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"but cats can't fly and they can't soar, and birds know what their wings are for" ... "Of wood and stone the man professed / his ignorance. He said, "It's best / to work with what I know. / Shears, snip. Thread, go. / I'll have a house in the morning." ... "You're hurting my hand! Normally, I like that. But this time I can't reciprocate your feelings." ... in which roach succumbs to the LJ phenomenon
Links:
roach's Library Thing, roach's Bookmooch, roach's Etsy store,
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Dec. 2nd, 2009 @ 08:31 pm Back
Current Location: Lounging
Current Mood: relieved
Current Music: A Knight's Tale
I was without internet access for a week. Just got it back again, tonight.
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heroine addict
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Nov. 23rd, 2009 @ 11:02 pm Something to celebrate
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Latest Castle episode
Tags: , ,
Tonight while I was looking for something else completely I found a folder on my computer with a bunch of iTunes music I thought I had lost in the last reformat.

I have my E.S. Posthumus back! And my V for Vendetta soundtrack! And my Gladiator soundtrack! And the songs for my Pandora Urbana Mix!

*happy*dance*
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accident
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Nov. 20th, 2009 @ 02:21 pm Lydia - Self-drafted Underbust
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: FM - Junior Boys
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While I love the Truly Victorian pattern, I'm really getting to the point where I feel if I started to draft my own patterns I'd have a lot more flexibility.

The problem, of course, is finding the time to learn how to draft a pattern. It takes four times longer to make a garment from scratch and with all the conventions and fire sale corsets over the last couple of months I haven't had the time to do much of anything.

But this morning I finally finished my first self-drafted underbust. I've been working on it for months and months, squeezing in mockups here and there.

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corset
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Nov. 6th, 2009 @ 08:03 am It takes a village and all, y'all.
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: awake
Current Music: The sound of a munchkin playing
Tags: , , ,
I realize that I didn't mention the most important part of ICC.  The only reason I was even able to attend and have such a great time was due entirely to my friends and family.

Sister Girl took time off from work to watch the munchkin, as my ex had taken the last two weeks of October off for vacation.  I set aside money from sales to pay her for the lost time and she took the munchkin trick or treating.  From what I heard a grand time was had by both of them.

Mari watched my booth for five hours so I could play Changeling.  [info]dearmary , [info]timefornewtoys , [info]alankypirate , [info]fivedesix , [info]brendanwishes and others all stopped by to keep my company and suckerhang.  Running a booth is draining not only because you're selling but because you spend lots of time just sitting.  Having people to talk and joke around helps.

And of course a certain baldbeasty was helpful in putting up with the crazy leading up to the con and lugging all the stuff to and from the booth.

So today Sister Girl is once again helping by manning the booth at the Dupage County Children's Museum.  I'll be there as soon as I have dropped Charlotte off at school.  Her father will pick her up after school and I'll be working the booth until 8:00.  See...teamwork, that's the only way this is going to happen.

Teamwork and scheduling.  I think I've figured out how to make a Google calendar everyone can see.  If you have a second, click here and tell me if you can see it.  This is going to be how I keep from falling way behind on projects over the coming months.



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tapestry corset
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Nov. 4th, 2009 @ 08:47 am Con Report - ICC
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: You've Got to Hide Your Love Away - The Beatles
Tags: , ,
I have returned somewhat triumphantly from Atlanta. The drive was long (13 hours) but made bearable by the company (Stephan and [info]brendanwishes). Despite the fact that the hotel did not have a hot tub (boo! hiss!) the accommodations were lovely. I also spent the entire weekend without a voice. I lost it about an hour before we left and gained it back the morning we returned.

So, highlights:

*My theory on more layers shortening the corset proved to be right. I delivered the Veronica 2.0 and it fit perfectly. I will have to make sure I'm measuring every panel as I sew from now on.

*I got to see four women wearing my corsets at the convention, as well as a wonderful coat I made for [info]genial_failure , and a vest I made for [info]cyrusbelmont.  There were lots of people wearing costume accessories I made, too.  I wish I had gotten more pictures but I think [info]fivedesix got a lot of shots and I'll be bugging him for copies.

*Despite my squeaky voice I sold more this year than I did last.  A significant number more.  I had lots of people approach me about making them corsets or cassocks or other costume pieces.  I handed out the last of my business cards.  All of this falls very much in the plus column.

*And on a personal note, it turned out to be the best wedding reception ever.  Yes, Stephan and I got married a few hours before leaving for Atlanta.  It was wonderful to have so many of our friends around to celebrate with.

There were low notes to the convention as well, but I'm just going to let them go. 

I have a trunk show at the end of this week and then WindyCon next weekend.  After that my schedule is opening up again, which means I need to contact people and schedule the next batch of everything.



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v for vendetta
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Oct. 27th, 2009 @ 03:45 pm Awake
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: exhausted
Current Music: If you hear a thud come make sure I didn't pass out on the iron.
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I have been awake for twenty-five hours now.  I didn't mean for it to work out this way, it just sort of did.

On Sunday night/Monday morning I worked until two a.m.  Since Sister Girl wasn't working Monday I figured she could take the morning shift with the munchkin and I could get some work in and then some sleep.  I had the beginning of a sore throat at the time so I took some NyQuil and passed out...

....and woke up twelve hours later, sore and sick and cranky.  So I doddered around the house for a few hours in my PJs crying about being sick and how I couldn't be sick, not now, and basically being pathetic.

Then I got back to work.  Somewhere around three in the morning on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning I just decided to keep going.  So I haven't been to bed yet.  I figure I'll pass out at some point and then it'll be time to leave for ICC.

But there's a silver lining to my sleep-deprived delirium.  I now know what happened with the last two corsets.
( Read on if you care about technical corset talk... )

Is it time to pass out yet?

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keeping score
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Oct. 25th, 2009 @ 02:26 pm Four Day Count Down
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Some random Harry Potter movie playing in the living room
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I went into internet silent mode last week, keeping off of Gchat and Facebook and the like so I could concentrate on sewing.  I managed to get four skirts, a change purse, a pseudo-frockcoat, a Victorian vest (Laughing Moon #109) and cassock alterations done.  I'm exhausted but I feel like I've accomplished much.

Today and tomorrow is remaking one of the non-fitting corsets.  And I have a pair of bloomers and a bunch of stoles to make before we leave at midnight on Wednesday for Atlanta.

I feel confident I'll get everything done.  I have lots to look forward to when I'm done.  Top of the list: sitting in the hot tub at the hotel Thursday afternoon drinking rum and cranberry juice.  Ahhhhhh.

Updates as they are warrented. 

Pictures as soon as I have access to a camera again.
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haruko
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Oct. 19th, 2009 @ 07:40 pm Everything happening at once
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: busy
Current Music: Blind - TV on the Radio
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I had my pre-con hissy fit earlier today, so at least I got that out of the way.

The last two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. 

The good: Finally, at last I got a large chunk of cash I've been waiting on for months and months.  Which means I was able to get caught up on all sorts of bills so no more collection calls every half-hour each and every freaking day.  Also, I am going through an approval process for a loan modification program.  If I'm approved my monthly finances will greatly improve, allowing me to dig myself out of debt (and thus keep the collection calls to a minimum).  Charlotte has taken to writing Rainbow Brite fan fiction complete with Mary Sue self-insert.  I'm ridiculously proud of her on that score.  Finally, ICC is in a few short days so I get to have some good old fashioned con fun.

The bad: My grandfather passed away a week ago.  If that weren't awful enough, we weren't able to make it back home for the service.  I'm going to miss my grandfather so much.  I grew up knowing my great-grandmother and it breaks my heart that my daughter won't know her great-grandpa. And then I got word that the Max corset is too small.  As is the corset I just sent off last week (sorry no pictures of that one, Mildred is buried under a metric ton of fabric and I just didn't have time to take pictures).  So now I'm trying to figure out where the heck I went wrong on them.  *sigh* 

I'm trying not to wallow in my suckiness but instead figure out how to make damn sure that doesn't happen again.  ([info]timefornewtoys says that's an excellent coping mechanism, so go me I guess.)

I have finished a couple of other projects today.  I have several other (including a remake of one of the too-small corsets) to finish before the 28th.  And I have a sewing room that is in desperate need of cleaning/reorganizing (witness: I am typing this sitting on the only clear spot in the room, a five-foot square of floor). 

First a quick cleaning and then on to the next project.  If no one hears from me after the 28th send a squad to my sewing room to make sure I didn't get buried under bolts of linen, taffeta and suiting.



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tapestry corset
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Oct. 1st, 2009 @ 01:56 pm (no subject)
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Is This It - The Strokes
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I need to post pictures and updates. I have ideas I need to chronicle and rants about fabric to log. Right now, though, I need to write about spiders.( Picture of spider...you've been warned. )

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roach
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Sep. 21st, 2009 @ 06:28 pm Weekend Update
So Reactor was an epic fail. If it hadn't been for the company of [info]cjfringe the weekend as a whole would have sucked massive monkey balls.  (Also, seeing so many friends Saturday night and getting hugs helped.)

