Update About Random Things

SCA STUFF

So, BAM (War of the Rams) was exciting and wonderful, as anticipated.  There were a million things to do and see and learn, lots of classes, music, crafts, and lots of of fun times with friends.  The Ansteorran Longship Association was out in full force with their first longship, called Skelmir, on display, and a dear friend gave a series of lectures about the history of the ship and its construction, which were fun and fascinating.  Unfortunately, this year BAM was unseasonably warm, so I didn't get to wear the velveteen houppelande that I spent October making for it - but there'll be other cold events.  

What's Next? 

So what am I working on right now?  My next event will be Bryn Gwlad's Candlemas in February, so I'm working towards that.  I'm making over an old dress into a completely new outfit to wear to the event, and making new accessories and jewelry to go with it - here's a little preview I whomped up in the ever-so-modern-and-up-to-date program, Microsoft Paint (yes, it still exists, LOL): 

I'm also working on a series of A&S entries for a largesse competition at Candlemas, which includes glass beads, bags, and lots and lots of card weaving: 

I'm getting lots of practice doing things I love, and I'm having fun working on the new costume.  I'll be working on all of it throughout December and January, so there may not be much in the way of updates until early next year.  

REGENCY STUFF

A group of Regency costumers that I follow online did something fabulous this week:  they went to see the Napoleon movie together as a group in Regency costumes!  AAA!  I would LOVE to do that, but unfortunately I'm the only person I know who's even remotely interested in Regency stuff.  Oh, well.  Maybe some day I'll live somewhere with a Regency society group that's more than just a study group like our local one is.  (Not that a study group is bad, it's interesting, but I want costumes). 

I don't have any Regency stuff planned for this winter - I'm too busy with SCA stuff right now.  Although, I do have a ballgown and a new Spencer jacket on my planning boards (Trello - if you haven't seen it, check it out, it's an awesome project management app/website that keeps me organized and on track for all my projects, and it's free!) for the future - maybe in the spring.  

OTHER STUFF

Meanwhile, while SCA work continues apace, I'm also about to start crocheting a comfy and swishy ruana for my roommate that she can wrap up in at work since her office is always freezing.  

Also, (once SCA stuff and crocheting are done), I have three wooden tables in my house that I need to refinish.  I probably won't talk about those here, although I may.  I used to have a "furniture and other home crafts stuff" blog in addition to this one, but I don't keep up with it anymore.  Maybe I should start again.  But this won't be happening until probably March or later.  

Busy busy busy!  I'll be back soon with an update about the Candlemas outfit.  

A To-Do List: On Project Management and Prioritization

In days past, project management was a big topic on this blog, mainly because I (like most of us) tend to take on too much work, work in a rush, and end up either not getting everything done or turning out half-assed work.  Right now, as I come back into the SCA after a long hiatus, I'm in a pretty great spot:  I have no projects right now, and it's up to me to pick and choose where I spend my efforts going forward.  A fresh start!

So I'm looking at the upcoming Bjornsborg Viking event, Valkyrfelt, and trying to decide where to spend my money, my time, and my sanity.  The event is on October 19th, which is exactly one month away from my start date of September 20th (payday).  Here's what my list of ideas looks like right now:

• a new apron dress
• a pair of men's pants for myself
• repairs to my broken Hedeby bag
• a refit of my old parasol which needs a new cover
• new Viking jewelry for myself
• a wooden box I'd like to make just for fun 

Let's look at the time frames on those:  

• apron dress - 3 hours, not including embroidery (approx. 6 hours)
• men's pants - 2 hours
• broken bag - possibly 12 hours
• parasol - 2 hours
• new jewelry - 3 hours
• wooden box - 6 hours

All told, that's 34 hours.  I'll round it up to 40, because you just never know.  That's great!  I have plenty of time to get everything done.  

However, I also have a set of couch cushion covers that I'm making for a friend, and I'm spending about 4 hours a week on those right now.  All in all, I still have "plenty" of time to get all of this done...but do I really want to spend an average of 14 hours a week working on all of this?  No. No, I do not.  I want to have time to do other things with my life, too.  So how do I prioritize this a bit better?  Let's look at what each project is worth to me:  

1. Apron dress:  I'm down by two apron dresses, and so this is definitely needed for this event. 
2. Hedeby bag:  this is my only Viking bag, and I'll need it to carry at the event - it's not unusable right now, but it's definitely a pain in the ass.  Plus, I'm very proud of it and I want to have it with me, and I want it to look its best.  This one stays.  
3. Wooden box:  this takes very little time, and I've already got the box and the supplies I'll need, so this project is free.  It stays on my list for Valkyrfelt, but it'll be the first to go if other things need more time. 

