I'm back with a finished garment at last

[HenriettaMaria]

Hello everyone - long time no see

I left my job ("retired") at the end of February with the intention of decluttering the house, reducing the fabric stash and not buying new clothes until the stash was reduced!  Then the virus happened (so very little on the to-do list happened and what did took an *age*).  I took the decision to withdraw from all forums at the start of lockdown for the sake of my mental equanimity and promised myself that I wouldn't come back onto this one until I had something to show for it.  So I dived into the stash and came up with some chambray-like cotton, some milk-white vyella and a couple of cotton checks, which seemed like just the job.  I ordered a couple of patterns and started with Vogue V8689.  My local John Lewis being shut I turned to Empress Mills for notions and rang them up to request a thread-wrapped shade card.  Net result was a three-week lead time to get thread and Vilene.  Then I discovered I had no suitable buttons.  Waited for JLP to open and went button shopping.  Got some but they in the end didn't float my boat (but they'll be fine for some of the other fabrics).

Meantime, MiL died (heart, not covid) in June so the three siblings, assisted by me and the lad, have been clearing 65 years of clutter.  In there we happened upon MiL's mother's sewing box (granny died in the mid-90's) and in there was a little card of tinted pearl shirt buttons that did the job, so today I got it finished.  This is the result.

In the declutter I found lots of oddments and offcuts.  My friend gifted me an industrial quantity of white cotton tape, inherited from a laundry-running ancestor, so I turned the offcuts into bunting and now have 60 or 70 metres ready to go for either VJ Day or the first opportunity we have to get together with our re-enactor buddies, whenever that may be.

Finally, I have, like most of you no doubt, been making face masks.  I used prettyhandygirl's pattern as a basis but amended it to my liking.  Again, materials ordered from Empress and again, a three-week lead time.  If nothing else it teaches us to be Zen!

[Efemera]

Nice to have you back... and nice shirt.

[Surest1tch]

How lovely to see you again @HenriettaMaria, welcome back. Love the blouse/shirt.

[Renegade Sewist]

Great shirt @HenriettaMaria . Job well done.

Congratulations on retirement. Condolences for the family loss.

On to new business. What sort of reenacting are you involved in? I'm sure it's likely very different from what goes on here. And all this bunting you say. We'll be needing a photo of course even if it's all just in a pile.

And remember you don't need a special occasion for bunting. String it up! 

[HenriettaMaria]

What sort of reenacting are you involved in? I'm sure it's likely very different from what goes on here. And all this bunting you say. We'll be needing a photo of course even if it's all just in a pile.

British Civil Wars for me (hence my user name!).  I've been doing it as part of the Sealed Knot for 36 years.  Strictly, my unit is Irish and Royalist insofar as they were fighting the King's cause in Scotland until they were all wiped out at the Battle of Philliphaugh when they were surprised by the Covenanter troops returning after giving Prince Rupert a pasting at the Battle of Marston Moor.  In practise, we take the field on whatever side we're needed since our unit never fought in England but most large battles take place on English bank holiday weekends.  I'm also involved in the admin side of things and do the invoicing for events (not that there's been much of that to do this year    )

We've been to Virginia twice to re-enact English battles with US re-enactors, both times at the Museum of American Frontier Culture at Staunton.  I recall that the second time we went was around the time Princess Di & Mother Theresa both died - 1997?  I'm still in touch with a few of the American friends we made then.  I do find that most of them spread themselves across 16th, 17th and sometimes 18th centuries although ACW enthusiasts tend to stick to that and that alone.  We were supposed also to be in Memmingen, Bavaria a couple of weeks ago for a 30 years war festival but that, like everything else has been deferred, sadly.

I make all the clothing apart from hosiery and leather items for my family.  I took an evening course in pattern cutting in the early 90's to facilitate this although I notice that nowadays there are more vendors of period patterns than there were when I first engaged in this hobby.  I also developed a pattern for a Scots blue bonnet based on the Tudor cap in the Plimoth Plantation knitting book, which my friend at Historical Caps now turns out in industrial quantities and even supplies to the movie industry (eg, Outlander).

It's forecast to be sunny tomorrow - I may peg the bunting up in the back garden and get a photo of it for you!