Goals for 2018

Since 2017 went so well for me I’m not really sure that I can top it…but, since I had no idea how well that year would play out for me then 2018 is full of possibilities and I find that quite exciting.

So… what is 2018 going to look like, event-wise? While I hope to attend several over the year these two are already written in my diary in permanent ink:

Christchurch for Easter: my friend Edan has been working tirelessly to organise Ferrymead Heritage Park’s Easter weekend of events and I am incredibly excited about flying down to attend. I’m already impatient for the opportunity to go punting on the Avon – in period dress! And I am also looking forward to seeing many friends who I usually only see in November.

Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations: wild horses couldn’t keep me away from this event so I will definitely be there again this year. The theme is still yet to be decided but I have high hopes that it will be Victorian Christmas.

 

And, what about projects? I have a feeling that this list might grow over the course of the year but what I am hoping to sew in 2018 is:

 

A new corset: I’d love to make a new corset and I’m hoping that it will turn out a little better than my first, mainly because it will be my second attempt and hopefully I can remember what I learned when constructing my first.

 

My White and Tartan 1880’s bustle dress: I feel like I’m cheating a little by adding this to my list since I started it in December but since I’ll be finishing it this year I reckon that it’s okay to put it here. It will go over the tartan underskirt I already have so I’m just making a bodice, an overskirt, and a hat.

 

An 18th Century dress: Last year I borrowed a dress from Liane to attend the local French Society’s Bastille Day Masquerade and Dinner. I quite enjoyed travelling a little further back in time than the Victorian era and this year I think it would be lovely to try my hand at creating my own dress. Currently, I’m leaning towards the colour purple and am quite excited about this project – even if I am a little nervous at the same time about delving into a new era.

 

A Regency ball gown: At the moment this isn’t a must-do project but if I find the time and resources then I would like to at least make a start. If I find an event to attend then this project will move up my list of priorities. I missed the opportunity to attend a Regency Ball last year and at the moment I don’t know if it will be repeated this year. As of yet, I don’t have any ideas of which direction to take design-wise.

 

A new dress for Oamaru: Depending on the theme which will be chosen the ideas that I currently have to choose from are a white faux fur trimmed wine/burgundy colour dress (detachable fur trims of course – November can get quite warm), which would fit the theme of Victorian Christmas, otherwise, perhaps I will make a new ball dress instead.

 

My other goals list involves skills. What skills do I want to learn or get better at?

Beading – I attempted beading when I made my Shippensburg Bodice, and on a new reticule that I made last year to go with it. I would like to practice this skill some more and, hopefully, use it for a project as well.

Embroidery – while I have no planned projects that will have embroidery, I would like to at least try my hand at this skill. It could lead to an embroidered project in the future.

Millinery – I have made a couple of hats so far, and they’re reasonable attempts I suppose. I would like to make two or possibly three hats this year so that I can learn and get better at hat-making.

Scaling patterns – because I’m a bibliophile, I have acquired a lot of historical costuming books and many of these, my Francis Grimble books for example, have scalable patterns in them. Last year I managed to scale up some sleeve patterns while trying to learn how the whole process works. This year it would be lovely if I was able to create something from one of those patterns instead of only using pre-made patterns (it’s far too easy to rely on Truly Victorian…)

 

Anything else?

I would love to try and connect more historical costumers who live in New Zealand. We’re all scattered about the country and I think that a lot of us are practically on our own when it comes to our hobby. Some events, such as the Oamaru Victorian Heritage Celebrations, unite a number of us but there are others out there who haven’t found anyone else to talk to.

If you are New Zealand based, then please do check out the Facebook Group that I started last year.