Projects

                                                                       

Ok, I’ve not posted much of late, but I have been a bit busy with a couple of projects, and, of course the job search. One of my fellow Wenches, like so many others, is an amazing seamstress, and has aspirations of being a custom seamstress, and she offered to teach some of us some of her secrets. First up was a corset. Specifically, a corset meant to be worn as the foundation garment that they are actually supposed to be… Amazingly, her own such corset seems to have some sort of magic, as it fit several of us, all of varying heights & girths amazingly well, and our individual patterns required minimal tweaking from hers. It did take a couple of us some trial and error, as we didn’t think to take notes (as someone else took them and offered to type them up and email them, though that has not happened yet), but eventually we got them finished. Well, some of them are finished. One is still waiting on grommets, because someone who was told they could borrow 3, wasn’t told that the ones in the baggie (the only ones I could find in the house) were set aside for the corset. My corset is FAR from perfect, and it probably won’t get worn much, but I did learn that I CAN make one, successfully. I also suspect that I am going to want more boning than what is in there… (they are relatively narrow, and made from ¼” fish tape, cut to length). It’s not particularly pretty, however since it’s an undergarment, it doesn’t have to be beautiful, necessarily.

I also think that my layer that pads between the outer layer and the boning layer is a bit too thick and, umm, fluffy.

  

I also think that for an outer corset or bodice, I want it to be a bit longer in the front. That corset or bodice is going to be an ongoing project, as I have a vision in my head of how I can create covers to go over it for a couple of specific outfits that I only wear once a season, and just can’t justify a whole corset or bodice for that one day. 

In May, I am in a wedding, which, while it won’t actually take place at Scarborough, it will be part of our faire day, and I’ve got an Irish dress to make for it. The fabric is purchased, as is the interfacing, and the thread. Pretty much I have to get it made, get the boning, and the grommets/lacing for it. My biggest issue with all the Irish dresses I’ve tried on, is that they land in such a spot that my tummy pooches way out and, well, makes me look about 5 months pregnant. Yeah, NOT a look I want to have, thanks. I’ve been told by 2 different seamstresses that I can adjust the waist of the dress to drop farther down, and not have that look. I’m going to try on the one that I already have, with my corset under it and see what I think of the look, before I get out the muslin and start mocking up the pattern with any adjustments I think it needs, before I start cutting on the real fabric. We’ve got a pattern, however it seems to be pretty much a front lacing bodice with a skirt attached to it, so I may just use my corset pattern and make adjustments on that.

My other new project is still ongoing. For some reason I got a bee in my bonnet about learning blackwork embroidery. I’ve had more than one person tell me I’ll go blind doing it, and I just might, but I’m going to give it a shot. Once upon a time I did a good bit of counted cross-stitch, and actually quite enjoyed it. I bought a piece of waste canvas when I was at Joann’s yesterday, and some black floss. I found an awesome site at Blackwork Archives with some not terribly difficult patterns, cut a piece of waste canvas to the size of the simplest pattern, basted it onto a white hanky, and started this little quest.

Now, I’m not sure what I am going to ultimately do with the skill, since I wear essentially peasant or pirate garb, it’s not like I have a court gown to wear with a blackworked chemise, but I guess we’ll see where it goes. The corner of the hanky that I did finish is a decent enough job for the first time out, I think. My next piece of waste canvas will be 14 count, rather than 10, as I think the 10 is resulting in a bit of a big design. I also am going to work on learning to stitch evenly, without the canvas, so that I don’t have to spend a lot of $ on waste canvas, and because the waste canvas is a bit of a pain in the ass to get pulled out of the stitching.

I LOVE digging through the remnant bins at Joann’s, and even at our local WalMart, which is one of the few that still has a decent fabric department. I’ve managed to score, in the past few days, several pieces of twill or duck cloth in 53” or 54” widths, each just about a yard, for between a buck and 2.50 each! Yep, I’m gathering fabric that I can use for either bone casings, or corset layers. I am always on the hunt for bargains, and I’m pretty sure my fabric is going to outgrow my tote AND my shelf in our cabinet. I am going to try to only keep current project fabric in the cabinet, to avoid cluttering it up, but we’ll see what shakes out.

