Junior's Dress

[17:12] There was still plenty to do. And, if she already had her sewing things out...There was no time like the present. Nearly all the continent marches to war, but Katrin remains devoted to her craft.

From her stash of ingredients for all her orders she takes out the old, weathered veil- what had evidently been a gift from a spirit for Junior's use.

No love lost on Moxtli, but when it came to her craft she followed her word. And there was still coin in it at the end of the day.

The artificer spreads out the veil across her desk and makes note of where its edges are torn or where there might be holes left in it.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[17:15] Junior had told her a little history of where she had gotten the veil- from a power benevolent spirit- and had spoken of her wishes in having it attract wayward sprites and wisps.

Not only the veil had been given to this end, but also a slew of Poppylus, which Katrin now retrieves from her stores.

Normally the great porous stone pot is meant for metals, for crystals and gems, for melting. Today? That's not so.

The artificer laboriously goes through the Poppylus and strips the petals from the stems. The petals go into the stone cauldron, into a batch of water, to make a tincture.

The stems don't go to waste. Instead she strips them down, separates them into fibers, and splays them out next to but not on the forge in the hopes that the heat will dry them; Katrin intends to use them to wave into a fabric to fill out the damaged areas of the veil.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[17:24] The process of making fabric from the Poppylus stems was time consuming. Far and away from her usual forte, too, but if she was going to be the best at what she does? It would require her to go outside of her comfort zone. Often.

She grumbles and grouses as she does it though, having little care for working the fine fibers of the flower stalks. She spreads them all out, comes through them, and then takes out something she loathes to use.

A spinning wheel, of all things. Katrin makes damn sure her door is locked before dragging it out from where it's stored.

As the Poppylus petals cook down she spins, and spins, and spins the fibers from the stalks into that fine, silken thread that will be meant for the dress's repairs.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[17:28] She would much rather be working metal, but the thread was not so bad once she'd grown accustomed to the process. It had a mind-numbing, repetitive quality to its spinning.

The artificer doesn't need so much of it in order to be able to repair the vaunted veil she's been given. And, once it's complete and drawn off its spool in a fine, gossamer thread, she ties it to her needle and gets to the real work.

Frayed edges are trimmed or hemmed where she could to preserve the veil and keep it intact. Holes are filled and stitched anew. The white Poppylus stalk thread blends in well with the also white cloth.

Then she begins to sew it into a dress's proper shape. Something slimming and summery that seemed to fit Junior's style.
(Katrin Weiss)
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[17:32] The artificer puts the last stitch onto one of the shoulder loops, stands from her work station, and drifts her work back and forth as she twists.

A beautiful dress, really. The ivory white floats seamlessly through the air, as if it were dancing. For now, she is satisfied with her progress.

One final touch is necessary.

Katrin takes the dress over to the bubbling pot of the Poppylus tincture and lowers all the repaired cloth down into the mixture. She swirls it, hefts it back up, and then drapes it adjacent to the forge to dry.
(Katrin Weiss)