Well, over the last few months, I've gotten a lot done. The up side is that a lot of it was thesis writing (I'm working on my MA in Virology), as well as home repairs (I painted 2 bedrooms and a bathroom), and cooking/cleaning. The down side is that very little of it was sewing related. Because I work for the federal government, albeit as a contractor doing the same job as my federal cohorts, I was furloughed in October. But, unlike said federal cohorts, I did NOT receive back pay. So, that was 2 and a half weeks sans paycheck. So, massive Victorian gowns have been put on the back burner until I 'catch up' on those lost funds.
On a fun note, Guli Productions announced their next Victorian Dance Cruise in the Eastern Caribbean during January of 2015 :) I am SUPER EXCITED, the last one was a blast! Here's the link for more information: 2015 Victorian Dance Cruise. I'm featured in a bunch of the photos on that page wearing various gowns/outfits. This year's cruise features 3 balls, a Fantasy Masquerade party, and a Swimsuit Party! The last cruise featured a Sapphire Ball, which is what inspired me to create the Sapphire and Silver ball gown. This year's feature is a Diamond Ball, and in order to avoid having to pack any bustles/hoops/shenanigans, I will be going with a more 1890's Late Victorian look. The gown that I think I will re-create is from the 1893 cover of Harper's Bazaar as seen in the drawing. I have already chosen a fabric for the bodice, but not yet the skirts- lace is a little bit harder to choose, I think. The bodice will be done in Ice Steel Rococo Paisley Metallic, which I know is not period correct: 
The photograph, as per usual, doesn't really do it justice. It's honestly PERFECT for a Diamond Ball event :) And at only $29.49 a yard, it's not too bad. The color matched silk taffeta that I was considering using for underneath all of that lace is much more expensive at $46.99 a yard, and I would need many yards of it to complete the skirts. So, that idea may be scrapped, though we'll see. I've got lots of time to play with here, about a year and 2 months. And I've been losing weight, so I don't want to make the gown too early and then have to make last minute, tricky alterations.
The other thing I've been playing with is the "Fashions of the Gilded Age" (Frances Grimble) Plain Bodice Pattern. This series of books has Victorian era pattern miniatures which you draft in full size using either apportioning scales and graphed paper or you can use a projector to blow up the patterns, but this method is less tailored. Once you have this basic pattern drafted, you add seam allowances of desired width, and make a mockup. And here's the part that requires patience- fitting after fitting after fitting to make the bodice fit just perfectly. Once you have a perfectly fitting bodice, you can use this pattern as a base to create nearly any bodice in the entire book. And there are MANY beautiful patterns. I have done about 3 fittings with this pattern so far, and I'm still a fairly long way away from having the perfect fitting bodice, so this is probably a long term project. It's also a bit difficult to get into and out of a corset every time you want to do a try-on session, so that's slowing me down a bit as well. It will be a HUGE accomplishment, and a major learning exercise, to get this fitted correctly. I ordered a book off of Amazon that is also helping a lot: The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting by Veblen. This guide (hopefully) helps train your eye to recognize common fitting errors and shows you how to correct them. It's been a big help in the whole process. I hope that both of these resources help me to take my patterns and sewing to the next level :)
I've also been working on a pattern for a calico dress, since my split riding skirts and vest are a bit snug these days and I need a simple but pretty calico dress for the more low-key dances.
So, while I haven't really created much in the way of gowns, I have been working (slowly) on some interesting new things. I know I say this every single time, but hopefully I will be posting a bit more as I figure out projects, fabrics, the order I will tackle them in etc.
Until next time :)
