In-Progress

I haven't posted much about sewing lately, so here are a couple of projects that are in the works. This is a pair of bodies that I'm working on and have been for awhile. I'm hand stitching the channels for the reeds with linen thread. The blue fabric is a light wool and it is inter-lined with a stiffer linen canvas. It will be lined with another linen layer to hide the stitching on inside. This project has been a little daunting because it's so much handwork, but it is moving along rather nicely. I would like to finish it in time for Military Through the Ages at Jamestown, but I'm not going to push it. I want a nice article of clothing when I'm done.

After the Volunteer Training Weekend, Jim and I made a list of all the "stuff" we needed to do for the Anniversary Weekend in May. While I have a corset that works, Jim needs falling bands. He has 1 or 2 at the moment, but MTA is a 2-day event and the Anniversary Weekend is going to be a 3-day event. He needs more. This one I've been working on, off and on, for years. It's been a nice little hand work project that I take with me when I remember it. It's linen with a pulled-thread hem. I need to stitch down the pleats and then attach it a band that will get pinned to a collar.

Volunteer Training Weekend

Last weekend we attended a training weekend at Jamestown in preparation for the 400th Anniversary Celebrations going on in May. Lots of things happening in Jamestown this year.

Cindy is the Fort supervisor and she does a fantastic job of organizing the bunch of rabble called re-enactors. We had some class room stuff (teaching methodology, women in 17th century England, Angolan society, Powhatan society) and some getting out and viewing the buildings and the interpretative goal behind them.

On Saturday because we had a critical mass of Gardners members in one location we had a meeting! Surprise! The hotel was cool and let us use their breakfast room as long as we cleaned up. Then of course we hung around and stitched, conversed, and negotiated. It was a good time.

Yarn-Foo

I was on business travel to San Antonio last week and I was able to hook-up with a friend who knits. She took me to a fabulous yarn shop. I think she has gotten me hooked on knitting. We picked up some large needles, some small needles and some wonderful yarn. The blue is a fat yarn requiring size 10.5 needles. I'm hoping I can learn to do a monmouth cap with that yarn but I need to get some double-pointed needles first.

The red is a nice weight for socks, but I'm hoping to knit a miser's purse with it. My friend copied out some directions for me. Obviously I need to learn to knit in the round first.

What fun trip!