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lorelei01's Journal
Created on 2007-08-09 18:27:49 (#13562392), last updated 2009-11-26
771 comments received, 1,126 comments posted
Basic Account [Gift]
106 Journal Entries, 37 Tags, 0 Memories, 0 Virtual Gifts, 6 Userpics
Basic Info| Name: | lorelei01 |
|---|---|
| Birthdate: | 12-22 |
| Location: | Phoenix, AZ |
BioMy name is Melissa Jones, aka Lady Brigette Bouchard if you met me in the SCA. As you may have guessed, I'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). I like to take it as an approach to a living history group. It's not as strict about historical authenticity as other groups, but there are those in the society that are passionate about being as accurate as possible. Besides which, I can't seem to find any 16th century reenactment/living history groups this side of the pond! ;-)
My personal goal is to look like I've stepped out of a portrait. My motto is: "life is in the details". No outfit is really complete until you've put those last finishing touches on it and fully accessorized. I will say that I've certainly not always tried to play at this level. I started out much the same as anyone else. In fact, take a look at my first outfits section! But, as time went on, I found that I enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out how people accomplished what they did with what they had. I've noticed that approaching projects from this angle causes me to make different decisions than I would have when I first started out.
The major turning point in thinking was when I decided that I was never going to sew with a deadline again. We've all been there. It's Thursday/Friday night before your event, you're *way* behind on the outfit that you just *have* to have for the event on Saturday... so what do you do? You stay up all night sewing like a maniac! The end result? Yes, you did indeed finish that outfit! However, you're now so tired that you can hardly enjoy the event and visit with your friends. Was the outfit really worth it?
That's not to say that I don't still end up making outfits with a specific timeline in mind, just that I have specific projects that are finished whenever they're finished. When I sewed with a looming deadline in mind, I always took shortcuts that I swore I'd go back and fix when I had time. Inevitably what ended up happening is that I never went back to fix the mistakes/shortcuts and every time I put the outfit on I was bothered by the mistake/shortcut. Granted most of these involved things that no one but me would notice... but I did notice and I'm the one that has to wear it! ;-p
So, I decided that I needed to re-think why I was sewing and what I was trying to accomplish. First, I analyzed how I bought fabric. I was a fabric junkie. I had tons of fabric, yet whenever I went to start a project I never had anything in my stash that I wanted to use. Obviously I was doing something wrong!
I used to go to the $1 table at Wal-Mart when I looked for fabric. Not that there's anything wrong with it, I still find really good deals there from time to time. However, I was getting fabric that I wouldn't have paid full price for because it wasn't quite "correct" or what I was looking for just because it was "such a good deal"! Thus I ended up with yards and yards and bolts and bolts of fabric that I was indifferent to. I decided that if I wasn't willing to pay full price for it then it wasn't worth buying. Now when I see fabric on the dollar table I say to myself, "If this were $10/yd would I still buy it?". If the answer is no, then it goes back on the table. I only have a very little amount of time to sew and I don't want to spend it making something that I won't really love in the end.
This is also about the time that I decided, if I'm going to take time to do it, I'm going to do it right! This doesn't mean that I shear my own sheep, card and spin the wool, weave the fabric, dye the fabric, then hand sew the entire outfit using a bone needle. Not that I would be adverse to that... well, minus the sheep shearing. Just that my goal is to be as accurate as possible within reason. I'm certainly not going to start putting drops of mercury in my eyes to make them 'glisten' or use urine based hair lighteners.
If I can buy fabric that is the same weave and color as a fabric that I could have purchased from a vendor in the time period that I'm making the outfit for, why wouldn't I? It's not like people throughout history have done every step of the process from start to finish on their own. They bought materials just the same as we did.
I still use a sewing machine from time to time, but only on internal seams. Anything that's going to be seen I hand finish. Again, I'm not sewing it with any particular deadline in mind so it's no longer a time issue. Plus I'm very fidgety and like having something to work on when I'm sitting on the couch or taking the train to and from work. Hey, I'm stuck for 45 minutes on the train each way... gotta do something!
