The hand-embroidered medieval silk cap is finished! Sometimes worn as a base-layer under a hat or veil, but also sported alone, I wanted a cap that was both fancy and good for the hair, so I used real silk in a champagne color. The shape is based on St Birgitta’s… Read More »Embroidered Medieval Cap
Glad to be back with more creations to post after a month of progress. I’ve been reading, thinking, resting, and filling the creative wells. Lots of yoga and dance, including some recent public performances. The first renaissance fair of the year for us is fast approaching at the end of… Read More »Gold Stuffed Circlet Hat
Years ago I was gifted some old saris to make into costume pieces and recycle the silk and satin. Here’s a men’s tunic that I finally finished after years on hold, stashed away since before we moved into the house. Patterned by me in my favorite shapes: rectangles. I used… Read More »Recycled Sari Tunic
My latest masterpiece is complete. Inspired by illustrations of 14th century noblewoman’s dress, adapted for modern ease-of-wear. Does anyone else ever feel rushed for time in a dress that takes 10 minutes and a second-set of hands to lace up or get out of? For those certain events were time… Read More »Cinnamon Rust Medieval Gown
Have you ever heard of a sontag? It’s a historical women’s shawl that was worn wrapped around the body and tied at the waist to keep the arms free for work. It was probably in widespread use before the American Civil War, but that’s about when it started showing up… Read More »Crochet Sontag Shawl
The window bench in the home office was getting worn out on top because my large dogs like to lay there often. A hole was starting at a seam on top and batting was peaking through a thread-bare spot. Before the damage got too far along Jake and I spent… Read More »The Reupholstered Bench
I’ve been making a new dress for the 2024 cool faire season, and to make the project take much longer than usual, I decided to add intricate hand-embroidery to the shoulders. I’ve done minimal embroidery on small projects in the past but am so in love with texture wherever I… Read More »Sleeve Embroidery
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a very restful holiday season. I haven’t posted any new projects in a while because I have some really big ones in progress but nothing new completed. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my travels and the stunning visuals… Read More »Iceland
He didn’t want mittens, but wanted all of the difficult bits of a mitten that would force me to learn a lot about crochet. I haven’t been crocheting for very long. I can make rectangles, circles, all the basic stiches and some scallops. Baubles, I can do. I don’t like… Read More »Men’s Handwarmers
Who doesn’t love having two garments with the storage requirements of one? Also, the best costumes have a lot of layers. Therefore I have sewn a vest and belt set which is fully reversable! Pattern created by Frankenstein-ing a women’s tunic pattern, I actually had one side of this vest… Read More »Gold Vest and Obi Belt
I finally made myself a perfect medieval chemise. Perfection existing in the fabric, the pattern, and the notions. Past attempts at chemise fell short when I tried to use cotton muslin. The stiff weight didn’t drape how I had imagined in one case or another. This time I found a… Read More »Medieval Chemise
Year number four of pandemic, year number four of our disease-free, plague-themed backyard renaissance faire. Annually since 2020 we have hosted a small group of friends for a pot-luck party, costumes mandatory! This year was pretty chill, as if we’ve gotten better at setting up for the fun over time.… Read More »Family Plague Faire 2023
Continuing the discussion on new items I made for Jake ahead of the 2023 Connecticut Renaissance Faire, is this very large canvas and remnant belt-pouch. Purely a bonus project, for my own decompression between more strenuous sewing, I pieced this pouch together with remnants of fabric from projects current and… Read More »Large Remnant Pouch
We had the absolute best day at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in 2023. This season has been rough for faire organizers, as every-single weekend has seen rain. This means a lot of overcrowding on the few nice days. My ideal faire weather is overcast with even a very slight drizzle… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2023, Review
Jake wanted a vest for the Renaissance Faire, but with an anime pop-culture flare. Very specific directives on the shape and poofy shoulders and collar on this garment. I started with a basic men’s costume jerkin pattern and slimmed it way down. We didn’t need closures or room for bulky… Read More »Poof-Shoulder Men’s Renaissance Vest
I’ve taken a recent interest in head-coverings to really bring a costume together. To that end I’ve sewn Jake a poofy men’s hat. This is a very classic example of a hat you’d see throughout western Europe during the renaissance, though his is a bit more flamboyant in fabric than… Read More »Men’s Renaissance Poofy Hat
If you love hours of traffic and long lines, then you’ll love the New York Renaissance Fair! On Saturday 9/16 Jake and I set out on the long drive back to Tuxedo, NY to attend for the second-time ever, what is largely considered to be one of the North-east’s best… Read More »New York Renaissance Fair 2023 Review
