I finally got Isa to try on her Padawan outfit so I could fit the placement of all the little clips and snaps that keep everything in place. I had to bribe her with lightsaber play time in order to get her to stand still for the photos!!




( Sadly, this will only fit her for a couple months... )

Woot! The little padawan is done! I broke into my stash of tunic fabric that I was saving for reasons I can't recall...
Those are Obi Wan's food capsules as the new ones are still only primed and drying.
I may put together a robe with the bit of wool I have left over from Obi-Wan though I know Isa won't be able to wear it for the parade since it will be too hot.
Photos! The ruler is 24" high...it's so itty bitty!

At my last RL troop I somehow found myself agreeing to troop in a parade in July in IL. Since the event is on a Sunday I decided to haul the entire family. Which means that our shortest member needs a costume. Fast forward to yesterday and you find me frantically drafting and cutting mini-Jedi tunics. They are le adorable! Ordered knee-high leather boots yesterday and horse tackle bits today so I can hand tool the leather belt. Think I can pull it off in less than a month? Jasper doesn't think so.  He's such a pessimist.  Cheers!  Photos to follow later!

I'm such a post-whore today. The past few months have been hit-or-miss in regards to good books. Towards the end of May I felt the urge to read a whole pile of really depressing books...so that's where I'm at right now. Suggestions are welcome, but when I say depressing books I mean of the Emily Bronte variety, not the Toni Morrison variety or anything that involves incest. Kthanx.

The Cry of the Icemark - Stuart Hill.
YA rubbish, my fave...this one was only "meh" though. Parts of it I enjoyed. It had all the cool kids: vampires, werewolves, warlocks, warriors, ent-thingies. It failed to impress, however and felt quite tedious towards the end.

The Last Town on Earth - Thomas Mullen
Another book I found only "meh". Funny, I started reading it before the swine flu outbreak and found it somewhat strange that Mullen claimed in a note about the book that hardly anyone had ever heard of the Spanish Influenza outbreak of 1918. Even prior to the swine flu outbreak I think most people have actually heard of the 1918 influenza. All that aside, the story was interesting enough but I didn't find any of the characters likeable.

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
The best book I've read this year, hands down. Perfectly suspensful and the story was excellent. Yeah, I cried at the end.
Incredibly depressing of course, just the way I like it.

New Moon - Stephenie Meyer (re-read)
Why did I re-read this book? No idea. I enjoyed it for the most part as well.
I am shameless about my rubbish books.

Eleven On Top - Janet Evanovich
Oh my.  This is definitely the best rubbish I have read in some time.  There was nearly as much laughing as Georgia Nicolson, almost.
This came from my mother and was a nice break after Ms. Meyer.

The Golden Notebook - Doris Lessing
I didn't finish it.  I think I threw it at the wall around page 100.  Anna was an intolerable bore and I'm tired of communism.

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
I picked this up for $4 in Maine and can't find anything to complain about.  The story is more subtle than Never Let Me Go, yet still very sad and thought-provoking in it's own way.  It's not a book for an impatient person, that's for sure.

Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (re-read for about the 8th time)
I love this book.  No matter how many times I read it I still love it.  It's perfectly miserable.  Of course my iron decided to drip water all over the bloody thing so now I need a new (well this is my second copy) copy.  I started my epic tour of The Most Depressing Books Ever right here with the best!

Jamaica Inn - Daphne Du Maurier (re-read)
I finally obtained my own 1936 copy.  It isn't as good as Rebecca, but still very entertaining and quite creepy.  I had to start with Yorkshire moors (in WH) and move to Cornish moors.  
 

And one with costume content!  Not to excuse myself, but every time I try to post photos or anything in general it gets eaten either by my laptop or Livejournal.  Not good really, when I'm trying to cram in a post in my 3 seconds of free time I can find in the average day.

Anyway, I did some very minor costuming (don't get excited).  I made a hat for my robe a l'angaise.  It was a lot of fun and it was something I could work on over lunch hour at work (though my co-workers now know I am somewhat odd).  We had a photoshoot in the Arboretum last Saturday and it was a great chance to break out the poor unworn dress and let it see the light of day.  My friend took the Arboretum photos, they turned out lovely!


    Hats are made of win.  Everyone should have one.