Well, that's me in a very large nutshell. I'm a lot quirky and maybe a little crazy. I greatly enjoy trying to figure things out and frequently get myself into projects that cause me to say at one point during the project, "What was I thinking?!". I hope you enjoy my rambling thoughts and the sewing dilemmas that I will inevitably get myself into. Happy browsing!
My personal goal is to look like I've stepped out of a portrait. My motto is: "life is in the details". No outfit is really complete until you've put those last finishing touches on it and fully accessorized. I will say that I've certainly not always tried to play at this level. I started out much the same as anyone else. In fact, take a look at my first outfits section! But, as time went on, I found that I enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out how people accomplished what they did with what they had. I've noticed that approaching projects from this angle causes me to make different decisions than I would have when I first started out.
The major turning point in thinking was when I decided that I was never going to sew with a deadline again. We've all been there. It's Thursday/Friday night before your event, you're *way* behind on the outfit that you just *have* to have for the event on Saturday... so what do you do? You stay up all night sewing like a maniac! The end result? Yes, you did indeed finish that outfit! However, you're now so tired that you can hardly enjoy the event and visit with your friends. Was the outfit really worth it?
That's not to say that I don't still end up making outfits with a specific timeline in mind, just that I have specific projects that are finished whenever they're finished. When I sewed with a looming deadline in mind, I always took shortcuts that I swore I'd go back and fix when I had time. Inevitably what ended up happening is that I never went back to fix the mistakes/shortcuts and every time I put the outfit on I was bothered by the mistake/shortcut. Granted most of these involved things that no one but me would notice... but I did notice and I'm the one that has to wear it! ;-p
So, I decided that I needed to re-think why I was sewing and what I was trying to accomplish. First, I analyzed how I bought fabric. I was a fabric junkie. I had tons of fabric, yet whenever I went to start a project I never had anything in my stash that I wanted to use. Obviously I was doing something wrong!
I used to go to the $1 table at Wal-Mart when I looked for fabric. Not that there's anything wrong with it, I still find really good deals there from time to time. However, I was getting fabric that I wouldn't have paid full price for because it wasn't quite "correct" or what I was looking for just because it was "such a good deal"! Thus I ended up with yards and yards and bolts and bolts of fabric that I was indifferent to. I decided that if I wasn't willing to pay full price for it then it wasn't worth buying. Now when I see fabric on the dollar table I say to myself, "If this were $10/yd would I still buy it?". If the answer is no, then it goes back on the table. I only have a very little amount of time to sew and I don't want to spend it making something that I won't really love in the end.
This is also about the time that I decided, if I'm going to take time to do it, I'm going to do it right! This doesn't mean that I shear my own sheep, card and spin the wool, weave the fabric, dye the fabric, then hand sew the entire outfit using a bone needle. Not that I would be adverse to that... well, minus the sheep shearing. Just that my goal is to be as accurate as possible within reason. I'm certainly not going to start putting drops of mercury in my eyes to make them 'glisten' or use urine based hair lighteners.
If I can buy fabric that is the same weave and color as a fabric that I could have purchased from a vendor in the time period that I'm making the outfit for, why wouldn't I? It's not like people throughout history have done every step of the process from start to finish on their own. They bought materials just the same as we did.
I still use a sewing machine from time to time, but only on internal seams. Anything that's going to be seen I hand finish. Again, I'm not sewing it with any particular deadline in mind so it's no longer a time issue. Plus I'm very fidgety and like having something to work on when I'm sitting on the couch or taking the train to and from work. Hey, I'm stuck for 45 minutes on the train each way... gotta do something!
Well, that's me in a very large nutshell. I'm a lot quirky and maybe a little crazy. I greatly enjoy trying to figure things out and frequently get myself into projects that cause me to say at one point during the project, "What was I thinking?!". I hope you enjoy my rambling thoughts and the sewing dilemmas that I will inevitably get myself into. Happy browsing!
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External Services:
 | lorelei01@livejournal.com |
Schools:
Midland High School - Midland, TX (1993 - 1997)Texas A&M University - College Station, TX (1997 - 2002)
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