2014 in Review

A year of productivity. A year of blessings. A year of asking, seeking and knocking. A year of humble gratefulness. A year filled with the unexpected. A year of discovery. A year of Spiritual awakening. A year of music. A year of stepping out into the unknown.

The list goes on and on. So many beautiful things came to pass this year. I have no idea where to begin. I've blogged more this year than any since I made my tentative beginning in 2008. Trial, I have found, is the best at forcing me to "grow up", so to speak. If I were to title this year, I would call it...

Moving Forward

I've learned so much about myself this year. I've grown as a woman of God and I've made a huge leap forward. The implication here, is that to move forward, there must be something to leave behind. A lot of my personal moving forward this year has consisted of physical moving. In May, my family and I moved over 1,000 miles across the country. From Northeast Ohio to Southwest Kansas! Not that I'm unused to moving. This marks our 22nd move since I was born and I'm only 19. But God has been faithful to us. You'd think my dad was in the military, not the ministry! 

I love Kansas, though! Our community is so warm and welcoming. Our city is big into the arts (especially performing arts). But before I get ahead of myself, I'll recap quickly what has happened this year.

-January: After flipping cars for nine months to put food on the table, my dad began applying for pasoral positions again.

-April: My parents flew to Kansas for an interview and the moment they returned, we began packing (even though we hadn't recieved an affirmative yet). I went to Cincinnati to be an extra in Polycarp:Destroyer of Gods . 

-May: We pack up and take several days to drive to Kansas and see friends along the way.

-June: After settling in our amazing city, I join the municipal band (fist flute part) and begin costume designing for Willy Wonka Jr.

-July: I pretty much spend the whole month sewing for the play.

-August: I take a month off of doing "projects".

-December: Dad, Marley (16), Moses (10) and I go to Honduras and El Salvador for a two-week mission trip.

Those are the big happenings. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I'll go back through my journal for sure :) 

I set goals for this year, but I'm not attaching myself to them permanently. God has a perfect plan for this year and I trust Him completely. Perhaps none of my well-intentioned plans may come to pass, but Glory to God either way! He is the author of my story and His plot is perfect. I hope you can say amen to that!

Commit your works to the Lord

And your plans will be established

Proverbs 16:3

And as a big celebration of the new year, I'm excited to share with you the Historical Sew Monthly !!! Much more realistic for busy seamstresses like myself; one challenge per month instead of every two weeks. EXCITED!!!

Also, in case you didn't know, I'm starting a fashion blog this month so look out for the first official post of Empress of Autumn

HSF Challenge #10-Art

I was so nervous about this challenge! I scoured Pinterest and looked everywhere for an acceptable gown that I could replicate. I finally decided on this portrait of young Martha Washington. It's a modern painting by Michael Deas that imagines what she would look like when she was young. Originally, the plan was to make the gown for myself but when I went to lay out the pattern, I found that I was about a yard short of the purple satin fabric! *cue sad violin* I related my woes to my Mama and she suggested I make it instead for my little sisters! I cheered right up and got to work!

This is Mandee; #7 of our 8 children and she's 4 years old. I don't think I need to say anything in praise of her beauty because the pictures speak for me. She looks exactly like my mom did when she was 4! She also quite a character. You can see in the pictures below that she has a four year-old attitude. While she's sweet most of the time, she was having a moment when it came time to take pictures of her "princess dress", as she calls it.

This was such a fun project and I hadn't made anything for Mandee since February. I'm also halfway done with Mirial's (8) matching gown :)

I did finish the gown by Sunday but haven't got the pictures up until now. I wasn't going for complete historical accuracy here-I was going for maximum play-ability with ease of movement. I used a basic Simplicity pattern and dressed it up. Easy Peasy. And she loves it!

The Facts...

