costume can be summed up as 'Add More Ornamentation!'...tassels are next.

Tasty nibble #17 -Idle Hands Flag Fan in progress

I decided to make a third attempt at making the netting base for my fan and it turned out considerably more evenly than the previous version. I stretched it out in a frame I jury-rigged from some wire and stitched up the lacis pattern.

Woo hoo! It's my first piece and I think it came out just lovely.

To convert the Lacis piece onto a fan I've made a 4" x7" (finished dimensions) frame of wire and covered it with the same thread I used for the lace. I basically covered the frame with buttonhole stitching with the ridge of the loops running on the outside of the frame and then stitched a second set of buttonhole stitches around the frame between the stitches of the first set, this time with the loops running on the inside of the frame.


I used a very simple faggoting stitch to attach the lace to the inner edge of the covered frame--see all the pretty little holes? I am currently working a pointed lace edging around the outer edge of the frame.

The next phase will be to prepare my stick and attach the fan!

Uh Oh...

I just made an update to my "What holds breasts up" page and poof! another chunk of text dissapeared! I'm hoping it is a Blogger issue and they will fix it...

Tasty Nibble #16 - Idle Hands Feather fan - WIP

There's still another layer of feathers to come!

As usual, I'm also posting construction details on the "What Holds Breasts Up?" page.