So before I make with the pictures, I will start with the back story. Awhile back I was approached by my patron. He wanted to do something nice for a friend of ours that was having a rough time, you see her long term significant other was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis went from bad to worse. This woman is amazing, loyal, delightful, and often times will bend over to give you the shirt off her back. We wanted to make sure that she knew that she was appreciated and loved. So my patron asked me to make her an amazing coat.
Well as much as I wanted to make this coat the most awesome thing evar, I was having issues designing it. The Muse had taken a break since the deadline was months away. So I pondered, worked on other things, and generally fretted whenever the coat came up. I didn't know how to make a coat as awesome as she deserved. I went through design after design, I designed coats with felted greek key trim, I designed coats with appliqued bears, there was even a version that had a Skyrim joke, but nothing felt right. Cue the end of Winter term when I got the assignment for my Color Design final, "Create a Mood Through an Artist, or Culture", Opulence is a mood, Byzantine is a culture.
I suddenly found my Muse in the act of unpacking her bags, and tossing fabric swatches around in my head. Suddenly the Coat became more, I was making her a gown now. I caught the wave and was off. Pulling fabrics out of bins, and curtains were sacrificed and it all came together in a frenzy of sewing. That seems to be my habit, weeks of calm, and a mad push of creation. It is maddening, but I do get some rather nice results. The gown was sewn in less than 48 hours, and got me an A on my final.
Now it is a few weeks later, and I still haven't come up with a design that I like enough to start cutting, It was getting too close to the delivery date, and I finally decided on a pattern, then I couldn't decide on a lining, angst. With the help of my apprentice sister patting me on the head, I made the final decision and began to cut. from there it was smooth sailing, and tonight I had the joy of giving it to a most delightful woman.
Without any further ado here is Nicasia's Byzantine Gown, and Rus Coat:
