Hello,

I've been watching this community for several weeks and have been reading through the old posts durring down-times at work.  My sewing skills are somewhere between beginner and intermediate, and I follow directions pretty well so I think I can do this.  I've started to amass supplies to make a mock-up which I'd like to get started on this weekend.  Once I see that it's something with in my grasp I'll buy good materials and give it a go.

I've got one question before I get started.  I've bought the Simplicity pattern 9769 and have read through the directions.  One of the first things it says is to measure the pattern before cutting out the pieces.  What exactly am I measuring?  Just the basic bust-waist-hips or do I need something more than that?  Also, if you've used this pattern before am I taking an underbust mesurement or one straight accross the nipples? (not that it's a big difference on me! lol) 
Oh, also, I'm fairly tall at 5'10" can someone with experience on this pattern tell me if it's going to be long enough, or will I need to expect length-fiddling right off the bat?

Thanks for your help!
Emma

Hello! I am new to this community but am an old fan of steampunk.
I've been working on the article on the history of steampunk and there's one question that needs to be cleared up. So, I hope somebody here might help me with it. The question is simple: can we name certain individual who introduced brass goggles in steampunk art or it's just the product of "collective conscience"?
Thanks in advance. :)

Safe to view, but slightly adult (on topic) content in this online comic...

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp03122010.shtml

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I just realized I hadn't updated after that last post about heading back to the doc. Good news: no more prednisone for me for a while. Bad news: There's not really anything else he can do. I've seen him for allergy-related stuff more than three times in the last 5 months. Good news: I'm referred to an allergist and it's the good allergist as opposed to the rather quacky quack that I saw years ago. The doc who's reputation in town is such that my doc doesn't even want his records, and to refresh your memory, my doc read through my three inch file before seeing me and he bases his practice on evidence-based medicine.

I hope this works. Like, a lot. I can't exercise with this shit going on as I'd like to do.

Last night was knit night so I went out and had among other things Cracker Barrel for dinner, which is entirely the fault of a thread over on LSG that induced a desire for chicken-fried steak. While out I picked up a useful workbook for calculus. Wouldn't it be hilarious if I teach myself enough Calcuus to CLEP out of a semester? I would laugh, I admit. And as those who've met me in public know, mine is an evil laugh.

So far a good morning with only one dull spot - B donated money to participate in a fundraiser breakfast at work. Someone stole money from that fundraiser and miscounted by, um, very many people, so not only is the impact of the money he gave lessened but he ended up with a single, blank biscuit for his pains, bought by the distributing person (not involved with the money). It is generally held that if the person who usually does the organization for this event had been able to do so, this would not have happened because she's also taken care of the money in previous years. I hope that the conclusion about this year's money person is incorrect and it's a simple counting error but evidence appears to point elsewhere.

It's going to be a beautiful, sunny day here. We'll be out in it at some point - it's already 52F so I'm sure it'll hit within the 60s shortly. YAY, VITAMIN D! :D It may make the mold bloom some more but at least I'm armed with albuterol! Tomorrow I'll mail off the socks for my sister and the hat for Daddy. And also the freakin' Christmas present for peppermintelf which is now ridiculously overdue. Dang.

Jennylafleur.com is back up. I had to pay an exorbitant amount of money (that I didn't really have *sigh*) to fix it but it is back up. I don't feel like going into it now but let's just say Powweb went from a very happy customer to an extremely unhappy soon-to-be-former customer.

In brighter news we are finally getting some spring weather, which apart from making me a little homesick for my beloved San Diego is so nice! I love sunshine I really do.

I'm still haunting the mailbox awaiting my Shipwreck Bead order. Finished up my sketches for the Gala dress though and will post about the project later today. In the meantime I have some errands to run and some commissions that need attention...

I picked up a couple bargains at Half Price Books the other day.  Among them was a 1971 crewel and embroidery manual which included the following claim on the back cover:



It amuses me.  Clearly, this is not only the greatest, but the only embroidery book ever produced, ever.

It almost makes me want to try to find the one stitch they didn't include.  But it is very comprehensive!

I suppose there's no polite way of saying this: I'm dipping my toe in the whole costuming/alternative clothing business and here I am trying to show off my wares.

It all started when a friend of my did a scribbling, which got made into a coat and there were so many consequent compliments that we thought that the enough people want one that we could try selling them. Long story short, here's the coat. We did in blue and in red. 

What do you think? 
 
 


( More photos under the fake cut )

The duchess of Sutherland and Lady Rosabelle Erskine
( Under the cut due to size.... )

Happy Birthday Alison!

