Tasty nibble #7

Ooooooo....


Detail of the progress on my IRCC pocket project.

Tasty Nibble #6

I've begun work on my pocket and realized one very important thing.


Hey, This is fun!

(More info on the 'What Holds Breasts Up?' page.)

Tasty Nibble #5

Behold! The insipration for the crochet lace for my camicia.

Name/Device Progress

We received letters yesterday that both Boen's and Aurora's names made it through the first stage of approval with the SCA heralds. Yippee!

Our devices? Not so much.

They have a problem with our seme of eyes but I am pretty determined to have my eyes somewhere...

Back to the drawing board with that one (OK, 2), sigh...

Tasty nibble #4

I've been working on my hem.

Oh my! 2001!

I almost can't believe it. I've been blogging for 4 months and 2 days and I just passed 2000 page views. People stop in from all over the world. It's amazing.

(And very flattering!)

Thank you all so much for paying attention to my small corner of the 'World Wide Web.'

Fizzing with Anticipation!

The paperwork to register Boen's and Aurora's names and devices was sent in a while ago, improved, and entered into the record of the AEthelmearc Internal Letter of Intent AE136 on May 1, 2011. The commentary was due at the beginning of June and the publication of it's progress thru this stage of the acceptance process could happen any time now...I can hardly wait!

Oh my gosh!

Did you see this lace for sale on e-bay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANTIQUE-PUNTO-ARIA-LACE-COLLAR-17THc-RARE-POWYS-COLL-/300562630544?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45faedc790

So amazing...and just what I need! Now where did I leave that spare stash of cash......

As I tell myself, often, it's good to want.

(Which means I'm being *very* good indeed.)

Part #2

I'm having an interesting e-bay day. Doesn't this look like a partlet to you?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Antique-Lace-RARE-Bodice-Collar-and-Ties-/330524636045?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf4cdb38d

Out of period, I know. And it looks like it closes at the back. Still, it's giving me some ideas to work with if I find the flat partlet I'm envisioning doesn't work for me.

Hmmm...it's time to face facts!

Fact #1 - It's June. It's already JUNE! Since I need to have a working pavillion, I need to get my butt back in gear and finish the tent.

Fact #2 - I also need to finish quite a lot of stuff for the encampment, the folding table with its chains, the savonarola chairs, the chandeliers...

Fact #3 - Ditto the wardrobes for both Boen and I. Much needs to be done. So why oh why am I suddenly contemplating dong the lace for the collar and sleeves of my IRCC camicia in Punto en Aria? Really, WHY!

I'm starting to wander towards the conclusion that...

Fact(?) #4 - I might be crazy!

But oh the two inspiration patterns I found are *so* pretty...and all the local lace is dreck...and really, how much harder can it be than crochet?

(Such a silly, silly girl. Sad really.... (Walking away shaking head...) )

Only 57 million more steps to go...

still, I'm making progress!

The flower forms are attached on the first two rows of my IRCC under/skirt.

Tasty Nibble #3

The progress on my IRCC camicia

Details on the "What holds breasts up?" page

Boen's Doublet Pictures as Promised

Isn't he just...yummy?


So, this is pattern #43-Boen's doublet #2. I decided to close it with hooks and eyes so I could actually have a finished, wearable doublet--at last.

I'm surprisingly happy with the finished result (just look at him :) ) but I've also learned a very valuable thing--having a PICTURE to look at really helps Boen and I evaluate and discuss his wardrobe. It turns out that we agree about the issues in the fit of this doublet--loo long in the waist, too loose in the peplum (the part below the waist) especially at the back, and the sleeves just aren't right...

But it's quite a start, I think.

Progress report

Boen's (Clarence) second doublet all hemmed - done.

Boen's third doublet has become a jerkin instead--due to lack of fabric--but it is all cut out and mostly stitched together and pretty pretty pretty. He's well on his way to having a wardrobe!

Progress Report

Let's see...

Stained our two folding x-chairs, check.

Stitched up Clarence's second doublet, check.

Pictures soon? ... I sure hope so!

