Hello! *waves a bandaged hand* I managed to cut myself rather spectacularly as I was carving one of the columns for this door, so I guess it will be a bit silent here while it heals... serves me right for carving as I talk and watch TV, holding it in my hand instead of pressing it against some firm surface!

This door is meant for a balcony archway, to close it so that light couldn't get in and destroy the fabrics and furniture. Dad cut and sanded the base for me; the carving is by me. Now this is the second time I ever tried to carve anything, so it's not perfect and it's far from done - but I'm quite happy with how it's going (except for the gory bits). It opens up possibilities...
It's going to be painted white.



Now, the window installed in the room it belongs to is Georgian (I think - so the seller said) and it kind of seems out of place there... and also a bit plain.



 - I wonder whether to take it out and exchange it for a white Gothic one (which I'd have to make). Something like this maybe:



Thoughts?

These are some of the first Lolita projects my sis had made - most of them as commissions, one for me (though I managed to snatch one up again when it appeared for sale on a sales comm, haha).

Pink and white chiffon; embroidered magnolia flower on the waistband.

Yards and yards of pink chiffon ruffles... like cotton candy!:-)

Mint sparkly tulle - I feel like a mermaid princess in it, hahaXD

How do you like them? Let me know in the comments:-)

Project dump time again!:-) A collection of bloomers my sis has made - two pairs of them for sale, one pair for me.

So first is a pair of pink chiffon cuteness that's still up for adoption (here at Lacemarket, for 21 USD + shipping of some 7 USD within Europe and 8.4 USD to the US). Soft, fluffy, adorable, French-seamed throughout (that chiffon frays like nobody's business!) - I hope it gets a good home soon:-)

Next is a pair of frilly white batiste bloomers, currently on hold.
 Aaand these are mine, to match a dress she made me few years ago:-)

A little appetizer: this rose-printed cotton is going to turn into cute short bloomers for sale soon:-) In reality it's more cotton candy pink, but the poor lightning didn't allow me to catch the true colour...
And this pink dotted tulle's gonna turn into bloomers, too, this time my sister's:


Whew! Three posts in a month. I made it. *pats herself on the back* Thank God for the extra day this year:-)

I think this is quite a known method, but just in case it might be useful to someone...:-)


To get a nice picture frame, if no miniature shop is nearby, simply go to the nearest haberdashery shop or browse through your stash; chances are you'll find some buttons which are made of two parts like those in the picture above. Pop the middle insertion out. Usually it goes smoothly, but in case it doesn't, press it against some hard surface and it will. And voila! A space for a picture!

Make a template. I do it by pressing a piece of paper against the oval/circle and going around the edges with my fingers so it forms a relief - I guess there might be better ways of doing this, but it's just how I do it.

Use the template to trace the outline on your chosen picture and cut out a piece of plastic sheet (for example from discarded food packaging or other such), glue it together and that's it, you're done:-)

This week's prompt is to write about the one Lolita item we most desire right now - and for me, it's definitely been this dress my sister has been working on - remaking a Classic Lolita skirt she made for me a while ago into a jsk. She finished it just yesterday and I adore it! It's comfy, lovely and lacy - and washable, yay! It's just perfect for a nice spring picnic, drinking tea and picking daisies and dandelions and making wreaths out of them...
Speaking of which, spring is almost here. Snowdrops, the snowflake flowers and squill flowers are everywhere - let's hope some sudden frost won't kill them.

I've got some of the lace left, so I'm kinda thinking about making a pale yellow organdy underskirt trimmed with it to peek out underneath the hemline...

Blogs participating:

Cupcakes and Unicorns
Marionette Cemetery
The Bloody Tea Party

17. 10.
So, today it is drafting the pattern. By myself.
My knees are wobbling.
The only part of the pattern which I have ready-made is the sleeve, which is going to be more or less the same as on the lingerie blouse.
*gulp*
I need a shot of courage, please.

After four hours, I'm giving up. I'm gonna frankenstein it from my sister's patterns.

22. 10.
For invigoration - a mini teaparty, yay!!!XD

Finally the back is cut out, including the interlining, but the electrical machine just had to break when I need it - so my sister said she'll put it together for me on the mechanical one, if I baste it together. Great!

22. 12. 2015
After much arduous work in stolen moments from both sis and me, the jacket is about 80% finished. There is still the elaborate braiding on the front to be done; so far it closes with hooks and eyes, but I think I'll swap it for frog closures as was the original plan. In the back, there is the cord to be put in a decorative corset lacing. Plus I need to line it. So far, so good.
I'm not happy about the sleeves though and will have to fiddle with them a bit... originally I wanted really big silk leg o' mutton sleeves, but somehow it didn't look good - but this small is perhaps a bit too small. So I'm thinking about adding a frill that would cover the puffed part; something like the beautiful Nance O'Neil is wearing here:

And maybe I'll replace the silk with another fabric. And maybe I'll put a bit of pretty lace over the frill. Not sure yet. In any case, I need to make a standing collar. I'm wavering whether to add some steel boning or not... we shall see about that.

30. 1. 2016
No progress whatsoever :-) I'm not feeling so well still thanks to the amount of medication I have to take, so I'd like to apologise to everybody to whom I haven't replied yet - if the meds don't kill me, I will reply soon.

What it looks like so far:

The back, which I like very much, because it looks the way I wanted it to so far; it's still missing the decorative corset lacing and a bit of braiding.

The front. As you can see, only the cuffs of the sleeves are braided yet, so it feels kind of bare to me... and those sleeves. Sigh. Sleevils is more like it. Too narrow, too long and the puffed part's too small and a bit plain.

The braiding on the sleeve - my sis drew the pattern based on one we found on the net, I stitched it on with silk thread. *fingers crossed it doesn't snap*

Detail of the front

What are you girls and guys working on? Let me know in the comments!:-)

      I've come to call this bonnet The Vinnetou Bonnet in secret because I keep watching the Vinnetou and Old Shatterhand movies as I work on it (RIP Pierre Brice:-(  ) - but when my sister learnt that, she said it's very cool and so it's its official name now:-D
      I'm trying out the stiff fabric/netting and wire method of making a base frame here and so far I'm very happy about it - opens up so many possibilities! This bonnet is a belated Christmas present for my sis and it is from some 70% her design - I initially meant to make something rather simple like the last velvet bonnet (as this started as a commission that was eventually put on hold and simplicity was the customer's wish), so when my sis brought me her sketch of what she'd like, my knees wobbled a bit. The crown and the tip are going to be complicated... but it's gonna be an interesting challenge.

The journey of one bonnet

The first steps:

Transferring the pattern - I made a mockup for the last bonnet using toilet paper, but as it was frail, I had to trace it onto something sturdier The brim cut out and the binding pinned on

The crown cut out and the binding sewn on

Mockup - but I actually like it this way and so does sis - so she asked me to make one for her like that for summer, haha:-)

The outer brim covered in black cotton velvet - in real life it's beautifully matte and intense black

      I'm covering the inner side of the brim with ruched velvet at the moment, but it goes slowly because I'm busy and sick - still I hope to start on the crown soon. Pintucks. On velvet. Gulp.

      On another note: I wish you all just the best to the new year 2016 - and cliche as it is, health and luck most of all.