Since releasing my Tales of Winberg series, I have taken a little breather from writing. But, being the creative person I am, it’s important for me to be working on something creative in order to feel both productive and fulfilled.
I wasn’t planning to take on a sewing project. It just sort of happened. I found out that Julianne Donaldson was going to be doing a regency tea party in June to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Edenbrooke. And it was going to be 10 minutes from my house.
I knew I had to go. This was so my jam. And almost as soon as I decided to go, I knew I wanted to take the leap and try something that had been kicking around in the back of my head for years. I wanted to make myself a regency dress. (No, my books aren’t regency, but I read a lot of that genre and I love the dress style.) So I embraced my nerdiness and my love of dressing up for fun occasions and my love of books, and I went for it.
Now, I do sew. But I’ve always sewn more recreationally than seriously. There was a time more than ten years ago when I tried to make myself a cute summer dress—twice. And both failed. I stopped trying after that. The only successful clothing I’ve made has been for my children, and most have been costume pieces. (Though, I suppose I’ve successfully made skirts for cover models). So I knew that if I was going to do this, I had to be careful choosing the pattern, and I had to be extra good at actually following directions. This required that I really resist the urge to wing it like I usually do.
I went to the fabric store in search of linen. I resisted the urge to buy what I found there, because it really wasn’t what I wanted. I also had the trouble of finding a fabric that was inexpensive enough that I could buy 5+ yards without totally busting my budget. Luckily, I was able to find some online for a really good price, and I’m super happy with it. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of resurrecting my sewing skills and forcing myself to slow down, measure, remeasure, be precise, redo it when it didn’t turn out quite right, etc…
I even had a bunch of lace that I inherited from my mother-in-law that I was able to add to the neckline and the hem. The sleeves were originally long, but I realized that would make me too warm in the summer heat, and I thought it would just look better with short sleeves.
Once the dress was all finished and trimmed, I decided I needed a reticule to go with it, because REGENCY TEA PARTY. It would be a disgrace if I walked in with a modern purse, right? So I used the leftover white fabric from my dress under bodice and I covered it with this silky embroidered material that is from a scarf I bought at goodwill years ago. And voila! Reticule.
And! My amazing friend who is coming to said tea party with me decided that we needed shawls. And since she happens to be amazingly talented, she decided to use her knitting machine (who knew there was such a thing??) to knit us shawls.
Told you she was talented.
Now I just need to come up with a suitable bonnet and I’ll be set. Wish me luck! I’ll be back with photos from the actual event in my next newsletter/post.
Clean Romance Highlights
Cindy Ray Hale has a new release in her Maple Creek Romantic Comedy series, called As Long As You Kiss Me.
The Goblin and the Dancer is a fairy tale retelling by Allison Tebo, and is on SALE for $1.99.
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