Progress Report:

2 cushions for our folding chairs-check.

Cut out and started pinning C's 2nd doublet-check.

Prewashed the blue linen for C's 4th doublet-check.

Sanded the folding table and touched-uped the paint where I messed it up when was working on painting my first fan-check.

Touched-up the paint on said fan-check!

OK. Back to work

My honey is away for a couple of days so it's a good time for me to buckle down and get back to work on the Pavillion. After I stitch the dragon panel for the front I am planning on assembling that side of the tent and finally committing myself to a plan for extending the bottom part of the bell on each end.

I've been saving some of my blue/green fabric to try and extend the banding on the bell too. We've yet to know if there will be enough to finish all the remaining spots where I'd like to use it (the mottoe on the bell ends, the bottom banding for the whole pavillion, and the dragon panel for the back of the pavillion) so my back-up plan is to visually weight the bottom of the pavillion by using black banding if it looks like I won't have enough.

Did you think I had forgotton this project?

Nope!

By golly, it's a doublet!

I feel so much better.

It's really been worrying me that I hadn't managed to make a doublet for Clarence. I'd gotten close a couple of times, but the shapes just never looked really right to me. And I couldn't work my way past both of our reservations...

Now that I've got a "good enough" version to work from I'm confident that I'll be able to improve the pattern until it fits perfectly and better reflects his chosen period.

Whenever he decides that is!

In the meantime, it's nice to know I won't be sending him out in his underwear.

I still have whole lot of eyelets to stitch on the doublet. I'll post pictures after it is really truly done.

Now that I am over my fit of temper

I'll admit that the doublet is coming together really easily. I'm following advice I read in a pattern review on the Internet and using my usual method of garment assembly rather than the pattern instructions but I've been following along with them so far and aside from my deciding to stay-stich the curves, interline the collar, and line the entire doublet...we're pretty parallel.

I hope to be putting it all together tomorrow.

Since I am recovered from my earlier upset, I feel I should also mention that the pattern I purchased has a copyright date of 1986. It's possible that there is a later, improved version.

'night!

Now I see what they mean...

Having recently aquired a husband I've discovered I also aquired a costuming challenge, to wit, sewing garb for a man. A pretty skinny man. And he is going for about 1470!

It's really amazing how mystified I feel about pattern drafting in this new realm where all my skills at late period garb for fat girls just gets chucked out the window.

So I decided to buy a pattern. To be specific, I've bought Period Pattern's #43 "Mens Italian Renaissance Garments c. 1420 - 1500" and, eeep!

My overwheling feeling is aggravation and disappointment that the pattern maker seems to have been too cheap or to stupid to do really basic things--like define what measurements are being used to define each size, and/or number the pages of the documentation/'instructions' so you can tell what order you are supposed read the sections in.

Come on, what pattern doesn't include a basic size chart!

I was prepared for bad sewing instructions, but this is really inexcusable.

HHHHIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSS

Luckily, I *do* sew quite a bit and I think I can figure out the assembly. It was the shaping I was being squeemish about. My love currently has almost nothing to wear to Pennsic (not entirely bad... ;) ) but I hope to change that situation soon. I'm currently working on a linen mock-up of doublet #1 and keeping my fingers crossed.

I'll keep you posted!

Ok, I admit it, I'm getting scared

I almost have a tent and so I'm at that phase where all I do is worry about all the things which could go wrong with it...and start other projects!

Must sew tent. Must sew tent. MUST SEW TENT!

I'm just not feeling well

Nothing exciting. I'm just a bit ill, and sleepy, and not very chatty.

We hope to back to the regular program soon.

The world keeps spinning...

Whether we notice or not!

Many years ago I developed an interest in chopines (an ancient Italian form of platform shoe) and did all the research I could think of on-line, bought one of the few books with a section on the subject, bought some supplies for a trial pair I was going to make "someday" and the whole concept has pretty much been encased in resin in my mind for years!

And then came today.

Today I was looking about for examples of extant hairpins and ended up being lead to this:
http://aands.org/raisedheels/

Which may just be the holy grail of websites on "Chopine, Zoccolo, and Other Raised Heel and High Heel Construction."