Name of journal: purplepups 
Layout Style: Flexible Squares
Basic, Paid or Plus: Paid
Problem you are having: Sidebar or header is making the body out of line and footer is in the wrong spot. 
Thanks so much for your help (: 
( Read more... )

Ok,
I cannot go to this as I will be rangling people at Dragon con on their alternative history track (http://www.chronotrack.org/) on the weekend where this would be in my area. But...

I have a cunning plan for you the internet collective of like-minded humans.



I want to see five groups of Steampunk fans one in each city trying to take flight.
http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/
Just think about how epic it could be if we had a group in each city!
Think about it:
"Red Bull Flugtag challenges teams of everyday people to build homemade, human-powered flying machines and pilot them off a 30-foot high deck in hopes of achieving flight! Flugtag may mean "flying day" in German, but all these crafts ultimately splash into the waters below. They are judged not only on their flight's distance, but creativity and showmanship as well."

This event was made for us to show off and win at! Also it is a great event to stage a meet up at and have a huge crowd cheer you on! We could even set it up where each team is in a friendly competition with one another and the one group that gets the longest out wins a small prize. It could be are very own Steampunk Flugtag flying olympics. I will give the winning team who flies the longest distance a prize: some odds and ends of BPAL, every copy of Steampunk Tales (http://www.steampunktales.com/) to date and a gold metal (Not real gold). But for that we need to have five teams, one in each city going for this.

So what do you say? Are you in? Will you take this chance to make great outfits, make great contraptions to fly and win the glory of flight and the gold of the Steampunk Flugtag Flying Olympics?
You say yes, five teams get together I will make a blog thing up to keep track of it all online (http://steampunkflyingolympics.blogspot.com/ .

So who's in or am I crazy?

Please forgive me if this is an over-asked question, I'm quite new to the community.

I'm trying to figure out the world of corsetry just a bit. I'm looking to buy an under-bust corset, for wearing under clothing not over it, to get just a bit of waist reduction and smoothing for certain, really victorian-looking outfits.

I know of Timeless Trends, and am seriously considering them. I've heard they run shorter, and I'm a little nervous about that because I'm long torsoed despite being short. I also saw a seamstress on Etsy, who has very reasonable pricing. Her shop is White Willow, by innerversion, anyone ever tried her corsets? how did you like them? Any other recommendations, keeping in mind that under $200 is an absolute must for my budget?

Also, I've not ever tried to get reduction from a corset before, is two or three inches too big of a goal for an absolute beginner at tight-lacing? I'm a little worried about comfort because I'm a 25" hoping to go 22-23" and there's not much in the way extra, squishable padding bits there to begin with. I mean, it doesn't sound like a lot of difference but when skirt is two inches too small is does feel really noticeable. XD

Look Self, I know that it's late, and you just go home from a hard night rocking out, and you're absolutely starving and all, but should you seriously be considering those french fries in the freezer? It's after bloody midnight for goodness sake....

Hello? Why is the oven on? Fine, you're obviously not listening to me...

I bought these the other day when they were on sale for $5 (and still had my size!). Even though they have a zipper on the inside (I'm thinking for steampunk so not too worried about the zipper), they are rather cute. It was also hard to say no to $5 Victorian-esque shoes.

I got them today and they fit perfectly! It was a bit tight in one shoe but I also had thick socks on and hadn't fiddled with the laces so I'm not worried. I was actually surprised by how stable the heel is on them. They were extremely easy to walk around in.

So, new shoes for me! Woohoo!

The heel flap is started! I think I'm going to need to make it a little longer than I thought, but that's average for these so far. Good notes are important!

When I'm done with this one, I need to get back to work on the Williamsburg dress. It's so close! Pleat skirt. Sew on. Make petticoat. I'm still going to make myself work on the stockings every day though. At least a row! I don't want to lose interest and end up with one stocking :)

And it's windy. Icky windy. I don't like wind. And Koshka and Petunia are refusing to come in from the patio. They'll blow away!

is insanely crazy. Like everything that didn't have a deadline is suddenly due at the end of the month. Like I said, CRAZY!

Going to volunteer at the annual antique fair at the museum I've been working at. Dinner afterwards with my friend's family for her grandmas birthday. She doesn't bring out her cantankerous side if someone outside of the family is there, so I'm there as a buffer for everyone's sake.

I'll try to get the other side of the corset grommets in tomorrow after work. Then it's just busk, bones, and binding!