I just melted one of my time machine parts!!! Ah well, what I was doing did what I wanted, just too much of it, and a replacement bottle is near to hand.....

While looking at a product review for a pool side cabana, I cam across the comment

"It does have to be anchored well to something, but don't we all?"

Philosophy in retail, who woulda thunk?

Yes, I know that many Americans related to this woman, and yes, it's true that people have said many nasty things about her, which I'm sure were painful for her to hear. And yes, many people were excited that a woman was on the presidential ticket, regardless of the party that took the step. She means many things to many people, good and bad, sad and laughable.

BUT: You knew the job was dangerous when you took it! American politics are, and always have been, rife with mean spirited mud slinging. It doesn't matter what party you identify with, what color your skin is, what your educational background is, how much your suit cost, or how chequered your past (or pristine, for that matter). If you go into politics, you are bound to be attacked and smeared in any way the opposition thinks they can get away with. Oh, and in case you didn't know, it's always an open field against politicians in the comedy world.

This is why I rarely post anything about politics. I loathe the entire process, and what it does to our national identify. We look to the world like a bunch of loonies. We are divided and hateful. We are both bleeding hearts and stingy scrooges. The moderate voices get lost in the chaos.

Would you please get out of the news now?

I did this today in the crock pot. I only had a 3 1/2 lb roast, so approximated the seasonings, and the only whole spices I had were the garlic, cumin, and cloves. Everything else was preground, so I guessed what would be a good amount to use. I used flaked red pepper instead of whole. It turned out quite well, but could have used more time in the slow cooker, as it wasn't falling apart after 5 1/2 hours on low. I think the recipe would benefit from an acidic ingredient to help tenderize the meat.

( Here's the recipe )

My first toile fits almost perfectly!!!!! It just needs some changes in the shoulder slope to make it work.

Now to decide whether to extend the front pieces so that it closes over my tummy, or leave it the way it is, only closing the top couple of hooks and eyes for closure.

Based on some reading that I've done, it was quite common for pregnant women of the 18th century to just pull their petticoats up over their bellies and let whatever they were wearing on top gap open. Hrm.....

Last night, DH scanned a pattern for me from Janet Arnold for one of the Snowshill jackets. We scaled up the pattern using XNView, then printed it. Our printer is capable of splitting large images into several pages. After printing, I just had to line them up, tape, and cut! Voila!
I now have a full sized pattern to work with. It's pretty tiny, but so am I (except for the belly), so I am adding about an inch all around as seam/size allowance, and going to cut my first toile this afternoon.  My plan is just to extend the front pieces to accommodate the belly, and then take them in later.  My back pretty much hasn't changed, and from the back, you can barely tell that I'm pregnant.  When I turn sideways, all bets are off!

This is great for me because I can't imagine sitting on the floor drawing this pattern out by hand.

First scan and print:



Then assemble:


Voila!

Has anyone out there made up the Snowshill Manor jacket  "C.  c. 1760-70" presented in Janet Arnold's Pattern of Fasion 1 (1660-1860)?

In an effort to avoid multiple toiles, I have a question: where does the topmost point of the back pieces hit the body approx? In the drawing of the finished jacket, it appears that the uppermost point is maybe centered between the top of the scapula and the top of the trapezius at that point. Any thoughts?

Second question: The construction notes indicate that the side seam should be finished, then the gusset should be set in. The diagram seems to indacte a finished seam to be made, then slashed to accomodate the gusset.  Thoughts on that?

Thanks!

Just when I thought that I had a weekend to get some major work done, I get a cold courtesy of Emily. Rats!

I'm going to the Huntington Garden tomorrow with my brother who is here from Baltimore. I decided about an hour ago to redecorate my large brimmed straw hat.

Ta Da!



The pink ribbon is a double weave faille with gold, so the peacock eyes really go well with it. I need more practice working with the peacock feathers, they only want to bend sideways. I've seen such beautiful work by other people using them, I just don't know the tricks o' the trade yet. The pansy is one of my samples from the ribbon flower class that I taught last year. Up until now it's been on a huge honkin' bobby pin for updo insertion. Now it has a new life. I just hope that it's not windy tomorrow. Even with pins, this hat can really catch the wind.