KITTENS & Other Ramblings

A few days ago, noticed a mama cat in my back yard with a couple of kittens. Now, if you ask me, there's not much that's cuter than tiny little kittens romping, so of course I had to grab my camera. I took a few shots from inside the house, but being the cat person that I am, I just HAD to go outside. As long as I stayed on the patio, they eyed me warily, but didn't run to hide.

When I started to get a little closer, 2 of the kittens got inside some cinderblocks that are stacked on the platform at the back of my small shed, while the 3rd went to the side of the shed that's at the back of the yard, where it butts up near the fence. Mama went over to the corner behind the big shed. When I put my camera above the cinderblocks, the little grey kitten got quite ferocious, as I heard the tiniest little HISS coming from that opening.

Headed for safety You can't see us. Can you?? I'm sooo sleeeepy

Yesterday on my way home from running a few errands, I picked up some kitten chow, and when I went out to put it where they could get to it, Mama did lots of hissing, and stayed between the babies and me, but by the time I was back inside the house, she was gobbling down the food. Pretty soon the Tuxedo joined her, and in a few minutes, here came Grey. I never saw Creamy eating that day, other than nursing. Before they left the dish, they'd eaten every bite, and Mama had turned the dish over to make sure it was empty. This morning that scenario was repeated.

Naptime! Look at those little black toe pads!

This evening, I took out a different bowl, that is better suited to feeding and watering kittens. I saw everybody eat some, including Creamy, and there's still a pretty good bit left in the bowl. Perhaps Mama's decided that I won't take away what doesn't get eaten. They've moved from between the sheds to under the pool deck, which is closer to the food, and the kittens can get to the food without having to go across any of the open lawn, so I'm guessing that maybe she feels more secure there.

I have emailed Feral Friends and am hoping to work with them to trap all 4, socialize the kittens, have everybody spayed/neutered, and adopt out everyone who is deemed adoptable. I have a friend interested in Creamy, and another interested in Tuxedo, which just leaves Mama & Grey. I suspect, based on how quickly Mama seems to have accepted my presence, that she's a first generation feral, and I think she's not more than a year old, so perhaps she can be socialized (separately from her kittens) and be adopted as well, but we shall have to wait and see.

Tomorrow may be traumatic for everybody, as my landlord is coming to pump water off the cover of the pool, and in the evening I have friends coming over for a cookout. Hot as it is, though, I suspect that the only time there will be very many outside will be while we are actually cooking, and the 3 or 4 smokers will be in and out, I'm sure, but we are all animal people, and most of us familiar with ferals so I think we'll be able to ignore them and Mama won't freak out or anything.

My morning was a busy one, as I had to be in Arlington at 11 for a sorority meeting. It was my last meeting for awhile, as I've decided that I need to take a leave of absence. Beta Sigma Phi has been good for me, and frankly is largely the reason that I am the person that I am today. In 1990, when I pledged, I was 23, introverted, and had some self esteem issues. Seriously, when we were told to think about which offices we might be interested in, the following went through my head: "OK, President is out because I'm not pretty enough. Vice President is out because, well, that entails calling people I don't know and inviting them to a meeting NOT! Treasurer is out because I'm a math moron" I decided that I could be a pretty good secretary, whether it be Recording or Corresponding. Every time I had to call roll and read the minutes, I shook like a leaf, and was pretty sure my voice sounded all shaky. When it was my turn to lead the program, I thought I might faint. I spent a little over a year in that chapter before I moved away. It was several months before I found another chapter, but that is the chapter in which I blossomed. I think perhaps part of it was that I was the only chapter member (aside from our 2 Advisors) that had experienced Beta Sigma Phi from the standpoint of a member, rather than a legacy, as well as being the oldest (by a year or two) in the chapter, so the ladies looked to me for leadership. By the time I left that chapter several years later, my absolute favorite office to hold (and I'd held all of them by then) was Vice President, because I believed in the organization and what it stands for, and I loved being able to share it. I was not involved for several years, partially because of the circumstances under which I left, and partially because I had enough other stuff going on that I didn't feel I could devote the time that I felt I should. A few years ago notified International that I thought I would like to be involved again, and they put me on the transferee list that is sent to chapters in the area. I received calls from a couple of chapters in town and visited both. The first one I knew one of the ladies, because we'd been next door neighbors when I was living with Mom, and after she died, while I was still in her house. Unfortunately, at that time, she was the youngest in that chapter, and she was 15 years or so older than I am. The other chapter I visited had a wide age range, and I discovered that one of the ladies also enjoys Scarborough Faire. I joined that chapter and enjoyed it very much for several years. Like all groups of women, we had our fair share of drama and issues. Over the years, it seemed to escalate and I started feeling that most people were going along with what one or two wanted just to keep the peace. A few people transferred to another chapter in the area that they felt would better meet their needs, for whatever reasons. I stuck it out, probably longer than I should have, but last year, when I moved to my current house, I found myself about 15 miles from my nearest sorority sister, and easily an hour from the one who is the farthest from me. Gradually it became a chore for me to make it to meetings, and eventually, I was having to choose between making a meeting and getting up and making it to work the next day. My Leave of Absence is not a full and complete departure from the chapter, but rather a hiatus. I think that if I elect not to become active after a year's leave, I become a Member at Large. We'll see how I feel in 6 months or a year.

A couple of years ago, one of my sorority sisters introduced me the the International Wenches Guild and a whole new group of friends that have become very much like family to me. Now, if not for Beta Sigma Phi, I would not only have the confidence that I have, but I would not have found the IWG. Since I became a wench, I have again blossomed, and have really come to fully appreciate myself and all of my quirks.

that's enough random musing I think for tonite. Tomorrow's a busy day

Adventures in the Northeast

It’s taken a week, but I’ve finally managed to set aside a bit of time to tell ya about my trip to PARF over Labor Day Weekend. I left work early on Thursday to catch my flight to Dulles, then on to Rochester. D/FW drives me crazy, and given my preference, I fly out of Love whenever possible. Unfortunately, this time, not possible. I was like WAAY early, being the Queen of Early, for my flight, so I got all checked in, with my boarding pass, and my carryon bag. Knowing that I wouldn’t hit NY for another 8 hours, I went in search of caffeine, and lucked out, because right by my gate was a McDonalds. For those of you who don’t know it, I’m a PEPPER, and while Mr. Pibb is an acceptable substitute, if necessary, Pepsi has no such option, and Pepsi is the official soft drink supplier for DFW airport. McDonalds, however, sells Dr Pepper, and lucky for me, one of the I don’t know, like 3 or 4 of them on the whole property was near my gate. I finished my infusion of caffeine just about the time they called us to board, and started the spiel about gate checking carry on luggage as we were on a regional jet. I’d thought ahead, and brought my cool Marc Gunn To Love is Human, to Purr Divine bag inside my carryon, JUST IN CASE they made me gate check, because the laptop was NOT going under the plane. I didn’t need to GC at that time, but I had my laptop, a book, and a magazine in the other bag, since I knew the carryon would never fit under the seat. We took off about 10 minutes early, and landed in Dulles about 30 minutes early…. hmm, don’t know if we had a good tailwind or if we were speeding, but at least I didn’t have to run to find my gate in the other terminal. I was in line at the little pizza place to get a bite to eat, and there was this creepy older guy (I would say close to 60, which, granted, isn’t particularly old, but to my 40, older than I’m interested in for sure) checkin’ me out. Now, I fully expect, when I’m wearing full wench gear to be checked out. Or if I’m wearing a low-cut or very fitted top. I had on jeans and a loose t-shirt. At any rate, I got my pizza, and glanced about for an empty table, there are none, so I am going to go sit at the gate instead. Creepy guy starts winkin’ and motioning me to his table. EWWWWWW! They called us about 20 minutes early to board, and told us we’d have to gate check anything bigger than a breadbasket, pretty much. In this case, it was a good thing, because we boarded using stairs, and I would have hated to have to manage the smaller bag, plus tote that wheeled carryon up those stairs! We got to Rochester early as well, by just a few minutes I think, and I think Robin & I contained our squeals pretty well, although we were hugging and bouncing up and down right there in the doorway. By the time we got to her place, had a bottle of wine… some YUMMY pineapple wine, and decided which Loki to introduce to PARF, it was after 3 a.m., and I’d been up, literally, 23 hours! The 6 hour drive to PA was beautiful… it’s been a LOOONG time since I saw real mountains… sure we have a few mountains out in west TX, but they are largely brown and uninteresting. Big trees, beautiful shades of greens, yellows and oranges as some had already started changing. Saturday dawned warm & muggy, pretty much like a late May day in TX. We met up in the parking lot with MaidenFaeSnow & Freebird, and the first place we visited in the shire was the hostel at Emporer’s Needle, where I met Betty, and then we went on to Mayfaire Moon to look at her corsets, and meet more wenches… Ysobelle, Surlz, Jayde, Artemisia (and of course Jack the Flying Monkey was with her), Nicole, Cricket, and I’m sure others I’ve forgotten, and rogues… Bryan, Crimson, Bob, Dave the smoothie guy, crap, my brain has lost the rest… 3 days of wandering about the shire, meeting new people, seeing new acts, finding new and beautiful things for myself and friends! I spent way too much money, but I brought home (or shipped) some fabulous things. Sunday I had a bison burger for lunch… YUMMY, OMG, will definitely be buying some bison the next time I need ground meat! The trip back to NY was truly an adventure… yeah, we got lost in the mountains, sort of. I guess not really LOST, so much as we were on a smaller highway, which ran pretty parallel to the one we needed to be on, so we took the ummm scenic route. It took us about ½ hour out of our way, but we made it, and there was lots of giggling, snorting & wheezing along the way. Yes, I snort when I laugh too hard, and you KNOW I’ve gone over the edge when you hear the Arnold Horshack wheeze! It happened, I swear. The trip home started a bit late, mostly because we giggled and such too late and didn’t get up as early as we could have. We got to the airport at just before 9, and my flight was at just before 10. I was seriously sweating it standing in line to check in. This time around, I paid the $40 to check 2 bags, and just had my laptop & other essentials in my kittybag. Experienced, in Chicago, Chicago style pizza… yummy! normally, I’m a thin & crispy crust kinda girl. I don’t want a bunch of dough under my cheese and pepperoni, but sometimes I do like a bit of dough at the edge instead of the hard crunch of the thin crust. Yep, that’s what I got… my crust wasn’t exactly thin, but it was thinner I think, than "hand tossed" that is offered down here, but the edges were nice and doughy, like a pan pizza down here. My flight was scheduled to leave at 12:30, so about 11:45 I headed for the gate. When I got there at 11:50, they were saying "last call for flight whatevernumberIwason. The doors are being closed in 1 minute" WTF???? I made it, fortunately, but I HATE being the last one on, even when I have a reserved seat! We took off about ½ hour early, and landed at least that early, but by the time I got my luggage… yeah, it was right about on time for my ride to pick me up. I’ll never understand how they got my 2 bags at the same time, yet when they give them back to me, one of them is like in the first 5 items unloaded, but the other is the very LAST! UGH! Hopefully on Thursday I’ll get my boxes that Robin shipped me, full of garb & goodies. Wash the garb, and next week ship it back off (at least some of it) to MFS for the next adventure…