I'm planning on attempting a pair of chopines for my IRCC outfit. Let me tell you, they are going to be a lot better now!

Tasty nibble #2

Flag fan #1

OK, I said I was distracted...

But at least I'm working on something!

I'm detailing the progress of my challange dress on the "What Holds Breasts Up?" page but here is a peek at what I've been up to:

Red and White Spiral Sleeves in Progress

4/24/2011 and we have dragons!

Aren't they cool?



Not even pinned down at the moment, but since the green man's body, arms and all the greenery below his hands *are* sewn on I'm not complaining.

I still need to attach his head, and all the dragon/greenery parts above the hands, then do the outlining and detailing in couched thread (black) as in the bottom section of the pavilion. Maybe another week or two of work since I currently quite distracted by the Italian Ren. Costuming Challenge. Which I am off to work on now (Red and white trapunto sleeves, here I come!)

The Blog ate my post!

Weep with me.

Somehow, while I was editing the "What Holds Breasts Up?" page last night, Blogger ate 2 1/2 of my posts!

They were someting about elfin magic...the Italian Renaissence Costuming Challenge...Bella's site "The Realm of Venus"...and pointers from the universe.

Blaaa! Bad Blogger!

(In other news I started attaching the applique pieces to the roof last night. That went considerably beter. :) )

Wow. Will you look at that? It's almost roof-like!

This weekend was mainly devoted to:
A) lazing around, and
B) doing our taxes

So I didn't get as much done as I had hoped I would. (What else in new?) Still, I revised my SCA name registration paperwork, did a lot of thinking about what comes next on the project lists, got some fanfic read, and managed to get the essential center portion of the roof applique ready to go. Not bad, really, for a girl who laid around in bed all weekend.

(Which was great, by the way.)

To show off the fruits of my labor here is a picture of the

Progress on the roof


(Photo: updated as of 4/23/2011)

Think I'll get this side finished this week?

Addendum: Photos after all

Apparently my pattern is to complain on the blog about how little I've gotten done...which then spurs me on into a burst of working on projects...and then I have something to post! I still have a long way to go but look at the roof of our pavilion!

The long view...



and a close up!

I'd rather forgotten...

how long it takes to prep applique pieces when they are full of itty-bitty curves and curliques and tendrils. Which is to say that I am still working on the front roof of the pavillion. Yes, I haven't even finished all the applique pieces. Yes, I haven't even pinned it all together, let alone started attaching the applique. Yes it feels like it is taking forever.

I started laying out the pieces I have finished because I was going to take a picture to prove that I was still working on the pavillion but right now seeing all those bits scattered in all that white space is making me rather depressed. So, maybe not.

In other news I have finished my first pair of slippers, updated the pictures on the 50 pairs of slippers project page, and started the artwork for my next pair. I find I continue to be facinated by moorish tracery so my next pair will continue the theme. I'm thinking to do an embroidered motif across the vamp of the shoe.

Something like this:

Some of my gondola inspirations

From Vittore CARPACCIO, The Healing of the Madman, c. 1496

From Domenico TINTORETTO (ROBUSTI), Battle of Salvorec. 1605 both found at the Web Gallery of Art

My Venetian Gondola

Ok, I was playing with this idea prior to my discovery of Sketchup 3-d, and I haven't had time to upgrade the illustrations, but since we have been discussing bow-tops or portable bender tent wagons on the Medieval Encampments list (yahoo groups) I thought I'd go ahead and post my gondola idea.

Clarence didn't like how open feeling it was, but I think it might be the perfect combination of a tent and a bed you don't have to fret about carting about or setting up. I may have to make one for weekend events...

Make of it what you may!

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B03dpx-ypMHfYTAyODg2YzgtM2I0OC00OTFmLTgxODUtOWMxNjZkYzA4YzMw&hl=en&authkey=CLujr7gM

Click or cut and paste the link above and it will take you to the PDF in googledocs.

I finished the Butter Dress!

