Spring Cleaning?

Can you really call it that if it seems more like winter? I usually call it The Great Purge. I went through all of my sewing stuff. I had so much stuff that I had to keep it in one of those three drawer plastic bins, the ones on wheels. The plan was to get rid of enough stuff so I don't need it any more. It worked. Everything now fits in my sewing desk. I have a 1920's era art deco desk that is about three fit wide, but it has 5 drawers and a cabinet for tall things. It is the perfect size for a sewing machine, and has a matching bench seat. My large desk is gone and has been replaced with a work station that fits all of the computer stuff, including the scanner. I just need to clean out that room and get it in order. Next, I'm going through fabric scraps. Anything that isn't from a current outfit or is anything I've had for more than a year is getting tossed. I try to recycle or give away anything that is useful, but I don't have the patience for trying to give away fabric scraps.

I have a lot to do before SUNrise. This list includes:
1. Rebuild the flemish underdress
2. Work on the new embroidery class
3. Put together a few more embroidery kits
4. Pack up all the stuff I need

I have three classes:
1. How Not to do Large Embroidery Projects
2. Late Period Women's Work Clothes
3. Individual Blackwork Instruction

I'm not taking over Etienne's dance class which I'm glad of. I'm doing so much teaching already that it'd be hard to fit in a dance class too. I'm taking alot already, then I'd have to add my stereo (Bose Wave Radio), hand outs, mp3 player and memorize the dances by Friday night. I don't like teaching dances from a piece of paper, and I'd like to avoid that in the future. Right now, I'm so far out of practice with dancing that I should just read my dance manual from cover to cover to remember what I know.

My table is coming along. I'll be ready to start sanding the trestles this Thursday if I have time to go to Danr's.

Trestles

Tonight I finished building the trestle legs for my table. One of the shelf supports is a 1/4" higher than the other but that isn't anything that I can't solve by sanding. The other option is to make a piece or runner to stabilize the table horizontally that will slide over the 2x4 shelf supports and just cut one slot a 1/4" deeper.

TJ rebuilt my embroidery frame. The one Danr helped me make is really nice but my floor stand cannot support the weight. The stretcher bars are red oak which is heavy. The new one is poplar which is really light. I haven't had any time to do any embroidery at all since getting back from that trip.

Now with Pictures

I gave up trying to find software to download my digital photos. I picked up a card reader from Radio Shack for about $1o. Add another gadget to my growing family of electronic toys.

Without further ado, here are the first pictures from my digial SLR. I am pleased. I wanted the first ones to be of my table since someone requested those. These are the barn boards Giovanna gave me a couple years ago, and I didn't know what I wanted to do with them so they just sat around until I decided I wanted a new table. Danr took the pics in the shop. It's very dark inside, so I'm happy these turned out nicely. The front took about 2 hours of sanding with an electric sander and at least two hours of hand planing before that. I haven't sanded the back yet. I want to do the final sanding by hand. One end has a couple boards that are longer so I need to do some trimming on that yet. This was over the weekend, and I got the legs cut out before I went home. I was tired from working on a video shoot project since about 8 am that morning.

The next pictures I'm posting will be of the corset embroidery. I have some very nice close ups of the stitches, and it made my realize just how much more I need to practice. After seeing the pictures, I want to take some parts out and do them again, but what I'd be undoing is about an hour or two of work. I'd like people's thoughts once I get the pictures up. You'll see what I'm talking about then.

I'll be at TJ's Thursday night until sometime Sunday. It'll be nice to get away from home for a few days.

The Table

I spent a few hours at Danr's today working on my trestle table. He helped me build the top. I'm using the recycled barn boards from G finally. I know I've had them at least a year and couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them until recently. I had to hand plane down one of the pieces a lot, and that is not easy work. My arms hurt a little from that.
The table is going to fit together with wood pegs only, no metal and it will last longer. It will have an epoxy finish on it, so that won't be period. The only reason I decided on that is because there are holes and cracks that I'd like filled in. I'm going to use this table for cooking mostly, and I want the table to be easy to clean. That way, food bits also won't get stuck in the little cracks. The next step is to sand the top. I'm using a belt sander for this, but I might do the final sanding before the epoxy by hand.

For those who did not know, TJ is going on his third week back at work and is very happy about that. He cannot walk without the air cast on his leg though, but he can walk. The ankle will never be as flexible as it was before because of the pins and plates in it. I'll likely be down there later this month.

I read the post about Ages of War today. I can't wait to go! If the site plans become definite, it will be in my hometown about a mile from my parent's house. Guess where I'd be staying. I also read about the A&S Competition, and the later period Europe is right up my alley, so I guess I'd better begin planning a project. I think it would be fun to do something with food. Speaking of food, my last batch of candied orange peels were slightly burned. I think the honey got too hot too fast, and I didn't stir enough.