| Wednesday night |
[May. 23rd, 2013|08:42 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  sleepy | ] |
Last night I pinned and sewed the hem on the Elven cape. Tonight I'll put the Velcro spots on the leaf collar, and finish the ends of the belt. Then I'll hang it up in the garb closet--DONE!
Next I want to take in Michelle's Ever After dress, and finish shortening the sleeves on Mike's Italian Gentleman's robe. Then I think I'll start work on his new doublets. I have the fabric for them, so I want to get them started. I'm going to put off the French dress for a little. I'll start that later in the summer.
I'm also starting planning on a Steampunk Fairy outfit. I've already got some of the elements--the leather corset, leather bustle, striped socks and short boots. I just need to make a fluffy ragged fairy skirt, a set of frilly pantaloons and purchase or make a small chemise like top to wear under the corset. And I need to make a set of wings. I'm thinking about wooden vaned wings--sort of like the vanes that you see on windmills--with gears where the vanes come in together. Then I'd need a hat of some sort, and that should do it. I'm hoping to get pictures of the new Steampunk stuff I bought last weekend, and the Elven dress this weekend.
I'm hoping to get the air conditioners in this weekend. Last night I cut the plastic off the dining room air conditioner, and it made a difference in the kitchen/dining room/living room area. But we still need to put in the others before we die of the heat.
Long weekend this week. I don't have any plans; I'm hoping to get out on the water with the kayaks, and that's about all. |
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| Tuesday night |
[May. 22nd, 2013|08:07 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  grumpy | ] |
Last night I pinned and sewed the hem on the Elven dress. Tonight, I will put the dress on the dress form, and pin the hem on the cape. I hope to get the cape hemmed tonight. Then all I have to do is put a closure on the dress collar (Velcro spots), and finish the ends of the belt where it meets in the back. Then I'll be done with this outfit, and I can start on something else. I'm still waiting for the Elven circlet.
Yesterday afternoon, Mike fell asleep in his desk chair in the man cave. Because he left his cell phone in the car over the weekend, there was no way I could get in touch with him. I called and called, and then I had to walk home at 5:00 PM, after waiting an hour. It took an hour, and the weather was hot. By the time I got home, I was ready to kill him. I found his phone in the back of the car, and handed it to him. Then I took the car and went out for Chinese food. What he ate I couldn't tell you, but after walking an hour in the heat, I wasn't about to stand there and cook for him. I told him that he's on his own for dinner. This morning, I made sure that he has his phone on him.
Mike and Will are going to bring in the air conditioners today, and open the plastic over the air conditioner in the dining room. It was very hot in the house last night. It was so hot I couldn't fall asleep until I went downstairs and found a box fan. I put it on a table in front of our window in the bedroom and pulled some of the cool air in from outside. Then I finally cooled down enough to sleep.
I didn't really get enough sleep last night, so today I feel grumpy. |
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| Steampunk World's Fair was AWESOME! |
[May. 21st, 2013|08:38 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
We saw all three White Elephant Burlesque Society shows. We also visited the vendors and made some very nice purchases. I bought the brown leather bustle that I had seen in the past. Then on Saturday I was wearing my burgundy outfit, and Mike suggested that I really needed a different hat. I'd been wearing a top hat that I had bought with a black head ring of feathers around it. It was okay, but we saw a woman who had made a hat with all kinds of things going on, and it was a wider hat. Mike said I should look for one like that. Then on a trip around the vendors I found the perfect hat. And there is a LOT going on on this hat. It has a swirled puff of satin, flowers, ribbons, lace, feathers, and a veil. And it all works. Since the fabric was burgundy, and some of the flowers were too, it went with the Victorian lady outfit perfectly. So I bought it.
I also found a vendor who made sea creatures (especially cephalopods) out of chain mail. The vampire squid was so cute that I couldn't resist purchasing one. So now I have my own pet squid that I'll pose on my corset. And I'll probably rig it up with some fishing line to move when I want it to try to crawl up my blouse.