This was the first convention in a year where I didn't at least break even.  Most of the fault lay in the fact that there was no where near the number of attendees I had expected.  Originally I had heard Reactor expected 1,500 members.  At the beginning of the convention the con chair had downgraded expectations to 1,000-1,200 people.  That's not a big deal as memberships tend to fluctuate and conventions do tend to overestimate proposed numbers.

I've been going to conventions since 1997.  I have been to World Science Fiction Conventions, to smaller, local writer's conventions, even to a "Hey let's throw a 'convention' and invite our favorite author as a guest so we can get autographs" type affair.  I can make a good guestimate on how many members a con has based on foot traffic through the public spaces.  If there were 600 people at Reactor I'd be surprised.  I'd put the numbers at 400.

It wasn't just me who suffered.  All the vendors in the Artists' Alley complained of horrible sales.  One mother/daughter team packed up Saturday night and didn't return.  Several others left within the first few hours of Sunday morning.  It was depressing as all hell and I'm still suffering from disappointment.  I've got the old doubts sneaking up on me and whispering in my ear about pie-in-the-sky hopes pinned on unrealistic beliefs.

I've spent all today struggling with my annoyance and frustration and my continued feelings of just not being adequate to the task of making this work.

These feelings will pass.  Tonight I'll start the process of reformatting my computer.  Tomorrow I'll get up and get back to work.  This week my boning order will arrive and I'll finish up some projects.  I'll send out PayPal requests for money.  It'll all be good.

Tomorrow is another day and all that.
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baba yaga
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Sep. 18th, 2009 @ 09:14 pm Reactor
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: tipsy
Current Music: Popcorn popping
I'm at the Reactor convention in Rosemont this weekend.

On Sunday I'll be reformatting my computer.

So I'll be a bit out of touch for the weekend.

Also, I'm waiting for a shipment of boning.

Good times!
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accident
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Sep. 14th, 2009 @ 02:52 pm Max - Fire Sale Corset #5
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Dark Angel Season 2 Episode 13
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Here we are again, with an update and a new corset! The munchkin is entrenched in Kindergarten to both of our delight. My sister is back on a schedule which includes days off so I can ramp up my sewing in advance of two conventions. I've just realized that I didn't send off my information for WindyCon so now I have to scramble to find out if I can have a booth there. Yikes!

This is the "Max" corset, so named because I watched episodes of Dark Angel* while I worked on it.

( Details. )
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red gold corset
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Sep. 1st, 2009 @ 09:54 am Back to the grind
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: optimistic
Current Music: Blissful quiet
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The munchkin was successfully sent off to kindergarten last week.  She loves it, as I knew she would, and I love the free time, as I knew I would.  People kept asking me if I cried or was sad when she started kindergarten, and the answer is no.  It's not that I'm not sentimental, or that I don't love my daughter.  But full-time mommyhood is exhausting to me.  Even with two other adults in the house to help out.  And now that I'm trying to work on top of being mom?  Well I can safely say that the entire house is happy school is in.

Last week was getting a handle on the new schedule.  There's still kinks to be worked out but I managed to whip up a batch of Gothic Love charms for a convention in September (Anime Expo) and make two vest and one jacket mock-up.  I've got the fabric for two Fire Sale corsets and a corset/trustle combination ready to be put together.  So the next couple of weeks are going to be busy.  Which I don't mind.  I like busy.

Now back to work, I have a backlog of stuff to list on Etsy and put away before I can get started on the rest of today's work.  
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handle
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Aug. 23rd, 2009 @ 09:00 pm Victorian Bell Cloak
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Crickets outside my window
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A certain baldbeasty whisked me away for the weekend to Bloomington, IN.  We went there for the Lost and Requiem games (okay, mostly for the Lost).  It was a fun drive, beautiful weather both ways.  There was strawberry pie on the way back.  Most of all there was a whole lot of necessary relaxation.

While we were there we took pictures of me in my Lost costume, mostly because I have no really great pictures of me in costume or of this costume piece.  Also, there's a graveyard on the ISU campus and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use it as a backdrop for the pictures.  I've borrowed Sister Girl's camera until such a time that I've gotten a replacement for my own.