I've been re-working a kirtle I made several years ago into a dress I would actually be willing to wear in public. The kirtle was only good for an under-layer, if that, but I undid several of my earlier bad decisions (like removing a forepart panel made of entirely unsuitable material) made some better choices (adding banding in a complementary material was one of them) and I am now the proud owner of a casual lightweight gown I won't be mortified to be seen in.

That's four dresses and counting. Pennsic here I come!

I've been really busy, and I've got something to show for it!

I've prepped numerous bits of applique for the roof, stiched 27 of the 28 eyelets in a light cotton gown for Pennsic (the butter dress), I've learned two new embroidery stiches, and, oh, my shoes...my shoes are stunning! If you look at the 50 pairs of slippers page you'll see what I mean.

Pretty, Yes?

They say the best is the enemy of the good. But, in my experience, the good is not the enemy of the best. I can hardly wait to finish this pair and try for something even better!

Photo updates!

The doorways are assembled at last.

Front













Back

My darling husband says that, from a phenomenographic perspective, my focus has shifted from the doorways to the tent as a whole and that is why I am having trouble appreciating what fine doorways they are. I want the whole thing to be done!

I am progressing on the applique for the front roof. I've added some close-up pictures of the process to the feb post on the process of applique if you are interested. Now back to work for me!

Well, there's good news, and somewhat less good news...

The good news is that all of the major cream-colored canvas pieces are actually cut to fit together with the same (correct) measurements. As you have probably guessed...the blue-green parts? Not so much.

So... I've been piecing together the extra bits necessary to get it all to fit together...and sewing things into place!

Woohoo! We have forward movement again.

The doorways are finished! Well, almost.

As you know, I have been working on the black outlining for the top and sides of the back doorway of the pavilion, and the blue-green band on the bottom--or leading, depending on your point of view--edge of the awning flaps, front and back. I'm trying to get all the work I can done on each seperate section *before* I put them all together because each part will get *much* more difficult to work with as the other huge chunks of canvas get attached. (It's one of the basic rules of sewing: Finish what you can *before* assembly*) And I'm happy to report, success! By which I mean that the prep work is done...now I just have to remember how it is supposed to go together

hmmmm.....

I'm thinking no pictures today , sorry.

Another site for extant tents

My mother has a bit of an adventurous streak in her, and in the late 80's she moved off to live in Turkey for about 10 years. Thus, when I told her about my interest in period pavillions she casually informed me that there is a collection of ancient tents and liners in the Turkish Millitary Museum in Istanbul, and then she gave me books!

(I can only find one of the books at the moment: Osmanli Cadir Sanati (XVII - XIX. yuzyli), Taciser Onuk, T.C. Kultur Bakanligi, 1998. In English: Ottoman Tent Art (XVII - XIX. centuries))

I, of course, devoured the books a gulp and rushed off to look up the Museum site, which I present to you here

Askeri Muse ve Kultur

Note: click on "Albumler" and then "Cadirlar" or, if you can find it, "Askerî Kıyafetler Salonu,' or "Üst Kat Salonlar" and then "Çadırlar Galerisi." I warn you, the links shown in the menu on the left of the page seem to change nearly every time I go to it. but keep trying. sometimes clicking on white space will make a whole new list of choices appear. (This works for me when the cursor, not the arrow is showing as the pointer.)

I managed to wend my way quite deeply into their photo galleries a few years ago, but then my computer crashed and I lost all the links so I am simply posting what I've got, for now.

I hope to get back to this on-line research project at some point, but for now I am making a pavillion! (Busy, busy.... :)

Note: see comments below for a bit more explanation of how I've found the pictures when the links aren't showing...

Pavillion Progress Update-1

In case you were wondering...

Yes, I'm still working on the pavilion.

I've finished the black couching on the second mottoe panel, and am currently working on the same outlining on the WATER panel for the back doorway. My hope is to get both back doorway panels done, and the two doorway/awning sections assembled this weekend. Look for pictures by Monday!

