29 Mar 2008

Chemise and something new



Yesterday was a great day! I manage to do lots of different things but the day was still very relaxing. My chemise is better now. I sewed the neckline again and it looks better and I am happy because I can start doing other things now. I am planning to start making a partlet today or perhaps tomorrow. I don’t know yet.

But anyway, I have tried to learn how to do naalbinding (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naalbinding) for about five years now (I am not joking) and I haven’t understand it. I have started on doing it several times but I have had troubles on seeing the loops I guess. So yesterday I finally understood something about it :D and I am seeing the loops now! I am still not sure that my technique is completely right. I still don’t know how to use my thumb. So I don’t use it at all. I have to practise naalbinding a lot now because I am afraid I forget it if I don’t (it feels good to have a new skill to practise).


25 Mar 2008

It is finished but…


During my Easter holiday I finally finished my hand sewed Italian chemise. So it is finished but I am not happy about it. I like the fullness of the chemise and I think the sleeves and the length of the chemise is pretty ok. But the neckline… Ok I admit that I didn’t put too much time and effort on sewing the neckband to the chemise (because I knew that I am not going to like the neckline when it is finished). But still it is very frustrating to know that I need to take the neckband away and sew it back again. I know that it is common that when you sew you might have to undo it and do it again. Sometimes you have to do it more than once. I just hate it! I want everything to be perfect at the first time so I can start to do something else. The neckband is not cut on the bias because I wanted to make some blackwork in it. Usually when cutting the neckband to the square neck hole you should cut it on the bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_(textile). So I really don’t know if I am ever going to be happy with my chemises neckline. We shall see. I will try to find mental strength to start it over again today. 

16 Mar 2008

Assisi tablecloth project

Here are some pictures about my Assisi tablecloth at the beginning of the project. I don’t have any special deadline for this project. I thought that I can carry this with me to the SCA events and do it there also. It might be also that I can’t resist doing it at home because it is too much fun. I really have other more important projects to do right now (like my new renaissance outfit that I have dreamed about for long time).

   

15 Mar 2008

Start

Ok, so this is it then. I don’t know what I am doing. I am not sure that I have time for writing a blog. But you never know. Maybe I will have enough time for this. Anyway starting a blog is something I have thought long time. I have thought that it is too hard. Ok, I admit that writing in English is hard for me because English is not my mother tongue. But if it get’s too hard then I will write in Finnish. Writing in English is good practice since I have lots of friends who don’t speak Finnish.

Finding out the name for the blog was also hard. And it was one reason why I haven’t started this earlier. And that’s why I thought that simple name is better than anything too inventive.

I have currently two bigger projects going on. One is to make 16th century Italian chemise (with little blackwork to its neckline) and an Assisi style tablecloth. I found couple of days ago an interesting link about Assisi embroidery http://www.stitchstitch.info/ . It is not easy to find information about Assisi and I was very happy when I found this link. There are other interesting things like something about blackwork at that site also.