The Lady of Portland House: January 2011

Friday, January 28, 2011

Swapping Chickens for Horses…

Yes, I know, I have had a shameful lack of sewing posts lately. Honestly, I just haven’t done much work on Aaron’s frock coat since last week. I have just been busy.

Well, as you know from a previous post I was getting geared up for chickens. However, another childhood dream of mine started coming to fruition at the same time. My dear friend and I found a very affordable stable that teaches English riding lessons. So, instead of using my extra funds on chickens, I’m going to learn to ride and care for horses. I am beyond excited about this and can’t wait to be back on a horse. I rode a little bit when I was growing up, but I really want to become a good horseman. The eventual goal, of course, is to have my own Equine companion, but in the mean time, riding once a week will feed the craving.

I do plan to do some serious sewing this weekend. I have the sleeves sewn together; I just need to work the cuffs and attach them to the coat. So, progress is being made, just not enough to really show.

Well, I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Love, Lauren

My absolute favorite movie as a child. Yes, my inner little girl still wants to be Velvet and have my own Pi horse. Hehehehe. I never really did grow up.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Gratuitous Pet Post

This is what Gico does when he isn’t getting 100% undivided attentions. Silly boy!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Le Bon Ton Events

Ok, I’m doing a shameless plug for my reenacting group. We have lots and lots of events in store for 2011. For any of you who are interested in the Georgian period and love historical clothing and live near Portland, OR come join us. We are always looking for new people to come an play.

Le Bon Ton Events

Sunday, January 23, 2011

The Grotto, New Tables, and Other Happenings…

Hello All,

I hope you are having a lovely weekend and enjoy your Sunday. We had a nice day yesterday just wondering around our neighborhood and the surrounding areas finding new sites and spending time together. One of those sites is a place we have wanted to visit for a while. So we went and I must say it was very beautiful. It is the Grotto here in Portland. It’s basically a Catholic chapel and park with stations of the cross and a very impressive alter. It reminded me of a place I visited in Malta, although this was much greener and lush.

After visiting the Grotto we drove around a bit and found a great lookout over Portland.

It was a sunny day yesterday and we could clearly see Mt. Hood, which is a rarity around here.

Yours truly. Further proof that I do indeed where modern clothing in real life. Although, since I left work, I have been rarely wearing makeup. It’s quite freeing and comfortable, actually. Aaron caught me off guard with this pic, but I decided I would post it anyway. It’s the real me.

Finally, I procured these lovely Williamsburg reproductions from a good friend, who also happens to be an antique dealer. I am so pleased with them and the craftsmanship that went into creating them. They are quite a work of art and they are more pieces in the puzzle of my quest to create more of the 18th Century in my home.

They’re quite tall!

Please excuse the chords. Unfortunately we can’t seem to find a good way to hide them, but I’m working on that.

I will be starting on a custom 18th Century suit for a client very soon. So, I should have some sewing posts again shortly. I also plan to finish Aaron’s coat in the next few days. I have sleeves and button holes left and then it will be finished. Well, I hope you have a lovely week.

Love,

Lauren

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Aaron’s Frock Coat: More Progress

I am very pleased with how quickly and neatly the frock coat is coming together. I was able to line the major pieces and sew them together. Hopefully I will finish lining the back, make the collar, and sleeves today. I think I can have it finished by the end of the week. We’ll see, though. Here are the pictures so far.

Oh, and in answer to a few questions I have had… It is made of blue linen, a very dark blue linen. My dear Sir wished for a summer frock this year.

The outside of the frock coat. I had to lay it on the floor to get the whole thing in the shot.

The tail pleats. You can see the stab stitch the goes around the edges. The lining and fashion fabrics are turned under at the seam allowance, pressed, and then stitched together.

The interior of the coat. I lined the front pieces and the tails on the back pieces separately. Then all of the pieces are stitched together.

I still have yet to line the back. That will be one of the last pieces to be lined.

Hopefully I will have more to show you tomorrow.

Love,

Lauren

Historical Blogs, Museums, & You -Survey

Hi All,

My friend, Abby, from Stay-ing Alive, is doing some research on costume blogging and needs your input. She has put together a survey and needs as much input as possible. Please hop over to her blog to read more about it. Also, the survey link will live on the right side of my blog for a while. You can find it just above my blog roll. Thanks Ladies and Gents!

