CrazyCholeBlack

Ah! You beat me to it Lt. Congrats on getting the CD out

Can't wait to see you in May!

A pre-hemmed silk scarf is most definitely the way to go. Warm enough in cold weather, light & cool enough in the heat. Plus they take no space to pack.

If you're in the mood to dye for yourself, Dharma Trading is the best. Many of my neckerchiefs are made from their 30" square scarves & fiber reactive dyes. I've found that the larger size is too big & the small size doesn't offer enough tail for a few twists or to tuck in.

If you're hoping to purchase, try an internet search for "Waldorf Play Silk". They are intended as play things for children in Waldorf eduction, however the colorful silk scarves are the perfect addition to every basic sailors (& proper woman's) kit. Just stick with the solid colors over the tie dye ones. Nova Naturals Toys carries a wide selection and is a very reliable company.

Do try to avoid those "other" options :angry:

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the clarification and further information BlackJohn, BloddyJack & GOF. I'm not as familiar with the La Belle shoe as with the Whydah, which is why I posed my questions. The documentation & further reading is exactly what I like to see in an answer Thank you gentlemen!

The buckle itself will be different, or the way in which the buckle is attached?

My question regards the apparent single strap, fix buckle arrangement. Not the width, design or material of said buckle.

Here you go Captain, photos of the Pirata del Lago. A fine flag ship if ever there was one

My only questions regarding the Loyalist shoe posted above are as follows:

The latchet appears to be one sided. Rather than having 2 full latchets that wrap across the top of the shoe (overlapping each other as in GOF's shoe posted above), this looks to have a buckle fixed on a shorter strap at one side with a longer strap that folds across. This leaves the buckle off center. Also, if the buckle is attached to the short strap that leaves no easy way to change it out, should the wearer want a brass buckle, one of GOF's buckles or even to tie it off with cord.

All in all though, an improvement over many of the other inexpensive options available to those looking for a GAoP era shoe. Many thanks to those who have stayed the course in getting these shoes produced.

I concur Christy.

I have owned my black tyg for over a year & still use it daily. It has held up well, even survived having a cast iron pot dropped on it with only a minor ding. I look forward to many more years of use.

It is worth noting however that not every piece of Reconstructing History pottery is suitable for GAOP use. Luckily every piece has a date attached so buyers can be certain they are getting a piece for their proper time period.

Coming soon!

Bridands Folie debut album "Fog & Fire"

I've been privileged to hear most of these songs live & to hear a few of the rough cuts for the final CD. I think music lovers, especially fans of sailing songs & historic tunes are going to be very impressed. Jake & Karen are a fantastic musical duo. This CD is a define "must add" to any well rounded collection.

I'm wondering if you don't have the holes in the strap too far to the inside. That would account for the prongs "standing up" when the strap is done. Try moving the holes further out and see if that helps them lay flat again. Also make sure the holes are big enough so the prongs can really go through.

I have a changing midsection of size,  extremely curvy and am hoping to lose about 20 pounds before summer. Which brings me the challenge of do I tempt the fates and make my own and if I do how do I deal with the fact of possibly losing weight and the fact I am hourglass shape, under 5' with no midsection and stays are cylindrical and long in patterns- how do I deal with this challenge, find a pattern that will look flattering on me while still being accurate to GAoP

OK lots to cover there. I'll start by saying I'm a huge proponent of stays so that's the side you're going to hear

To deal with loosing weight you have a few options. 1. front & back lacing made to have a larger gap until you have lost the weight 2. back lacing & removing a section & boning in the back (resewing the eyelets as needed) when you loose 3. making an entirely new set if you loose enough, "harvesting" the parts from the over sized pair as needed.

Now, honestly, your shape doesn't matter. Any woman can have well fitting stays & all well fitting stays are flattering on any body shape/type. Seriously, this is where we moderns are missing out. Stays are comfortable & flattering & make women look *good*!

I have never sewn any corsets and I have always sewn by hand! I have sewn over dresses and fitted a lot of clothing to myself, but never anything as elaborate as stays- what am I getting into!?

The trick is in the fitting. If you've done any kind of fitting before then stays aren't going to be any more complicated. They are just 4 layers of fabric with stuffed tunnels & binding. It's more a matter of the time than the skill needed. There are fitting tricks though. Cardboard mock-ups, duct tape doubles and lost of patience.

Remember, if you are making your own stays, don't be afraid to really resize the parts that you need to make the stays comfortable for you. Don't feel constrained by the pattern. For example, I radically altered the strap arrangement on my stays. The wider straps were not comfortable on my narrow shoulders. It took time & patience but the end was a comfortable pattern that fits me (& me only )

So I also need to be considerate of my current social status with a tendency to lean toward the finer things when indulged-which leads toward the next question of sewing a mantua or wearing an jacket?

Ahh, there's the rub. If you're planning on doing strictly GAoP events then a mantua is the most common garment for women in all classes. However if you are planning on doing any other 18th C "eras" then your most mileage will come from a bed jacket (ie The Manteau de Lit). Similar but different garments. You could get away with a bed jacket at a GAoP event because most people won't know what is "correct" for the period, where as (IME) wearing a mantua at a later 18th C event, everyone will know that it's different & approach you with questions. Makes getting to "the boxes" a little interesting

Boning - that's up to you what you use, I use reeding. Cheap, holds up well, breathable in the summer months, etc. But does need to be replaced once or twice a year depending upon how many times you wear your stays.

Interesting Lady B. I've never heard that or had a problem with the reed in my stays. Granted I've only worn them for ~42 days in the past year. I have slept in them more than once though I honestly wouldn't expect to have to replace reed regularly. If nothing else they should mold to the wearers shape & replacing means you have to start that shaping all over again. The few times I've heard of broken reeds were either cases of tight lacing (a no-no even in period) or in half boned stays where each reed has to do more/ take more stress. If breaking is a problem I might consider fully boning to lessen the stress on individual reeds.

Julia Smith has a good basic article about pottery during the generic "colonial" era. It does a good job differentiating between different types of pottery/glaze techniques and some rough dates for colonial production. Oh, don't forget to check the bottom for suggested further reading (tip #1 for how to find all the good history books )

http://www.juliasmith.com/historicpottery/articles.htm

The virtual site for the Phips Homestead has some photos of shards. Everything from delft to plain red ware is shown. The sites end date is still slightly pre GAoP (1676) but with something as hard to find as proper pottery using a wider year range can be helpful in finding basic information.

http://w3.salemstate.edu/~ebaker/Phipsweb/...phipsalbum.html

Very nice sign Captain Midnight. I'm assuming this is the computerized version & you'll have a live one as well?

Crockery of course existed, but what shape would crocks or jugs have taken to be period correct? as well as would they be glazed, or unglazed, and if glazed, what color? or would 'salt' glazing be period?

I always turn to J. Henderson for my pottery. Jay does beautiful work, glazed, stoneware and custom. All of mine is from them now (& not just because they take coffee in trade )

http://artifacts.brigandsfolie.com/

Those my dear, would be clocked stockings.

In the most basic sense clocking is the decoration (embroidered or made with purl stitches) in the area on the side of the stocking where the heel gusset connects. They were a sign of wealth and no commonly seen on the common

Mara Riley has a good page on stockings in the 18th C. Not specifically GAoP but one of the items that doesn't under go a dramatic change between 17-19th Centuries.

http://www.marariley.net/knitting/stocking.htm

Consider that your holiday present

Nate-

As always, if you need hands in the gun crew and I am not other wise engaged with the Great Lakes River Pirates gun (or boat) crews, I am more than willing to throw on my boys clothes and help. I'm trained on all cannon positions, have 6 battles under my belt already (with plans for many many more) and well, I really like to make things go boom!

See you in August!

Anyway...

Back to the subject; "You in your Garb"

In honor of 1 year in "Big 18th C" reenacting, I made this banner retrospective. I intend to make one of these for each year as a way to look back at all the different events and time periods I do. Just a fun little thing really. It'll be really great to see when it gets to be a huge collection of photos!

Woh, pirates are giving fish a run for their money. for some reason that strikes me as terribly funny.

This fabric is still available. Now with lower prices & lower shipping. Perfect for everyone's winter sewing projects.

Teal Silk

Gold Stripe Silk

Enjoy!

I don't know. The squared toe of the MR shoes looks good. And they seem to be buff side out. Can't really tell if they are directional or straight lasted and can't see the stitching on the heel though. Compared with the Sara Juniper 17th C shoes, the latchets shouldn't attach in the way that they do (in an L vs in a straight line from the side opening) & they should probably have a single lacing rather than 2.

That said, for the price they are actually cheaper than buying a new pair of desert boots and converting them to faux latchets. Now if they only came in small enough sizes for the darned kids!

Doing my annual clearing out of the fabric bins and look at the beauties that I found in there! Maybe if they sell, I can get some more fabric

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcholeblack

While these aren't really "right" for the historics, they would certainly make smashing Hollywood inspired outfits. 2 yards is enough for a mans waist coat or a womans petticoat in most sizes.

I have several.

My personal blog, but well you already know about that one now doncha

Of course I also have my costuming blog where I keep track of what I'm doing sewing wise and share tutorials. It's my little way of giving back & helping out others that might also be just starting out.

http://slightly-obsessed.blogspot.com/

I also keep a spiral. It holds my life; phone numbers, notes, directions, addresses, grocery lists, random ideas, websites I want to visit, drawings from my kid when she gets bored, flyers and basically everything else. I go through about 1, 5 subject spiral a year. I lost one once & nearly had a fit till I tracked it down again. Like I said, it holds my life.

Wot is the beauty mark below the left eye, I wonder?

It's a little dancer, cut from black velvet.

Just a few shots of my newest outfit. The gown came together in 4 (very lazy) days. There are interior rings so I can polonaise the skirt as well, but I like it down with the false rump instead.

front close-up

back close-up

The infamous "silhouette" (rule #1, no playing with the rump )

and a nice full length shot with Mssr. William (aka Will Fiddle) before heading off to the ball.

Most of my stuff is printed.

Out of interest, apart from Kass's stuff (did you know I've got the original of the Gazette by the way?) where's your paper matter from?

I do seem to remember the Gazette(s ) being from your originals. Isn't it also the bank note that is re-forged from a forged original, or is my memory going already?

My broadsides are a combo of sources honestly. Some I've found in archives on-line, some from companies that reprint period materials, some are from friends who have generously passed their copies onto me for the coffeehouse, some I faked

Nice stuff Chole - a gal after me own heart I see!

Except that you're paperwork is much nicer than mine Ed. I don't have the handwriting to make anything from scratch so I stick with printed broadsides. Thank goodness for technology!