( The photos under the cut are so much better, trust me. CLICK ME. )

It's hard to believe, but I actually finished a costume!  And since I've reached the end of my rather long to-do list I decided that it was the appropriate time for photo spammage.  I had to make a lot of concessions and compromises towards the end of the project as my deadline was approaching and I wasn't getting the supplies I needed.  For instance, the bodice fabric turned out to be a real ordeal.  I couldn't find a proper pin-stripe fabric anywhere.  Finally, I ordered a dark navy linen/cotton blend from Fashion Fabrics, knowing that if it didn't work out I didn't have a choice but to not finish the costume or re-make the blouse at a latter date.  I gambled and lost.  The fabric is really lovely, but there isn't enough contrast in the stripes to actually make them easily visible....you can barely see them!  Also I probably should have ordered a higher-quality ribbon for the sleeve and ruffle, but things were getting tight!  So what you get is what I was able to slap together at the last minute.  Oh yes, and my shoes haven't arrived yet, even though I ordered them 5 weeks ago.  I had a lot of fun wearing it though.  I wondered if people got sick in the hallways when I walked by...all those swishing zig-zags!  Cheers! 

My regular dress form was too big, so I had to use the half-lady (who is too small), which is why it looks a bit funny, there is a photo under the cut of me actually wearing the costume.  I have to coerce a friend into doing a photoshoot when my shoes arrive.





 There was a lot of hand-sewing done on that bodice.  All those lunch hours at work, I'm sure my co-workers think I'm a lunatic by now.









( Down by the Sea... )

In spite of cancelled flights, missed connections and general airline related woe (honestly, Laguardia doesn't even have free internet)we still had a wonderful time in Maine. Sadly, we didn't get to see as much as we had hoped, even though the weekend was crammed quite full of activities. I think I may have gained 5 pounds since the activity of choice wherever we went was sampling the food and alcohol. Mmmm. The seafood was spectacular! My photos really aren't fantastic but I'll post them anyway since I spent a zillion hours last night loading them via highjacked craptastic wireless.



 My favorite photo from the trip....Acadia National Park








( Click me! )

Cleo costumes!  Even more outside the realm of possibility - I am actually caught up with my f-list!  I haven't commented much in general (for which I apologize - my lappy has issues with eating comments) but I am caught up with reading everyone's entries! 
I've finally finished my corset - not a minute to soon either.  The larger issue has been obtaining proper fabric for the bodice.  I have been sadly out of luck.  I finally managed to find something that may be adequate (no time to order swatches), but I won't know until it shows up.  Eeep. Crunch time!
Photos of the finished corset for your viewing pleasure - or displeasure -
I didn't stick with "screen accurate" for the corset, it's just underwear and I had fun :)



Cheers all!

It's a wee bit early, but I was anxious to hit the trails this year!  Isa was like a bat out of hell, poor kiddo! 
I'm glad we were able to get out last weekend as it looks like our obligatory end-of-season snowstorm is due to hit tomorrow.
The usual dead-tree and boring old winter photos...with tree-hugger pics for good measure!

	Ice on Lake Mendota
	Edited due to internets paranoia
	Fangorn forest?
	Last march of the Ents
	Cabin fever!
	Edited due to inernets paranoia

ETA:  I had some moments of paranoia regarding this entry and edited out a few photos.

Well, the busk for Mrs. Lovett finally arrived. Alas, in the interim my costuming mojo went on vacation (to Duluth). Also, the awesome and perfect fabric that padawansguide  had found for the bodice no longer exists. That is what you get for procrastinating. Lesson learned.

I'm too tired to post progress photos of the corset. I have the busk in...my first front-closing busk, but it went fine. Now I just need to put in all those hand bound eyelets, erlack.

Just as an FYI I actually have been reading my f-list, however my laptop is fond of eating any comments I may try to post, ergo a nearly total lack of comments on my part. Really, I am reading. Cheers!

Costumes! The Mrs. Lovett skirt is essentially complete - I just need to crop a bit off the bottom and put on the ginormous hem (can't wait).
I have a bit of clean-up work to do on the interior - some seam finishing and other bits o' fun. It looks like such a small bit of work, yet it took quite a while to get the black bottom with the white stripe on. The white stripe is grosgrain ribbon....about 16-20 yards of it.

The photo on the left is my starting point, the center shows the skirt with all the pieces together, the right is a close-up of the bottom-most pleating.

I was somewhat irritated to notice that my fabric choice for the white pleated layer seems inaccurate:

In this screenshot (from Costumer's Guide) the fabric looks striped or ribbed.  Grrr.
Oh well.  It was never going to be the most accurate costume out there.  It probably isn't even the right color (navy).

 

I am very excited to move on to the bodice though it's been so long I'll have to go find my notes....

So, there you are...my small accomplishments.
 

I finally post and all you get is this lousy reading list. 