Historical Blogs, Museums, & You Survey <-----Click here to take the survey!

Monday, January 17, 2011

Frock Coat Progress

Well, I have been steadily working on Aaron’s new Frock Coat. I’m very happy with the progress so far. I have drafted, cut out, and interlined the pieces. I also finished the pockets and pocket flaps this morning. Here are the pictures so far. Enjoy!

Drafting the pattern with a nice fire and watching Sense and Sensibility.

The finished pocket and the flap turned upwards.

Well, now I’m off to line the front of the coat and the tails of the back pieces. Have a lovely rest of your day!

Love,

Lauren

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Gratuitous Pet Photos…

Ok, so I just walked into the living room and found this….

There is a reason we keep the couch covered. Can we say spoiled? And yes, Max knocks pillows down so he can rest his head.

Le Palais de Poulet

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my wonderful husband has agreed to procuring some hens. I am beyond excited and can’t wait to have my little flock. We are very fortunate here in Portland; we are allowed to have 3 hens within the city without a permit. You can have more if you apply for them, but I think 3 will be just fine. Aaron and I decided we would build the coop on our own. He has a construction and woodworking background and can build anything. So, this week I set about designing le Palais de Poulet.

The lines really are straight. The picture I took made them look wonky.

Here is a basic sketch of the hen house. We’ll see if it actually looks this way when it is finished.

I also decided to go with baby chicks instead of full grown hens. I want to make sure that Gico, Max and Leila are accustomed to them before they are grown. Max and Leila are great with Gico and so I doubt there will be any problems with the hens. The chicks are supposedly available sometime in mid-February, which gives us time to get things ready for them. Thankfully, they will be in the house until they are 6-8 weeks old, so we have a good while to get their coop in order. I am soooo excited I can hardly stand it.

In other news, I have not sewn a single stitch this week. I have been surprisingly busy with homemaking. I am amazed at how quickly the days go by. Tomorrow a few of the girls are coming over for a “stitch and bitch”, as we call it, so, I should have something productive to show soon.

Well, my dears, I am off to cook. We had an ice storm last night, and I feel the need to bake. So, to the kitchen I go.

Here is the bush in our front yard. I love how the ice formed on each leaf. It’s really beautiful.

God Bless!

Saturday, January 08, 2011

1940’s Overalls and Peasant Blouse

We had a Dieselpunk Birthday Party for our good friend, Cpt. Cartwright, and of course, I had to have something new to wear. The evening consisted of Lazar Tag followed by good food and drink at our favorite pub. A dress was completely impractical for Lazar Tag, so overalls seemed to be the perfect item. We had a blast, and I had fun dressing up, as always.

This was after the party so my hair and makeup are a smidge disheveled.

In other news…. I am in the process of adjusting the pattern for Aaron’s new frock coat. The pattern is from Mme du Jard and it is almost eerie how similar our husbands are in size and shape. I promise to have pics soon. God Bless!

Monday, January 03, 2011

Inspirations…

Le Mode Illustree, you have done it again! I about fell over when they started posting late 1790’s fashion plates. Then they went over the top and posted four segments of the plates. Talk about drool! Here are a few of my favorites. Please go over to their site and check out the rest!

Just beautiful! I love the military details.

I think my good Sir needs an outfit like this.

I love the coat; the muff, on the other hand is too huge.

And of course my good Sir wishes I would procure this fetching ensemble.

Year in Review and Projects for 2011

Yes, I am jumping on the bandwagon. I usually don’t review my past projects, but I decided, why not. I also have a rough plan for the projects this year. Now, this, of course, is not set in stone, but it’s a basic outline. Here goes!

This year was quite the rollercoaster for Aaron and I personally and professionally. We went from planning to purchase a practice, to having that fall through and staying in Oregon, which was a huge blessing, to my grandfather’s illness, and Aaron’s graduation, to our move, and finally, my very sudden resignation. I am truly glad that 2010 is over and I am ready to begin 2011.

On the costume front, things felt rather slow for me. However, I learned a lot of new techniques and I began sewing for other people, something which I plan to do more of this year. I also started dipping my toes into the 1940’s and Dieselpunk. To top it all off, we started our own reenacting group, Le Bon Ton. It was quite the year!

Now onto the costumes from 2010…