Of Us and Blog Awards

Well I wish I could have a fancy title for this blog post, since I'm feeling very fancy right now, but alas, I'm unable to think of any good stuff. :P But I'm thrilled that Bascha and I have been nominated a Liebster blog award, which I'm afraid I've no idea how participate with. Here's what it said we should do: 

Nominees, upon receiving this award you must:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award.
2. Nominate other blogs, preferably ones with less than 200 followers.
3. Answer the questions asked by the one(s) who gave you the award.
4. Make a list of questions for the other nominees to answer.

So yay! Thank you very much!!!, to Adiel, from Basically Creative Me, for nominating us for this here award, do go check out her blog via that link ^ and also it's on our sidebar. The purpose I believe of the award is to give publicity to our blogs, so that's the nice part for us, and now here's the nice part for you. We shall answer some questions so you can learn more about us! :)

1. What period was your first love or your introduction to historical costuming? Wanna share a picture of your first costume?

Bascha: My very first period love was and still is Rev War!! When my family moved to North Carolina 9 years ago, we visited Latta Plantation for one of their homeschool events and the staff/volunteers were all dressed in TP clothes. Since then I have been hooked on researching clothing from the 1770's and later on making my own clothing and on to other time periods! :)

My very, very, very first costume was a Renaissance outfit I made for a Scottish Country Dancing Ball.  I was not trying to be PC at all and most of the fabric was from a ReStore that I bought for like 50¢ a bolt. :P My lovely Scottish Dance teacher helped me almost the whole way and I am so grateful that she did because she taught me some tricks that I still use today. Love you Jess!!

I am the one in the white blouse on the left. :)

But I also made my BFF's cincher on the right.

Theresa: Rev War :) (Isn't Bascha adorable in that picture? ^ She still is too :)) We'd done a little dress up for Williamsburg, and the first event I participated in at Latta was 1770's, so that's what I sewed for. Also, it's Bascha's favorite time period so :D I still wear that outfit! (Stays were the first thing I made, and to this day I'm awfully proud of them)

hehe, that was like 2 years ago. :) the fit is terrible now, but I still wear them :)

That's my first outfit! I'm in the burgundy jacket. Bascha is in the striped one.

2. What period do you find most difficult? Why?

Bascha: Ummm, the most difficult time period. Haha I don't find any of the time periods really hard to sew for. I think maybe the '50's may be the most difficult for me. I absolutely love the poofy circle skirts and dresses but sometimes it is hard to get the bodice right. Haha I had to do 4 different mock ups for my '50's ballgown bodice!

Theresa: Um, I'd say regency. Normally you'd think ooh, real simple dress, but it's actually tricky for me! I'm quite busty, but on a small frame, and when I do a full bust adjustment I have like 6 inches of EXTRA gathers at the bottom, which looks really bad on a garment. So for me, it's been tricky trying to drape/pattern a regency dress for myself. I also find the backs hard to fit on other people.

3.How have you balanced school work and costuming and a social life?

Bascha: Well I would say that I don't do a very good job on managing time. :P Haha I usually do not start sewing a PC garment for an event until a couple weeks before it and then I am up almost every night till almost 2 a.m. or later trying to finish it in time, which then puts me further behind in my school work. But other than that, I do a ton of research way before an event ready to make something. :) As for my social life and work, I work 3 nights a week at Hancock Fabrics (perfect job!) and teach dance class on Tuesdays, which leaves me with Thursdays and weekends (unless there is a reenactment going on somewhere) to hang with friends.  Haha so eventually I get everything I need to get done by the end of the month. :P

Theresa: For the most part, everything in my life is extremely flexible. So it hasn't been that big of a deal. When I've got a big sewing project that I'm working on, I kind of don't do as much school and then catch up later :P. My schooling right now is not very intense, and I have a lot of freedom as to pursuing my interests. Interests that will help me in life that is. Sewing and alterations being one, my costuming is somewhat part of my schoolwork. And that's pretty neat :) As for social life-that's not hindered. I can still go to dance lessons, still hang out with friends at church, I have my license, so if I want to go shopping with a girlfriend or go out for lunch or something I'm able to. I'd say I've got a pretty good social life. And if I'm not driving sometimes I'll take a small project (such as a bonnet or pocket or apron) along with me to work on, but this depends on my sewing load at the moment. And as for work I normally just sew around that chunk of time, or bump it around. I don't have very good time management :P

4. Looking back at all the costumes you've made, which are you the most proud of?

Bascha: I would have to say that I am most proud of the Rev War stays that I made with my dear friend Theresa and my brown polonaise. Haha both of my Rev War pieces. :P

Theresa: My corsets and stays. I've made a few corsets, and my stays and then helped with Ann Marie's, and there is just something about corsetry that's beautiful and challenging that I really enjoy. But I'm not really sure I could put a finger on one particular costume that I like the best.

