mmh cake is baking in the oven

I've been a patchy blogger this year - I've been plagued by ill health although that seems to be turning the corner.

I'm very happy with my new hand held blender, it's making baking much easier as my tennis elbow means I can't whisk or beat eggs/mixes by hand for long enough.


Today I've got a pear upside down cake in the oven - gluten free and I used nuttlex instead of butter for the topping.

This is it ready to go into the oven.  I could never have beaten the egg whites until they were stiff peaky.

The recipe I'm using is this one, although I used 4 eggs as mine were small not large
http://soursaltybittersweet.com/content/pear-upside-down-almond-cake-gluten-free

Deadwood on a Saturday night

A nightclub (but not really a nightclub, they have live bands, retro movie screenings etc) had a Deadwood ball on Saturday night.  I met some friends and friends of friends there for a fun evening.  I'd planned to make a copy of Alma's red dress but time and health intervened. I had my fallback plan of historical underwear and a short lived career in the Gem saloon.

I wore my candy stripe corset, and it's now so loose that I can put it on with the back fully laced closed. Also wore it over my bustle petti & bustle pad cos it's prettier that way despite being inauthentic. Oh and I added some eyelet broderie anglaise to the neckline of a regency chemise as I didn't need a wardrobe malfunction.  I figured I'd be lucky if more than 3 people knew it wasn't done that way.  A slightly matted long curly brown wig from my wig box was ideal for the Gem but not for Alma. 

The bustle pad could have been very handy if it was more stable


With a couple of friends, one as Joanie and the other as one of her Chez Ami girls (I was Gem saloon for sure)


A Wyatt Earp with a couple of the Gem's girls


The Reverend Smith showed his concern for all residents of Deadwood!  I saw him when I arrived but didn't spot him again until the evening was almost over, and I just had to get a photo with him.

invited to the Miss Page Collection 1940s patterns launch

I feel incredibly lucky have been invited to the launch of a new vintage pattern range.  I met Lorna of Stitch Up History about 18 months ago through the Australian Costumers' Guild, and only recently found out she not only had a vintage pattern range planned but about to be launched. 

What a happy coincidence for me that I was in the right city, at the right time *and* was invited to the launch last Sunday. The Paragon Cafe in Katoomba was the venue, which is where Miss Page worked in the 40s ... and hated the drudgery by all accounts. Who can blame her for that though she made life long friends with other workers there.

Enjoying the champagne on arrival.  My camera is proving to be a disappointment. Too many out of focus shots and it's determined to not use the flash when *I* think it should.  It's also taking far too long to take the pic and waits a minimum of 6 seconds to be ready for another. grrrr.

So here's some more abstract pics of the garments.

A land army style overalls - stylish!  and a cuter than cute sailor suit.  If only it would make my posterier look half as good I'd have bought it. The website isn't showing the patterns so I can't tell you their names at this point.


The cutest dress Lily Rose - which I pre-ordered


 and here it is with a couple of other views. Onceuponatoile on the left is a comparatively new to sewing and made it in a couple of days so she could wear it to her friend's launch, and that's Lorna on the right in the red with green trim.


There are a couple of evening dresses - the yellow one comes with a fetching shoulder cape (seen further down on onceuponatoile), and the lady in red, Mouna, sang 40s songs between each new garment (one model),


And of course it had to finish with a wedding dress.  Gorgeous too and almost the only photo of the pattern garments to turn out!

Laughing Moon regency/romantic stays pattern

My near obsession with transitional and regency stays continues.

I first heard that Laughing Moon were beta testing a regency stays pattern about a year ago and it's finally being produced.   I pre-ordered mine about 10 days ago to get a small discount and also to get it into my grabby hands as soon as possible. Had I lived in the USA the pre-order also includes free postage, but I'm not so it isn't. (Not a complaint, just a comment).

I got an email saying it's in the mail to me :D 

The pattern includes a theatrical version ... which I'm hoping is easy to dress oneself in so I can use that. 

at last a regency ball gown

I was inspired by a gown in Bradfield's Costume in Detail from around 1817

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I wasn't up to the task of mocking up the sleeves, so I used the sleeves & skirt of the 1816-19 evening dress from Waugh's Cut of Women's Clothing (Diagram 37). I was really impressed with how easy it was to draft the sleeves & scale them up ... I literally drew the sleeves on the fabric with my chalk wheel. I thought I'd taken a photo of that but it seems not :-/

I had to get the back pinned (straight pins) closed on the night, as I haven't yet found a matching cord for the closure.  I'm also thinking of re-cutting the bodice as the neckline is a lot higher than I planned. I put that down to silk taffeta not behaving the same way as the poly-cotton I used as the mock ups.

a new under dress for my open robe

I started cutting out a new underdress in April 2011, and it's lurked in my unfinished sewing ever since. It's the same tufted hailspot cotton voile as my green dress, but a different pattern. I used the same bodice & sleeves as the open robe, but cut slightly higher at the bodice, a rectangle skirt pleated onto it. The same centre front opening as the green dress.

Because this has been the Year of Bad Health, I really needed something quicker to make & wear for the Jane Austen Festival Australia, than any of my other ideas. This was at least partly cut out, I knew it would fit and it would go with my existing open robe.

the good and the bad of packet mixes

I needed to make another cake to take to work .... if I want to join in the morning tea then I need to make it myself!

first the bad - a cup cake packet mix.  It looked like it would be good, but it turned out to be so hideously sweet that I could only eat 2 mouthfulls and then chucked the cupcake away.  Hideously, sickly diabetic coma inducing sweet. (even for a non diabetic)

Never to be tried again. Ever.

















the other mix I tried was the buttery sponge from the range I've successfully used the chocolate cake mix

Now this was a success!  Even using nutlex instead of butter it was delicious.  I ended up not going to work the next day as I had a migraine, so I took it with me to Ironfest and fed it to my re-enactment group who happily declared it tasty and you'd never guess it was special for silly innards.

I've already bought another packet for the pantry just in case I need it again

getting ready for JAFA (Jane Austen Festival Australi)

At the beginning of the year, I cut out 3 chemises, a coutil cheat version of my long stays (so I can dress myself) and the 1790s jumps in cotton canvas lined with cotton twill.  Despite being under the weather for most of the year, I've almost finished the chemises and have at least looked at the stays & jumps. Not sewn, but the jumps are so easy that I'm not too worried.  I took the pattern with me to buy some flat steels for the jumps, hmm, I better check that the pattern still fits, as I've lost a little weight.

On Saturday I went to my sewing guild meeting and spent far more time than I'd like hand sewing the binding around the edge of the replacement (ie longer) shoulder straps and whip stitching the straps to the stays.  By the end I wasn't able to focus well enough to thread the needle so I didn't get the hand eyelets stitched for the the straps & where the tie to the front. Only 4 eyelets and it's altered to fit properly.  I also want to devise fan-lacing for it. 

One reason I want the jumps done next is so that I can make & fit this 1798 fashion plate.  I can use the past patterns round gown to make the dress, though perhaps with less fullness in the back to save my brain with all those triangles at the hem.   3 metres of triangle trim will perhaps make my brain go all explodey.