I crocheted a beach bag as a Christmas gift. I’ve made a bag similar to this before, so I knew I could make it nice. I made up the pattern starting with an oval single-crocheted in-the-round. When the bottom was the desired size, I stopped the increases to take the… Read More »Crochet Beach Bag Gift
What do you wear for a coat when you want to dress up in the winter? Puffer jackets and anything nylon feel decidedly informal to me, and don’t belong over a gown or a costume. A pea-coat is better, but they’re so itchy and I decluttered mine last year. There… Read More »Formal Wool Green Winter Cape
I am on such a roll making and posting things! Today is about medieval hats. Since every event requires at least a new accessory in my compulsion, I’ve made three new hats. I wanted to be the center-of-attention at my combined Plague Faire Birthday Party a few weeks ago, and… Read More »Medieval Circle Hats
A quick post for a project that took me a year. I wanted to make something big, but without a pattern or counting, so I endeavored to make Jake a poncho. This mass of yarn lived next to the couch for the better part of a year and I’d chip… Read More »Crochet Poncho
By the time this publishes the big dance recital will have passed. A studio showcase in a fancy theatre, and my first public solo-performance. I sewed myself a big belly-dance belt for the explicit purpose of taking up more space on the stage and highlighting some of the movements. It… Read More »Big Dance Belt
This weekend was peak fall. Peak foliage, amazing clear weather (if a little warm), and a full schedule of costumed activities. Starting with the last weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Faire. This has become our most local faire that we attend annually and it keeps expanding! This year there were… Read More »CT Renaissance Faire 2025 & Costume Party
The first prize for Plague Faire, 2025 is finished. I whipped up this ‘Blue Mage Hood’ from some gorgeous blue cotton canvas from the stash. The drape on this fabric is exceptional; it really holds volume even without a lining. The edges are surged and hemmed, and the one-size hood… Read More »Faire Prize 2025, Blue Mage Hood
Wow, look at me using all of a particular fabric in short order rather than letting remnants sit in the stash for 20 years! Last week I showed you a jumpsuit that I sewed from this printed cotton, and this week I have an equally summery tie-on-dress. A cross between… Read More »Printed Cotton Tie-on Dress
This summer has been so hot!! The humidity and unusual stretches of high (90s+) heat in the northeast have been a brutal symptom of a rapidly changing climate. I’m over here trying to find a little joy and comfort in clothing. I’ve always loved clothes; they impact my mood and… Read More »Printed Cotton Jumpsuit
The studio where I dance hosted a photoshoot for our very cute troupe so that we will have some proper shots to share with venues for show promotion. Here are a few of my favorites from part one, outdoors in blue. There is a river that runs right behind the… Read More »Troupe Shoot Part 1
How many neck tubes can one person make? This one is to match the hat that I made Jake for Christmas. It’s a ribbed half-double-crochet using bulky yarn. He decided he wanted the top a little more narrow than the bottom….when I was already done making the width of the… Read More »Orange Cowl
Plague Faire 2024 potluck was on another level. Everyone stepped up for the first ever competition potluck and the masses were well fed. To incentivize extra effort we provided prizes for the first and second-place dishes to receive the most votes for best-dish. Jake donated a disc to the cause… Read More »One-Shoulder Cape Prize
It has been a very bad week. For the world and for me personally, the past two weeks rank among the worst. Crochet is a small comfort, and the product is comfortable too. I joined a knitting circle at my local library for the winter to get me out of… Read More »Crochet Bubble Cowl
This project has been sitting on the backburner, but an upcoming trip to the faire has jump-started my motivation. Funny how with a self-imposed deadline looming, I got way more happy brain chemicals out of pulling thread than without a firm timetable. For a week leading up to the faire… Read More »Fancy Embroidered Collar
Opening weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Fair, also Labor Day weekend in the States, we found ourselves with a free afternoon and my desire for a particular bodice from a particular vendor opening at the faire. I threw together this cute Renaissance shopping outfit from pieces already sewn to peruse… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Fair Shopping Outfit
Breezy summer magic. Pools, beaches, hot-wind on an afternoon walk, and the kimono cover-up made with the power of rectangles. This fabric has been kickin’ it in the stash for almost a decade where I last made a simple halter dress from the rayon-poly-blend. Sun-protective, wrinkle-free, quick-dry, and not much… Read More »Purple Kimono Cover-up