There was a musical group called the Steam Powered Giraffe there that was a huge draw. People had come from across the country to see them. I didn't get into any of their shows, but I looked them up on Youtube. Next time I get the chance, I will definitely go to see them, because they are made of WIN.
This weekend I finished sewing the trim on the Elven cape. So this week I will hem the dress and then hem the cape, and I'll be done with the outfit. I'm hoping to get the circlet this week--it's the only thing that I'm missing.
I found my Adventurer cufflinks, but couldn't find my bustle for the burgundy outfit. I will make another, and also modify the neckline and fix the sleeve attachments. The sleeves are attached too far down on the shoulder--if I move them up about an inch, the sleeves will puff up like they should. And the neck opening is too big and sloppy, I covered it with some wide gold lace, but I need to fill it in and trim it with some different lace so it looks more properly Victorian. My corset is now too big--the back edges almost meet, so that should also be taken in before next year. I also need to find the holster for my little death ray gun. It's probably on the floor in the man cave somewhere.
This week I want to do some cleaning up and putting away of the Steampunk outfits. And then I want to do some long overdue spring cleaning. Last night it was very warm in the house. We will be bringing in the air conditioners on Wednesday, when Will is working with us. |
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| Thursday night |
[May. 17th, 2013|09:17 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  content | ] |
Last night I finished putting the cape together. I married the shell and lining, and attached the hood. It took several tries to sew the hood seam properly, with all of the fabric properly gathered and sewn, but I kind of expected that it would be difficult--I am dealing with B*tch material. After I finished up sewing the cape together, I pinned on the trim. I hope to get it totally sewn on over the weekend. Then I'll hem the dress and hem the cape over the dress. It looks like I might not be able to have a very long train, as I didn't cut the back of the cape very long. But that's all right--too long of a train is a pain, since it keeps being stepped on by people behind.
Tonight after work I'll change into my Steampunk researcher outfit and head over to the Steampunk World's Fair. I want to get the passes, and check out the vendors tonight. Then tomorrow and Sunday we can revisit vendors that we like, and see whatever shows that interest us. I'm going to try on a leather bustle on Saturday when I'm wearing my brown leather corset, and see how I like it. I may just take notes on how it's made, and make my own. I'm sure that I can recreate it for less than half the price, but I'll see--I may like the premade one. I'm keeping my options open. |
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| Wednesday night |
[May. 16th, 2013|08:11 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  creative | ] |
Last night was play night. Melissa made me a carrot cake with cream cheese icing for my birthday. I really enjoyed it, and she took the leftovers to work today, so it was out of my house. Michelle tried on some clothes that Melissa was getting rid of, and got some more stuff to wear.
Yesterday I was exhausted when I got home, so I took a short nap until about 5:45. So I wasn't tired enough to go to bed early. But that was okay, since I got something accomplished--I finished putting the light green layer of the Elven cape together--including the F*cking French seams. So tonight I only have to marry the two layers, and then I can attach the hood and put the gold leaf trim around the front edges of the cape. Then I'm going to let it hang and stretch out while I work on hemming the dress. I want to hem the dress first, so I can hem the cape to cover the dress's train.
Tonight is also the night that I need to gather all of my Steampunk things together. Tomorrow night the Steampunk World's Fair starts in my home town. I'll probably wear my librarian/researcher outfit tomorrow--a bustled skirt and blouse. I'll be wearing my Adventurer's outfit on Saturday. I'm really hoping to find my cufflinks tonight. I had made a lovely pair for use with my Adventurer's outfit last year--two turquoise scarab lozenge shaped beads attached to some cufflink blanks. Then after the glue was set, I carefully put them in "a safe place." You know how that turns out--now I can't find them! So I'll be on the hunt for them tonight. Wish me luck! |
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| Tuesday night |
[May. 15th, 2013|10:00 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
Last night I cut out the cape and lining. The cats were NOT happy with me. Since it is made up of big pattern pieces, I cleaned off the dining room table and pinned and cut there. The cats (especially Vlad) were pissed because they like to hang out there. And Ollie couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him up on top of the fabric. Not on organza--Hell NO! I'm glad it only took about an hour to cut the whole thing out, and then I gave them back "their" table.
