Stimpzilla's Renaissance Dress Blog

So we have been sewing non stop till our fingers hurt. In fact we have even managed to bleed on silk. We have had to cut and re-sew some fabric due to the amount of pins that have made tiny holes in our fingers. But the task of making clothing for the King Of France can not be left to John Percy.

This afternoon we managed to collect the rest of the black pearls for the doublet and tomorrow we shall start sewing them onto the panels. Until then we shall resist gamboling them away and just hold them in our hands. We have purchased 1,000 pearls thus far and that should be enough.

Well we all froze today. It was very cold for us and the tempertures did not get to the 60's. No one here has long undies. Even with cloaks we were cold cold cold! The icey strong wind slipped up our hoops, crept into our doublets, and made the coffee vendor the hit of today's events. Here's a couple more pictures of Norfolk who apparently decided on furs.....Even the people visting from up north were cold.

There were also other very exciting events which we will tell you about soon.

The Faire started today! I was a beautiful day, a bit windy but didn't get much past the 80's. It was so wonderful to see old friends. Here's a few pictures! More to come.

We are inconsolable missing our Muse. She has not even left yet, and we want to wear mourning colours. But the Renaissance Faire starts tomorrow and it should prove to be a good distraction. Even Poor John Percy is worried that our Muse she be missing. He is anticipating we will be in a vile mood and take it out on him. Though, I think he will truly miss her, for her own sake.

We have no idea what to wear tomorrow as we are not sure if there will be some rain. If it rains we should not wear what we were planning on as it will become ruined. So we shall have to wait and see. Perhaps the alchemist will know something more in the morning. We have the blush gown ready to wear and our lovely green gown, though not new, the silks are able to stand the weather very well. Already we are distracted!

What a night last evening! Raleigh managed to invite a few people from the country to play cards. There was quite a large amount of delicious food and drink, all laid out with a Grecian theme. We all wore togas with wreaths in our hair, and sandals. We had a large fire going so we wouldn't freeze. It was a party in honor of our Muse, who is going on a log trip so far away we are not even certain that there are maps for these strange lands.

We are not certain what we shall do without our Muse for so long, but we do know she did very well playing cards and even managed to win may pearls and some jewels from the other players. We came out about even but are thrilled that our Muse will have extra money to buy fabrics in these far off lands. We are very sad that she is leaving for so long, but thrilled that she will have so many adventures to entertain us with when she gets back.

Well Faire is coming soon! We are so excited to see old friends and make new ones. We have two new gowns to wear, and have also made a gown for our niece Bonnie. A new doublet and shirt for our husband, and a new shirt and kilt for our nephew. We are ready with the exception of new gloves which we feel we need in several colours. Our new shoes are being made, and perhaps we need new stocking to set of the shoes. Humm...We may also need a new fan, and drinking glass, and perhaps anther sweet bag. Oh and perhaps more pearls...we always need more pearls!

We are also working still on Henry IV's suit. We are just beginning to prep all the fabrics, and have sent a mock-up to Him. We are certain everyone will be tired of hearing about His suit as we are planning on spending over a month on the project. we also have a few gowns for renaissance weddings to make soon. And we are happy to report that most have made their fabric choices.

This evening we have taken a bit of a break and have had a hand or two of cards. We played with Christopher Hatton, Raleigh and few others. We were somewhat successful, but were more glad for the entertainment and diversion from our busy studio. Poor John Percy is complaining of over work and at this moment we can only agree. Once Henry IV's suit is fully underway we shall give Percy a day or two to himself. We know we usually spend or time boxing his ears, but at this moment we think he is an asset.