Finishing the Hat... really this time!

I am happy to say I am succeeding at my goal of being better at blogging  -this will be my fourth post this month. :)  I am happier still to say I got some actual sewing (well, millinery) done this week. And I am happiest to say this was in service to a UFO I had on my list to finish.

Last year, I made an 1880s hat during Historical Sewing's Online Workshop  However, I'd never finished off the lining and had never really been happy with the feathers I used, so it sat unloved and soooo close to complete.  In the re-organization, I found some antique millinery feathers stranded away from the rest of the millinery box and thought they'd be perfect for the hat.

Today, I needed a handwork project to occupy my afternoon as we spent the afternoon playing Shadowrun at our place and the hat fit the bill.  And I can report that the hat is now complete and I can check it off my goals list!

Amazing what a little change of feathers can do! (Hat before below)

In other news, thanks to some Facebook serendipity, Jay and I have decided to explore the SCA (his first time, my first time back in 20 years..  how did I get so old!)  So he's been pouring over Pintrest trying to decide which eras have clothing he is interested in. So far he seems to Elizabethan, 16th century Hungarian, cotehardies and Viking...  in short just about anything but 15th century Italian.

But I'd been meaning to make the doublet that I never got done before Ren Fest, and since he likes Elizabethan, once the doublet is finished, he's already got an adequate set of first garb.  Yay!

I cut corners on what I wore to Ren Fest (I was really far more focused on what Jay was wearing than I was), so I have a lot to get done before our first event on June 27. I'm currently thinking I will stick with 15th or 16th century Italian.  And wouldn't you know, with all the fabric in the stash, so little is appropriate for pre-18th century.  So I get to feed my fabric addiction!  *manical laugh* can justify buying more fabric for the upcoming projects!

I also had an intriguing conversation at an Anniversary party we went to this weekend.  A friend wants a "duct tape gown" for an "Anything But Clothes" party at Dragon Con.  It's been a while since the "fabric engineer""in me got to come out and play, so I woke up thinking about what technique I'd use.  I am hoping said friend was sober enough to remember the conversation and really want to do it, because this could be an interesting project.