The Needles Excellency

Preparing for Tocal

2009-07-15T10:32:00.002+10:00

Tocal Token Tourney is our big dress up event. So this week I started getting some stuff done in preparation. I took my blackwork shirt apart and washed it. Last night I sewed it back together. My ruff and cuff set are currently soaking. Tonight I will get them out and try and get them looking nice. I am going to try using some spray starch and hair dryer to get the unwrinkly.

I also took my black dress apart. I knew that I'd lost some weight but I didn't realise how much until I grabbed the front of it the last time I wore it and was able to get whole handful of loose fabric. So I've taken the bodice off from the skirt. It shouldn't take long to take it in, as long as I don't have to deconstruct too much, hopefully it will just be a matter of resewing the front edges and no messing with side seams. I also want to add a couple of shoulder rolls, as the silouette isn't quite right.

I also need to fix my arch brimmed hat. The crown got wreaked, but I have a spare, so it should just be a matter of swapping crowns out.

And finally, I am going to make a leather pouch for the winner of the tourney. If the past is anything to go by, nothing has been organised yet.

Woo Hoo!

2009-07-12T19:54:00.000+10:00

I just got my first sale on Etsy!! Woo hoo!!

A7 Cream and Tan Leather Journal - Spine

2009-07-08T16:11:00.000+10:00

A7 Cream and Tan Leather Journal - Spine, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

A7 Butter and Chocolate Leather Journal - Spine

2009-07-07T16:13:00.004+10:00

A7 Butter and Chocolate Leather Journal - Spine, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Small leather journal, a bit more modern looking interpretation.

Journals Available For Purchase

2009-07-07T16:13:00.002+10:00

I have finally got my Etsy shop sorted out. So if you would like to buy any of the journals that I have been posting about, please feel free to check out my shop. More to be added as they are made!!

http://crescentshire.etsy.com

A7 Khaki and Brown Journal

2009-07-06T10:05:00.003+10:00

A7 Khaki and Brown Journal, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

A7 Khaki and Brown leather journal with 110gsm paper. Waxed linen tackets and linen thread for the tie and leather button closure.

I stuffed this one up and put the spine holes in the wrong spot, so the cover wraps around the wrong way. But I figured someone might want it.

NOTE: To answer a question in the comments, yes, I am selling these journals. This one is the first one I've listed on Etsy - http://crescentshire.etsy.com/

A7 Khaki and Brown Journal - Front

2009-07-06T10:04:00.001+10:00

A7 Khaki and Brown Journal - Front, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

A7 Khaki and Brown leather journal with 110gsm paper. Waxed linen tackets and linen thread for the tie and leather button closure.

A5 Dark Olive and Tan Blank Journal

2009-06-26T09:01:00.001+10:00

A5 Dark Olive and Tan Blank Journal, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

This is an A5 journal made with 110gsm weight art paper. The cover is a light weight dark olive leather, reinforced on the spine with a stiff tan leather. It is sewn with a beige linen thread and secured using chocolate coloured, leather buttons. Stitched using tacketing.

A5 Cream and Tan Blank Journal

2009-06-25T09:15:00.001+10:00

A5 Cream and Tan Blank Journal, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

This is an A5 journal made with 110gsm weight art paper. The cover is a light weight cream leather, reinforced on the spine with a stiff tan leather. It is sewn with a beige linen thread and secured using chocolate coloured, leather buttons. Stitched using a long and chain stitch combination.

This one is the closest I've done to a total reproduction of an original item.

A6 Dark Olive and Tan Blank Journal

2009-06-24T15:46:00.004+10:00

A6 Dark Olive and Tan Blank Journal, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

A6 Dark Olive and Tan Blank Journal made with 135gsm art paper, dark olive leather cover and tan leather detail. Sewn with natural waxed linen. Closure is leather thong tied via slot to cover.

A6 Cream and Tan Blank Journal - Side Detail

2009-06-23T15:46:00.000+10:00

A6 Cream and Tan Blank Journal - Side Detail, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

A6 Cream and Tan Blank Journal made with 110gsm art paper, dark cream leather cover and tan leather detail. Sewn with natural waxed linen. Closure is leather thong tied via bone button. Medieval limp binding technique.

