January 2026: Long Road to Publication
January Goals
Garb:
Finish the Green Test Hairnet. Maybe start on the Red one.
Test the Juana Sobresaya lining pattern.
Begin Phase 1 of the Juana Sobresaya.
Classes:
Keep outlining and researching Spanish Women’s Undergarments improvements. Slow and steady!
Re-re-record The Foods That Built Spain
Research:
The Artifice of Beauty by Sally Pointer. I’d love to get it actually finished this month.
Start the outline for the Juana In White documentation.
Somehow, January has managed to be the longest year ever. And I didn’t get half the stuff I wanted too done, which doesn’t feel great. But I did get some things done, so it’s not a total loss.
12th Night was illuminating for several things on the Juana outfit project. The blue dress did great for the day, but ultimately, it’s just not a style I think I particularly like. It did reinforce my original opinion that the white is an overdress, not the supportive layer, which is cool I guess. The neckline did also sit exactly where I wanted it to, which is lovely. However, it does mean that the pattern I made for it is not prepared to go over another layer in between. This leads me to a bit of a conundrum, which is that I had planned to start on the goldwork but I can’t really start on the goldwork this month without having a pattern. One of my goals was to start the sobresaya Phase 1 that I outlined last month, but instead I think I’m going to have to re-visit my order of operations. Not being supportive means I think it’ll be a lot easier to make the white sobresaya over the black saya verdugado and just use the same neckline pattern for both, which is what I should have done with the saya and sayuelo from my elevation.
My test skirt shapes
Pivoting to the saya verdugado isn’t too bad, because I do already have the fabric for that in hand. I also had a vague design plan in mind already, which is a nice spot to be in. The primary concern I have with that garment is not the top, which I think I’m pretty well covered on by now, but the skirt shape. My aim with the skirt shape is a rounded cone, much like the paintings so when I add triangular gores to the skirt, they’re going to have to change angle probably a couple times to achieve that cone shape. I decided to do six rows of verdugos (from my survey), so I could reasonably change angle when I’d be putting in a row to space them evenly from top to bottom, or I could do it three times total for a smoother overall line.
I decided to give it a go with stiff sketch book paper. First, just to prove I wasn’t crazy about geometry (which is not my strong suit, my brain is an algebra and statistics brain), I made standard 4-panel+4-triangular gore example. Straight forward, definitively not the rounded conical shape I want. Then came tinkering. After four or so tries, I finally had a pattern, at a 1/4 scale and accompanying spacing for my verdugos.
I did get the bodice mostly constructed this month, which is a great start. I decided to do something slightly different than usual, and do two side openings, both for spacing of the panels and for additional ease in putting the garment on. This took more of my time up than anticipated, so I did not make as much progress as I wanted to on the new hairnet. I got about halfway through the Green Hairnet though and have acquired two materials for the next set of tests. The third hairnet I make will be with lace weight yarn and the fourth will be with embroidery floss. I’m very interested to see if these two materials can be sturdy enough and small enough that I can attempt the original net pattern from the site I’ve been learning from.
I did get a good start on the Juana in White documentation outline and a chunk of it started! It’s far from done and I want to work on a more comprehensive timeline aspect of it, but I did get it started, which was the goal for this month.
And, at long last, after a year long process of refining, editing, proofing, and some great learning experiences, my Compleat Anachronist is finally in peoples’ hands! I am so relieved that the project got completed and so so proud of the work that went into its creation.
Real books! That I wrote!
Apropos of nothing, I’ve started a long-term A&S project with my garden. I’ve been learning to grow things in pots for the last year or so, and while that’s had its ups and downs (the ground is so much easier), it’s been a really great way to really have to pay attention to my plants. I’ve got my spring planning done, but I’m doing some surveys of my cooking and cosmetic reference books, as well as eventually some health books, to try to codify things that may or may not have been a part of Mariana’s garden, and then try to grow some of them myself. I’ve currently got three plants that are included in the project, with a couple more on the way for spring time, in addition to a couple that are just for my own personal enjoyment (several flowers from the Americas). I’m looking forward to understanding a period garden collection more in depth as well as digging into some of the genetic origins of some of my plants!
Which leads to- long term goals for 2026.
Juana’s outfit: I would really like to get a large chunk of the sewing done, though I don’t think realistically I will finish the whole outfit this year. My reasonable goal is to have the saya verdugado completed and start on the sobresaya. My stretch goal will be to have the hairnet completed as well.
Juana’s outfit’s documentation: That said, while I don’t think I’ll have all the sewing and making done, I do think I could reasonably get most of this documentation written. Starting with this month’s goal of the outline ready, and we’ll move on throughout the year. I won’t have it fully finished, because that requires make notes from the pieces that won’t be completed, but I think mostly finished is reasonable.
Try soap making: reading Sally Pointer does have a point. Which is to eventually try making some period cosmetics. I want to start with soap as a relatively shelf stable, known quantity project and grow from there.
A new Nola menu, with the Jewish coded foods: In writing The Foods That Built Spain, I did a survey of what recipes in Nola’s Libro de guisados were Jewish coded, based on Helene Jawhara Piñer’s lists in Jews, Food, and Spain. I’d like to turn that survey into an actual menu with a main protein, a vegetable, a starch, and a dessert.
Class ideas and improvements: I’ve been very slowly whittling away at the intended improvements for Spanish Women’s Undergarments and would like to finish that and teach it once this year. I do also have another class idea that I’m tentatively calling Food Is More Than Feasting, which focuses on food as a research subject and how food A&S is a much broader world than the one limited by feast budgets and modern palates.
Mariana’s Garden: Described above, I’m working towards getting to know things that my persona would have grown in her garden and starting to plan my longer term garden plans around it. I’m starting with food source surveys to identify the “what” and then I want to move onto genetic resources to describe the “why/how” of each of those choices in Spain.
Make some Spanish Roman: This is a very vague goal, but for Hannukah, my mother got me some of the pretty Spanish intaglio earrings I’ve seen around, Sof’ia dealt more beautiful saris, and all of a sudden I have some Roman inspiration that I’d like to explore. This goal should be accomplished in time for Pennsic, which I do intend to go to this year, so looking to start it maybe in March.
February Goals
Garb:
Finish the dress layer of the Juana verdugado.
Start on the rope layers.
Classes:
Re-re-record The Foods That Built Spain
Research:
Continue The Artifice of Beauty by Sally Pointer.
