Sprung

The unseasonably warm weather has brought out the flowers a little early this year. The Plum tree is bursting out in delicate white blossoms, the apricot is in full flower, the cherries are preparing to bloom. I'm hoping the weather allows for fruit set on, and the harvest is good!
The bulb flowers are springing out as well, the bright colors are starting to pop out on the front lawn and bring color to the yard.

Is spring showing up around you? What is coming up in your garden?

Anomaly Con 2012

It was another wonderful year for Colorado's first and only Steampunk convention! There was a wonderful historic venue, with lots of great spots for photography. A long list of musical artist and author guest to give talks and performances. Movies, gaming, workshops, a Grand Ball (that's when this photo was taken), competitions and lots of other fun events! I was one of dozens of vendors with handmade goods for helping people build their outfits.
But there were some downsides, the old building is confusing, and being on a college campus there are draconian rules. Also, people who came from afar (and there were many!) had trouble finding affordable lodging nearby. Not to mention the lack of cheap close parking. Next year is already booked for a large hotel venue, so many of these problems are going to be solved!

If you want to see more pictures of the event, and naturally the wonderful costumes people had, go to Von Klank's page.

Happy Spring!

And what better way to spend the Equinox than to get ready to grow? I spent time yesterday getting my green house back into good shape, as soon as my seeds come up they will go out in the bright sunshine! And the beds I dug out last year to split the bulbs have neat rows of healthy vibrant tulips coming up, I think they are already thirsty because it's been so warm!
What are you doing to get ready for spring?

Finds - Steampunk Spring

Next week is Anomaly Con, and I am frantically working to prepare as much product as possible. But it is also growing warm outside, plants are emerging and trees budding. I crave a fine picnic in the park, and some fellow time travelers to share it with! Print by Rustic Goth

A colorful take on an old timepiece - from ArtisticQuandaries
For the Dandy man wishing to celebrate the spring colors, a fabulous topper from Beltane73
An unusual clutch to bring to a garden outing - by HopscotchCouture
Something else for the Gentlemen, a gaily printed cravat to add a touch of color to a March outing. From EngineerandtheGypsy

Viking Style

I recently became interested in making an old-world style linen dress. Why? An unusual style, very cool in the hot summers, good for ceremonies and trips to the Ren Fest... the list goes on! I'm also hoping to use it to show off some hand embroidery.

The mos compelling argument for using a viking style construction however, is efficiency. In the days where all threads were hand-spun, all fabrics hand woven, and all clothing hand sewn it was imperative to not create much waste. A well executed apron dress can be created without a single bit of waste! A man's tunic is made by similar concept and is equally careful with waste. This pattern comes from Dragonlore.
I did want something a little more modern, so I combined the sleeve design from a tunic and the gores from a dress. Still, every single cut except the neckline is perfectly straight. How easy is that! The small square will make an armpit gusset, the sleeves are perfectly straight.

After making all my straight cuts I added a bit of shaping for shoulders and a curved neck hole. As you can see from the rough drawings, one can lay out the "pieces" on your fabric for minimum waste. Even better, the small pieces I have left over are rectangles that can be easily used for another project (probably a matching belt bag).
Here's how the armpit piece works, remarkably simple, and surprisingly comfortable. I have a good range of movement, important in a culture where everyone was involved in labor or fighting...
Here's the piece so far. I intend to trim the hems with hand embroidered ribbon, so the completion may be several months out! I would love to have it for wearing to Beltane and Midsummer, a perfect light and airy summer garment. How Retro is that?

Llama

Been real busy, working on some bigger post, in the meantime here's a picture of a llama to make you laugh. Enjoy.

Craft Table

You know this is true, I can't be the only one to experience craft-stuff-creep! How do you keep your work spaces clean?