It was rainy here and I was bored so I made yet another item not already on my list... Me and the list obviously have differences of opinion. I made a pillbox style hat to go with Lady Stephanie's Italianesque gown.

I got the idea and directions from the r/f forum. The directions I followed were spefically from Orphena. The direction below are hers, with alterations I made in italics.

1. Find a plate or bowl of the "right" dimension -  a pill box should almost perch on your head, so go for the "snack" plates, rather than dinner ones.
2. Trace around the circle. Cut 2 of fabric, add 1/2 inch all around for a seam allowance, and one of plastic canvas. Cut 1 of felt, optional - bit it hades the holes in the canvas and gives it a nicer look. (I found plastic canvas circles in a 6" diameter, so I just used that size, and cut the fabric and felt as directed.)
3. Tape or stich felt to the plastic canvas. Sandwich felt canvas layer between the fabric circles and stich around the circle, encasing the felt canvas layer. (I stitched the felt to the canvas, if that matters to anyone...)
4. Measure around the circle for the circumference, and add 2 inches to that. Cut out a strip of canvas as long as that and between 2 and 4 inches wide. Again, cut a layer of felt and a piece of fabric slightly longer and twice as wide, plus seam allowance. (I chose 2" for the width of the band and I used a different fabric for the lining, so I made 2 fabric pieces, 1 in fashion fabric and 1 of lining the right length and 3" wide to allow for a 1/2 inch on each side for seam allowance.)
5. Tape/sew the felt to the canvas, encase in fabric. Bring ends together and slide one end inside the other to make the circle, finish the ends.
6. Push the top of the hat into place from the bottom (hiding the rough edges on the inside of the hat) and handstitch into place.
7. Trim with beads, feathers, trim. Handstitch small loops or ribbon around the inside edge of the hat, slide a bobby pin through the  loop, and secure it to your hair. (I used thin ribbon to make bobby pin loops.)

That was it it was so easy!!! Thanks again to Orphena for the great directions and inspiration!

Ok, so here it is... Here are the pictures of my celtic ensemble. I told you it was complete and that I would have pictures today, it's not my fault you didn't believe me...  ; )
This is the green overdress with the plaid skirt/stomacher set, with the addition of a second coordinating gold skirt/stomacher set. This was actually the very first dress I made, it just took longer to finish due to the trim debacle I previously mentioned... There are some minor changes I would make were I to do it over, mostly the placement of the straps on the bodice. I still may yet tweak them if I can figure out how to do it without ruining the line of the dress... But all in all I am please wit how it turned out and I can't wait to wear it on my brithday when we visit VARF!
with sash and without
with gold set

Here is a closer shot of the front of the dress.

I haven't decided if I like the sash or not, it was made from scraps from the skirt making, the plaid is just so pretty I couldn't throw it away... I liked the idea of the sash, but I'm not so sure with the execution...

This is just a pic of the green on gold girdle belt I made out 2 broken necklaces I picked up on the cheap. I think it looks good with the gold skirts...

The green front lacing overdress of my "celtic ensemble" is now completely trimmed and ready for faire. I had to abandon hope of getting more of the same trim I used around the bottom of the skirts, when it finaly did get replenished at JoAnn's, it was a totaly different color green and absolutly NOT usable. So I was forced to pick something different, but coordinating, which I did and it looks grand... Yeah, this will make a lot more sence once I get some pictures taken and put up here, hopefully tomorrow. My lord husband has sworn he will take pictures for me tomorrow and I plan to hold him to it!

Whilst I was waiting unknowingly for the aforementioned unusable trim to get restocked, I made another skirt to go with the green overdress, so now I have 3 different combinations using the green overdress, huzzah! One plaid, one golden yellow, and the burgady skirt from last season. Mix and match ren wear, my favorite! I also started another emsemble, not on my original list for this season, that is completely made of stash fabrics. My fellow fabricholics will be so proud... Actually, what happened was after I finished Lady Taylor's green dress I went looking for the items needed to start the next item on he list, only to realize I didn't have all the necessary materials to complete any of my projects. Each one was missing a vital item so I had nothing to sew and after a day or so I was just desperate to make something, anything! So I dug through the piles of fabric literally littering the floor of what used to be the computer room and found bodice material and skirt materials that coordinated together and were in sufficient quantity. I already have 1 of the pair of skirts finished except for the hem and guard at the bottom...
This is the bodice fabric (it is wavy and cool, see!)

and this is one of the skirts

Sorry the pics turned out dark, I tried to correct it, but the colors turned bright eye burning orange when I did... So you get the slightly dark ones, but you get the idea...

The underskirt will be the same fabric only because the fabric is a tad on the thin side and I don't want see through skirts (sorry guys, but you would thank me for it really!). The overskirt I am going to put a guard at the bottom of the bodice fabric if there is enough, which there should be unless I foul something up real bad...

I think the bodice fabric began life as a curtain, it came from a box in the basement of my one gramdmother's house, the skirt fabric was a $1/yd walmart bargain fabric (as it was only a dollar, I of course bought 10 yards, completly logical...right). I have dubed this my "stash ensemble" because 'uplanned project' just sounded to unwanted...

