Moving

Buttons came in. Pretty happy. It's been a good ride on Blogger, but ever since I turned my site back on the Google bots have had me in Google jail. I'm heading over to Wordpress, so update your links and please join me over there. The posts didn't come over quite right so making a redirect has been problematical. So long, friends and TTFN.

 

Loose Ends, Obsessions

 

Thought I might chat about loose ends, things I've finished, and what I was up to while submerged plus new skills I acquired. But first, brother Weed. Turns out he was offering variolation, popular among rich families and the educated classes. It was a chance for doctors to make money from preventative medicine for a change. Lots of money. Small pox was endemic to Philadelphia and variolation was known in Africa and Asia for centuries before it was brought to the West. Pure chance that 18th-century doctors added something effective to all their purgatives and bleeding. Amazingly, they also knew staying out of the sun on a hot day, fresh air, and exercise were good for you.

Above, I am channeling the Shrinking version of Harrison Ford in a throwback outfit. Turns out there are FOUR shirts in Blade Runner, plus three ties, two pairs of trousers, and the coat and trench coat. Oh yeah, and the sweater. All in all, a pleasant diversion. This was the golden age of sci-fi films: obscure accessories and cobbled-together props. It's all 3D printing now. The badge was made by the same house that still prints ephemera for Hollywood, using the old machines, signed by the same dude who signed Deckard's name for the movie.

Unclear why I did two of these, obsession brain probably. The bottom one is a kit, mostly from zinc pot metal, with a steel barrel and a dozen or so different screws holding it together. At top, a Japanese replica I was lucky to get, which I disassembled and refinished. The Japanese models were used in Blade Runner 2049. The original firing prop was built from a revolver and a rifle with a custom grip and scavenged items. Made famous in Star Wars, parts-bashed weapon props like this were notoriously heavy. Harrison Ford complained about it in both films. OF COURSE, the hero blaster in Blade Runner had one different part on it not seen in the film, when it reappeared at a Con after many years. So I made both versions. It took me a while to figure out the right Vietnam-era radio part and scope knob for one of them and acquire them online. Therein lies the problem: this level of obsession can be dangerous. if the creativity dries up suddenly, the brain can easily turn to bad things.

Cosplay has a nasty tendency to get bigger and more complex fast. Why not spend years instead of a month putting something together? It's only money. Granted, I learned electronic wiring and a bunch about 3D printing along the way. Aliens found items are hard to come by hence more expensive. The only things I could afford were the M1 steel helmet (modified with diamond-tipped tools), boots (German copies), watch, and the camera lens. The shoulder lights were originally made from a 1980's British home alarm system, with a video light rig and diving lamp handle added on. The microphone is an insanely expensive stereo model actually used for dialogue on set. As with the poor Star Wars ship modelers, the best solution is 3D printing. Many plans are free online, and Etsy offers custom printing. Thank the FSM there are passionate individuals willing to do some heavy lifting. Chef's Creations makes great replica armor and uniforms, with video tutorials on how to assemble the former. The original armor was hammered out of metal and hand-painted with Humbrol model paint. Painting my armor felt very nostalgic.

Needless to say, after this project I crashed hard. I was living alone at the time and with nothing to follow it, things got dark. I finally sacrificed my short commute to move in with Kitty again and with her help I'm back. She suggested I wear all this stuff to work rather than have it just clog up her closet. Maybe not the armor.

Problems

George Weed had a problem. In Woodbury, Connecticut in 1746 he handed off some bogus examples of the colony's script to a known counterfeiter. George informed this fellow that his brother Samuel signed the notes and could imitate any man's handwriting. The counterfeiter got arrested in Fairfield County in October. Weed passed some fake 20's in a local tavern and visited his "friend" in jail, sharing a mug of flip. The doctor advised him to escape. As soon as the counterfeiter was released on bail, he ratted out his co-conspirator. Weed was arrested but promptly ran from the constable.

Around that time, the great actor turned evangelist George Whitefield visited Connecticut. Weed may have seen him, or someone similar like Eleazer Wheelock, which might explain his problems with the Baptist church he attended in Philadelphia in 1765. He called their attempts to curb his preaching a trick that Dr. Faust played with the Devil:

Whereas George Weed has withdrawn himself from this church without applying properly for a dismission, and has since declined to come to show cause for his conduct for which irregularity and refusal, and also for his declining to pay the money he subscribed towards building the meeting house we do therefore erase his name out of the church book and declare him to be no longer of us, and this we do in hope it may be blest for the good of his soul.

Speaking of problems, here is one of the linings I cut for the coat.

At first, I thought this was because I forgot to iron the silk before I cut it. Yet the other lining piece fits fine. They were both cut at the same time, from the same pattern. Nothing for it but to cut another lining for one side. Ino, I could piece the tail, just don't feel like it.

The silk also tends to explode when cut with a buttonhole chisel.  I could have done the fancy-pants individual lining squares between the buttonholes, but this coat isn't nice enough. 

Instead, I get a confetti of tiny pink threads poking through the buttonhole slit. I learned the hard way not to pull on these, as shown below.

As with the pocket flaps, I have learned a new and better way to handle pleats. Not sure why I have been doing them wrong all these years. More on that later.

  
 

Holy hell, where have I been?

I can explain: Well, not really. I got antsy about posting anything on the interwebs, then blogs went out of fashion. Also, I have not made anything in a long while. I would not wish anhedonia on anybody. Anyway, bizarre side effects of chronic pain meds fixed everything.

My partner and I have a new gig at MOAR in October, another chance to portray an actual couple in Philadelphia wondering what the hell is happening in 1776. 

George Weed appears to have been a sad character. A successful doctor (and counterfeiter?) He decided one day he liked preaching better. His hospital employer disagreed with his career change. He was also unsuccessful with freelance preaching in churches. Fortunately, his wife saved the lucrative pharmacy business. I look forward to playing such a conflicted fellow.

I realized I don't own any wool frock coats, and my unlined linen one is so old the outside is lighter than the inside. I'm going to use the Ryan pattern again, mostly because it fits me, but let's assemble it with Henry Cooke's directions. The wool is from Renaissance Fabrics and the salmon pink silk lining comes from B & T. The silk is pretty sheer. Add to that black death's heads from Blue Cat.

Okay, that pocket flap lining needs a bit of ironing, but Henry's directions make this process SO much easier. I dislike the size of the Ryan flaps, so these are scaled down to go with the small cuffs. The wool is pretty thin, so a folded edge is possible, but I'm lazy. It seems to hold a cut edge well enough. If I had it to do over again, I'd trim the turned silk edges because they show through the lining. Note the buckram in that pocket flap is not sewn to anything. I learned this the hard way after several attempts to anchor it.

Flip the coat front over and here is the interfacing getting stitched against the front edge. Note the huge honking 5/8" seam allowance. Don't worry this will get trimmed. The buckram is actually set 3/4" back so the silk lining gets 1/8" overlap. 

Note the pocket bag. I'm tacking the top corner to the buckram, so the bag doesn't fight with the free edge.

The button side of the coat is in limbo till the buttons get here, but there are ten buttonholes to do on the other side once the lining is in. Stay tuned.