This past week here in Virginia, we thought spring had arrived... until yesterday. When we got up this morning to leave for New Market it was blowing snow!
I wore my new 1860's day dress and the wool spoon bonnet I made. :)
Black ostrich feathers, two tiny cardinals, and some flowers and ribbons. :)
Hairspray, 1 lb of bobby pins, and some really, really, ghetto hair product.
Just to give yall an idea of my normal hair. And, after much cursing, pinning, spraying, spraying, and then spraying some more, this was the result! :)
I have been sewing, really. I just completed my sixth (6th!!) project of the year so far and I am starting on the seventh! Anyway, number 6 was the cotton print jacket from Costume Close-Up. I had seen pictures of it online and was thrilled to see it in person and get some good pictures when I was in Williamsburg. I made a few alterations to the orginal pattern so that it would close over a stomacher and added the ribbons as you see in the last picture. I'm not sure I'm happy with them though- I may replace them with real silk ribbons or make eyelets for lacing. Also, the jacket is reversible to a blue cotton floral print that I bought at the ever-excellent Wal Mart! Overall, I am very happy with this project. It was a huge learning experience (my first time sizing up a period pattern from a book!) and I feel proud of sewing it all by hand using techniques that are new to me.
Here you can see my current project- a 1760-70ish cotton sack-back gown for the Spring Ball. The fabric is from Reproduction Fabrics. This was my first time ordering from them, and I am impressed with their selection and service! Anyway, the pattern is by me based on the Costume Close-Up francaise and it is going together surprisingly/worryingly well. I have wanted to make a sacque ever since I started making historical clothes so this is scary and exciting! 