More miscellaneous trims n stuff:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/chartreusekitty_W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_in_kwZ1QQ_ipgZ50QQ_sopZ12?_rdc=1

Buy my stuff!!!

I just got the sale notice from Brylane Home, which included some wool rugs.

http://www.brylanehome.com/decor/Persian-Hand-Tufted-Wool-Rugs.aspx?PfId=11666&DeptId=15331&ProductTypeId=2&PurchaseType=0

I've never ordered one of their rugs, but other stuff I've had from them has been pretty good, and these prices are not bad.

I just listed a few things on Ebay. One is a lot of lace trims and silk ribbons, suitable for doll stuff or millinery or other small projects.

Check 'em out:

http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/chartreusekitty_W0QQ_dmdZ1QQ_in_kwZ1QQ_ipgZ50QQ_sopZ12?_rdc=1

Today, we had a work party for the gala and tea table settings hosted by colleency . We tested out ythe centerpiece, painted stuff, sewed stuff, and put together a ziplock bag for each table containing all the centerpiece pieces. So much was accomplished today and I'm so thankful for our volunteers! Yay!

We will be doing a mock set up of the centerpiece and taking a photo of it, then printing one copy for each "day of" volunteer so that we can just hand out the bags and say "make each table look like this". The gala will practically set itself up.

We told everyone to bring something yummy to share, and there was lots of yummy food, which was wonderful.

Only downside is that I wasn't paying attention and now have one of those spaghetti strap sun burns that you usually associate with being a teenager. Haven't had one like this in years. I've already lotioned twice and held an ice pack on it. I'll do both again before I go to bed. Ouch!

I finally saw it last night with amybee28 and it was totally amazing. For me, it captured everything that I loved about the TV series. Death and destruction are imminent, crazy monsters are TOTALLY crazy, I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I'll leave it at that. It's definitely a big-screen worthy film, so see it in the theater if you can.

The costuming was really fun. There is some amazing leather work detail lavished on some boots. There are even a couple of closeups to be sure you notice!  The costuming style struck a really nice balance between honoring the old series and modern tastes. The special effects were amazing.

Keep your eyes peeled for little tributes to the series. And the casting is pretty much dead on. As each character was introduced, I had a feeling of "Well, of course this is _______".

All in all, really fun and visually stunning. The soundtrack is also fun

I may have lost my notes from Robin Netherton's class!!!!!!

Thanks to richardabecker , I now have a copy of this book. It has always been on my "to read" list, but I just never made the effort to get my hands on a copy.

I picked it up yesterday and started in. I'm intrigued by the style, format, and subject matter, but I just can't stomach it right now. It must be because I'm a mom, topped off with raging pregnancy hormones. The narrator's descriptions of lost family are just too much for me.

Because I'm crazy this way, I had to know the end, so I skipped to the end and read the last few pages and the postscript. It's fascinating.

I will come back and read the parts in between at some point, but certainly not now.

I finished this trilogy a couple of days ago. It's high fantasy dragged through gritty reality. The characters are gritty, with varying degrees of education, morality, and social ability. It was riveting. I didn't even skip stuff, like I usually end up doing when there is too much description going on, and not enough story. The dialog is fantastic and matches the characters well. There are no real happy endings, but there are endings. All of our heroes have pretty serious pathology of one sort or another going on, some described, some only hinted at, that make their struggles that more intriguing.

( Could be considered spoilery... )

I treated myself to retail therapy this morning. I was hoping to find a couple of specific things to mod for an upcoming class, but of course, whenever you go to Goodwill for something specific, Murphy shows up too.

BUT, I did find a great lamp for 5 bucks that I can use when I vend, a hand crocheted tablecloth for 15 bucks (big enough for dining room table!) a red and black satin Mandarin jacket, and an oversized tweed skirt that I can mod for the class!

Yay!

Hey all! I'm vending on Saturday night at Porcelain!  Hosted by DJ Xian and LADEAD at the Monte Cristo, starting at 10 pm.

New feathery goodness, you know you want some =) Take a look at a sampling of what I'll be offering.

I just renewed all my listings in my Etsy store, GooGooGoth. I don't have anything new up, but if you have any friends needing baby blankets and stuff like that, send 'em my way, won't you??? There will be new stuff up shortly.

www.googoogoth.com