Chestita Baba Marta!

And Happy March 3 too! In Bulgaria, these two days really symbolize spring for me. March 1 brings lots of Martenitzas and March 3 is parades and concerts. Given that January and February have been bitterly cold and snowy, going to sleep last night to soft rain and waking up this morning to sunshine and warm temperatures really made my day.

I'm on the last day of a four day weekend for the March 3 holiday and I've spent the last three days sewing my fingers off. And that's almost literal. I haven't had sewing calluses on my thumb and forefinger in years, but I sure do now. I'm pleased to say my Saxon gown is done and ready to wear, including the blackworked undergown. Guy's doublet is done except for the buttonholes. his shirt is cut out, and his pluderhosen are half finished. I'm still not sure how I feel about the pluderhosen, but we'll see. That leaves Constanza's gown over the next three weeks. (I want all of this done for Crown Tournament.)

Since I've made such progress and because it's such a beautiful day, I took time for a walk up to Gotse Delchev square and I got there just in time for the band concert, which was lovely. After it was over I strolled home via the bakery, where they had just pulled the kozunak out of the over. Yum! I had that and a lettuce and radish salad for lumch. The lettuce was even home grown. Guess it really is spring!

My garden is looking pretty good. The snowdrops are done, but the crocus are in full bloom. The daffodils, narcissus, tulips, and hyacinths are reay to pop in a week or so, depending on how warm it stays. The peonies, foxgloves, and columbine are all up too and the clematis and roses are starting to leaf out. Bring on the spring!

Mom was right

The Saxon gown is progressing toward being wearable and I've actually got a photo.

First, a few caveats. I AM aware that modern aqua ribbon is not appropriate for lacing, but on a Sunday night in Bulgaria, you take what you can get to be able to take a picture. I'll be replacing it with black silk cord as soon as I have a chance to make some. Second, the breastband will eventually be couched and pearled, so use your imagination for the time being. Third - for Mom - you were right, as usual. This gown is based on the pattern from Reconstructing History and my plan was to make the high-necked version. My mother took one look at the pattern and said "you should make the low-necked gown. You wouldn't look good with that high collar." I drafted that version first and had to do a lot of re-cutting to get something that didn't make me look like a turtle peeking out of its shell. Oh well. I also have to say I did a lot of tailoring on the bodice, because I am really short waisted. I needed to take a good three inches off the length to have it sit at my waist and not my hips. I still think it was a good idea to start with the higher version, because I have small shoulders and the lower gown could be dangerous to wear in public!

This photo has the gown over an old cotton t-tunic, just so you can get a better idea of what the final dress will look like. Please imagine the sleeves tightly fitted to my arms and the puff & slashes just below the shoulder and at the elbows. It looks much better on a body that laid out on a bed.





I have a linen undergown cut out and blackwork almost finished for the collar and cuffs.





After that, I need to make a cap and this will be a complete outfit. Phew! That leaves me with two more sets of garb to do in the next six weeks. Excelsior!

Some progress on the Saxon gown

Last weekend was very productive in terms of getting things started, but the week since has been slowed by mundane things like work. For some reason, my job just eats up my (allegedly) free time. So, here's an update. My Saxon gown is cut out, the bodice is fitted (more on that later when I have photos), and the skirt is assembled and pleated. Then there are the sleeves. For some reason, I am hesitating horribly on slashing the panes. I think it is just the idea of cutting up something I've just worked so hard on sewing together as perfectly as possible. Plus, my OC self really needs to find a way to finish the cut edges, even though it doesn't look like they were finished in any way in period. Argh!

Since I was dithering on the slashing, I decided to work on the undergown instead. It has proven to be much more soothing. I charted out a blackwork pattern and have completely finished the collar and am halfway through one cuff. I should finish it tonight while I do laundry. That leaves the whole weekend open for cutting up those sleeves. Wish me luck!

Wet sheep

That's what my house smells like right now. I went on a binge last night and washed nearly all the wool fabric I bought in January. It's drying on every rack in the house - I live in Bulgaria, so no clothes dryers here! It's all destined for garb, so it needs washing before cutting, because I have a horror of shrunken garments. I'll wash the rest of it tonight. I spent the rest of last evening drafting patterns for a Saxon gown, which is the first item I'll be working on this weekend. I love weekends!

When I left the house this morning, I discovered more blooming posies. The snowdrops have been out for three weeks and are nearly finished. The primroses popped out about a week ago and this morning, the crocus are all out and blooming. I also noticed that the daffodils are up, the tulips are peeking out, and the daylilies are up nearly two inches. On the 6th of February. What's wrong with this picture??? The Ministry of Agriculture is predicting that in as soon as 10 years, we'll be a Mediterranean, rather than sub-Mediterrranean climate zone and that we'll be growing olives and lemons here.

Not Friday, Monday

I had hoped to get the apron in the mail on Friday, but a trip to Sofia interfered, so Monday will have to do. The photos are all before the last wash, so the markings still show. Even Guinness needed to have a look!




The smocking is clearly a first effort, but it was fun, and that's what counts. I will definitely try smocking again in the future and I hope to learn more than just the basic cable stitch!




So here's the apron, sans cat. It should look like this or this when Constanza wears it.

Aprons

These seem to be very useful pieces of garb, especially if you're going to be on kitchen duty for a revel or other event. I'm practicing on Constanza right now. She wants an apron for St. Ethelburga's in February and I want to learn smocking, so this seems to be a good match. I went looking here for illustations of period aprons and found several. They all seem to be gathered or smocked at the top, meeting my criteria and they cover a dress well, meeting Constanza's needs.

Here's where we are so far. The front, back, and straps are cut out from bleached linen which has been preshrunk in a hot wash. The back is smocked and the front is gathered, ready to be smocked. If all goes according to plan, this will be in the mail to London by Friday. Fingers crossed!

One WIP done, eleven to go

I had a really solid day of stitching yesterday, between the usual Saturday tasks of laundry and cleaning and I finished the family sampler I started about six months ago. I'm pleased with the way it turned out and am looking forward to having framed and on the wall in my home. You may remember that the original pattern was a gift from my daughter and she was very gracious about all the changes I made. It's interesting to see just how many names go into four generations. William and Elizabeth get the most repeats with three each.