A couple more

I'm on a bow tie rampage.  Two more have joined the flock.

 Orange with swirls!  Definitely one for my youngest son!

Mottled charcoal gray.  Kind of classy!

New bow ties

A couple more bow ties have joined the stash.

 A dark slightly metallic brocade.

And purple crushed velvet.  Because everyone needs a purple velvet bow tie.  Right?

Burgundy shantung.

A few new offerings

I have been absent too long!  Gardening and home renovations have kept me out of the sewing room over the summer.  But I've been busy recently.

 Above, my son models his brown wool frock coat I recently finished.

 A vest for my future son-in-law (I'm so not used to that phrase!)  It needed many modifications to my usual pattern since he is 6' 6" tall.

And my first bow tie.  I had to order the hardware since no one around here carries it.

I;m hoping to be posting here with more regularity but we'll see....

The Dowager

The last of the photos from this weekend.

Yup, this is me.

I cannot take credit for the shirt.  I was frantically trying to finish the shirt for this outfit the morning of the shoot but didn't make it in time.

The Socialite

More photos from the weekend.  Here my model M wears the lovely purple walking skirt and bolero.

Sadly, the rain made for a very soggy train on the back of that skirt.

The Mechanic

Another look that was photographed yesterday.

Model J as the mechanic, ready to get things done!

Gathered skirt, three-quarter length sleeve button front blouse, underbust vest with buckles. And goggles... you gotta have goggles.

The Adventuress

We had our first photo shoot today.  Sadly, the weather did not cooperate as it was pouring rain all day.  I won't complain too much because we badly need the moisture, but it did put a damper on our adventures. Three of my models and I braved the weather and headed to two locations downtown for photos.  I'll share them bit by bit so you can see each outfit.
First, Justine as The Adventuress, freshly back from safari!

Tomorrow

Whew! So much to do, so little time...  so, of course, I'm on the computer.
Tomorrow is the very first ever Dreams of Empires photo shoot with a few of my models. I've still got lots to do to get ready so I'd better get a move on!

Something new

A little something new.

 A black gathered skirt with ruffle and an under-bust vest with buckles.

I'm pleased with the vest since I invented the pattern myself.

I'm on Facebook!

Good afternoon all!  Taking a break from the current project to let you know that Dreams of Empires is now on Facebook.  Check it out here!
I hope to have a custom website up sometime in April so stay tuned for further developments!  At that time I'll have items available for purchase or will do custom orders.

Oh, and photos soon of the latest outfit.

Nearly finished

I've been working on a new jacket pattern.  The prototype is nearly done.  I like it so much I may be wearing this to work.

What do you think?  It is made of a washable, tooled suedecloth.
It still looks a bit rough as it needs hemmed and a final pressing.  And it fits better on me than it does on the dress form (since the form is currently sized for one of my models).

Ladies vest

I whipped up this little gem this weekend (after recovering from the flu and finishing the last jacket).  It is destined for Justine to coordinate with her walking skirt.

The collar and pocket welts are the same fabric as her skirt and the patterned fabric is, amazingly enough, some cotton I had in my quilting stash. Not bad for a day's work.  But I do need to get a better photo.

For the military gentleman

My darling husband.  So accommodating even though I had him model this while still wearing his jammies.  15 button lined jacket.  I had originally planned for 22 buttons but the layout looked odd on the short jacket.  But this leaves plenty of room for insignia and medals for the war hero.

Another walking skirt with jacket

I love three day weekends.  Even though I had plenty of other things to do (including being out of town all Sunday afternoon and evening) I was able to complete another outfit.  This one is a walking skirt that has a bit of a train to it and a matching bolero/jacket.
What do you think?

 It is a lovely purple with black lining and trim on the jacket.

 The train in the back is only about 3 inches.

A close-up of the jacket.  I can't take credit for the lace blouse except that it is from my closet.
This is for one of my models. I do hope she likes it.

Walking Skirt

Last night I finished the Victorian Walking Skirt I was making for Justine.  She says it's very comfortable.

 From the front

 and back.  There are insets between the gores to make it more full as well as a box pleat in the back.

 And from the side.  I think the next one will have a slight train to it.

And finally, a gratuitous cat photo.  But I can see that I need to dust the treadle table.

Skirt with bustle

I finally had time to finish the skirt I started over the New Year's break from work. I'm rather pleased with it.

It is a rusty-red shantung skirt with ruffle, overskirt and flounces on the side.  The bustle is detachable and the bustle and flounces have black contrasting lining.

This is my favorite of the few photos we took.  Too bad the flash didn't go off.  I'll be sure to get better photos when it isn't dark and 20 degrees outside.  I'll also need to get some from the back so you can see the bustle better.

The Models have Tea

My darling daughter has collected a few of her friends who are willing to serve as models for me.  So, today, most of them converged on our home for tea.  My ulterior motive was to get their measurements to make sure I was making things that would fit.  They were also able to look through patterns and tell me what kind of looks they would like to model.

 Of course, they also had some fun with things already here:

Above, S is wearing Vernon's smoking jacket and Karl's fez. Quite the combo.  But he definitely needs a different shirt underneath.
All in all, much shortbread, scones and apple tart was consumed along with several pots of tea.  A grand time was had by all.