Wednesday, February 23, 2011

It's Alive!

The sewing machine has been revived, and for no more expense than the cost of an annual tune-up!  While I definitely should have been oiling throughout the tent project, apparently I didn't push it beyond repair!

I can pick it up this week and will probably do so on Friday, after class and before going over to help with set-up at the Highland Games site.  Until I actually get it home and use it a little, I'll still be nervous.  This is good news though and I'm excited!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Back from Estrella...

Tired, sore, drowning in dirty laundry.  Also already working on lists of things to finish, fix or do differently for next event.  However, for now anyway...that's it.  I'm about ready for bed.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Ok, back on track and done whining and pouting . . .

I'm going to try saving the tent roof, though not until after Estrella.  I'll probably put it up on the frame and scrub it with soapy water and a push-broom, hose it down to rinse it.  If it can be saved, great.  If not, at least it's just the roof and a lot less effort to re-make than what the walls would be.  Either way, I'll have a somewhat less modern-looking tent in the very near future.

Meanwhile, I finished off a couple more garb pieces last night and this morning.  Chris has two brand new shirts, one dark green, one navy blue.  He's excited about them.  I actually saw him light up when he saw the dark green one.  He really loves the color.

I had tried to pick a pattern that would be similar to his purchased shirt, from Highlands War.  This one is ok, except for one thing.  His purchased shirt had actual set-in sleeves - modern style with armholes cut into the body of the shirt.  The pattern is just a straight rectangle for the body, with the straight sleeve 'cap' - very flat cap - sewn onto the side in a straight seam.  It put the gathers of the sleeve about half-way to his elbow.  It didn't look right and he did not care for it, though he was trying so hard not to tell me that, my poor sweetie.  I took the sleeves back out late yesterday, freehand cut armholes, and set the sleeves in modern-style.  The sleeves are up at his shoulders and it looks so much better on him.  The IL019 linen feels so nice.  He's going to get a lot of good out of these shirts.  Now that I know how to make the pattern do what I want it to do, it should work great for the two off-white shirts that are cut and waiting.

So, on that note, I'm back to packing and cleaning up and getting ready to get out of here bright and early tomorrow morning.  Look out Estrella - here I come!

Sad...

For all the effort, all the time, the tent is not usable.

Apparently, the canvas is not really cotton.  Applying a waterproofing product for cotton to non-cotton canvas results in a smelly, never-drying disaster.

Fortunately, I only waterproofed the roof.  The walls are ok.  I'll just have to make a new roof.

That won't happen in time for Estrella, so I guess I'll be using my First-Up pop-up as a tent one more time.

The disappointment is really, really intense.  My elbow is hurting from the abuse of sewing that thing, and now I can't even use it.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Waterproofing sucks...

That about sums it up.

IT'S DONE!!!

It's not perfect, but it's something much better...DONE!

Yup, the tent is finished, at least as far a sewing is concerned.  Well, I'll add some ties to the doors/doorways, after I take it back down off of the frame from waterproofing, but that hardly counts considering all that has gone into this tent until now!

Pictures?  There will be some, if not this weekend then after Estrella is done and I'm back home. 

Was it worth it?  Yes.

I won't do it again.  I'll buy one if I ever need a new one.  Panther Primitives seems to have a nice selection, they have the equipment and the staff, and I think that it would be worth it, though not cheap.  So someday, they may get my business, but for now, I've made this one and I'm going to use it.

If I could have known some things in advance, I'd have done some things differently, but nothing major.  I didn't know, back when I bought the canvas, that I had access to so many people willing to answer questions through the various Atenveldt Yahoo groups.  I should have, but I didn't.  They actually did help enough that I am not sure this would have happened without their help.  If I had known to ask them earlier, I'd have gone ahead and bought the Sunforger, but what I have will be fine.

I can't even think what else I'd do differently, I'm so numbed I guess, from shoving those yards of canvas through the machines, over and over and over.  Every flat-felled seam is at least triple stitched.  The loops are canvas wrapped around nylon belting and they were stitched 4 times, full length, before I started attaching them to the tent. 

I'd love to have enough time left to attach an inner valance, so that the ties to the frame would be hidden between the outer and inner valances.  Maybe I can add that later.  I'd still like to have a separate set of inner walls, something in a color, maybe a nice home-dec fabric with a woven design.  I had looked at several a couple weeks back, but that was an expense that I couldn't justify right now.

For today, have to get the tent on the frame and get the waterproofing sprayed on, help Jim finish attaching the floor and uprights on the trailer, finish up myriad garb details, start loading the van, packing stuff...it's going to be a long two days before I get out of here on Monday morning. 

Monday, February 7, 2011

Yes, I really did...

... kill a sewing machine.  Well, it was dead for my use in the studio.  Whether or not the repairman at the store can revive it remains to be seen.

But the tent goes on...and on...and on... and... ...

Forty yards of fabric does not become a tent without a whole lot of wrestling the elephant under the presser foot.  It will be nice when it is finished, but it is highly unlikely that I'll ever do anything like this again.  As much as I'd love to have a real period pavilion, that won't happen until I can afford to buy one, maybe someday.

A few more hours on the tent yet, though it would have been done this afternoon, had not I been asked to substitute for my boss who was and is, unfortunately, home sick.  Still it wasn't all bad.  I enjoyed her students.  I was also already in central Phoenix, so I was close to where the sad sewing machine needed to go, so it's there and I won't have to worry about getting there on some other day.

I think that I'll work on garb for what's left of today.  My neck and shoulders are appreciating the break from the tent.  I have 4 shirts, one doublet (or two), a couple of chemises, a couple more gowns (I hope) to sew.  I also need to finish the hem on a couple of wool/polar fleece coats and put some snaps on the front.  Time permitting, I'm going to try to cut out a very wide (8-9") leather belt and get it together too, for Chris.  He won't need it until after mid-week next week, so I may just cut it and stitch on it during quiet moments at war.

The goals list for War was probably ridiculously long, and I certainly won't have crossed off everything on it.  Still, what I've gotten done for this event will be there, ready to go, for future events.  I won't need to build a tent next time.  I'll have enough garb to get through a few days at a time.  My future efforts can be put towards completing my A&S 50 Challenge goal, maybe evening doing a full repeat, but with less stress and more time for embellishment and creativity and enjoying the process.  I managed some of that on the stuff I've been doing, and it did really wet my appetite for more.  That's a good thing, I think!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Follow up to previous post.....

Well, killing sewing machines is not exactly going to help me get the tent done, now is it?

Friday, February 4, 2011

The tent...

has a roof that fits!  Walls are in the works...I'm going to make it!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

When once again I actually have time for other things...

I've dreamed up a new project.  Yeah, right, like I really need another project.  But this one will be so fun.

I want to dig out my silk-painting supplies, stretch some silk and do a little painting.  What I want to paint is probably a bit unusual...maybe even just not normal.

I want to enlarge some of the images from the Manesse Codex and paint them on silk.  I think they would make fun banners for inside or outside of my tent.  The Luttrell Psalter might also be a good source of images for this project, but I really like some of the scenes in the Manesse Codex.

This is one of my favorites:




Ok, so I really don't need another new project....but I want one anyway!



.

And more...

I now have a fur-trimmed hat and matching fur muff complete with inside pocket to hold a hand warmer - yeah!  No more cold hands at fighter practice and Estrella should be a lot warmer too.

The hat is just a test run, about the 4th or 5th, but finished enough to wear and see how I like it.  I cut up a second-hand fur jacket to make the hat and have plenty left for at least a couple more hats plus another muff.  Actually, the muffs are fun since they're cut from the sleeves!  Just had to taper out the flare of the sleeve as it got widest at the underarm point.  Straight tube, easily stitched, lined in polar fleece...piece of cake.

The test-run hat before this one also got finished.  It's a faux fleece backed with faux suede, so the brim and the crown are all one section....sort of.  Anyway, it finished up kind of cute, just not quite as impressive as the wool crown with the wide fur band around it.  If I were to make another of the faux fleece, I'd cut the panels a lot longer, so that when I roll the band up, it is wider without using up too much of the crown.

My Very Warm Coat, wool lined in polar fleece is almost done, but not for fighter practice tonight.

I've got 3 gowns in the works.  A brown, e-bay store bought has been altered to fit somewhat better and trimmed so it looks much nicer than it first did.  The green gown, from the La Fleur de Lyse, 1150 Dame pattern is done except to have the trim hand-stitched in place.  Need to get that done as I really need my pins back!  A navy blue linen is also done except for trim stitching.  While the brown gown got a manufactured trim that actually looks pretty good for this purpose, the other two gowns are getting trim cut from actual fabrics.  From not too far away, they do look like trims, but were available, whereas good trims are so hard to find.  The trim for the brown gown came from SAS and I liked it so well that I bought a whole role, so I'll be able to trim several other pieces with it as well.

The tent is coming slowly, too slowly really, but I'll get it done somehow.  No way am I camping in a nylon dome ever again, if I can possibly avoid it.  The tent will get done.

Still have to get a hitch on my van as my camping gear has gotten to be just a bit much for my van.  As long as it's never more than me and one other person, I can manage, but if my son ever wants to take a friend, I won't be able to have a 3rd seat and still fit the stuff!

Estrella is sneaking up on me...nope, it's jumping out at me and yelling, "Hurry up, woman!  Move it."

As always, I'll do pictures when the cameras cooperate!