After I cut it out, I made dinner. We had portobello mushroom pizzas. That is pizza with the large mushroom caps instead of pizza dough as the crust. Really yummy--but I've got to find a more affordable source of portobello mushrooms. ShopRite has them, but they are expensive. While the caps were in the oven baking to remove the excess water, I fried the few pieces of stem that I chopped up. I then made some of the pizzas "mushroom mushroom pizzas." LOL! The recipe called for scraping out the black gills before making the pizzas. Since I made 11 pizzas, I ended up with a pretty big pile of gills. There's nothing wrong with them--they are just very dark and full of moisture. So I took the gills and fried them up with a little olive oil and a touch of butter. Then I bagged them and froze them. I'll be mixing them with some orzo to make a black mushroom flavored risotto.
The forest green layer of the cape is done. Both layers of the hood are done and they've been married together. The sparkly green layer shines through just like I wanted. Tonight I want to assemble the sparkly green layer of the cape (the lining), and then I can marry the layers of the cape together, and attach the hood. Then I can put the gold leaf trim around the front edges. Then I'll hang it so it can stretch out before I hem it. I also want to hem the dress first, and then hem the cape to cover it. That means making the cape a little longer in the back to cover the train. I've got a Lothlorien green leaf pin to close the cloak. I'm still waiting for the circlet to arrive. I should get it soon, as it was mailed from England last Friday. |
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| Monday night |
[May. 14th, 2013|08:15 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | creative | ] |
Last night I did the grocery shopping right after work. Then I came home and put away the perishables. Then I made dinner. I folded and pinned the edges of the fabric I will be using for the cape and lining, but ran out of steam. Tonight, I'll cut out the cape.
Yesterday my Elf ear cuffs arrived. I tried them on, and they looked great! But I definitely have to wear my hair in a braid whenever I wear them--the hair getting caught in the ears is a real problem. But they looked adorable when they were on. Mike suggested wearing a head scarf over my hair when I'm an Elf. I can probably make something up. I'm thinking about a braid "sleeve" like I made for the Lady with an Ermine dress, but made of chiffon maybe trimmed with beads. Or maybe something reminiscent of the headpieces that I've seen in the Borgias that contain the hair to the nape of the neck until it flows out of the bottom of the hair net. I'll have to see what I can put together. One thing is for sure--I definitely have to get the hair braid to wear with it--it will be important to keep my hair contained and away from getting tangled in the ear cuff. Mike liked the ear cuffs so much that he's going to take a look at the Etsy seller's website and see if he wants her to make ear cuffs for him. |
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| Weekend report |
[May. 13th, 2013|08:12 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | moody | ] |
Friday night and Saturday I finished the front piece of the belt, and attached the buckle. I sewed the privacy panel into the back opening. Then I attached the belt to the dress. And I put the closure on the dress. Since this is a "costume" and not a period dress, I didn't bother with eyelets, I just poked holes in the back fabric and used wide needles to "lace" up the dress. The lacing I'm using is black elastic. I originally used a braided oval elastic, but the package it came in only provided 2.5 yards, and that wasn't quite long enough. So on Saturday, I went to Joann's and got another type of thin black elastic that gave me 4 yards in the pack, and that was plenty for lacing all the way to the bottom. I'm using elastic, because that way I can put it on myself without Mike having to lace me up. I'm planning on replacing the lacing on several of my outfits with elastic. That way I can get in and out of them myself with ease. Both of my kirtles and loose gown outfits can be done with elastic, and possibly my Borgias dress. That will be at least four that Mike won't have to lace. The dress has been hanging since Saturday. I plan on hemming it mid week, so it will be totally stretched out before I try to hem it.