This is another “I made this in front of the TV” project. No patterns, no counting, just wingin’ it. I was gifted this 100% cotton yarn from my aunt who uses it to make wash-clothes. She gave me 2 big skeins so I thought “this would make a good towel.”… Read More »Crochet Mini Towel
Nothing beats a linen dress in the summer. Softer with age, breathable, natural, a fabric of the ages. Considering that so many fairs take place in the warmer months and I’m always complaining about being too warm to wear many layers of garb, it was time for a linen dress.… Read More »Linen Wrap Renaissance Dress
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The bridal jacket is finished! For now… I started this project well over a year ago when I decided that having a jacket option for an October wedding would be a safe plan. I wanted to have the jacket finished over New Years, but supply-chain issues made getting fabric and… Read More »Bridal Jacket
Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you for joining me in 2022. I had a little time off over the holidays and my biggest project was to construct myself a bridal jacket to wear at our wedding celebration later this year. The project is going great; the pattern that I chose… Read More »Bridal Jacket Work in Progress
Welcome to the family, Nimbus, who just turned six months old. His first Christmas approaching, I sewed him a stocking to match the rest of the family from scraps leftover from two years past. He’s been with us since August, but with every monogramed accessory or matching training aid, it… Read More »A Stocking for Nimbus
When it’s hard to take on big projects, we take on small ones. This year has slipped through my fingers like sand; Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so too, another birthday. When I look back on the last 11 months and think of what went right, one of the… Read More »Blue Cotton Apron, Ahead of Thanksgiving
In the fall we harvest. We pickle, we can, we freeze. All winter, it’s baking. What garment helps with all that more than any other? An apron, of course. I’m in an apron-making mood. They are all my favorite sewing projects in one: utilitarian, good for scraps, all rectangles. If… Read More »Apron-Making Mood
Crochet is extremely addictive, and I am falling down the rabbit hole. My second practice project, as I learn this new art, was a chunky triangle scarf in two colors. I learned a new stitch: a scallop, (ooo) and I employed a treble crochet to make the scallops tall and… Read More »Chunky Orange Triangle Scarf, Crochet
Boy, what a summer it’s been, right? Heat waves, flooding, thunderstorms, wind and cold? Not exactly the summer we were all hoping for in the United States after over a year in lockdown. In between raindrops, we did manage to spend a few hours on the beach. Ok, sometimes we… Read More »Beachy Kaftan Robe
I am planning a trip to the beach for the first time in years. Having just thrown out a decade’s old beach tote that was collecting a smell, there was a hole in my arsenal of bags waiting to be filled. I’d been saving a yard of gorgeous printed cotton… Read More »Giant Beach Bag
Renaissance Fairs are back! Two weekends ago on a rainy day, my husband and I made our dog Tovi a Robinhood costume so that this past weekend we could enter her into the pet costume contest at the Robinhood Faire. Our poor sweet dog is very patient with all the… Read More »Robinhood, but it’s my dog.
We all have that drawer in the kitchen that gets a little nuts. A catch-all space to organize annually. I was itching to sew something fast and easy, without any events on the horizon to look forward to (a sad place to be), so I decided to make a little… Read More »Junk Organizer with Pockets
My dog seriously loves pillows. We let her use the human couch pillows, but she is very aware of what things are specifically hers and which things are shared. She loves her beds and pillows and looks so cute using them. After sewing Tovi a new Christmas coat from fleece, I… Read More »Christmas Quilted Bone Pillow
I made Tovi a new winter coat for the holidays and she is being very dramatic about trying it on for the first time; how dare I make her something long and warm, especially with a high collar to keep the wind off her neck! I’m still working my way… Read More »Christmas Coat for the Dog
Even before the engagement, I decided that Jake and I needed our own house standard for Plague Fair. Being a very crafty covid-cohort, several houses in attendance would be carrying them. A standard or war banner is a flag depicting a house-identifier such as a sigil, pattern, symbol or color… Read More »House Allen Banner
Look at this handsome guy. Plague masks are all the rage this year, but they don’t exactly accommodate long beards, at least, not in the traditional raven shape. Good thing we’re not wedded to tradition in this house. A pelican instead! That ballooning neck, a throat like fire, should be… Read More »Jake’s Beard-Bird Plague Doctor Mask
I made Jake a formal beard mask to exactly match a suit for a very special occasion. How did I match it exactly? The suit came unhemmed so I had to chop about 5 inches off the bottom of each pant leg for him. This left barely enough fabric to make… Read More »Formal Beard Mask