On other fronts, I am considering what to use to make the soft furnishings for the outside of the tent. I know I'll be making cushions for our chairs, and probably a mosquito netting screen house which I can attach under the awning flaps. (Mosquitoes really love me, but the feeling isn't mutual!) And I agree that we need standards...

Oh yes, and poles of course!

But all of that is for another day, right now it is all about the couching.

My chair plan

A question has been raised on the yahoo groups medieval encampments list regarding appropriate furniture for a late period, French, encampment.

I have been looking at extant examples of portable furniture from that period and have found variations of this chair from both England and Spain. I haven't looked at French furniture yet, but I suspect they also have a variation. (FYI, I took a brief look at French furniture yesterday and the form--"Caquetoire Garnie"-- does appear.) Some versions seem to collapse by removing the spreader bars between the sides, others may add or substitue hinges in the spreader bars, and some versions add hinges or other joints halfway down the legs for an additional point of collapse.

I'll add detail of my sources ASAP (NOTE: sources now added), but in the meantime I wanted to share my sketch-up model of a type of chair which I have never seen in my (admittedly limited) experience of SCA camping. To wit,

the Friar's (Monk's) chair

As usual, if you click on the picture it will take you to sketch-up where you can pivot the view or download the model to tinker with.

Folding sillon frailero of walnut (sixteenth century)

Musee Episcopal, Vich. Bacelona. "as in many early examples, the frame can be dismounted." From "Furniture Past & Present, L. Boger, Doubleday, 1966












Folding sillon frailero (sixteenth century)

Spanish Interiors and Furniture: Photographs and Drawings, Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley, William Helburn, Inc. 1921

Update on the Mottoe

The second section of goldwork is finished! Amazing. I thought it would never be done and then--poof--FINISHED! OK, OK, I still have to do the black outlining on that section, and two of the doorway panels, but still, FINISHED!

I might--just possibly--actually finish this pavillion in time for Pennsic. (I sure hope so, or we'll be sleeping in a day shade!)

More about Sketch-up

I just discovered that if you go to look at my designs on the sketch-up page you don't *have* to download an object to be able to see the entire circumference.

If you look in the upper right-hand corner of the picture frame there are two buttons "Image" and "3-D View". Clicking the 3-D View button just let me pivot the trailer so I could see all the sides.

Cool.

Downloading the trailer will let you actually go *inside* to take a look around there too.

(BTW, Sketch up items are shared by their creators to be *used.* Which means that you can tinker with things and make your own creation. I started my Tudor trailer plan by finding someone else's 7'X14' trailer to base my work on. Just like I would if I built it for real.)

But I'll get off my little "sketch-up is so cool!" soapbox for now.

My Tudor Trailer

Last summer I learned about the existence of a free downloadable 3-d modeling program (google sketchup 3-d) and started working on a plan for my dream portable house for SCA Camping.

I decided to complete my pavilion instead--for a variety of practical reasons, including the fact that I could work on it thru the winter in our heated house instead of trying to work in the frozen garage--but I still LOVE my trailer plan so I am sharing it with you here.

Aurora's 7x14' Tudor Trailer (Plan/Visualization)

It will have both a queen size bed and an additional sleeping berth/daybed, a "working" fireplace (canisters of gel fuel only), an outdoor kitchen based on drawers which pull out from under the bed, and both a woodpile and stone water trough to cover the wheels.

I love-love-love it!

I based the shape on various other pop-up SCA trailers I have been studying on-line. The intricacy of detail is based on extant examples of historic housing, notably:

Staple Inn, Holburn, London, England














and

Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, England














For those of you who are wondering about the trailer details just click on the picture to go to sketch-up where you can download it and wander about (it's a 3-d model, remember?) to your heart's content.

The Funny Thing About Giving Yourself Permission...

NOT to do something, is that it sometimes has the opposite result!

After spending last night working on the design for the back roof of my pavilion, I got up this morning and promptly started to work on the second section of the motto. Go figure.

Giving myself leave to do something else seems to have put it back on the 'fun' side of the scale and I am already halfway finished with the ribbon-work part of the task. I'm not promising this rate will continue but to go from 2 1/2 letters finished to 15 finished and several others started feels great!

