Today's homeschooling issue:

That's all.

(with thanks to the unknown artist)

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

Several weeks ago I posted about losing "Into the Woods". And I said I wasn't worried about replacing it because I asked God to take care of it. Almost immediately I got a call from my friend J about the possibility of doing his next show. Well, I'll be measuring the actors for that show tonight. And a few hours ago, the director of "Playboy" put his next script into my hands. And the folks who canceled "Into the Woods" asked me to take on the replacement show; a musical called "Working". So I have work from now through May.

Yup. God is good.

It's open for business!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5978962

I opened the account in June... started making stuff for it before then... and now I've finally listed the first batch. My children's art smocks along with Ronnie's tapestry bags. Check 'em out!

"Tis the season for gifting, after all... ;)

It's November, which means...

Leaves changing, temperatures are 70 degrees on day and 50 the next. The Fall show (Playboy of the Western World) opens and we attempt to decorate outside with a fall theme. And I have a pile of all the stuff I was going to work on all year for Christmas gifts still untouched. Of all the things I put off doing; this has to be the most consistent. I mean, other stuff gets done eventually; deadlines do arrive and somehow projects get done (see my happy She-Ra!) but some of those Christmas gifts have been in the pile for up to 5(?)-10(?!?) years! There's the seasons of the year placemats I started for L & A, animal themed stuff for J's animal rescue and lot's of newer projects that were a great idea but there was always something else. I was going to have a huge stockpile of crafts listed on Etsy by now. I was going to have two or three or more vintage style dresses hanging in my closet for me to wear to church or whenever by now. I was going to have new covers on my blue sofa pillows that matched the new green slipcover and maybe even covered the blue chair with green to match. By now. And... no. They're not even touched except to move 'em around in the stash closet. But November also means I still have a chance. It ain't over yet. Yes, there's Thanksgiving to deal with and schoolwork is behind because of the show and being sick but if I stop goofing around I can still get some of this done by Christmas. And then I can say I've been working on my procrastination issues. Because "See! Look how much I got done this year!"

Even if most of it was in November.

I can breathe again

It's one thing to sew for myself or my children. It's quite another to sew for someone who's paying you and expecting a good job. When I dress a bride or costume a show I always have the utmost confidence as I start and I dissolve to near panic as the time draws near to deliver. I'm certain my customer will see the flaws I see, will hate it or it just plain won't fit. So when I set out to deliver a final I find myself anxious and a little breathless. This was how I felt this weekend as I sent the mentioned-a-few-weeks-ago She-Ra off to her home. It didn't help that it was Columbus Day weekend which delayed her delivery by a day. I was especially worried about fit, having never met my sweet gal in person and had to rely on measurements taken by someone else. ( I changed the zipper to a lace-up back; much more forgiving!) But I'm happy to say that except for a little tuck in the shoulder straps all is well and she sounds quite pleased. All is good in the cave. "Playboy of the Western World" can now take over. And I begin the cycle again.

On a disappointing note: I had been asked to costume "Into the Woods" in the spring for a local theatre--- probably because they knew I had done it before and still own most of the costumes. Unfortunately, it seems the drama company who owns the rights has pulled permission to do it. Maybe they're touring? I dunno. But it made me sad.

On a happpier note: I asked God to replace "Into the Woods" because after Christmas I will be done with TCC's show and Christmas sewing and I just don't feel productive unless I'm fretting about something. So my good friend J from Encore called to ask if I was interested in a spring show for another local theatre. It's not written in stone yet but I'm not worried. God is good.

Time flies. Too fast.

Okay, so we've already established that I'm not an everyday writer. But I have two things bothering me today so I'll write.
The first is I need to be an everyday sewer and I'm not. Everyday I wake up, convined I am going to take care of the baby (a newborn I watch for 4 1/2 hours evry morning), get the kids through schoolwork and have the afternoon to sew myself silly. I was so convinced of this I was sure I would have She-Ra finished up and in the mail over a week ago. But life intervenes. Always. Run the kids to soccer. Run the kids to Bible study. Clean the house. Again. Adult Bible study Sunday evening. Run to a meeting for the new show---oh, by the way we need publicity pictures. Throw something together in a couple of days just for picture purposes. And give up another afternoon to do the photo shoot. Mommies needing more time in the day is not something new and I am certainly not complaining about being Mommy. I just wish sometimes...

The second thing is I'm really missing Jane and my Encore friends today. For about five years I was a part of this terrific group of people who shared a love for theatre and a love for Jane. She's been gone two and a half years now; our group is scattered and I miss them so much. I think it was driven home two days ago... I was poking around a thrift store, looking for items for "Playboy" when I saw a velvet jacket on the floor near the costume rack. I picked it up and my mouth dropped open--- it was exactly like one of the narrator's jackets we used in "Joseph...". I thought "What a coincedence..." and started to move away when I spotted a dress of white and gold netting that looked like the Egyptian girls' dresses. From Joseph. "It can't be, " I thought, but a quick shuffle through the rack turned up three more. And the players' names were written in them. They were costume pieces from the Encore Players. In a thrift store. And my heart broke again. I checked the dresses to make sure "mine" wasn't there (I would've bought it in a second) and hurried to the register and paid for my one find. Then I went to the car and I cried some. Then I picked up the kids and went home to lose myself in Project Runway and try to forget.
The real kicker to the day was this though--- a fellow former Encorian, Rose Marie, had called me just that morning. We're having lunch next week. I can't wait!

Oh, and for my sewing friends out there-- my one find at the thrift store was a piece of 100 % cotton calico; 45" X (about) 4 yards long. Two dollars and ninety-nine cents. Yeah, baby!