The Challenge: #10-Art

Fabric: 1 1/2 Yds. Purple Satin, 1 Yd. Gold Taffeta

Pattern: Andrea Schewe's Simplicity 3725

Year: 1750s-ish

Notions: Thread, Zipper, Elastic, Ribbon, Lace

How historically accurate is it?: Maybe 75%

Hours to complete: 4-5

First worn: For Photoshoot 

Total cost: It comes out to somewhere around $10-15

HSF '14 Challenge #9-Black and White

Happy Mothers' Day!!! In honor of my own dear Mama's favorite item in my Historical Wardrobe-the Caraco Jacket below-I am posting my HSF Challenge #9 entry today :)

Ta-Da! My first ever full Georgian ensemble!!! I've been dreaming of this day since I was 10 years old. If you've been reading my blog for a while (or even a very short time) you've probably guessed that I am a history nerd. You would be correct! I've always loved books and films about history or set in historical times. I read all of the historical American Girl books when I was 8, 9 and 10 but never had much interest in the modern dolls or their stories. What intrigued little McKenna most, poring over the brightly colored catalogues, was the costumes! Felicity's (1774) were my favorite. The gloriously embroidered gowns and aprons, wee hats and fans called to my little heart and, though I didn't know it yet, would set the stage for my historical costuming journey that began several years later. When my Mom and my Grandmom took me by the hand and taught me how to sew.

What I present to you for my favorite HSF challenge so far is a black brocade Caraco Jacket, white Petticoat and Bergére hat decorated in white. As soon as I finished my stays, I wanted to go for something big and significant for my Georgian wardrobe. I already had a chemise, the stays, a fichu and an under-petticoat (for volume) and was ready to grace my unmentionables with a proper ensemble. So, without delay, I turned to Janet Arnolds' "Patterns of Fashion 1: 1660-1860" and selected the Caraco Jacket (it's on page 22, I believe). Out came my gridded cutting mat, swedish tracing paper, a few rulers and a fat pencil. After scaling up the initial pattern from the book, whipping up a toile, doing a fitting (no easy task when it's just you with no mirror) and adjusting the pattern pieces, I was ready to cut out the actual jacket from my fashion fabric. Honestly, it's so worth it! Don't cut into your fashion material until you're absolutely sure that the garmet fits! Toiles are indespensible to any seamstress!!!

In my opinion, the best part of historical sewing is hand-stitching. After doing all the inside seams with my machine, it's nice to find a comfy place with a cup of tea to hand-sew and re-watch favorite shows like "North and South" and "Wives and Daughters". I tacked the box pleats in place, slip-stitched the hem and the neckline and finally tediously whip-stitched 32 individual hooks and eyes over 2 episodes of "The Paradise". I'm definitely going to use this pattern again! And I'm thinking of doing a tutorial with instructions on how to assemble the pattern. What do you think?

Generally, a Caraco is a working woman's coat but making this version out of black brocade turned it into more of a Sunday morning Church service ensemble. It's like my Mother as a garment. Designed to be functional and productive but perfectly beautiful and elegant. My Mama has always placed an emphasis on looking your best, even when it's just your family around to see it. 

 The Bergére is made of an old straw hat I had on hand. I used The Dreamstress' method for turning an old straw hat into a Bergére (see the tutorial HERE). I decorated it with white lace, white paper flowers (found at Michael's on sale) and a white satin ribbon. I have dreamed of having a Bergére of my own since I was very small. I, being the hat connoisseur that I am, think it's the most elegant and tasteful hat design I have come across! It trumps the cloche, in my opinion, and I think very highly of that hat! 

I'm more than pleased with how this jacket turned out and love wearing it! It's such an amazing feeling to have a remnant of history to wear and have on hand. You never know when you'll need a Georgian Caraco Jacket! 

The Facts...

The Challenge: #9-Black and White

Fabric: 3 yds. Black Brocade, 2 yds. White Cotton

Pattern: Janet Arnolds' 1775-85 Caraco Jacket from "Patterns of Fashion 1". No Pattern for Petticoat

Year: 1775-85

Notions: Thread, Hooks and Eyes, Bias Tape

How historically accurate is it?: 90%

Hours to complete: 10-12?

First worn: For Photoshoot 

Total cost: About $15; that was all in the petticoat

HSF '14 Challenge #8-UFOs & PHDs

Good afternoon, lovely readers! It's a stormy day and I have a few minutes over lunch to complete an extremely late post for HSF. I finished the challenge on time, but hadn't had the opportunity to get it photographed until yesterday so please accept my apologies. As our family is in the midst of moving (out West) I don't have much time to write so please try to be content with a picture-heavy post without much elaboration.

