a little sewing

I've been working on a few things today. I've got a top that I want to get finished for me, and one for Ron's mom. I've been working on them a little here and a little there, and today I worked on the sleeves for the tunic for Ron's mom. I've only promised it to her for more than a year... and sent her the other one almost a year ago. But I've been conflicted and unsure about the embellishment that I wanted to do on it. I think I posted about it even. I ended up sending her a "sample" of different stitches with different threads and let her pick. Which she did.

I'm proud of myself, though, because I added this simple line of narrow zig-zag. It really adds to the sleeve. Of course the lighting isn't great, and the sleeve is just lying there - not looking it's best, really. And the camera has a hard time auto focusing on that type of thing, so... Anyway, the fabric is linen, and I'm liking it more the more I work with it. (I just love it when that happens).

So I'll add the photo of Shelbi's dress, too. She picked out the fabric when she was here, and I got the dress finished and took it to her when I took Raine up to stay with them for a few days. I thought she picked out some very cute fabric, and she was pleased with the result.

recap

It has been a hot, sweaty, tiring week at work. Starting school can just take it out of a person. Once I'm back it the swing of things - sometime after Raine starts back to school - it won't be so bad.

So, even though I was hot and tired (although the sweat had dried) we went and did some gaming this evening. Board games not role playing, but enjoyable. The game I played is based on the TV series Battlestar Galactica. I had fun being one of the cylons, and not gathering suspicion until late in the game.

Carl played Puerto Rico, which is a game I enjoy, too. It goes a little (lot) quicker than many.

So, now I have to be careful not to blink too long, lest it just turn into sleep. I think I'll go shower, and rinse all the icky dried sweat off, and climb happily into bed beneath the ceiling fan. Aaaahhhhh. Raine promised to sleep late, and I believe her.

wooo! project runway season 8

I caught the first two episodes... or maybe it was just the 90 minute premier. I missed the first few minutes. The first challenge was rather interesting, where each designer got an article of clothing from one of the other designer's suitcases (I don't know how it was picked or anything - that was what I missed) as their inspiration and they had only 5 hours to create their piece USING that item. hmmmmm.... interesting. This is one challenge that even I could tell which ones were the terrible ones. Mostly. OK, so I didn't know the pants were made from... pants. I got why they didn't like them.

Oooohhhhh.... (and here is why I watch that show) I just had an excellent inspiration of what could have been done with them that would have been innovative.

Anyway, the second challenge was to create a billboard look for Marie Claire magazine, and the winner - actually the same designer won both challenges - designed a pantsuit. The second place did a really nice red dress. All the other designers expected the red dress to win, but I think one of the reasons it did not, even though it was a really good dress, is that the other WASN'T a dress.

I would so love to have the experience of doing the challenges like they do on Project Runway. I would so lose, if I were a contestant. I just don't have - and frankly I'm not that interested in - the style sensibility that the "fashion forward" fashionistas want. I understand many of their design comments, and some of the taste issues, but I'm under no illusions at all that they would find most of what I made rather pedestrian. SOMETIMES, though sometimes, I think I come up with an idea that just. might. play.

threads

Well, I've been reading those Threads Magazines, and really enjoying them, so I thought I would share the Threads website with you as well. Here it is: http://www.threadsmagazine.com . I have had a chance to look through it a little, although I have not signed up yet, or anything. I have enjoyed browsing through it, and I intend to do some more. What does that mean? Well, it doesn't cost anything to check them out.

I think that while Threads does mainly concentrate on sewing, they also include information and techniques on other fiber arts as well. They also have a good section on tips. This summer Steph mentioned how much help she had found online when she was creating a dress for her younger daughter. I definitely think the Threads website is one I would look for help on. I know I have found their technical articles informative in the magazine. Pretty timeless as well.

next up on the list

...Find something besides school to talk about.

What can I say, it is taking up a lot of my brain power at the moment, although I do acknowledge that there is only a finite amount of interest a reader on the outside of my brain can have.

I know there are other topics out there, and I'll take note of them, I really will. In the mean time, here's a joke that my brother Carl told - and posted on his facebook...


What do you get when a brown cow has sex with a brown chick?

wait for it...

Brown chick-a brown cooowww

(get Dev to say it...)

first day

Am I going to sing - or at least type - the blues? Nah.

My cold seems to be on the way out, YAY! I got a lot done in my classroom. (Now if it just wasn't so bloody HOT in my room.) And my beginning of school tomorrow dream was barely stress-like at all.

I dreamed that I had an all-boys class. The school seemed to be at my parent's house, and evidently the boys were sleeping over. (I didn't way it wasn't weird.) Someone was observing me, and the boys did their assignment and the observer's response was that I should be grading their work NOW. hmmm, OK. It didn't feel like any big deal to me, so, I started to do just that.

What kind of stress dream is that? The boys did their work AND were behaving! I was where I should have been (you know, in that dream kind of way...) and I was even fully clothed. Heck, I wasn't even looking for a functioning bathroom.

Oh, I still have stuff to do in my classroom, but evidently, I'm ready!

tomorrow's the day

Yep, summer's over. The holiday, not the season, of course. That will go on - at least here in the sunny southwest - for another couple of months.

I have mixed feelings about going back to work this year. I really like working with kids, and I love the process of planning and creating lessons. I enjoy learning, myself, and I like that I can be involved in that process. I think I have the right job for me, and yes, I tried others. I have things that I'm excited to do this year, too. I've been working on some of them for a while, processing the ideas, and I'm happy to try them out. I learned a lot last year, which is so often true in those "difficult" years. There is definitely a sense of anticipation for meeting new students, and the new beginning. What a cool thing, to get a new beginning.

Still, this summer was pretty great. You know, one of those moments you don't want to end. It wasn't just one moment, either, though. And really, I'm just not quite done! I still have stuff I want to do during this summer. What? I always overplan my time? Well, yeah, there is that. Still, it has been a good summer, and restful and restorative, which I really needed.

That means, on many levels, I'm really ready for school to start. If only I didn't have to get up so darned early. Yeah.