( So...pictures! )
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red gold corset
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Aug. 21st, 2009 @ 10:14 am Friday: Getting the Heck out of Dodge.
Current Location: The Dining Room
Current Mood: okay
Current Music: The sound of the ceiling fan
Tags: ,
Never have I been so happy to see the weekend loom upon the horizon. 

Charlotte starts Kindergarten on Tuesday.  And with that will come two glorious hours a day to work.  That coupled with sporadic babysitting from Sister Girl means I will be able to get so much more work done.

Yes, I am a workaholic.  I know this and I try to make sure that I don't work to the exclusion of family time.  But when you have deadlines and work piling up but can only work in ten minute intervals, it tends to wear on you.

So happy dance for the upcoming hours.

Also, I handed off the Sadie corset and shipped the Floragraphix.  Both ladies have gotten back to me with nothing but love, love, love, which just makes my day.

So, I'm being whisked away by the baldbeasty this weekend for gaming in Bloomington, IN.  Then, when I return, I dive back into the costuming fray.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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room without books
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Aug. 20th, 2009 @ 03:28 pm Thursday!
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: The sound of the washing machine.
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On today's menu:
  • Scanned by a "butt scanner machine" built by the munchkin.  (She built several other types of scanners out of her Legos, but I go for the cheap laugh.)
  • Engaged in a debate with said munchkin over whether or not she came from my womb.  She stuck fast to her contention that she sprang from her own belly despite me pointing out the problems with her belief from a paradox/space-time continuum view.  There's no arguing with five-year-old logic.
  • Wrangled the above referenced munchkin into the bathroom to collect a urine sample in a tupperware to take to the doctor for her checkup.
  • Took the above referenced munchkin to the doctor to be cleared for Kindergarten.  One finger prick, four shots, six stickers and lots of tears later, returned home.
We're both a bit tired and strung out.  I've got a house to clean and some e-mails to answer. 


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keeping score
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Aug. 13th, 2009 @ 11:12 am Floragraphix Corset and Sadie Corset
Current Location: The Dining Room
Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: The sound of Charlotte playing
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The good news: I seem to be fully recovered from my illness. I cradle my good health like a fluffy little kitten. Don't ever leave me, good health. I shall be ever so sad and lonely!

The average news: Sister Girl is getting more hours at her work. This is good for her as she needs the money. This is less good news for me as I am now down to one day a week of actual work time.

Thankfully kindergarten starts at the end of this month. Huzzah!

Tomorrow I'll be heading back to the city to pick up fabric for the next batch of corsets and corset/trustle combos. Something I was supposed to do on Sunday, which of course didn't happen.

The fantastic news: I just finished the latest two corsets for the fire sale. ( Pictures and rambling here... )
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tapestry corset
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Aug. 6th, 2009 @ 12:36 pm Update
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: sick
Current Music: The sound of the munchkin making spit bubbles
Tags: ,
I'm still not 100% but I'm feeling better. [info]dearmary pointed me to the CVS MinuteClinic which seems to treat what I have and it looks like a reasonable cost.  I'll have to juggle a few things, but I'll be heading that direction tomorrow.

Twice this week it's been implied that my prices are unreasonable (as in expensive).  I have at least grown a thick enough skin so that it doesn't bother me (too much).  I seriously don't get this mentality.  Still, there are times when I want to take people by the shoulders, point them to the internet and tell them, "If you think I charge too much go find someone else to do it cheaper."

Meh.  I shall go back to working on the two corsets I've got cut out. 

Mmmm...sewing therapy.

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baba yaga
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Jul. 31st, 2009 @ 12:07 am Green Trustle
Current Location: Bedroom
Current Mood: caffienated
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I don't think I've ever posted the picture of this trustle here.  And now I need to show someone a picture to illustrate a point.  So I shall post it here and make my point here for everyone to see. 

This is another trustle I made for [info]dearmary it is a black organza sheer over a green crepe backed satin with (IIRC) a black lining.  What I like about this one is the shimmery, two-toned effect created by the layering of the two different fabrics.  So, when one can't find the right iridescent taffeta combination, it can be created with a little ingenuity.




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corset
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Jul. 15th, 2009 @ 07:59 pm Two - Two - Two Deadlines in One!
Current Location: The Sewing Room!
Current Mood: *flop*
Current Music: The neighbor's dog barking
Tags: , , , ,
I've been incommunicado the last week and a half because I had two looming deadlines. However, I managed to make the deadlines, projects are enroute to the convention and I am now able to flop, sip an adult beverage and start responding to e-mails.

( Pictures of corset and cassock )
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corset
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