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Still plugging away on the Blood Red gown, though I haven't made as much progress as I'd like, I'm still making progress and that's really what's important to me right now. Regardless, I'm not letting the looming date of Halloween put me in a frenzy of sewing where I'll compromise quality to have it done, as I have with this gown before. I've had to undo so much that I did wrong because of that before. All in all, I'm going to be much happier with the result this time than I would have been had I finished it in a hurry two years ago.
Unfortunately, I haven't made any forward motion on gathering items for Jonah's costume either, though. I need to pick a day next week to drag him around town to do just that. Luckily there's a strip of Charlotte Pike that has like 3 or 4 thrift stores within a mile or two of each other and I should be able to gather most of the stuff there. Other than that, a trip to Party City for some beard hair (wonder if the new one on Charlotte is open yet, that would be awesome) and a trip to Michael's or somewhere similar for some felt and that should do it.
Thursday night I joined some of the lovely ladies of the Nashville Smial of the Tolkien Society and the LOTR Tennessee Fellowship to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I would LOVE an opulent Elizabethan gown, but my skills are no where near there yet. Her armor was fantastic too! Definitely a drool worthy watch. It was fantastic to meet some of the local Tolkien fans as well. I look forward to so many more outings with them all!
I registered for A Long Expected Party and they'll be receiving my deposit check shortly. So now, I'm looking in my stash to see what pieces of costumes I have and what I can attempt to get done in the next year for that. I'd also like one or two outfits to wear to the Ren Faire in May that do not have trains (I couldn't bear dragging silks through all that dust and dirt, or if we're unlucky, mud). I've got one meager piece of the Chase outfit (just the lace for the collar, that still needs to be stripped of it's red and overdyed with grey). Another one I thought about was the Shieldmaiden. It's something I wouldn't have to wear a wig for which is fantastic, especially if it happens to be hot. And although I'd really love to have Galadriel's Mirror gown done by next September, I just don't see it happening, not within the budget I have to work with anyway. Perhaps if I get enough Christmas money to pay for the beaded/embroidered fabric from Bindu, I could pull it off. But then I'd want to make the crown and the brooch and such and I'm not sure my soldering and cutting skills will be up to par. I think I could pull off the brooch, even already have the mother-of-pearl disc(s), but the crown intimidates me. I suppose I could always do without the crown for now though. I also have an "inspired by" idea that will turn out to look similar to the triad of Arwen jumper gowns in ROTK. I've got that overgown I dyed that turned out not dark enough for the Blood Red gown, but it really is a lovely shade of dark blue/navy with a purplish cast. Bindu has this gorgeous ivory/gold/silver brocade that I'd love to pair it with and Dinesh has a lovely jacquard trim in similar colors that could be beaded. That same trim is what I thought I'd get if I decide to try a Starry Mantle. That would be another sort of simple Eowyn gown I could try to have done for ALEP. The Victory gown would be another trainless one to try, but not cheap and not easy (with those raglan sleeves). Of course there's the Refugee, but I've just never been very drawn to that one. As far as what I already have on hand, all I need are lining and trims for the Angel gown and it can be done. I think I might need more muslin as well, and that goes for anything I attempt unless I've already got a pattern worked out somewhere.
So, there's a lot of "maybes" in that list. I guess I need to look at what I really want, what I already have and what I think I can do and/or afford. I don't want to make a long list of unattainable goals. But first, to finish the one at hand. . .
Unfortunately, I haven't made any forward motion on gathering items for Jonah's costume either, though. I need to pick a day next week to drag him around town to do just that. Luckily there's a strip of Charlotte Pike that has like 3 or 4 thrift stores within a mile or two of each other and I should be able to gather most of the stuff there. Other than that, a trip to Party City for some beard hair (wonder if the new one on Charlotte is open yet, that would be awesome) and a trip to Michael's or somewhere similar for some felt and that should do it.
Thursday night I joined some of the lovely ladies of the Nashville Smial of the Tolkien Society and the LOTR Tennessee Fellowship to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I would LOVE an opulent Elizabethan gown, but my skills are no where near there yet. Her armor was fantastic too! Definitely a drool worthy watch. It was fantastic to meet some of the local Tolkien fans as well. I look forward to so many more outings with them all!
I registered for A Long Expected Party and they'll be receiving my deposit check shortly. So now, I'm looking in my stash to see what pieces of costumes I have and what I can attempt to get done in the next year for that. I'd also like one or two outfits to wear to the Ren Faire in May that do not have trains (I couldn't bear dragging silks through all that dust and dirt, or if we're unlucky, mud). I've got one meager piece of the Chase outfit (just the lace for the collar, that still needs to be stripped of it's red and overdyed with grey). Another one I thought about was the Shieldmaiden. It's something I wouldn't have to wear a wig for which is fantastic, especially if it happens to be hot. And although I'd really love to have Galadriel's Mirror gown done by next September, I just don't see it happening, not within the budget I have to work with anyway. Perhaps if I get enough Christmas money to pay for the beaded/embroidered fabric from Bindu, I could pull it off. But then I'd want to make the crown and the brooch and such and I'm not sure my soldering and cutting skills will be up to par. I think I could pull off the brooch, even already have the mother-of-pearl disc(s), but the crown intimidates me. I suppose I could always do without the crown for now though. I also have an "inspired by" idea that will turn out to look similar to the triad of Arwen jumper gowns in ROTK. I've got that overgown I dyed that turned out not dark enough for the Blood Red gown, but it really is a lovely shade of dark blue/navy with a purplish cast. Bindu has this gorgeous ivory/gold/silver brocade that I'd love to pair it with and Dinesh has a lovely jacquard trim in similar colors that could be beaded. That same trim is what I thought I'd get if I decide to try a Starry Mantle. That would be another sort of simple Eowyn gown I could try to have done for ALEP. The Victory gown would be another trainless one to try, but not cheap and not easy (with those raglan sleeves). Of course there's the Refugee, but I've just never been very drawn to that one. As far as what I already have on hand, all I need are lining and trims for the Angel gown and it can be done. I think I might need more muslin as well, and that goes for anything I attempt unless I've already got a pattern worked out somewhere.
So, there's a lot of "maybes" in that list. I guess I need to look at what I really want, what I already have and what I think I can do and/or afford. I don't want to make a long list of unattainable goals. But first, to finish the one at hand. . .
