I have collected as many articles, as many catalogues as I could and have only found a couple of images not already in my site. Until yesterday. Eight. Eight of them. All noblewomen of the North Rhine making them really important for my purposes. Good timing as I finally got an article transcribed and translated that is really important as it discussing the written and spoken language.

So today I will be editing those images and sorting them. And I’m finally sorting my online citations which is going faster now that apps are playing together.

I’ve been putting off transcribing and translating an article for over a decade as it is 28 (narrowed down to 26) A4 pages of 11pt text on in German with special characters every other word or so. OCR has come a long way since, but this article wasn’t available that way. So I now have apps and tools to do this in one day as it’s vital: it is part of my reasoning behind almost all of my use of NRW clothing terms. So it’s really important to be able to cite where the info is in the page.

It’s just tough as even using a really good spelling and grammar editor it is still not able to offer special characters very easily so even though I am now 6 pages from finishing I will have to go through again to put in special characters. But why would I have to do that? Because the special characters are specific to grammar in many ways. Not sure why a list of potenial words don’t pop up, but that’s where we are.

I’m finding I am able to read it pretty well, which is amazing. The last year of stress and fibro has made even thinking about trying to read another language just.. ugh.. nope. But I set today aside to get a bit of time in and it is helping. Not sure how long this will last, but I’m grabbing on to whatever I can manage today!

So I do have to have a lie down with all sound blocked out, fibro increases sensitivity to light and sound, and as they feel like they make up most of my head, most of my head feels deeply uncomfortable. Wearing glasses adds to the vision but also skin sensation as the weight on my nose feels like it increases.

So, hopefully this time tomorrow I’ll have a new page to share. But yesterday was spent tracking down all the apps I need to edit pdfs and then parse through OCR and to then edit as a text. It was A Lot.

I am genuinely finally on the last stages of the next big update for my Anne of Cleves research. I’ve been collecting and drawing from as many digital sources as possible, images, documents, transcribed documents, and also in all that time paying attention to any improved sources and that has happened a few times now.

So I’m reorganising ALL THE FOLDERs which is quite time consuming, and there are a handful of images that are double ups in my timeline because I got a more appropriate date.

It’s also creeping ever closer to the time I need my Elsa gown made and I’m frustrated by my pain and lack of energy interfering in both. But progress is progress is progress. So I have to remember that.

I had to totally change how I am making my Elsa gown which has meant going back to scratch while at the same time buying vital materials. Finally some powernet that is powernet has arrived! It’s the same as I made my Ice Gown bodysuit from so I do know what I can get it to do.

My problem is and has been down to two things.

1. the neckline- it’s so low that I have to either accept not perfectly illusion net to hold it up from the shoulders, or some sort of very hidden corsetry to push it up. The very deep v in the back here is what makes the choise so hard.
2. my sequin fabric has very definite vertical lines. The deep points of the skirt means I have to use these very carefully

So this power net is great. I can layer the netting where I need support but also can dip dye to match my skin tone so I can use it as it is or get a true illusion net over the top. Probably the latter.

I have a tremendous amount of super sheer tulle that was going to be used on my Bubble gown, so that can be layered up to get that snow effect but over the sequins to get that sparkle. Basically what I did for my Ice Gown (-frozen-elsa) but at least 4 layers.

Those layers of tulle will hopefully help protect the edges of the sequin fabric once I cut it. And will hide seams I have to put in to the sequin fabric.

The sheer layer if fine in terms of cut- I can either top and tail panels or do a kind of 1900s skirt cut, that is also similar to my Mina skirt foundation. I really want to to make the skirt in very narrow panels for each point.

Again though all of this is dependent on solving the neckline/support and sequin fabric direction issues. I really need to prepare for that in terms of fabric glue to tack down threads holding sequins as those points get very narrow and will be very finicky.

I have some nice gently stretched satin to line the sequins, but it’s not as nice as what I have for the ice gown or what I started making of the Frozen Fever gown. I wish I could remember where I got it.

My computer has had a refresh after my ssd had a minor hardware fail. So fast, so easy to use. All to get my research properly sorted and updated. I spent nearly all my monthly allowance on free articles on JSTOR so it’s quite timely.

I did swap some cables, got the vacuum out, so I think I have a few more years out of this pc 🙂

I’ve had two queries about my Anne of Cleves research in the last few days so I’ve been trying to update some of my pages that draw together visual information that individually are relatively low quality but brought together suggests they are at the very least attempts to depict dress specific to the region.

