MLS Designs

Yesterday, while revelling in piles and piles of books, I was reminded about out upcoming trip to Tolethorp to see an open air Shakespeare play in Elizabethan kit... it's the Saturday after the demo!
So, this morning I dug out my kirtle from the naughty corner, where it has been since Easter, and lugged out Patterns of Fashion and the Tudor Tailor, opened up my Elizabethan bookmarks and got stuck in. Luckily, it's time in the naughty corner did it good, and I now have something that looks like a dress!
If you need proof, ( just look under the cut... )

I'm trying to juggle Elizabethan sewing (not just the kirtle, a hat and caul, and maybe, if I feel up to it, some kind of loose gown ... I have some exciting (I think!) plans, in that line!), bustle planning, and dressmaking, and it's going well so far!

Last night was spent poring over books and coming up with a bustle plan for the demo (including, naturally, a fabulous hat!) and I've got another Sorbetto top all pinned and ready to go tomorrow! I've also taken some photos of the inside of one of my dresses that I'm so proud of! ( They're under hear. )

Right, now it's time for bed, loooads to do tomorrow!

Here we have some photos of the clothes I've been making lately! I've been obsessed lately with lots of sewing and vintage blogs, and just can't help myself, there are so many ideas swimming round my head. Anyway, ( follow me to see what I've been up to... )
Yesterday we went to the market, (where I found some more lovely fabrics!) and ran several errands, so we were exhausted when we got home, and that, on top of Wednesday's set striking, left me good for nothing but a nap!

I've now finally decided that it's time to rearange my sewing space. When we moved in, the little room off the kitchen was my sewing room, and we put in a sofa to make it comfy. Over the three years we've been here the three of us have spent nearly all our time sat on the sofa in my 'sewing room', only using the sitting room for company. So I used to do a lot of my sewing in the dining room, and really struggled to get in clear when we had guests and needed to actually use it as a dining room! Last Autumn we had a conservatory built, that is now our dining room, so I have unoficially moved into the old dining room. It still has the piano in it, and half of my sewng things (including my bookcase, the linen press with most of my fabric, and the table I used to have for my sewing machine) are still in the old sewing room, but all this is going to change! I'm about to start the arduous task of sorting all my sewing stuff from the two rooms so that we can move the furniture around and finally get me all in one place! Ikea shelf units need to bought as well, but for the moment, I'm sorting piles and bags of accumulated crap into boxes ready to go on the shelves! Needless to say, dressmaking is taking a back seat for a few days!

One day left, with a matinee and an evening performance, but at least by this time tomorrow they'll be over, then strike the set, and I'm freeeee :)
I've been squeezing a bit of sewing in here and there, I made a summery top this morning before going into work in the afternoon, but I can't wear it yet because I have to wear black as I'm back stage :(
Oh the plans I have brewin! I want to sew while I still have the urge!!

We both woke up this morning not really in the mood to go out, and the weather forcast was not at all good, so we decided not to go to the reenactment. We might still go tomorrow, but probably not, we're really enjoying a do-nothing weekend for a change!
Since we weren't going out, I got to do some play sewing :) I've been looking at lots of sewing blogs lately, especially vintage inspired ones, and have been taken by a bit of a refashioning bug, and not having any costuming deadlines has let me spend some time making modern clothes! I've so far turned a thrifted man's button down shirt into a summery skirt (of course, it was stupidly cold and rained the day I wore it to work this week!) and another one into a tunic top, although it still needs something to give it a bit more shape through the underbust.
Today I threw myself into apron making! I found several pretty patterns and tutorials on the web, and ( made these two this afternoon... )
Tomorrow I shall be wearing one of the aprons while I attempt to whip up a batch of Mars bar brownies (Milky ways to those of you over the pond) and then I expect I'll also do some more dressmaking, I still have several shirts to cut up, not to mention several patterns for skirts I want to try :D