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Last week I showed 14yod's Portia costume of our next unit celebration.  The children insist that I dress up as well.  I am to be Queen Elizabeth!

This was a huge challenge for me, because I have never sewn anything like this before.  However, I was up for the challenge.  I've sewn costumes in the past for our church children's and adult choirs.  I learned a lot from a great lady who one year devised weed costumes, crows, etc the first year I sewed for her and the children's choir.  Wow, the things I learned. Then the following year she injured her arm...so I was in charge of the costuming.    I like having my skills honed; one never knows what in the world a director is going to ask for.  ;)

In addition, this motivates my children to do their history and literature readings and writings, projects, speeches, etc. It's fun to dress up at the end of every few weeks and eat food from the era and show off for Dad and Grandma and Grandpa.  Sometimes the other Grandma flies 1500 miles to view a unit celebration.

 In trying on these dresses, dd and I have learned why these ladies weren't very active and why they needed others to dress them.  My goodness, I am huffing and puffing, putting on a bum roll, hoop skirt, underskirt and then a heavy tapestry dress with hooks or ties.  And this is in dressing my daughter!  Then I'm going to have to dress me!  =0  As we learn history sequentially, it's been an interesting sewing history lesson for me.  Seeing the development of clothing styles has been interesting.  It's also given me a new appreciation for the seamstresses of yore.  My skirt was too thick to sew to my bodice on the sewing machine, so I got a tapestry needle and sew it together by hand...all they had back then.  Ugh.  My shoulder felt like it would fall off!  But, finally it is done!

I have also used a lot of fabrics already in my fabric stash, which has saved money.  For the items I need, I buy on sale or with coupons as much as possible.  These have been 1/10th, even 1/20th the cost of purchasing.  I know it has to be cheaper than rental as well.    

There is another reason why I do this, besides being a crazy woman! ;)  I hope to sew my dd's wedding dress someday.  What a great way to practice on mere costumes.   I just take each pattern one step at a time, and it works like a puzzle.  I also have to keep cleaning out lint and reoiling the bobbin mechanism.  I also remember to hold those thread tails when I start a seam, or they'll gunk up in the bobbin mechanism.  I also take my machine in for a professional cleaning once a year, while I'm on vacation.  This keeps my machine happy and cooperative.  ;)  Then when I come home, well rested, I can get back to work cranking out more stuff!  =)