Redcoats & Convicts at Hyde Park Barracks

The re-enactment group I'm in  was asked to be convicts for the day as they were needed for the event as much as Redcoats.  I don't have british naval kit so I wore my newish open robe & crazy cap and played at an older version of Sarah Rose, transported for 14 years for stealing fabric & lace. 




At lunchtime-ish we convicts got to have a feast that was to re-create the celebration in 1818 for King Williams birthday  put on by Governor Macquarie.  It was all "men" at the feast cos there wouldn't have been any women at it back in 1818,  though I did sneak in before it was properly over to the scandal of the cooks.
 

We even had someone play Gov Macquarie's role so later in the afternoon I went up & asked him for permission to get married as convict women had to get the Gov's permission.  He kept asking if my intended was of good character & all I could care about was that he had land! 
I did get my photo with a proper lady, who probably wouldn't have been at the prison barracks back in 1818 but the organisers wanted a broader social status range at the event.  The other person played a convict pick pocket hence why he was getting closer to pinch something off her person.

two Lamias at Sydney Supanova

I'm hoping to be able to find & afford to replace the bemsilk for real silk suffolk puffs on the bodice. It was the best option at the time, to simply get Lamia to a wearable stage. Given that I only bought the lining fabrics on Thursday evening and spent quite a bit of Saturday at Supanova sitting at the back of guest panels making the puffs, it could be far worse.  I had another 20 that I could have sewn onto it, but I'd reached midnight, which was my self imposed deadline.

After dying all the other fabrics, drafting the bodice twice, well I had so many silly things go wrong that I was starting to think it was jinxed.  In a couple of months I'm visiting a silk shop (interstate) that has big range of real silk linings.

I also need to get a better wig ... this was the 2nd one I bought and I'm still not happy.  The first was too brassy so I looked jaundiced nor do I look all pink in the face, plus wig #1 turned out to be a small skull size and mine is broad scale.  Wig #2 is too pale and not wavy enough but at least I'm not jaundiced.



Another photo that better hides the lack of suffolk puffs on the bodice.