Is it a bonnet? A great veil? Or a Hat? I needed a covering for my head at the renaissance fair to keep the sun off of me without creating too much warmth. My look is not completely historically accurate, but what I make is historically plausible. When researching medieval… Read More »Green Medieval Hat
Never underestimate the power of a 15-minute craft! After making a purse from this rope I had a little leftover, but not enough for anything big. We were also planning a camping trip, and I thought a nice thick pot-holder would come in handy for our metal-handled camping pot. Fifteen… Read More »Quick Crochet Pot-Holder
Do you ever get the feeling that everything’s already been made? That nothing is really new or original, and our culture has been saturated by nearly every conceivable image or utterance? Even more so with the surge in AI, computers are flooding the internet with rearrangements of stolen images so… Read More »2023 Summer Gardening Season Recap
A little late in posting, but late is better than never. A few weeks ago Jake and I took our first trip to the Vermont Renaissance Faire. The summer one! We’ve been to the winter faire several times as the only event happening in the dead, fair-less winter, but have… Read More »Vermont Renaissance Faire 2023
An improvement on the rope-crochet purse! I’ve crocheted an oversized rope shoulder bag. For this project I chose a 2mm rope for a medium-drape. The bag is heavy, but soft and pliable, and does not stand on it’s own. I learned a few things about crocheting a flat-bottom from my… Read More »Crochet Shoulder Bag
You need the right fabric for the job, and this one may not be it. I’ve been seeing a lot of 4-way stretch separates online retailing for hundreds of dollars. I thought the idea was cute for dance as a base-layer. I sewed the pants first, then wore them to… Read More »Dance Separates
My dogs get all the good stuff. I was gifted some baby-blanket fabric and decided to use it all in one go making two new sleepover blankets for the dogs. They will also make nice sturdy camp blankets for them. Our boarding facilities call it “sleepovers” now so us humans… Read More »Dog Camp Blankets
Happy Memorial Day! I hope you’re having a nice holiday weekend if you’re in the US. I’m sewing some clothes for dance, and while doing so I whipped together this twist-headband out of some scrap material. When life feels very full, quick crafts are satisfying. Good for keeping my hair… Read More »Simple Knit Jersey Headband & Gardening
With every painting I am digging to reveal what lies beneath sand Watercolor, colored-pencil, and for the first time a wee bit of yellow gouache on hot-press paper. 9×12″
Hello, art professional here, just learning about the existence of a tool for my particular need. Remember that vacation I talked about two posts ago? While there I did some plein-air sketching of Windsor Lake with some oil pastels. I like sketching with oil-pastels; they’re fast and loose. Never suited… Read More »Oil Pastel Plein-air of Windsor Lake
Happy Beltane! I should have made a garden post for today, but I didn’t plan ahead enough for that. Maybe next week. Continuing my experimenting with free-size pattern drafting, I’ve finished a pink robe with biblical vibes. Knit jersey that I received for free from an online buy-nothing group was… Read More »Pink Free-Size Robe
A vacation dedicated to recharging the creative-batteries. It is very difficult, if not impossible to continue to create things without occasionally “refilling the well,” as they say. Creative people more than most benefit from boredom, from unstructured time, from opportunities to wander. These opportunities for aimlessness become more rare with… Read More »Long Weekend in the Northern Berkshires
Don’t you hate it when you’re getting ready for the renaissance fair and you have a nice pouch that’s just a little too heavy for your belt? Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an extra miscellaneous strap to throw on that pouch? A quick and easy project I threw… Read More »Crochet Purse Strap
I’m branching out into new materials and ready to get truly original with this crocheting habit. Yarn can be just so…fragile, I want to see what I else I can crochet with and what kind of forms those new materials will sustain. Tying in my other skills from a long… Read More »Crochet Rope Purse With Leather Handles
I’m diving back into drafting my own patterns while further exploring the most efficient use of fabric. That’s right, sewing with rectangles. Last year I obtained a free bag of fabric from my local buy-nothing group, in which, were two one-yard, 60-in-wide lengths of knit polyester. One blue, one pink.… Read More »Blue Free-Size Caftan
A very minor project while I finish up a few larger items to share with you: a simple crochet headband to finish up the yarn that I used to make myself a two-color winter cowl. Nothing fancy, but I did use two different stitches for a little texture. My posting… Read More »Two-Tone Headband
Spring is almost here! What a roller-coaster of a winter. Mostly absent of snow, we’re finally getting a few big storms towards the official solar end to the season. After several days in the 60s in February I thought maybe I was too late in making this gift of a… Read More »Purple Cowl