Pale Pink A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper

2009-06-22T09:59:00.003+10:00

Pale Pink A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

This is a very pale pink leather, sewn with ivory linen thread.

Plum A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper

2009-06-21T09:25:00.001+10:00

Plum A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

The plum coloured leather is sewn with a lavender Irish waxed linen thread. It's made with 135gsm weight art paper.

Butter A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper

2009-06-20T09:24:00.002+10:00

Butter A6 Journal with Heavy Art Paper, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I made this journal over the weekend. It took me a while to work out how to do the chain stitch at the top and bottom. There were lots of explanations of Coptic stitch and link stitch but they don't work with this sort of binding.

The butter coloured leather is very thick but extremely supple. I love just holding this one. It's made with 135gsm weight art paper and sewn with butterscotch colour Irish waxed linen thread. I kept the uneven edge of the leather for form the front edge of the over flap on the front.

Walking Stick with Telescope Handle - Detail

2009-06-19T14:19:00.003+10:00

Walking Stick with Telescope Handle - Detail, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

The telescope works - just.

Walking Stick with Telescope Handle

2009-06-19T14:19:00.001+10:00

Walking Stick with Telescope Handle, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I found this in an antique shop and it become my first official Steampunk accessory.

Master Device Progress - 14 hrs

2009-06-18T14:18:00.000+10:00

Master Device Progress - 14 hrs, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I've finally done some more embroidery. This is a Masters device for the WCOB banner, about 14 hrs work.

Exercise versus Productivity

2009-06-17T11:52:00.002+10:00

I have a dilemma. On the one hand I need to loose weight or at least get some exercise. My gym buddy has been overseas for a few weeks and I have slacked off. I started going again at the start of the week. Treadmill on monday and pool on Tuesday. The problem is that when I am exercising by the time I get home at night I am so exhausted, all I want to do is collapse on the couch. My productivity as far as getting any craft or creative things done drops to zero. Then I get frustrated because craft is like my fix for the day. It mellows me out.

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Side/Front View

2009-06-10T10:37:00.001+10:00

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Side/Front View, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

This is my first proper bookbinding effort. The leather is a deep plum colour, with olive buff leather 2" squares on the side, sewn with pink 18/3 linen thread. The journal is A5 size (15cmx21cm or 8 1/4"x6") with 110 gsm sketch paper pages.

It is based on medieval limp binding techniques. This type of binding (limp, not my specific pattern) was the most common form of binding found in medieval and early modern archives. However, because it lack the sexiness of the leather tooled and gem encrusted bindings, very little work has been done on this type of binding system.

I am going to use this a sketchbook for more book designs.

I did learn a few things, including that my quires (sets of pages) were spaced too far apart. This does have benefit, as the pages lay very flat and I can paste in all sorts of things and have plenty of room for the book to expand without breaking.

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Front View

2009-06-10T10:34:00.003+10:00

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Front View, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Side View

2009-06-10T10:33:00.000+10:00

Deep Plum and Olive Sketch Book - Side View, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Largess Notebooks

2009-06-08T19:21:00.003+10:00

Largess Notebooks, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I made some basic pamphlet stitched note books to give to my Baron and Baroness to use for largess. Made with a variety of leathers and suedes sewn using linen thread. I've tried to make them all a bit different by changing the strap connection.

Largess Notebooks - Detail Leather

2009-06-08T19:21:00.001+10:00

Largess Notebooks - Detail Leather, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Largess Notebooks - Detail Suede

2009-06-08T19:20:00.001+10:00

Largess Notebooks - Detail Suede, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Bookbinding Supplies

2009-06-03T15:55:00.000+10:00

Bookbinding Supplies, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

It was like Christmas today at the Post Office! I got a book on heraldry, a new wrap skirt and some bookbinding supplies.

The colourful threads are 30/3 linen thread for the binding. I was worried they wouldn't be strong enough, so I've ordered the same colours in 18/3 as well. I'm sure I'll find a use for it!

The book is "Bookbinding - Limp Bindings from Talinn". It has some modern repros of various medieval bindings held in Estonia. Can't wait to get started.

The final two spools are some of the limited edition Gilt Sylke Twist. It's alot finer than I expected. But that is OK.