What...happened? 2017 Review, and 2018 Goals

2017 was not a good sewing year for me, and I need to figure out why.

Let's go through the projects I started (or continued from a previous year), shall we?  Maybe I will feel better, since it feels like I barely finished anything...to the point of someone on the HSM FB group asking to share the project you are the most proud of from last year, and my mind was coming up blank.  

It was suggested I should be proud of this outfit
....I'm not so sure.

HSM 2018...plots and thoughts

It almost didn't happen--but the denizens of the Facebook group prodded us (the Moderators) until the ball got rolling...then it kinda happened by itself, and we just had to organize.  And finalize descriptions, which was actually kinda tricky.  But we did it, and so there will be another year...and hopefully many more, so long as participants remain excited.

Enough of that...  For my few readers who are not familiar with it, the Historical Sew Monthly is a series of sewing challenges or prompts for Historical Costuming, which you have to finish (NOT start) within two months of the deadline.  You can participate in many, or only manage a couple!  For more information, go to the Dreamstress' overview/sign up page. 

HSM 2017! It's happening again! The plots thicken...

As you may have guessed by the title, the Historical Sew Monthly is happening again, and this is my second year helping run it--I'm quite looking forwards to it, although some of the challenges are giving me trouble.

For those who do not know, the challenge is to make or finish a historical (up until 1939) piece of clothing (or accessory) by the last day of that month, and is meant to support and encourage period methods.  The piece can be finished up to two months before that--meaning the January challenge could be finished as early as December.  The link to how it works can be found HERE, at the Dreamstress' page.

Projects of 2015, a Review

I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked last year--I had major motivation issues.  I found that when I work on a single project, I tend to maybe work on it for a couple of hours at a time, then set it up, having gotten tired of it--which really isn't too productive.; which means, when I have a project that takes a couple of months, my total number of projects goes down drastically.  I can say that I finished a couple of major projects, at least.

This year, I will try the opposite--work on multiple projects at a time, with varying (or no) deadlines, and discuss my planned projects for 2016 (although planned is such a strong word...hoped for would be better).  But to start, I will go over everything I remember making this year.



A pair of Norse shoes, based on the Oseburg 303s.  They look terrible.  In part this is because of the leather, but also because I made them for winter wear--to wear over multiple layers of socks--so they are somewhat loose.
11 hours of construction time, and many, many more patterning.

14th Century Suit: A start

This is a (almost) completely new period for me--I have a suit of 14th century Russian, but it bears little resemblance to the clothing being worn by the rest of Europe at the time--and have done a couple of odd pieces, but not the full outfit I've been dreaming of for years.  Recent posts by the blog Exploring the Medieval Hunt have inspired me to make my own outdoors ready outfit (it was mainly that awesome square hood style)...with winter ready layers and accessories.

While I started out by looking through medieval huntbooks, I soon moved away from them--the ones I could find were either too late, or too early for the style I had envisioned...a close fitting cotte (I eventually went through every image I could find from my chosen time of 1370).  In addition to the required hosen (either red or brown), I want one or two hoods.  The first, a simple pull over liripipe hood, and the second as a square mantled, fur lined hood.

And other Things: plotting a Transitional Frock Coat.

Historically Accurate?  No, not so much.  I do, however, need an outlet, where I do not have to worry about documenting nearly everything.  Steampunk(ish) things are that outlet as--even if there are no local events--I can wear the clothes daily without attracting stares (more or less, anyways).  In this case, while watching the 10th Kingdom, I noted one of the coats being worn by Wolf--a shortish (low thigh length) frock coat, in blue velvet or corduroy (no good screenshots available).  Of course, this immediately got my gears grinding, whether I wanted them to or not.  In addition, I ran across this image...



Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.  1818.
I just discovered this painting, and love it!