• Men's pants:  while I really want a pair of pants to go with my male Viking outfit (great to pack up camp in on the last day!), I don't really want to spend the money on this right now.  Tabled for future events. 
• The parasol isn't necessary for this event.  The site is fully shaded by trees, and the parasol isn't Viking at all - I'd rather use hats and sunscreen for a Viking event.  This one can go.  
• New jewelry would be fun, and beautiful (and I'm craaaaving amber right now), but do I really need it?  No, I do not.  I'll table this project until necessary items are done, if I still have time and money.  

There.  I've just cut my list in half!  From +/-40 hours to about 23 (round up to 26).  That's much more doable, and I'll have the time I need to do each of those three "needful" things nicely and correctly, instead of rushing through trying to get 6 projects done.  I'd like to try to time myself as I work to get a better idea of if my estimates are correct - if I remember to, I'll post about it here.  

As of right now, I've already completed the brown apron dress and am now working on the embroidery (seams, top edge);  and I've begun the wooden box.  Hopefully I'll have pics of finished projects for you soon. 

2016

Happy [Mundane] New Year, everyone!

2015 Was Kinda Weird  

For the first six months I was unemployed, and I got a LOT of commission work done. The next six I spent working two jobs and having precious little time to work on SCA stuff, but I managed to at least complete my remaining commissions and get some personal work done in my spare time.  I spent several months working on expanding and updating my 10-11thC Viking wardrobe.  I embroidered all the things, and became a better embroiderer. 

I think by far the most important thing I managed to do in 2015 was not go completely banana-balls insane with stress.  Which, okay, I totally did that.  By October I was so stressed and depressed that I could barely function; but I managed to work my way through it and make some changes to the way I was dealing with my stress and my time management issues, and things got a lot more comfortable.  It took a lot of hard work, and a lot of difficult discussions with myself, but I did it, and I'm proud of the fact that I was able to take a step back and re-evaluate, re-prioritize, and keep my most of my cheese from sliding off my mental crackers.

These will not protect you.

So What's Next?  

The job thing will continue to be a thing until further notice.  Honestly, I'm not sure when.  In November I made it to my financial goals with flying colors, only to have the football pulled away from me just before the kick, Peanuts-style, so it'll be several more months yet before I'm "back on my feet" enough (again!) to cut my spare job loose and enjoy something like a "normal" schedule again.

That said, Candlemas and Kingdom A&S are coming up VERY soon.  Alas, I don't have anything fantabulously wondermus planned, because I don't have time to pull off something really spectacular; but I am currently in the middle of re-fashioning an old gown that I can't wait to wear again; and have embarked on another slow wardrobe makeover, this time with all of my fourteenth century clothing.

So. Some things will get finished.  Some things will not get finished, and that's okay.  I am not accepting new commission work: no ifs, ands, or buts (or butts).  I'm going to try not to post here about what I'm working on until it's done and I have something to show you.

I don't do New Year's resolutions, but, I do have two goals for the first half of 2016:

1. Do not go crazy.
2. Make it to Gulf Wars in March. 

I'll let you know how it goes.

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An Almost-Quarterly Project Management Update

After meeting with a couple of my fellow SCA seamstresses recently to discuss projects, project management, and goals, I thought I'd come here and share some thoughts on my personal process and how its revision has been going.

Last September I wrote my first "mission statement" post, mostly stemming from the feeling that costuming was sucking the life out of me and knowing that it was because I was pretty thoroughly sucking at managing my time and work effectively.  In December I posted an update, after a self-review surprised me by revealing that I was achieving my goals fairly well.  (You can see both of those posts here, or by clicking the "mission statement" tag on this post or the sidebar).

In the most recent five months, I've made progress, and I've also fallen off the wagon a little bit.  Most of the latter has happened since Gulf Wars - because I had a spectacularly awful war because I was ill the entire time I was there, and then cut short my trip because one of my pets was dying, the emotional fallout has sidelined me for a good two months.  But I'm back on track now and being truly productive again, and I've been re-thinking my process, refining some of my ideas, and discussing it with friends who have given me some excellent insights and new information to consider.