5. Where do you see yourself five years in the future, in regards to costuming?

Bascha: Let's see in five years, I will be fresh out of college!! :O I hope by then I will have used up most of my material in my colossal stash! Hehe. Also maybe even have started selling/making PC garments for the public to buy. :)

Theresa: No idea, eep. Hopefully I'll be much better at it, but I don't know how my life will pan out. Possibly working a a Living History site, but I can't say for sure. I think for the most part, I'll be "costuming" my everyday clothing. Since getting into the "old clothes" realm, I've been really inspired to start dressing from other eras. It's been a somewhat gradual transition (that I'm still in the midst of!), but I've started dressing vintage (40's and 50's), so I see myself sewing clothing and accessories that that time period. :)

6. How does your family feel about your hobby?

Bascha: My whole family thinks my sewing hobby takes up a lot of my time, money, and energy. But also that it is a unique gift and they love that I can make many different things on my machine and/or by hand. Even though, when I get into one of my sewing fevers, my room and sewing room look as though a hurricane went through them. :P I love all of my family dearly for understanding and still loving me after I have torn the house to shreds. <3

Theresa: My dad doesn't get it at all :P My mom really likes how many new skills I've learned, and the historical knowledge I've gained. She has really put a lot of effort into making it possible for me :) My siblings like having me make stuff for them, but they aren't really involved much in the costuming part of things. For the most part I think they are all cool with it, but when I'm downstairs for days straight and I make a huge mess they get a little annoyed :P

7. What is one piece of advice you can give to someone new to the hobby that you wish you'd gotten when you were just starting out? (Or, alternatively, what is one piece of advice you got as a newbie that you'd like to pass on?)

Bascha: Always make sure iron all of your seams!! Even though you may think "oh they won't know if I ironed that one seam" but that 1 seam not ironed can change almost the entire fit of the garment! Oh and don't forget to clip your corners/curves haha. Just as ironing a seam, a non-clipped curve/corner could make your garment look all funky. :P

And the tips Theresa gives are really really  good too. :)   Just be sure you wash whatever you buy from the thrift store before you use it, you never know where it has been before. :D

Theresa: This seems slightly ironic since I'm a perfectionist, but learn to say "Oh well," with a smile on your face. We all mess up, but something that's been helpful to me from the very beginning was to laugh and say "Oh well" and keep going. I mean obviously, I'm not saying don't fix the issue, but it's ok to just say "Oh well" and move on too!

 Also, thrift store, thrift store, thrift store!! Sheets, curtains, and the fabric from clothing is an inexpensive and perfect way to make historical stuff! Linen shirts and pants are perfect for caps, stomachers, and trims-large rayon dresses can be cut up and vintage skirts and dresses can be made from them, sheets are lifesavers when it comes to underpinnings and mock-ups-and the list goes on.  Yeah, thrift stores are the way to go!

8.What is your dream fabric to work with?

Bascha:  Linen and muslin!! I love working with those two! After you wash them, they both are usually as soft as cotton candy. :) And linen is so pliable, you can just finger press the whole garment! :O haha

Theresa: Sheer cotton. I just love how easy it is to sew, how beautiful it looks with tucks (I adore tucks), and how soft and lightweight it is. It also irons well! And linen, like Bascha. Except it unravels to easily for me.

9. If you are comfortable with doing so, give us one random fact about yourself that you've never mentioned on your blog!

Bascha: I have a boyfriend!! Haha yeah, that is as random as I can get. :P

Theresa: 

Wow one random fact. I'm like completely random so I'm not even sure what fact to pick! Haha! Lets do sleep walking/talking because most people tend to find that interesting. I have sleep walked many times, and my favorite place to sleep is under our dining room table in the sun room. Or just in the floor. I also sleep eat....one night I ate an entire box of cold (yuck) ravioli and the creepy thing is my mom thought I was awake so she didn't stop me. She has stopped me other times though, by waking me up and sending me back to bed. And when I sleep talk it's not just moaning and jumbled words...I have conversations with people. And I laugh and cry (in my sleep!)-all very loudly.

And now to the blog we are nominating: 

Ruth, from Sewing Room Tales. There are two posts of hers you should go check out; her 1950's ballgown, and her 1860's wool dress. And what I especially like is that she doesn't sew from patterns! (And Ruth, do list 10 facts about yourself too :D)

We would have nominated more, except the ones we wanted to nominate had already been nominated. :D

And the questions for the nominee to answer:

1. At what time of day do you usually find yourself wanting to sew? Or what time of day do you like to sew?

2. What is your next sewing project?

3.What is your biggest frustration when you sew clothing? 

4. What has been the biggest sewing lesson you learned?

5. What is your favorite resource or method for researching period costuming?

6. Who do you look up to the most in the costuming world? (aka favorite blogger, seamstress you know, Elizabeth Clark, etc.)

7. What was the first thing you sewed? Do you have a photo you could share?

8. Do you ever plan on taking sewing or patterning classes? 

9. Would you ever sew modern clothing? 

10. Where do you see yourself, five years in the future, in regards to costuming?

~Bascha & Theresa