This is my first-ever pair of Georgian (1750s-80s) Stays!!! I thought I might have them completed for the HSF Challenge "Under it All" but that was not meant to be, so I saved it for this challenge. Blood, sweat and tears, folks...blood, sweat and tears...one of the hardest projects I've done and one of the most rewarding!!! 

My tecniques were not all historically acurate...the boning consists of plastic zip-ties, almost everything is machine-stitched and instead of actual hand-worked eyelets, I stitched double-fold bias tape down every inch and half-inch to create loops of a sort (I can't claim the idea as my own, though; I saw that on Pinterest) But the important thing is that I achieved the correct shape for the period. That's what stays/corsets are for! "It can look like a dyin' duck!" No one's really going to see it (unless you blog, of course) and as long as the shape is correct, you've made a goal!

Don't kill me, historical sewing purists, but I didn't finish the bottom with bias tape. Life is too short and pinking shears are near at hand. Like I said, no one's going to see it on me except me :)

I'm so pleased with the outcome! It's comfortable to wear and now I can really get going on my Georgian wardrobe. It's kind of blown up overnight, in a way. Less than 2 weeks after I complete my stays, I find myself with 3 Petticoats, a Caraco Jacket and a Bergere Hat! Pictures coming soon, I promise!

NOT a Weeping Angel, thank heaven!

Just The Facts, Ma'am:

The Challenge: #8-UFOs & PHDs

Fabric: 1 yd. Pink Ribbed Satin, 1 yd. Canvas Linen

Pattern: Corsets and Crinolines draft

Year: 1750-8os

Notions: Thread, Zip-Ties, Bias Tape

How historically accurate is it?: Approx. 70%

Hours to complete: 12-ish...who's keeping track?

First worn: Will wear with outfit for HSF Challenge: "Black and White" photoshoot

Total cost: $10 or so...I really busted my budget on those Zip-Ties, didn't I? ;)

HSF '14 Challenge #7-Tops and Toes

Good day, lovely readers! I'm afraid I'm 2 days late with posting my hat but I did finish it before midnight on the 15th! And I also completed Challenge #6 but haven't had time to photograph it. Oops!

 Frankly, when I heard about the challenge, I freaked out a tiny bit inside. As well as I do as a designer and a seamstress, I am terrible at trimming!!! Ribbons, braid, buttons, I experience a mental block and sometimes a rash appears on the back of my neck (not kidding!) This whole challenge basically centers around being able to trim hats or stockings, so after a brief moment with a paper bag and some rash cream for my neck, I decided to make a simple 19th Century nightcap. Easy. Breathe, McKenna!

Blessedly, I have a gorgeous and talented Mother who is quite the expert with trims and such and assured me that I did not need to heavily trim my simple little nightcap :) As you can see, I hand-stitched a bit of tatted lace onto the brim and it makes it simple and elegant, I think. No need for anything fancy or complicated. But now I am determined to study the art of trim and ribbons and overcome my unfounded fears!

As you see, I also decided to make a Fichu (the historical equivalent of a cami for modesty) and a new Bodiced Petticoat (yay!) I made the Petticoat to go with a Regency round-gown made of a lightweight, see-through cotton I recently finished (pictures coming soon). I had my talented photographer sister take a few pictures for me and set it up as if I had gotten up in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate our matches or it would have been truly picturesque (despite the lighswitches and outlets :P)

I love the layers! Chemise, Stays, Fichu and Petticoat plus Pashmina shawl equals happiness anc comfort!

Closeup of the Fichu

I do need to do a "rip'n'stitch" in order to fix the gathers on the bodice of my petticoat but since it's not normally seen, it doesn't matter!

The Challenge: #7-Tops and Toes

Fabric: 1/4 yard White Cotton

Pattern: Tam from Simplicity 3623 (Out of Print)

Year: 1700-1910 (Versatility! Yay!)

Notions: 1/2 Yard Tatted Lace, Thread

How historically accurate is it?: 90% 1/2 Machine-stitched

Hours to complete: 1

First worn: For Photoshoot yesterday

Total cost: $0 It's stash-tastic!