Tonight I need to do the biweekly grocery shopping. Then I want to cut out the two layers of the cape for this dress. Sewing it shouldn't take too long, it only has one main pattern piece that is cut four times and then sewn together, and a hood. It should go together pretty easily--I suspect that cutting it out will be the biggest pain, since it is BIG pieces. And I'm pretty sure that I can cut it in such a way that I'll only have to do six of the seams as F*cking French seams. The rest of the seams will be using selvedge so they won't need extra finishing.
For Mother's day we celebrated a day early with movie and dinner afterwards. We saw Oblivion. Pretty good movie--with a real surprise twist. I commented wryly afterwards that only Tom Cruise could sacrifice himself for humanity and also end up getting the girl at the same time! |
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| Thursday night |
[May. 10th, 2013|08:28 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | satisfied | ] |
Last night I basted and then sewed the skirt to the bodice. There were thankfully not many problems. except for the usual pinning and repinning that has to be done with a velvet. I had to do an extra line of stitching on the front point, because when I took out the basting--oops--the machine stitching was behind the basting. But that's now done. I also cut out the pieces of velvet for the privacy panel and sewed them to the interfacing and to each other.
I've given up on adding any top trim pieces to the motif. The curved lines of trim didn't go well (I just couldn't get them to look equal), so I just took them off and decided to call it quits. It looks just fine with the three teardrop shapes. I put the dress on the dress form, and pinned the belt to the waist seam, and it looks awesome. Tonight I want to add the privacy panel and hopefully get the eyelets done. Then I'll sew the belt together, and tack it to the waist seam. Then I will hang the dress up and let the fabric stretch before I try to hem it. I'll hang it all weekend so it is totally stretched out before I pin up the hem. The hem on this will be all the way to the floor in the front, and will form a train at the back, so I don't want it to stretch AFTER I hem it. |
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| Wednesday night |
[May. 9th, 2013|08:22 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | artistic | ] |
Michelle's necklace for her Elven gown arrived last night. It looks much prettier in person than in the catalog; and I'm glad because it was NOT cheap. I got it from a store that sells bridal jewelry, and you know that this means expensive. Add the word "bridal" to any product, and increase the price by at least 50%! So now the next time we go out for a trip to a fair, she can go as an elf if she wants. I managed to pick out the seams on her Ever After dress, and I'll be taking that in next; after I finish my Elven dress. I'm still waiting for my circlet and my ear clips. They should come soon. The circlet is supposed to ship by tomorrow, and the ear clips should be on their way soon too. I just got word that the ear clips will be shipping tomorrow, so I should get both within the next week.
Last night I sewed the last bit of trim down on the motif. Then I sewed the leaf collar onto the dress, and started to pin on the skirt. Working with this fabric has been such a b*tch, that I will be basting the waist seam before I sew it on the machine so that I can make any adjustments in the seam before I do the final sewing. The stretch velvet has been fighting me every inch of the way. Of course, I know that this means that the outfit will be gorgeous when I finally finish it. LOL! |
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| Tuesday night |
[May. 8th, 2013|08:32 am]
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| [ | mood |
| |  okay | ] |
Last night I pressed the Elven dress belt, and the hem on Michelle's pants. I also took the scrolls off the front of the dress, and started to pin down curved single lines of trim. It looks good, but I just have to refine it tonight.
I also went to the Asian market. They have several different varieties of frozen squid. They have medium sized whole squid that would have to be cleaned. But they also had bags of squid meat that had been cleaned, cut into rectangles and scored so it doesn't curl when grilled. SCORE! All I'll have to do is defrost it and put it into the marinade, and it will be ready to go. They also had cleaned frozen squid tubes. I will probably get some of those, and try my hand at stuffed and baked squid. I found some nice recipes including shrimp and crab or surimi (fake crab meat) in the stuffing. Sounds so yummy. And they had cleaned frozen cuttlefish, which is something else I might try. I didn't buy any last night, but I did pick up some Asian apple pears. They were 3 for $2.88. In ShopRite, they are $2.50 EACH.