Maybe there will even have to be pictures soon...

The Roof at Last!

As I predicted, the--apparently endless--stitching on the mottoe has gotten be be a bit more like drudgery than I can handle, so I am commencing work on the dragon applique for the roof sections of the pavillion. (And can I just say, WooHoo!)

I'm hoping the first panel will be comparitively simple--since there is not much more actual applique than there was on one of the door panels--but you know how I am...

Anyway, here is

A close up of the pattern for the front roof


I'm thinking I will adapt it to make the back roof. Maybe something like this:

Proposed back roof panel


I think it's not quie busy enough--maybe she should be holding foliage to feed the dragons? (OK apparently they are wyverns, but close enough for me!) Still a work in progress, obviously.

Wish me luck!

On Authenticity...and the art of shopping

I've been thinking a lot about 'authenticity' in the SCA context lately.

On the one hand it seems like a kinda silly concern, I mean, we've got personas from all corners of the globe, walks of life, and hundreds to thousands of years of human history all thrown together in a little itty bitty space carved out from the surrounding 'real world.' Even if said world wasn't encroaching on every side, our play space is a great deal more like Riverworld than Medieval Europe! So why bother?

On another hand, following my medieval interests/passions to the fullest extent I can (or care to) manage at any given time is one of the things that interests me about the SCA. I hand sew my garb and laboriously stitch my way through endless eyelets because I *like* it. Both the process, and knowing that I have done my best to make something both beautiful and as 'in-period' and inoffensive as I possibly can.

So, yet another hand! When I consider the probable 'authenticity' of my gear - projects - whatever, inoffensiveness is something I strive for. By which I mean that I work to reduce the likelihood of my person/encampment knocking someone *else* out of the dream. I am very concerned with trying to present plausibly 'in-period' manifestations of the material goods I need to make my SCA play comfortable for modern me, while keeping in mind another couple of concerns (more hands).

Hand 4: Can I afford it (in terms of money)?

Hand 5: Is this a sound decision for me in relation to the modern world I live in? AKA, can the earth afford it? This one is tricksy for me. I will often, but not always go for the product or material which seems the most ecologically sound, or safest, or most renewable even if it is the farthest thing from what my persona would have had, 'in-period.' Provided that it still looks and feels right to me.

And the list of hands just keeps on going...

I have my reasons for all of my decisions. The interesting thing to me is that those decisions vary from "I just don't really care about this item, at least not yet" (which would explain my choice of blankets for my encampment) thru "I chose to use this *totally* non period item because it presents a period appearance and fulfills some other need I have" (in example, my gowns made out of beautifully woven but largely synthetic upholstery fabric and my in-tent chandeliers with electric candles) to "I want to try to replicate the shape, use, method, style and feel of this authentic article which my persona could well have owned, and I'm going to do my very best to do it in a way which would seem within the bounds of reason for a person of her time" (witness my lovely folding table 'with it's chains' which will appear in the blog at some point in the future.)

It's all about balance and I find the process of considering and actively *choosing* the right item to fill a place in my list of necessary gear very interesting in and of itself.

Which brings me to the shopping...

My darling gave me a 2 burner Coleman stove for Christmas this year. Which was a perfect gift since it meant we *didn't* have to worry about either watching over a campfire, or starving to death at Pennsic. But I keep finding myself interested in having a second option sometimes for convenience--like a solar oven I could just put things into before I head out of camp for the day--and sometimes for pretty--which is how I wandered into these...

Couscoussier * Brazier * Cazuela

I keep thinking how nice it would be to have a neat little charcoal fire, make a little stew, do a little barbecue right over the coals...and the pots can be used on a gas burner too...hmmm.

I could order it all on line, all it would take is $$ and it's all perfectly plausible--and largely documentable--for late period Italy!

Believe it or not, only a small part of the point of this post is to show off the cool stuff I found (although it is cool!) Mostly I am struck by how a relatively small change in items can dramatically increase the authenticity and inoffensiveness of my encampment. I just switch out the cheap aluminum "camping" pans I was planning to buy for a couple of cazuelas and voila! Instantly improved authenticity of cooking experience and the look on the table. Someday I may decide to go with a fire instead of the Coleman stove and Voila! Completely inoffensive cooking. All without doing any kind of research into period cookware because, honestly, I'm just not there yet.

