Today I started adding trim to the blue apron dress, or smokkr. I really wanted some hand-woven wool Norse trim, but I couldn’t afford what was on offer. 😦 Oh well!

I made do with some trims I found in the bargain bins at the local fabric store, as well as Walmart (not a place I usually shop, but the closest store to my house that carries any sewing supplies at all).

Here are just a few of the  bargain bin trims in blue that I have collected over the past year:

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I chose this one initially:

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It is about half sewn on at this point. But I felt like adding another couple of rows, although I may not have time to sew all of them on before my next event this Saturday,  Winter War Maneuvers V (see Canton of Pferdestadt, Winter War Maneuvers V).

At Winter War Maneuvers, I will be busy all day long, so it will be nice to wear this very comfortable smokkr. I’m going to be teaching my class on the 10th century Viking/Rus’/Slav Princess Ol’ga of Kiev again (see Post-event reviews are in!), plus I will be retaining for Their Royal HIghnesses Prince Alric and Princess Katherine during the day.

I will also be the Court retainer for Their Excellencies Baron Talymar and Baroness Melisande at the end of the day.

I will definitely have the main center trim done by Saturday. After I get it finished, I plan to add the top row of trim, and finally the bottom one. It will look OK with just one or two rows of trim, but it would be nice to have all three finished by Saturday.

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I’d be working on it right now, except that sewing by hand simply kills both my arthritic hands.

It surprises me that hand-sewing bothers my left hand, too, because I’m right-handed, and use my right hand to hold the needle. But I pinch the cloth with my left hand, and that repetitive pinching stresses out my wonky thumb. I have DeQuervain’s tendonosis, and had surgery on that left thumb/wrist at the end of September, but it hasn’t improved matters at all. 😦 So I need to take frequent breaks.

Luckily typing doesn’t bother it! 🙂

Tonight I’ll be working on the trim some more at Sewing Circle, the weekly Monday evening gathering at Diana and Ryan’s house, where the tea party was held on Saturday. See Tomorrow: a Tea Party. Janet VanMeter will be giving me a ride, so this time I don’t have to worry about driving while drowsy! 🙂 See Too sleepy to go…