Tonight is play night. I'm hoping to just resew the trim onto the front of the bodice this evening, tack down the leaf collar, and maybe get a start on attaching the skirt to the bodice. |
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| Weekend report |
[May. 7th, 2013|09:45 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | accomplished | ] |
We had Beltane on Saturday, and used the new firepit for the first time. I didn't make the cake--I was short the amount of fondant I would have needed, so I didn't bother. We had marshmallows around the fire instead.
I sewed the trim onto the dark green velvet that I'm using as a belt. I turned the three pieces, and I'll press them tonight. I received the round belt buckle, and it looks really nice with the belt. I also received another belt buckle that I'll probably use with the wide tapestry trim to make another belt for mundane wear. It's very pretty--it looks like a bunch of three leaves with a green patina. I just got word that Michelle's Elven necklace shipped, and it should arrive this week. I'm still waiting for my Elven ear cuffs, and my Elven circlet.
I'm going to slightly modify the trim on the center front. I don't like how the scrolls came out--I think I'm going to replace them with curved lines. Then I need to take in the lining so it lays smoother, and I can then attach the leaf collar. Then the bodice will be done and ready to attach to the skirt. Then I'll finish the back opening by adding the privacy panel and eyelets. After I attach the skirt, I'll attach the belt to the waist seam; this will not be a detachable belt.
I'm hoping to get the dress this far done by the end of the week. Then I can let it hang for a few days so that the skirt will do all of its stretching before I hem it. This weekend we don't have any plans. I'm hoping to get out on the water if the weather permits. The weekend after that is the Steampunk World's Fair. I have a few minor things to do to get all of my costumes ready--mainly finding all of the pieces. I'm not planning on making anything new.
I'm seriously thinking about purchasing a leather bustle at the fair. I've seen some in past years, and really like the way that they look. I want to get one in a chocolate brown to coordinate with my brown leather corset.
Yesterday I stayed home. The microwave is now fixed. Yeah! And the dog was taken to the vet. He has an infection behind one of his ears. So he's on antibiotics, and I have stuff to put into his ears, and a solution to use to soak the infected site to keep it draining and clean.
Last night I tried a new recipe for fish. It's marinated and grilled (I used the broiler) calamari. It tasted very good, but in the future, I'll be buying the squid at a fish monger, and buying MUCH larger squid. The ones I had were sold frozen and they were TINY. By the time I got done cleaning them I had about 8-10 ounces of meat. And that was from THREE pounds of frozen squid. And it took forever. I was cleaning squid for about 90 minutes. Not fun. If I buy larger squid and then crosshatch the meat, it will still grill fine, and I'll be doing a LOT less fish cleaning. The recipe was very good, and the grilling time was literally two minutes. That's the way you cook squid--either 2 minutes, or 2 hours. Anything in between makes the squid tough as rubber bands. I'll definitely make it again--but with LARGER squid. |
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| Thursday night |
[May. 3rd, 2013|08:59 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | creative | ] |
Last night I finished sewing down the trim motif scrolls, and then sewed down the leaves on the whole motif. It took me all night, as it was fiddly work, requiring the turning of the bodice every few minutes to get the angle right. After I had totally sewn the motif down, I realized that the lining is a little folded at the top of the bodice. I am NOT going to take it apart to smooth it out. It hangs just fine, so I'm going to take a small pleat in the lining fabric, and sew it down by hand so it lays smooth. That part is underneath the collar anyway, and I'm not wiping out a week's work, when I can make a quick fix and it will look fine. Just one more example of the joys of stretch velvet as a bitch fabric--the bodice keeps wanting to stretch. When I get the skirt attached to the bodice and the back opening finished, I'll have to let the damn thing hang for at least a week before I do any hemming so it will stretch as much as it wants to. With almost 200 inches of hem, I DON'T want to have to re-hem it later.
