I had to totally change how I am making my Elsa gown which has meant going back to scratch while at the same time buying vital materials. Finally some powernet that is powernet has arrived! It’s the same as I made my Ice Gown bodysuit from so I do know what I can get it to do.

My problem is and has been down to two things.

1. the neckline- it’s so low that I have to either accept not perfectly illusion net to hold it up from the shoulders, or some sort of very hidden corsetry to push it up. The very deep v in the back here is what makes the choise so hard.
2. my sequin fabric has very definite vertical lines. The deep points of the skirt means I have to use these very carefully

So this power net is great. I can layer the netting where I need support but also can dip dye to match my skin tone so I can use it as it is or get a true illusion net over the top. Probably the latter.

I have a tremendous amount of super sheer tulle that was going to be used on my Bubble gown, so that can be layered up to get that snow effect but over the sequins to get that sparkle. Basically what I did for my Ice Gown (-frozen-elsa) but at least 4 layers.

Those layers of tulle will hopefully help protect the edges of the sequin fabric once I cut it. And will hide seams I have to put in to the sequin fabric.

The sheer layer if fine in terms of cut- I can either top and tail panels or do a kind of 1900s skirt cut, that is also similar to my Mina skirt foundation. I really want to to make the skirt in very narrow panels for each point.

Again though all of this is dependent on solving the neckline/support and sequin fabric direction issues. I really need to prepare for that in terms of fabric glue to tack down threads holding sequins as those points get very narrow and will be very finicky.

I have some nice gently stretched satin to line the sequins, but it’s not as nice as what I have for the ice gown or what I started making of the Frozen Fever gown. I wish I could remember where I got it.

My computer has had a refresh after my ssd had a minor hardware fail. So fast, so easy to use. All to get my research properly sorted and updated. I spent nearly all my monthly allowance on free articles on JSTOR so it’s quite timely.

I did swap some cables, got the vacuum out, so I think I have a few more years out of this pc 🙂

I’ve had two queries about my Anne of Cleves research in the last few days so I’ve been trying to update some of my pages that draw together visual information that individually are relatively low quality but brought together suggests they are at the very least attempts to depict dress specific to the region.

If you have visited my research site in the last few days you’ll find some pages are changing a bit. I’m trying to cite inline and post, and that includes any edits made after initial publication.

My PC is currently inoperable. There seems to be a corrupt update but otherwise the drive is good. So I’ll attempt to reassemble it.

Meanwhile I am making use of my new flipbook, I can access files in my back up drives via an enclosure so yes, I am able to access files. It’s just a little different to what I am used to.

I’ve also taken up tidying as a bit of distraction therapy.

I’m also finding myself retreating from kindness and support. It’s a difficult time for many of us who are reduced to a number and are aware of it. So I’m going to take a breath, take a pause, and find a way to express gratitude.

I’ve been slowly working on my two Poysdorf shirts, I did cut down a regular shirt for that, so my gussets are too deep but it does work. I’ve taken out as much as possible from the back so it sits flat against my back to leave the gathers entirely where it is most needed in Kleve-Juelich-Berg and Koeln. That is my adaptation for a much warmer and humid climate that I live in. I am not comfortable with a lot of fabric gathered and creating pockets of warm air around my torso, so I very much need this!

I’ve spent a bit of time this year trying some rehab of my hands. It’s too expensive to get physio unfortunately but I do still have some resources from my carpal tunnel release surgery.

This is what I did do: Therapeutic Exercise Program for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (pdf.)

So I’m doing these again on top of a few simple RA stretches which have not changed or advanced but are vital: Slide show: Hand exercises for people with arthritis (series of gifs showing how to do each exercise.)

The “finger walk” is especially useful due to the drift of fingers.

My PC seems to have finally stopped working, so I’m tippy tappy typing on a smaller keyboard but my thumbs are curled under so it’s time to find a different posture and get some heat on my hands.

“Over complicating costuming since forever ago?” Yeah. That’s not hyperbole. I am currently stalled on updating my waterfall pleat guide because I wound up trying to find any, every, image of a specific iteration. One of the Dutch Second Managers, aka Wishing gown. It’s really an amazing example as it takes everything that I know from extant gowns and uses it.

