#also all these patterns go up to at least a US size 22 btw

[handweavers]

kiran this is my uhh fourth? year of promising to sew myself a livable summer wardrobe pls pray with me that it’ll be my first year of Actually doing it <3 and also, as always... what are your fave summer patterns?

omg you can do it i believe in you!! i always find that the most difficult part is getting started, once you get into the groove of it and sewing things it becomes addictive to just keep popping out garments, it always happens to me i'll go months without touching my sewing machine and then i'll sit down to sew a pair of pants or a shirt and a few days later i've sewn 5 whole new garments and i don't even know how i got there lmfao.

my summer patterns are probably different than most because i can't wear shorts or short sleeved clothing outside in the heat or my skin explodes, but i have a set of patterns that i make in lightweight linen or cotton and even though they're long pants and long sleeves they're soooo comfortable even on the hottest days. i also run hot year round so i wear these in winter too just with extra layers lol

- the fremantle pants and the cornell shirt from elbe textiles. i think i've made the fremantle pants 6 times now and while i change a few things about the construction process to suit my preference (i prefer a different method for attaching the waistband) they're literally my favourite pants ever. cornell shirt is also fantastic, i like view 1 which has a button placket that goes halfway down the shirt but not fully. i like to sew it using lightweight cotton esp fabric i've gotten from india and that combo makes it function like a short modern kurti/traditional desi shirt pattern for me and i love it

- all well cardigan coat by all well workshop. the hacking guide for this is awesome, i've made several different versions of this coat in midweight linens and cottons and they are the perfect method of protecting my arms from the sun if i want to wear a short sleeved shirt that day as well as for layering, and i always make them long with huge pockets so they're so functional and comfy

- harper tunic by elizabeth suzann studio. another shirt i've made several times to the extent that i use this pattern as a base whenever i want to make a new shirt. i made the hem straight instead of asymmetrical and i removed the pocket, and shortened the length of the tunic and it makes an awesome basic woven tee pattern for me. i can whip out a hacked shirt in this pattern in like 4 hours, highly recommend

- cap sleeve shirt from the assembly line. this is a new-to-me pattern that i'm currently using for the first time to make a shirt, and its great. similar basic silhouette as the harper tunic but it has a button placket and standing straight collar so i like having that built into the pattern.

- morocco pants from the fabrics store. awesome simple pants that are very comfy, but they work extremely well when cut into shorts. i can't wear shorts outside during the day but i still like to wear them at home/inside in the summer esp for sleeping, and i always use my hacked version of this pattern for that. so simple, so perfect.

[hiatusgames]

Specimen Zero Review!

Urbi et Orbi!

Pax Vobiscum!

As many of you already know, our Sample Box, a.k.a. Specimen Zero, arrived along with the offset print proof sheets. These were opulent but not perfect; thus, we had to rearrange background textures and patterns and then make another sample print, and this last one was eventually considered to be perfect enough for mass production. Unfortunately, we've got into Chinese National Holiday with this order, so everyone on that side had a full week off, making it unable for us to have the updates on this in time. But now we got it all, so let's take a look for yourselves:

These above are cold foil industrial print proofs. That is how all your units, amenities, camps, box and game board will actually appear. Also, we've been asked repeatedly about this, so I guess I should note this once again: this Gilded Box is what each one of you will get, not the Glory Boxers only!

Now, about Specimen Zero. Let's have a closer look here:

The first thing I'd like to remind now is that this one is DIGITALLY PRINTED and MANUALLY ASSEMBLED, which means it is but a prototype to present the actual box's size, weight, and inventory - but not the actual look of the game (because this is what print proofs were made for). Since there's no such thing as a digital foil, all assets elements to be guilded, were printed for Specimen Zero on a regular paper with neon orange color to show where the foil will be. Also, you could notice some tokens in this prototype have some cut-out biases due to manual punchboard creation (humans are no match to robots, apparently). But these are the Specimen Zero specific flaws, and they won't affect your Gilded Boxes quality, so please worry not, O Noble Congregation!

First, we'll look at the box itself. It is 300x300x65 mm (around 12x12x2,5 inches), and its weight (with all the addons included) is 3.90 kg or 6.6 lbs. It is gilded all around and has a book-like cover with two magnetic locks on one side. The only sad part about this box is that we had to drop the plastic organizer because it simply won't fit in with all the assets, and if we'll make boxes an inch deeper to fix this issue then we won't fit into 20' shipping container with all our shipping stock. 

BTW, the separate delivery from Shanghai to Kyiv for this parcel cost us $80, so the bulk container shipment plan totally was the right one!

Now, the Unit tokens and the Camp cards. There are 124 tokens in a Base Game (and yet another 114 in addons altogether), and a Camp Card for each army. All these are foiled and gilded on both sides; they have pleasant substantial weight and convenient 2,5 mm thickness for easy pickup.

The next thing is the game board. It is the 3 mm thick, 560x840 mm (or 22" x 33", if you like) six-fold piece,  also gilded on both sides, with the battlefield and the purgatory on one side and colorful collective portrait on other. 

Also, there are our Advanced Game Assets - the Amenities and the Divine Will cards. These could frankly be called "the mission builder," for they allow you to build kinda historically correct campaign set-ups  by adding the "god's will acts" such as heat, cold, storms, epidemics and so on. Certain trigger events could activate these disasters, or you can go directly by the schedule, i.e., use Heat, Cold, Rain, and Storm cards in rounds to imitate the seasonal weather changes that affect the warfare. Or,  you could apply the Sanitation Rule, which starts the Plague or Cholera outbreak when too many units are crowded inside the Camp, and so on. We'll plan to start publishing various Crusades campaigns in DLC pdf format soon, and you're welcome to share your ideas on what you'd like to see first!

These cards are 65x100mm, printed on a fine texturized designer paper, with golden and silver prints on both front and back sides. Also, they all will have a gilded edges like these:

Last but not least, here comes the main asset and goal of every war ever fought on this Earth - THE GOLD. Each game box will hold a treasure of 36 extremely shiny Saracenic coins that are exact replicas of a golden dinar from the XI century, defaced with the word "LO" in the center of each one. 

All these are being signed to production while you read this update,  so we could expect the printing and assembling to be done in 30 days or so.  We'll keep you updated, just as usually. 

What else is here to say? European VAT is almost fully collected (please hurry those who didn't do it yet), while USA VAT just does not exist (and we hope the Orange King will not apply his anti-Chinese custom fee for board games before we'll deliver). All other countries residents will have their boxes delivered separately from either US or EU fulfillers hubs, so they should pay their local fees and taxes on their own (if applicable), just as usually.

Divine Blessings upon all of you, O Noble Congregation! 

Stay awesome, eat vegetables and love each other!

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