And I realized that using the satin that I used for the leaf collar as the belt will not work. It is too bright. And because it's so bright, it visually cuts the vertical lines that make the dress slimming. So I'll be using the pieces that I cut out to finish the back of the fabric that I will be using for the belt. I have some dark forest green (non-stretch) silk velvet that I used to make the bodice of my Fairy Godmother outfit. I tried it against the green velvet that I'm using for the dress, and it's just a shade darker. When I add the floral/scrolly gold trim to the middle, it gives just the right amount of delineation, without it being too much. And if I use a thinner belt, I can use a beautiful round belt buckle that I purchased the other day that has leaves around the edge and is very pretty. So we're now up to Plan C for the belt.
Here's a picture of the buckle. Isn't it pretty?
This weekend we're having our Beltane ritual. I want to use up the fondant (and grape Kool Aid) that I have left over from the Grapes of Wrath cake, so I'll be making a grape flavored cake, and covering it with the rest of the fondant. I should have just enough to cover an 8" cake. And this way the people who didn't get to taste test the contest cake can have some grape cake. I'll pick up the mix and bake it tonight, and put on the decoration tonight or tomorrow after I pick up K & A. This will also give me some practice with putting fondant on a normal cake.
I'll take pictures of the dress progress and post them this weekend. Have a nice weekend everyone. |
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| Play night |
[May. 2nd, 2013|08:39 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | creative | ] |
Last night I finished drafting the Elven motif for the front of the dress bodice. Then I pinned it to the dress, and traced the lines with a line of running stitch in temple gold. I tore the tissue away, and then used the running stitch as a guide to pin down the trim. I sewed the trim down in the middle with shiny gold thread for the three teardrop shapes. Tonight I have to tack down the leaves that are on each side of the trim. I also need to pin down and sew the two scrolls on either side of the top teardrop shape.
Michelle came over, and I pinned the bottom of her new slacks. Then I marked the hem with chalk, and trimmed off the excess. I then pinned both hems up and finished sewing them before I went to bed. Tonight I'll press the hems. The pants are a size 8, and she's still about 25 pounds from her goal weight. When she gets to 120, she'll be smaller than I was, because she's also exercising, and muscle takes up less room than fat. She could get down to a size 4 or even 2 in some brands.
Last night I went home and checked the beef stew. I added some beef bullion (salt free), and some flour to thicken the gravy. Then just 20 minutes before Melissa was due, I put it into a rectangular casserole pan, and put refrigerated buttermilk biscuits on top of it and popped it into a 350 oven for 20 minutes. It was wonderful--definitely a keeper recipe. The only thing it needed was some green peas. I like them in a beef stew, but didn't have any on hand. I was feeding five people, so I had just enough leftovers for one lunch. I'm having it for my lunch today. |
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| Monday/Tuesday |
[May. 1st, 2013|09:08 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | artistic | ] |
Last night I took the skirt off the Elven dress, and trimmed the velvet where it had stretched below the lining. Then I did some planning with the trim. I want to apply a motif in the center panel of the dress front, using the trim I used on the sleeves. I want it to be Elven, but it needs to be vertical in feel, to keep the slimming lines. I had planned one on Monday that had 5 circles made of the trim, and yesterday I made one that had three teardrop shapes with scrolls on the top shape. I think the three teardrop shape one is better, but I have to scale it back. I had made it 18.5 inches long, and 12 inches wide, but it has to be 14 inches long and 9 inches wide in order to fit on the bodice properly. So I started to draft the smaller motif, and then stopped to go to bed.