But in doing so I’ve sorted my folders and so far it does look like my principle works. My basic pattern works really well as it is for US style Second Manager’s versions, and my guide itself works really well full stop if the text is followed.

So what I’m trying to do is make it easier to get to that point.

Something that I can’t really do is help predict exactly how much fabric physics and trim work. I can give alerts to what to expect but that goes way back to Alcega, so that’s something I’m trying to include. Folding heavy fabric affects measurements.

Spoon theory is very useful, but only if you understand the concept of a spoon/energy deficit.

Much like taking out a monetary loan, it can impact your security for years to come.

And I have genuinely, reached my limit of being able to borrow even a day ahead.

In the past I have been able to make calculations based on experience to invest in a few days then recovering for weeks or months after.

But I can’t do that, and haven’t been able to for some time.

Honestly?

I think because fibromyalgia does not have the same deep history that Rheumatoid Arthritis has. Pain with an unknown source or therapy drains all your resources that could be divided between known therapy and what you need to do. This guesswork take so much time and energy. And bad advice (as most advice now appears to be) not only doesn’t help in the moment, but now looks like it can cause damage that is irreversible.

My hope is that now that there is finally a good body of evidence for it to be inflammatory and immune driven that we can start to use fairly simple, cheap, very well known therapies.

I suspected fibro was inflammatory and immune driven when I could use high heat on my spine like I do for RA flares.

It is a real relief to have a cheap, reusable kind of therapy (hot water bottle.) It is however temporary. So I need a good 20 mins of direct heat two or three times a day.

I have to carefully tread safety vs therapeutic levels as I need high enough heat to numb tissue to the muscle/joint.

But it is something.

But today I have overlocked the seam allowances of a Victorian style bodice. That is 12 pieces. It is A Lot but the structure allows for really nifty illusion, then extreme fitting in seams that are less obvious.

And all of this is inspired by trying to make my Waterfall Pleat guide more useful. I would up grabbing inspiration images of styles I’m not personally a fan of, but really do help understand how these things work.

It’s now time to rest and apply that high heat to my lower spine. It’s shifted from upper back to lower spine and I’m not sure why. Whatever it is, I will do better by resting now.

Very excited to say I think I have managed to start a real honest to goodness guide to waterfall pleats. My very old guide has been pinned and repinned and I no longer have track of who is using what from what platform. Even my updated guide needs rewriting in light of some recent file sorting.

I really want to make some kind of plug in measurement app as I think it really is that easy, but so far I’ve made some ready to print line guides that I’ll be testing with my pen and touchscreen.

It does look like each costume house for each production of Phantom of the Opera has a single template that is then altered. This is great, it means a single pattern will work for three or more costumes within that production.

I am though very sore and very tired, it doesn’t detract from my excitement, but it does mean I need to rebuild my tolerance for a while.

My entire Modular Frock system needs integrating as a lot of it even works for vintage clothing.

Okay.

Rest, recovery, then back to it.

I have a horrible tendency to do this too quickly, then later on really need what I lost. This is usually a response to external forces, which you know, is how life works; we are not in this alone. Recently I used tidying as a form of distraction but I have managed to “sort” some very vital fabrics….. somewhere.

These are irreplaceable and I really have looked through my entire studio and bedroom and I cannot find them. I think I attempted to separate the linen from cotton. But I keep switching my organisation from putting an entire project in one space- including uncut fabrics, to putting only already cut fabric and trim.

Frankly neither works well with what I have, so that’s also part of the problem. In fact I just found a huge length of HetnBond making my recent purchase now a negative in my budget. To be honest though it’s probably what I need in total if I want to make all the guarding I need to do much easier. I have 2m of black cotton velveteen to make into bias cut strips for my Juelich gown and for my two skirts that really do need to be properly finished.

Even though I desperately need the fabric for three projects (supporting bodices for my Cranach, Juelich, and Anne of Cleves gowns) and I am still saving for similar support layers for Elsa and my Bubble gown (power net for understrucrue, illusion tulle for both necklines) I have managed to let go of it. Mostly. If I find it, great, if not I have enough set aside to be able to make two.

