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One lump, or two? A Titanic Tea

2012-03-18T15:56:08Z

Here is the long awaited update to the Edwardian dress I have been working on for Deeanne Gist. It is on its way to her currently, and I can't wait to see pictures of her in it!

There are loads more pictures on Flickr in the High Tea set.

In other news, I am starting today the 1860's dress for a new customer from the blue and white cotton I put up. It will have a day and an evening top.

Also, our dear friend Laura is going to give the plaid polonaise a home, and we will be making that this year at Bristol!

And finally, the Ermine capelet has found a new home. I hope she loves it as much as I did. Keep an eye out here on the For Sale tab, as I periodically sell off bits from my own collection or dresses I have made.

Thanks so much for keeping up with us despite the long periods between updates! Please feel free to comment on the posts themselves. I would love to get some feedback so I know if you actually like that kind of detail, or would prefer less bombast and more pictures! :-)

~Cheers!

Look, Who got Published!

2012-02-17T21:53:47Z

Yup! The O'Connors are one of three winners in the Renaissance Magazines Wedding Photo Contest. How awesome is that? They look just marvelous. Selfishly, my favorite picture is the one with the Barkers and the O'Connors together. Lots of Waisted Efforts goodness all in one. :-) Congratulations, O'Connors!

On a DPP 2012 note; I did not enter this year. I just had too many things get in the way for me to meet the deadline. I am super excited to see the entries tomorrow! I am still making the dress for Deeanne, and will soon have pictures up to prove it. -grin- The fabrics are SO incredibly awesome. Still trying to decide what hat to make. There are several choices, and so many neato ways to go. Look back soon for those updates.

Till then goodluck to all the entrants in the DPP this year. May the bestest dress and underwear bits win!

Cheers!

Please, Sir, May I have some more...?

2012-01-16T14:19:51Z

This is one of several new things I have added to Empty Dresses. This is the picture I made for the teagown offerings I have.

I have larger versions of all the pictures, so if you can't see something you might be interested in, please let me know.

There are other delightful bits of dress candy as well, so go check it out!

In other news, I recently finished a dress for a client in CA that I only ever saw once, but also needed the dress at the speed of light for this past weekend be SteamPunk Con on the Queen Mary. That would have been fun! I have always wanted to see the Queen Mary. It would be an awesome place to do pictures.

I was able to get her her dress on time, and it fit like a glove. You're always worried on a remote order that things will somehow go awry. I am glad to say though, that in this instance, everything worked out perfectly. So let's get to the fun part and some pictures.

Okay, so I was obviously going for Naturalform. It is black velvet and several different bronze fabrics. The glass buttons and the moire ribbon are both vintage.

The double-breasted vest is purely decorative but does actually button over the functional closure.

And, the cutest thing ever! I was able to make her reticule out of the left-over pleating from the skirt. :-) Love that!

Now I am off to make more mundane pieces, shirts, vests, camisoles, and the like. I am looking forward to not working at a Dickens pace this week!

~Cheers

A Rewarding Endeavor

2012-01-03T03:03:13Z

I just found out the the O'Connors (right) are one of six finalist couples to be considered for the Renaissance Magazine Wedding issue for 2012. How cool is that!? It sure was a lot of work, but I love the final outcome. You can check out the making of their outfits here on their journal.

Also, in the vein of having too many dresses, and too much fabric with which to make other dresses... I am selling my cream polonaise outfit seen here. Please email me if you have any questions. Piles of info on this page. It will include the hat and gloves.

Cheers!

The Great Dressmaking Bonanza of 2011

2011-12-07T00:36:51Z

Is Over! I completely overloaded myself this year. Here are a few of the dresses I made. I am waiting on pictures from the rest. I didn't have the brain cells to remember my camera, let alone use it. -grin-

I have already begun the set-up for next year's Dickens. I have alotted 12 total dresses, 6 each for the Wisconsin and Texas clans. I even created a spreadsheet so everyone can see what s available. I already filled up all the Texas slots, and only have 2 slots left for WI. So if you want dresses for next year, let me know soon! I am also filling up the winter with catch-up. I want to be done with all the unfinished projects! I'll let know if that is a pipedream or not. :-)

Cheers!

The Wall Street Journal, who knew?!

2011-07-22T16:07:51Z

Check this out! Waisted Efforts was mentioned in this article in the WallStreet Journal. How cool!

The article was actually written about Deeanne Gist and how she does research for her novels, as well how Romance authors represent historical clothing and its function in the novels. I am totally flattered that I'm mentioned, and grateful to Deeanne for the opportunity. I will be interested to see where this leads. Watch the video part of the article to see the mention. They use pieces of the instructional video I made for Deeanne on how to get dressed. Tee-hee! :-)

Cheers!

We have a winner!

2011-05-09T16:06:29Z

Thank you al so much for voting! That was a lot of fun. We had 39 votes total, and this lovely speciman won with 16. Amusingly it is the dress that started my interest, so I guess it is fitting that it is the winner. I may have to make the Burgundy Day as well at some point, just because it too is SO fabulous!

I will soon start searching for and acquiring the necessary ingredients for the dress. I have some fun ideas about acheiving the look, and adding a couple of things that I really liked from the other dresses. Stay tuned for updates, and thanks again for participating in the polls.

~Cheers!

Which Dress?

2011-04-20T14:39:04Z

Want to feel involved? Help me pick a dress to make for next year's Double Pattern Project put on by Your Wardrobe Unlock'd. I love these all! I built a poll to make it easy to help me choose.

GO, VOTE!!!

Thanks so much. :-)

On the prowl at Scarborough Fair

2011-04-10T16:50:04Z

Tim and the Jacobean suit are on the prowl today at Scarborough Fair with his lovely wife Eide. All the pieces are completed and received no matter how many issues tried to get in the way. He is thrilled with it, and I look forward to soon having pictures of him in it! Till then I have finished his journal Tim's Fancy Pants, and moved it out of the Currently on the Table page.

I will be moving Winter Wraps for Tea off today soon as well, with the addition of the surprise muff I made for Denise. Amusingly, it decided to rain all day for the tea, so there was not gong to be any bustled silk dress. My wool worked out great, and Denise and I both opted for Turn of the Century dresses. That was a surprise, too! I should probably write up that journal, too. The Seamstress wants a new dress part 2 or something. :-)

We'll see...Cheers!

The Fancy Pants

2011-03-27T03:42:52Z

I have finally uploaded some pictures of Tim's slops to Flickr, and also a short update to his journal, Tim's Fancy Pants. Now, I am off to bed, to see if I can't sleep out some of this sick. -bleh-