Newest project

I figured that for me the most difficult aspect of writing a blog would be keeping up with it and I was right. It seems at 3:00 AM my mind is full of ideas, quips, and musings that seem like great fodder then and completely disappear from my brain when I actually try to write them down. I remember trying the notebook-by-the-bedside so I can scribble notes without even getting up but it seems that for as much as I'm thinking of writing, what I really want to do at 3:00 AM is just go back to sleep. I didn't sleep much when I was younger---4-6 hours a night at most. Now it seems it's all I want to do.

Unless I get hooked on a new project and hopefully I have-- (Oh, yes, She-Ra is fine and I'll be shipping her to her home this week. I'll take finished pictures if I can find the stupid card for the camera!) Two summers ago I helped out the local community college with their summer Shakespeare program and that led to costuming a couple of plays for them on my own. I loved it and thought it was going to be my gig for awhile but the previous costumer came in for the spring and summer shows and I was bored. And unemployed. I've been asked back though for the fall production of J.M. Synge's "Playboy of the Western World" and I'm excited again! It's a period piece, set in 1907 Ireland, so in between bouts of the gold and red I'm using to finish She-Ra, I'm looking for simple, peasant-y but not poor country style, late Victorian dress styles. This project is especially enticing because, unlike shows like "Bus Stop", which I enjoyed immensely, this show can't be costumed as much from a thrift store. I get to sew for this one! And research is an excellent excuse to putter around on the computer. And, of course, shop for fabric. Some of it will even be for the show! ;)

So, getting back in the swing-

Now that a much anticipated trip to Disney is done (thankyouthankyouthankyou Daddy) it's time to get back in the swing of frantic summer sewing and ebaying before it's time to start school. The ebaying is to raise money for a new sewing machine, the sewing is for everything that has been waiting. I have two major drawbacks when it comes to sewing time. One is procrastination. I gots it. Bad. The second is a little harder to deal with and that is that I can't let myself sew when I have something else that has to be done. Like laundry. Or dishes. Or a new front porch. For some reason, I think it's because sewing time is 'my' time I feel like I can't allow myself to enjoy it unless it's absolutely free time. Since I live in an almost 100 year old house with several other people, most who call me "Mom", I ALWAYS have something that needs to be done. If a get a sewing job that is time-critical; that I can justify. But sewing for me?

Right now I MUST finish a project that has me both thrilled and scared to death. I 'met' a sweet young woman online that wanted a costume based on a cartoon superhero from the eighties. Anyone remember She-Ra? Well this new friend desperately wanted this costume and I desperately wanted the challenge of creating her, since no commercial pattern is available. (And yeah, I'm probably breaking some copyright law but I'm not producing them to sell, just for one Halloween costume and there's no profit involved so I figure Mattel won't come after me.) So I've been piecing She-Ra together for the past few months a little bit at a time as time and inspiration allow. I've played with different ways of doing her breastshield, spent hours toying with satin to make good arm bands--- stuff like that. Fortunately my She-Ra-to-be has been very patient but it's time to stop diddling and get this gal delivered! My fear is that after all this time the costume will fail and all will be for naught. Even though I've sent women down the aisle in the dress of their dreams I still worry my work won't satisfy. I hope that is what makes my work good and I never become complacent.

(On a side note: my friend recently found a commercially produced costume that looks like She-Ra's. Of course they can't call it that. But how ironic is it that as I'm putting this one together a ready-made one appears out of nowhere. It's not like there's been a "Return of the Masters of the Universe" released. Or has there?)

Introducing myself

Well, I guess the point of having a blog is to interact with folks and the only way to do it to read others' stuff, respond to others' stuff and write my own stuff. So today I'll write and tell anyone who wants to read it about me.

I'm almost 47. I've been happily married to B for almost 24 years. We are retired Navy; he from active duty and myself from active/reserves. He now works for Chick-fil-A. We have four terrific kidlets who I refer to as their first initials while visiting with folks online. 'A' is 22, married last December to a kind and sweet youth minister ('P'). She's studying elementary education and loves working with children. 'C' just turned twenty; is a hard working, music loving business student. 'P' is 12, loves Legos, Star Wars and comic books, hates cleaning his room. Our "baby", 'J' is nine and is a delightful, if confuddling, mix of pirate, ninja, and Cinderella. She's the tomboy who'll climb a tree in a prom dress-- as long as the dress is made from camouflage. They are all my joy and my life.

Not being big on school, my formal education was an Associate of Science in Public Broadcasting which prepared me for my Navy career as a Dental Technician. Or not. I loved dental lab work because I got to 'craft' all day and didn't have to deal with patients as much. I did continue with lab work and assisting after I got off active duty but ended up doing what my heart truly called me to--being an at-home mom and homeschooling.

I have sewn for as long as I can remember. I recall begging my parents for a sewing machine for my sixth birthday. I got one when I was ten. I sew primarily crafts but at different times in my life the focus was on other things. I costumed in college, hemmed and put patches on uniforms while I was active duty (and developed 'my' signature baby blanket when my collegues and then I started having babies), got into wedding gowns and formals for several years and then I fell into porcelain dolls. An friend needed someone to sew the bodies for her----I exchanged sewing for firing and painting lessons. Eventually I bought her stuff, kiln and all, and got a little obsessed. After J's birth I had some trouble with depression and just didn't do anything for a long time. I started visiting a discussion board online and met a sweet lady who pretty much talked me out of my funk and got me moving again. Now my biggest problem is having too many goals and want-to-do's and not finishing any of them! I set myself up an ebay store as well as an account on Etsy in the hopes that I will finally make and sell these ideas that have been rattling in my brain forever!

Hey, how are you?

I'm just working on setting up my little corner of the internet... :) The question is why.

Come back and play soon!