And I have so much orange left over I can definitely use that along with the guarding for a lot of stability.

All of this though is part of what I am trying to teach about 16thC construction as I do things very differently from modern teaching.

I have never found modern systems and clothing work for me (including 19thC when you really find proportional systems kick up) and it was Fashion Incubator who helped me realise why. And while they deal with modern systems and manufacturing they really helped me recognise why pre 19thC patterning works so well for me, but also in general.

But that is so much history that I’ve mostly been sharing sources than my own methods so that when I can write up my method everyone can look at my sources to understand why.

I’ve also recently made a deep dive into my school records and I was pretty shocked.

Aside from one short lived teen rebellion my records are consistent in one aspect: my comprehension outpaced my ability to communicate. And I never did find it easy to speak up. There is more but it’s pretty clear that school did not really know how to teach me, and I tried so hard to fit in but never did.

It’s a lot to process. But especially how some teachers treated that as an attitude problem. Even when they wrote how much of an effort I was making they still treated reticence to *speak* as an attitude problem.

I am very lucky to still have a reasonable record of my work and commentary. It does raise a number of questions now though. And certainly gives me a better insight into what my peers were going through- even while recognising why I didn’t identify with them at the time- I did have sympathy, developed empathy and compassion, but only now have some understanding.

Education ideally gives us tools to learn, but it also need to be honest. Had I known exactly how much of a barrier that shyness was specifically? We might have been able to afford a tutor. But my shyness was complicated by social matters and so that would have had to be a tutor who understood and respected that.

One of the problems with rolling delays is it is so hard to catch up! That includes simply importing and copying files from my phone. Then I need to back them up and finally can start editing and deleting. I’ve not been able to do much each day either. It’s 10am and I’m both in pain and tired just from having a shower and catching up. I need to be kinder on myself for this, while also figuring out when I can “push” things. But yesterday I managed to break through some really heavy emotional blocks that have contributed to this cycle.

After losing my constant kitty companion, who would stay with me in my little studio it got harder to go out there because it just didn’t feel the same.

Then when it was broken into, the space just no longer felt like it was mine.

In winter (like now) this is especially true as I need to air out all spaces for them to be healthy and not confrontational to all senses located in my head. Luckily I have a little fan heater that automatically turns off after a very short time so I can just take the chill off and that helps a lot. It’s a small enough space that this winds up economical and not burdening the electrical network.

I tried all sorts of ways to make myself go out there, including replacing my netbook which stutters and is slow and often bypasses Mint to try and reload windows. Yesterday I committed half an hour to painting some metal pieces a brighter gold and even that? So many things went wrong!

Our driveway has turned slippery so I got to the door a little down thinking about figuring out maintenance, then my laptop would not start up. So I went back indoors, started up no problem. Took it back out, and again it wouldn’t start up. So forced reboot, and the fans went like the blazing, it did eventually start up, I checked in task manager and I think it was trying to connect to the internet *before* letting me in based on what was using most resources. So I am going to have to change some settings because that should not prevent me from logging in.

So that was tense and frustrating, and after several years of this cycle it was going to be easier to give up. But! I stuck it out, and managed to paint most of the jewellery findings I need to finish my sets of belts and necklaces etc.

The big round piece is perhaps the most successful. While painting the bees (originally silver because for some reason gold bees became scarce when I needed them) one fell and I thought “oh no, it’s on the my brunchcoat” but I couldn’t find it and so decided maybe it would turn up under the desk. but no!

It turned up stuck to my sock this morning. I can’t believe how long it had managed to stay there.

These pieces still need a few more hours to dry before I can bake them to cure them.

This is not the intended use of the pebeo vitrea 160 glossy medium but it does work to bind metallic pigments. Side note, it looks like that is no longer made, and instead you need to use the porcelaine 150 glossy medium if your local store doesn’t have any older stock. Darn, yes the store I got mine from no longer stocks it.

Anyway. They are now indoors, I am having a flare of fibro from yesterday so am about to shift posture and lie down with a hot water bottle applied in rotation on the radiating pain spots. And ask for help getting some emulgel on my back.