Goals From 2014 That I've Met and Good Habits Established: 

1. Become better familiar with the number and scope of commissioned projects I can take on at a time so that I can make my work and delivery more reliable, without overloading myself or biting off more than I can chew. 
2. Become better at establishing with new clients project parameters and delivery expectations
3. Learn to "divide and conquer" my project loads to ensure that no one thing falls by the wayside and so that every project receives an equal amount of attention to quality
4. Develop better workspace management habits (keep my room clean so I can work in it effectively)
5. Develop and grow my skills and knowledge, and the quality of my output
6. Learning to take the same care and put the same attention and quality into work for myself that I do into work for my clients.  

Goals I've Not Yet Met: 

1. Blog-related project delivery.  I've done better this year than last year, but I'm still awful at things like: posting finished project pictures of ALL of my projects, and posting pictures of finished costumes ON my clients
2. Participation in A&S: my A&S goals are stretched out over the course of this year, so it's not that I haven't done a good job, it's just that I'm only barely past the first marker.  I'm completely satisfied with my performance at Candlemas (the red Habsburg gown); I had fun, got over some fears, and learned a lot from the process that I think will help me in the future.  My next A&S checkpoint will be at Laurel's Prize Tourney in September of this year - I've got plenty of time to develop my project for that event and to develop my documentation skills, presentation, and confidence.  And trust me, I WILL be letting you know how all of that turns out. :) 

What's Next? 

I've been talking with friends recently about the more business-oriented aspects of being a seamstress.  I have no plans at present to develop my hobby sewing into anything like an actual business, but the more I learn about business and project management in the professional sense, the more I realize that much of it applies to casual, "sure, I'll make that for you" projects, and is VERY useful for learning to manage my productivity and quality in a more effective way.  

With the attention and development my commission projects and my personal wardrobe have been receiving, I'm noticing that more and more people are coming to me for advice, help with costuming, and actual commissions than ever before.  My work is improving consistently, and I feel I'm beginning to look the part of a person who actually knows what she's doing (in the past, I've focused 99% of my attention on commissions and then half-assed my own wardrobe in a mad dash the day before an event, which meant that while my "work" was well-received, *I* was still walking around events looking like a dump truck).  I'm beginning to receive more commission requests from outside of my circle of close friends, recently, as well. 

While I'm in no way resolving to stop doing the things that are working well for me (i.e. more effective project management, attention to detail, improving my "customer service", development of skill and quality), I have some new goals to add to my growing list of self-improvement strategies: 

• I'd like to develop a more comprehensive set of project parameters to establish with clients, especially clients who I don't know well to begin with.  It's one thing to sew for a buddy with whom you already have a relationship and see all the time, where mutual understanding and communication aren't at issue; but it's another animal entirely working with someone you don't know.
• While I've always known that I undervalue my work (and what maker or artist doesn't, really?), I've recently done some research into my past work and discovered that the extent to which I'm selling myself short, in MANY areas, is just staggering in proportion.  I'm not just talking about pricing, either - I fall short in areas of confidence, pride in my work, and in fear of judgment resulting in a dysfunctional sense of false humility. 
• Because I anticipate one day doing a lot more work on a semi-professional level, I'd like to spend some time really tracking my costs, time, and labor on various projects, so that in the future I can have a better idea of what it is that I'm doing, so that I can more accurately predict for clients how long a project will take, what it involves, and what to expect overall.  
• On the organizational front, I'd like to create a couple of notebooks to keep around:  a portfolio of my work, both for A&S purposes and to show to clients during design consultations; a working notebook in which to keep client information, measurements, and history, for my own use; and an SCA "resume" type of document or book, in which to keep track of both my project history and achievements. 
• I'd like to develop my own wardrobe even further.  In my first few years in the SCA, I was excited by every new thing I discovered, and had a "one of everything" wardrobe, but because I jumped around so often, not one of my outfits was ever fully developed where things like jewelry and accessories were concerned.  I've been sticking with a time period/culture for longer periods of time in the past two years - I now have a [more or less] fully-developed 15th century Florentine wardrobe, my 14th-15th century English wardrobe is doing fairly well, and my Viking wardrobe is well on its way.  However, I still feel that each of those collections could use a little more depth.  The devil is in the details, as they say.  I met a man at Queen's Champion last week who was a paragon of periodicity.  I've seen people with very nice kits before, even epic kits, but this guy blew them all out of the water.  There was a level of detail and effort in his presentation that went far beyond having done a good job - you looked at this man, and it was like seeing someone from the 1100s actually, physically come to life before your eyes.  I want my own look to be working on THAT level! 

I'm a couple of weeks overdue on posting some finished stuff, so I'll get to that in the next few days (I just have to go through my camera and get pics ready for the blog), and in the next few days I'll also be talking about the next round of commissions and personal projects that I have lined up.  

See you soon! 

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