... now, in fact, completly done. So I have finished the trim on Lady Taylors dress, it now goes into the completed pile until it is taken home by it's intended.

What next you ask? Well, let us revisit the list...

The Lady Selwyn
Underpinnings (corset and corded petticoat) I decided against making the petticoat, found a cotton hoop skirt for far less $ than it would take to make one, maybe next season...
Celtic Ensemble (chemise, underskirt, front lacing overdress, and shoulder sash) I am waiting on 5 more yards of trim to finish the overdress...
'Court' Gown- which is not really a court gown but sounded better to me than calling it 'really pretty dress' and it is by far the fanciest I will have thus far- (chemise, underskirt, overdress, full sleeves, and some form of head gear)

My Lord Husband  ALL DONE
Celtic Ensemble (great kilt and shirt)

My dearest friend, Lady Taylor   ALL DONE
Celtic Ensemble (chemise, skirt, and strapless bodice)
'Italian style' gown (underdress/smock, half bodice with attached overskirt)

Our beloved sister, Lady Stephanie 
'Italian style' gown (chemise and gown w/underskirt)
Celtic Ensemble- as yet TBD

So in a nut shell,  I have my 'CE' overdress to trim, and my 'court' gown to make. One ensemble for Lady Stephanie and the addition to my list of one ensemble for my lord husband's mother, Lady Long. Not to bad considering MDRF is still a few months away...

Lady Taylor and I are planning a VARF trip or 2, but we both have garb enough for those occasions at this point. I can't wait to get a RF fix in!!!!

Almost, I say, because I am still stitching some trim on the gown. The construction itself is, however, completed. So I thought I'd start on the construction notes now for those who are interested...

It all started out with a random photo Lady Taylor saw on ebay and said to me "Oh, I want one like that!" So being the generous soul that I am I said "but of course, my dear" and went looking for analogous patterns... I settled on McCall's #4994, the bodice portion of view A, without the winged sleeves. Then I figured I'd just attach a long skirt to it and voila, overdress... It was a plan, or at least the start of one...

First, lets start with the chemise, as it is the first piece of the puzzle anyway.  She had indicated she wanted something with open sleeves for comfort in the heat. Initially I was going to use McCall's #4091, view A, and do something I had yet to figure out for the sleeve issue. Then I changed my mind and decided to use the chemise pattern from the Elizabethan Costuming page. I really liked how it turned out For Lady Stephanie's ensemble. About 2 days before I was ready to start on it, I spoke to Lady Taylor about the sleeves. She sent me another random photo and said "something like this maybe?" and I thought I'd be able to come up with something. Then I remembered there were wingy sleeves in the bodice pattern we had selected for the over gown. Bingo! The vision of her chemise materialized and it was off to the sewing machine... The material is a cotton blend in a beautiful shade of yellow I call maize. So I made the chemise according the costume page directions but shortening the sleeves to about elbow length. Then I cut out the winged sleeves, sewed the tops of the sleeve piece together and double turned the edges to hide the raw edge and stitched it down. New dilemma, how to attach the sleeve to the wing... I decided to use my old friend the pleat! 2 pleats on the top of the sleeve, 2 pleats on the underside and I sewed the wing to the sleeve. Very lovely, and a wonderful example of ‘quasi-historical.'

Now the overdress is another conglomeration of patterns and ideas. As mentioned before, the bodice portion of the gown is McCall's #4994. For the skirt I used the overskirt pattern pieces from Simplicity #3812, Lady Stephanie's gown. The main fabric for the overdress is an unknown upholstery material in green. It has a similar feel to crushed velvet of corduroy and yet is neither... The contrast is a woven poly upholstery fabric in a coordinating green with a maize and coral floral motif. Very lovely if I do say so myself!  The first step, as with most commercial patterns, was to eliminate both the princess seams and darts *gasp- it had both!!!*  Again, I had to add an inner lining of poplin for stability and to hold boning. For this dress I chose to put boning (remember, I use duct ties for bonin!) to the front of the side seams and at the front opening where it laces. I added scrap strips of poplin sewn to the inner lining to make the channels stronger, as is becoming my standard custom.

For the attached skirt, I cut the skirt pieces from the Simplicity pattern previously mentioned. In addition I cut 2, 6-inch wide strips of the contrast material to continue the line made by the bodice. I attached the skirt to the bodice in the same manner as all the other gowns.  Added the grommets, fitted the dress on the Lady herself to establish the hem.

Now, on top the detachable sleeves. Yes, we decided the over gown needed some sleeves of some kind. Inspiration struck in the form of elbow length sleeves made from the contrast material and surprise, there was a pattern for just such an animal in the trusty old McCall's #4994 right next to the wings we appropriated for our own purposes earlier. Made those exactly as the pattern directions instructed, right down to the grommet placement, so not much in the way of notes for that one... However, I did alter the method of attachment slightly. I stitched ties to the edges of the bodice, instead of adding grommets.