Which I guess is my point.

I think we have to give ourselves permission to be 'not there yet.'

Furthermore, I like to think that if we do that, and make our subsequent choices as inoffensive as we reasonably can, the 'authenticity' of our individual and collective journeying in these later middle ages will be much improved, quite painlessly!

More on the Mottoe

I have been overcome by the coolness of the way black outlining makes everything seem crisper, and somehow clearer, and so I have completely neglected moving forward on the second section of the mottoe while I outline each letter of the first section.

Black outlining in progress

I'm finding that it works really well for me to have the cord on a tapestry needle and the sewing thread on another hand sewing needle. I knot the cord on the back of the work, bring it to the front using the tapestry needle, stitch it down with the sewing thread/needle, bring the cord to the back of the work again and out at the next section. If there is a lot of space between sections I knot the cord on the back at the beginning and end for security but it is still much tidier than when I used to start each letter with a new segment of cord. Works for me!

Hmmm.....

The Plan















So I'd been thinking it would be nice to upload my sketchup version of the Pavilion so that people can see where I am going...of course it was at home and I was at work but I uploaded a draft version (too tall, not wide enough, etc) so that I could see if I can get it to work...

and...

Ooo! Success!

Then I went home and figured out how to capture an image of the project, as well as uploading the real deal into Google sketchup 3d. if you follow the link by clicking on the picture you can download my plan and tinker with it to your hearts content--though I warn you that I am still learing how to use sketchup and I tend to just keep adding planes until the thing looks right when I've gotten things a bit...off.

Better...Stronger...FASTER

It seems I wildly overestimated the time it would take to complete step two. (Especially if I ended up stuck at home with the stomach flu!)

The first 9' section of mottoe applique is finished. That piece is the section which will go over the front doorway just above the AIR and FIRE panels. After some elaborate calculations I have figured out where the text will fall on the 9' section over the back door, marked out the text, and started the applique work there too.

I hope to have both doorways finished by the end of this weekend, if all goes well.

The finished section of Mottoe






The second section















To give a better idea of the scale/construction of the Pavilion here is a photo of: the roof, mottoe and doorway panels laid out as they will be assembled

















and finally, a picture of the source design for the dragon on the front roof of the pavilion

Here be Dragons!...

OK, now couching down the black cord on the door panels goes really fast but the gold lettering on the mottoe? Not so much.

As you may remember, I am looking at about 29 feet of lettering. At my current pace of 2' on a weekend day and about 6" on a weeknight that would be....a long long time. About 2 months of a long lllllooooonnnnnggggg time.

My hands hurt just thinking about it.

...but... Oooooh!, SHINY!!!

So I will persevere. If I am a very lucky girl I will get better (stronger, faster) with this process also. I sure do hope so.

To keep myself entertained in the meanwhile, I have been pondering my approach to the top most part of the center section of the Pavilion. I know it is going to be 3'x9' with the upper 1' covered with a band of the same glorious blue-green fabric I have been using throughout. I also know that I am going to be appliqueing on a period motif of a man capturing dragons (on the front of the pavilion) and my adapted version of a woman capturing (luring) them (on the back of the pavilion). I've been putting it off because I wanted to be sure that I have cut all the large continuous pieces I will need from the applique fabric before I start on the little bitsies that make up the dragon motifs.

Since I'm going to need a break from all that mottoe stitching, I guess the time is near at hand.

Ooo! More stuff from the stash

While I was poking around in my box of trims I also came across this














Short blue fringe

and this














Blue velvet, black cord and "gold" trim

I have a theory that fringed edges may help keep bugs out of the tent, so I'll probably use the fringe on the bottom of the door curtains, but where else? The doorway opening?

Would it be strange to use it at the bottom of the mottoe band, even though the tent walls don't seperate there?

And the other trim...what to do with you....