Tonight I'll finish drafting the motif, and then try it on the bodice. This is the best time to sew it on, since the bodice is separate from the skirt now. Then after the trim is on, I can reattach the skirt. And I still have to sew the edges of the trim down on the belt. I might do that tonight during play night.
Last night I made portobello mushroom pizzas. Yummy! And so low in calories, that I could have eaten twice the number I had and still not been in trouble calorically. I will definitely make this again. And I'll double or triple the amount I make, so I can have some for lunches. Since dinner was so easy last night, I put the ingredients for tonight's beef stew into the slow cooker and popped it into the fridge. This morning, I took it out and let it sit so it warmed up, and put it into the cooker on low just before leaving for work. Tonight I'll put it into the flat rectangular pan and put biscuits on top. Then I'll bake it until the biscuits are done, and dinner will be ready. Dinner has to be soft food on play night, as Melissa is having issues with her teeth. |
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| Weekend report |
[Apr. 30th, 2013|11:01 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | okay | ] |
I finally got Mike caught up on the dishes. Three loads on Saturday. Then I replaced the shower curtains (we have three surrounding the tub). Finally, I did the grocery shopping on Saturday night after dinner.
On Sunday and Monday I did some sewing on the Elven dress. And the dress fabric continues to live up to it's name. I cut out the skirt, but because the velvet was in several different pieces and not in one continuous piece, I could not cut out any gores. However, I measured the width of the hem, and it really doesn't need gores. Without the gores, the skirt is still about 190 inches wide. With the gores, it would be 324 inches wide, and since it is velvet, it would be almost too heavy to stand up in. So, I cut out the main pieces, and sewed the skirt together. When I sewed the bodice to the skirt, the first thing I noticed was the bodice bubbling horizontally. That was because the velvet stretched, and the linen lining did not. So I took the skirt off, and repinned the lining to the velvet by stretching it on the dress form, and then resewed the velvet to the lining.
OK, then I sewed the skirt to the bodice a second time. Better; but the bodice is bubbling vertically because I didn't ease the skirt to it properly--there are about 3 places that have to be taken apart and resewn. I've pinned where I have to rip out and resew the seam, and left it for now.
Then I cut out and assembled the two leaves for the collar. After they were sewn, trimmed and turned, I put in the polyester batting, and quilted the leaves using the sewing machine and gold thread. I found that gold thread can work in a sewing machine provided you use a topstitching needle, with temple gold thread on the bobbin. Also you have to sew SLOWLY, because if you try to sew fast, the needle will strip the gold foil that runs around the thread core, and you lose the shiny gold effect.
After I did that, I was trying the three tapestry trims I had as choices for the belt. Mike gave some input. He said that they were all too dull and dark. He said that I really need to add gold for the belt. So I found some gold trim, and cut out strips of the green satin I used for the leaves. I put a dart into the green satin strips to create the "V" that is needed in the front of the dress. I added two rows of the leaf trim like I had put on the sleeves with the leaves trimmed off on one side, so that the trim formed a border. Then I added one row of a wider gold trim that has a floral type theme in the middle. I machine sewed them down, but I need to do some hand sewing to finish sewing the edges of the trim down. Then I'll back it with more green satin.
Mike also said that we needed more gold trim down the front of the dress. So I'm playing around with trim, so I can have a nice pattern that flows down the front of the dress. I'm thinking of several variations--5 ovals, 3 ovals, teardrop shapes, and etc. I'll make a few and then put them on the dress and see which I like the best. I'm also going to do some internet research to see if I can find Elven designs that I can use for the trim down the front. I need to stay vertical in feel to keep the lines long so the dress looks slimming.