I don’t know what to do with all of the hot-pink yarn that I have leftover from my bridal shower, other than to make baby-stuff with it. Good thing a few friends have a few babies. Starting with this cute headband that only took an hour to make. The best… Read More »Pink Baby Headband Crochet
Getting back into crochet with my best rectangle yet! I made a color-blocked winter cowl. In an attempt to get a better handle on the basics, I made this entire cowl using single-crochet stitch, with an emphasis on consistent tension and as straight an edge as I could manage. I’m… Read More »Winter Crochet Cowl
What’s an ear-saver? It’s a strap that goes around the back of your next when you’re wearing a mask. You hook the ear-loops of the mask onto the buttons, which sit behind your ears, instead of on your ears. This makes the mask fit better, tighter, and it takes all… Read More »Crochet Ear-savers
This may be the last wedding post that I subject you to on this platform. Mostly because the bulk of wedding photos have more to do with the people than design, and I do try to keep this blog somewhat in line with the theme of creation. If you want… Read More »Wedding Decor Sweetheart Table
This post is not for the faint of heart. I do not recommend washing your wedding dress at home if it is made of silk, or if you would suffer great emotional distress if your dress becomes damaged by your own hand. If, however, the $200 to $400 price tag… Read More »How to Wash a Wedding Dress at Home
Happy New Year! May 2023 bring you exactly what you need. I’m still digesting 2022, and the big wedding reception that consumed most of the year, but looking forward to the changes brought about by the new year. Today I’m posting a few photos of wedding décor details, like the… Read More »Wedding Décor: Details
Hope everyone is having a lovely holiday season! Back now with another wedding highlight; this time, tablescapes that are just screaming to be added to Pinterest, but I’m busy. We chose this venue with its refinished rustic barn because the whole scene looks complete with minimal décor. Wedding décor is… Read More »Wedding Decor: Tablescapes
We got professional photos back!! Courtesy of Red Letter Photography, I shall tease you first with what I imagine was the most difficult part of the day to photograph, our big entertainment surprise of a live dancer! Jake and I knew pretty much from day-one of planning that we didn’t… Read More »Surprise Wedding Belly-Dancer
The garden is expanding!! After two summers and two winters supporting our local farms by buying farm-shares, trying tons of new vegetables, learning the growing seasons and what thrives in our area, we have decided that next year, we will try to grow a much larger percentage of our own food. Farm… Read More »Vegetables in the Front Yard
Another year of plague, another Family Plague Faire. Our annual backyard Renaissance Faire turned three this year and continues to expand in attendance becoming a staple pre-holiday potluck. This year we moved to the third week in November, ever searching for that weather sweet-spot. This year we came pretty close… Read More »Family Plague Faire 2022
Last week I detailed the long process of finding and purchasing the bulk of my rustic, medieval-inspired fall wedding reception. This week, I have a few preview photos of how the décor all came together. These pictures were taken during rehearsal set-up where I directed a small army to put… Read More »Wedding Décor, an Overview
This is a post about shopping for wedding decorations, because I can’t make everything. Especially not the organic items; I need farmers and tanners for that bit. Starting in the spring of 2021 I started my long and particular hunt for the more elaborate wedding decoration elements. The ones that… Read More »Sourcing Wedding Décor
Here it is! The big reveal: complete wedding looks and a preview of professional wedding photography by Red Letter Photography. My fall jewel-toned color scheme came together just as I envisioned (and carefully planned) it. It can be a challenge to plan a collection of looks when the focal point,… Read More »What We Wore: Professional Wedding Photography Sneak Peak
Now that the date has passed, I can show you, strangers on the internet, the wedding invitation suite that I designed for my vow-renewal and wedding reception. Forgive the weird color-variation that occurs between different browsers. Themed weddings can be a bit tricky to do well. A theme can easily… Read More »Wedding Invitations Design
We did it! The vows are renewed, the wedding is celebrated with friends and family. The day has past. I have not even begun to process the day and all its details. Events moved so fast it seems that every moment deserves dissection, but we’ve barely slowed down enough to… Read More »We Had a Party!
Happy Halloween, everyone! Somehow after a vow-renewal and a mini-moon to Florida we still managed to have a spooky costumed Halloween-weekend. This holiday is a priority. So what did we wear? Saturday we sponsored a hole at a spooky Disc-golf tournament where we won the costume contest in our raiders-from-the-north… Read More »Halloween 2022