If you have visited my research site in the last few days you’ll find some pages are changing a bit. I’m trying to cite inline and post, and that includes any edits made after initial publication.

My PC is currently inoperable. There seems to be a corrupt update but otherwise the drive is good. So I’ll attempt to reassemble it.

Meanwhile I am making use of my new flipbook, I can access files in my back up drives via an enclosure so yes, I am able to access files. It’s just a little different to what I am used to.

I’ve also taken up tidying as a bit of distraction therapy.

I’m also finding myself retreating from kindness and support. It’s a difficult time for many of us who are reduced to a number and are aware of it. So I’m going to take a breath, take a pause, and find a way to express gratitude.

I’ve been slowly working on my two Poysdorf shirts, I did cut down a regular shirt for that, so my gussets are too deep but it does work. I’ve taken out as much as possible from the back so it sits flat against my back to leave the gathers entirely where it is most needed in Kleve-Juelich-Berg and Koeln. That is my adaptation for a much warmer and humid climate that I live in. I am not comfortable with a lot of fabric gathered and creating pockets of warm air around my torso, so I very much need this!

I’ve spent a bit of time this year trying some rehab of my hands. It’s too expensive to get physio unfortunately but I do still have some resources from my carpal tunnel release surgery.

This is what I did do: Therapeutic Exercise Program for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (pdf.)

So I’m doing these again on top of a few simple RA stretches which have not changed or advanced but are vital: Slide show: Hand exercises for people with arthritis (series of gifs showing how to do each exercise.)

The “finger walk” is especially useful due to the drift of fingers.

My PC seems to have finally stopped working, so I’m tippy tappy typing on a smaller keyboard but my thumbs are curled under so it’s time to find a different posture and get some heat on my hands.

“Over complicating costuming since forever ago?” Yeah. That’s not hyperbole. I am currently stalled on updating my waterfall pleat guide because I wound up trying to find any, every, image of a specific iteration. One of the Dutch Second Managers, aka Wishing gown. It’s really an amazing example as it takes everything that I know from extant gowns and uses it.

But in doing so I’ve sorted my folders and so far it does look like my principle works. My basic pattern works really well as it is for US style Second Manager’s versions, and my guide itself works really well full stop if the text is followed.

So what I’m trying to do is make it easier to get to that point.

Something that I can’t really do is help predict exactly how much fabric physics and trim work. I can give alerts to what to expect but that goes way back to Alcega, so that’s something I’m trying to include. Folding heavy fabric affects measurements.

Spoon theory is very useful, but only if you understand the concept of a spoon/energy deficit.

Much like taking out a monetary loan, it can impact your security for years to come.

And I have genuinely, reached my limit of being able to borrow even a day ahead.

In the past I have been able to make calculations based on experience to invest in a few days then recovering for weeks or months after.

But I can’t do that, and haven’t been able to for some time.

Honestly?

I think because fibromyalgia does not have the same deep history that Rheumatoid Arthritis has. Pain with an unknown source or therapy drains all your resources that could be divided between known therapy and what you need to do. This guesswork take so much time and energy. And bad advice (as most advice now appears to be) not only doesn’t help in the moment, but now looks like it can cause damage that is irreversible.

My hope is that now that there is finally a good body of evidence for it to be inflammatory and immune driven that we can start to use fairly simple, cheap, very well known therapies.

I suspected fibro was inflammatory and immune driven when I could use high heat on my spine like I do for RA flares.

It is a real relief to have a cheap, reusable kind of therapy (hot water bottle.) It is however temporary. So I need a good 20 mins of direct heat two or three times a day.

I have to carefully tread safety vs therapeutic levels as I need high enough heat to numb tissue to the muscle/joint.

But it is something.

But today I have overlocked the seam allowances of a Victorian style bodice. That is 12 pieces. It is A Lot but the structure allows for really nifty illusion, then extreme fitting in seams that are less obvious.

And all of this is inspired by trying to make my Waterfall Pleat guide more useful. I would up grabbing inspiration images of styles I’m not personally a fan of, but really do help understand how these things work.

It’s now time to rest and apply that high heat to my lower spine. It’s shifted from upper back to lower spine and I’m not sure why. Whatever it is, I will do better by resting now.