I seem to finally be getting the hang of the new diet. I cut out the two snacks in midmorning and midafternoon. That seems to make it easier to keep the total calorie count lower. I still have an evening snack, but that's okay. And I've started to lose weight more quickly. I've lost the weight that I gained when I had the week of making the cake, and not watching what I ate closely. So I'm cautiously optimistic about losing another 20 pounds or so by the middle of the summer. That would be so nice--all of my garb would fit loosely and I'll be taking some of it in. I may be selling some on eBay. I'm running out of space for it, and if it no longer fits, I should get rid of it. |
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| Thursday night |
[Apr. 26th, 2013|08:28 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | relieved | ] |
Melissa had dropped her keys into her toilet on Wednesday evening. Last night we went over with some strong magnets and a plumber's snake and were able to retrieve them for her.
Then we stopped at KFC and got some dinner, and took it home and ate it while watching Game of Thrones. We're up to the first episode of the third season now. So we should be able to catch up by the end of the weekend. Then all we have to do is figure out what time it is regularly broadcast and then we can watch the new episodes when they come on.
This weekend is housework, laundry, and Rutgers day. And I hope I can cut out the skirt and finish and insert the sleeves.
Made it through another week. |
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| Wednesday |
[Apr. 25th, 2013|09:05 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | chipper | ] |
Play night. Made yummy chicken pot pie from leftover roast chicken. I also watched two more episodes of Game of Thrones with Mike. And visited with ferrets. Michelle came over, and showed me her new toy. The librarians who are working with her on the e-book project gave her an e-book reader. Awesome! We both got e-book readers the same week! And both for free! Now Mike has to buy himself one, so he won't be trying to take mine. Unless he can get a notebook that accepts e-books.
I just started to read the Simarillion on my e-reader, and someone on livejournal suggested getting it as an audio book. And I think that she's right. It's a VERY dry read, and I think listening to it will be more enjoyable. So I added the audio book to my wish list on Amazon, to be picked up when I get a little discretionary cash. I can put it into my television and listen to it while I'm sewing.
This weekend is Rutgers Day. I will be going to the Ag Field Day and Folk Festival part. And I need to spend the rest of the weekend cleaning up. Laundry needs to be done, as well as a general picking up. The floors need cleaning and I need to do a general brushing up of the house (dusting and getting rid of cobwebs). I might go out on the water a little if the weather is warm enough. It seems like this is a week off from sewing the dress. So be it. |
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| Tuesday night |
[Apr. 24th, 2013|10:38 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | annoyed | ] |
I went to Barnes & Noble last night to buy a cover and other accessories for my Nook. When I picked it up, I found that they had pulled the wrong cover--I wanted one called Masterpiece (black with classic novel names embossed on it) for a simple Nook. They had given me a plain black case for a Nook HD. Wrong cover and wrong size. So I looked at what they had, and they didn't have what I wanted, so I got a silver plain one. Then we stopped and got coffee before we left, and I was looking at the rest of the stuff. Good thing I checked. They had given me a charging kit for a Nook HD. It had the wrong size plug for the simple Nook. So I had to return it and get the correct two pieces (they didn't have the charging cord/outlet plug set--I had to buy them separately. I told the customer service representative to have her people "get it together"-- I ordered online three things, and they got two of them wrong! It's a good thing I had checked the charging set before I left, or I would have had to make a trip back. When the silver case wears out, I'll order a replacement online. Hopefully, that way I'll get what I ordered.
In the meantime, I at least have a cover so the screen won't get scratched. While I was there, looked up J.R. Tolkien's other book Simarillion, and ordered it when I got home. It's kind of a prequel to LOTR and the Hobbit.
No sewing last night--I came home and we watched two more episodes of Game of Thrones. |
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| Monday |
[Apr. 23rd, 2013|08:20 am]
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| [ | mood |
| | blank | ] |
Last night I mated the sleeve shells to the lining, and sewed the wrist seams. Then I turned them, and pinned them together. Tonight I'll sew the sleeves together, and then insert them into the bodice. Then I'll probably cut the collar leaves out of the green satin, flatlining and batting, and assemble them if I have the time. I took a nap after work because I was tired, so it cut into the time I had to work on stuff. |
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fitchwitch