The Duster Jacket

A couple years ago I came across this wonderful pattern from Simplicity for an automobile duster. I had to have it of course, especially since I have been volunteering at a car museum for my whole life (my dad works at one). So I tackled the full length duster. The pockets were the worst part, but I eventually figured them out (sort of) and it all turned out quite well.
I put the pattern away, thinking that I was finished with it for a long time, until I went to a musical. I saw my coat, done in pink and green, and it was short! Brilliant! So for the last year, I have been thinking about making a second, shorter jacket from my duster pattern. And finally, I found a plain green/brown coloured canvas type fabric that I thought would make a very nice jacket.

Pocket and cuff trimmings.

Front of duster.

Back of duster.

For my second go at the duster, I decided to for-go all the fancying trims and decided to purchase some nice metal buttons. For some reason I decided not to make it a size or two smaller for a more fitted jacket (which was probably a silly idea now that I am done). I did however use the back tab to pull the fabric to the back for the sake of simple tailoring, and it was the first time that I actually got to use my dress form! (To whom I lovingly refer to as Dora the Dress Form.) The thing works like a charm. I think that it turned out quite well again, and will perhaps make a nice coat to wear on a chilly day to work (with the approval of the costuming department of course). It has a sort of military look to it with the colour and brass buttons, but I enjoy it.

Pre-finishing touches on new jacket.

After finishing touches. Probably should iron it...

The back with the tab.

Very pretty buttons!

Edwardian Inspiration

I was watching a show on the Edwardian manor houses yesterday.  They showed some fabulous period footage and, of course, the people's clothing gave me inspiration.  I am typically not that great at drawing my ideas for costumes (or lets face it, anything), but it happened to work out for me last night.   So, here are my costume inspirations, that I would love to one day have the time and resources to create.

About Me

Well, I decided to start a blog.  And surprisingly the most difficult part was deciding what to call it.  I didn't want something simple like Kesia's Blog, or Thoughts or what not, but I new that I was probably going to write about my job at a living historical village, my sewing endeavors, museums and history.  And then I came up with my title - and after submitting it thought I may have gone a bit overboard with the tacky blog name.  Oh well, I find the tackiness of it rather funny, and hopefully this blog will somehow bring in the ironies that I find during life.

So a bit about me - I am currently enrolled in a BA degree in Canadian History with a minor in Museum and Heritage Studies.  And I absolutely love it (most of the time, we will see how I feel next term with 3 History courses and 2 Museum courses)!  So I am sure the ideas, issues, and interesting things that come up in classes will make their way onto this blog at some point, especially since I was doing a journal for my MHST class last term and am not ready to give that up yet.

I grew up in a prairie farming community in Central Alberta, and am now living in a big city by the mountains.  Sometimes I feel claustrophobic - the big buildings and tall mountains want to eat me.  I do love the mountains though.  Growing up in a small town, I often feel as though I grew up in a different era.  I have distinct memories of the grain elevator in my hometown from before it was torn down, and can remember the loud siren that would call the volunteer fire department for an emergency.  (And I am just approaching 20 so I fell kind of lucky to have these stored in my brain.)  I went home at harvest time and could smell the wheat in the air, and boy was it great!  My mother was my teacher and we walked the five minutes across town to school together, and my grandparents live across the street.  All these things were important influences on my upbringing.

Another incredibly important influence in my life has been museums.  My father is a curator at an agricultural and transportation museum, and my brother and I spent a lot of time there.  I have thus gained many ridiculous skills for my resume - butter making, bread baking, flailing and winnowing, grain grinding, tractor driving, sickle chopping, Model T driving.  These wonderful skills have offered me the opportunity for me to work my dream job at a living history site.  Best job ever!  So, this will probably come up an awful lot too, as it is a lot of fun and I sometimes have crazy ideas that I want to implement to make myself even closer to my ultimate goal of living in the past for one year.  (I am thinking of Victorian and Edwardian Farm and that Quest series.  Amazing.)

I also love to sew, sing and bake.  They are my creative outlet, so expect lots about this.  I love to bake cupcakes, and I have been enjoying testing recipes form my old cookbooks.  I took voice lessons for many years and have a Gr. 8 with RCM, and right now I sing in an Early Music (Renaissance, Baroque, Medieval music) Ensemble and have been having fun learning music from the 1900s at work.  I love creating historical clothing, but I want to get more into retro and vintage inspired clothing that I can wear everyday.  But costumes will always be my passion.  I have recently acquired a dress form and am in the process of picking out a name for her.  I like Elenore and Dora, but have been leaning towards Mabel (I do however, love the name Mabel and worry about using it on a dress form when it would be a great name for a kid.)

I think that is all for now, as I need to do some studying.