As you can see below,  I wasn't too intent on broadening my horizons this month. I blame Thoreau.
I forced myself to read half of Walden before I threw the book against a wall - in lieu of Thoreau's head -  and dug around for some juvenile yet entertaining rubbish.

1) Where the Mountains Are Nameless - Jonathan Waterman
I love this author.  I just happened to walk by the book in the library.
The book incorporates the story of Olaus and Mardy Murie into the politics involved in the preservation of the Arctic National Wilderness Reserve (ANWR).  Waterman also incorporates his own experiences in the Arctic wilderness.  Overall, a very interesting read, and very informative. 

2) Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
Don't ask me why I keep reading books about Alaska.  I rescued this book from the perils of the storage unit...I had always meant to read it. 
I have to say that the victim involved really annoyed the hell out of me.  A spoiled prat, really and I spent most of the book feeling sorry for his parents.  That being said, I did enjoy the book - though it was rather depressing.

3)  The City of Ember -  Jeanne Du Prau
I picked this up on a whim at Barnes and Noble and read it over the course of an afternoon.  It was mildly entertaining and I enjoyed it.  I don't think I'll read the rest of the series or see the movie though.  I may read it to the kiddo someday.

4)  Away Laughing on a Fast Camel - Louise Rennison (re-read)
In my opinion, this is the best of the Georgia Nicolson series and one of the funniest books I've ever read. 
You probably have to be somewhat immature to enjoy it.  Burp and fart jokes abound. 
Hark!  What Owl through yonder window breaks!  And so on, and so forth.  Dave-the-laugh is really, well, a laugh.

5) Stop in the Name of Pants! - Louise Rennison (re-read)
I read a lot of Georgia Nicolson this month.  I couldn't help myself.  I was once at a convention in Madison where the GOH was rather derisive regarding the humor in the Harry Potter series.  Apparently Fred and George humor wasn't to her taste (she called it immature).
This is quite along the same lines - which explains why I love it!

6) Love is a Many Trousered Thing - Louise Rennison (re-read)
More Georgia Nicolson.  Watch out for the soap-on-a-rope in the nuddy pants scene.  It's quite hilarious.

7) On the Bright Side, I'm now the girlfriend of a sex god - Louise Rennison (re-read)
Not my favorite in the Georgia Nicolson series.  Two and four are a bit on the slow side.

8) Then he ate my boy entrancers - Louise Rennison (re-read)
Another Georgia Nicolson - I re-read most of the series, just out of order.  This one is hilarious....and I won't tell you what boy-entrancers are...this is a tween book, get your mind out of the gutter.

9) Knocked out by my nunga-nungas - Louise Rennison (re-read)
After a title like that, do I need to say anything else?  Another Georgia Nicolson, of course.

10) Twilight - Meg Cabot (re-read)
This would Not be the novel-turned-movie about undead blokes with shiny skin problems and teenage angst.
I like this book, which is the finale of Cabot's Mediator Series.  It's over the top and rather absurd, but quite cute and a relaxing read.

11) In the Shadow of Denali - Jonathan Waterman
Alaska - ahoy! 
This one describes Waterman's experiences climbing Denali (or Mt. McKinley if you prefer) and tenure as a ranger in the Denali National Park.  There is quite a bit more humor involved than in Where the Mountains are Nameless.  Quite candid and very enjoyable.


If you have made it this far, you get a costume post.

However modest my 2009 costuming goals were (finishing Mrs. Lovett and tinkering on the Padmes) at this point they are beginning to seem ridiculously ambitious (or I am just sadly lazy). If I intend to finish all of the aforementioned goals I would have to give up minor needs (such as sleep) and very important goals (such as the complete re-read of The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series). As such, I have decided to set aside poor Mrs. L. for the moment in favor of a smaller project.

This suit was found amongst my grandmother's possessions when she died the previous May. My mother, in her infinite wisdom decided to keep it. She has lent it to me and I fully intend to wear it after completing a small bit of tailoring (it is too large for me). It is really in pristine condition - and I am assuming quite old. I'm not an expert in the era but I am assuming late 1940's early '50's? With all the buttons I am assuming it has to be post-WWII.
Lovely, is it not? As soon as I get the tailoring completed and pick up suitable accessories I'll post some photos.

It never disappeared really, I just couldn't find a spare second. And when I did find a spare second I usually chose to sit at the piano or read YA rubbish or hit the gym.

I woke up on Saturday with a burning desire to work on Mrs. Lovett. I only needed an additional 1.5 yards of the knife-pleated white ruffle, so I finished that yesterday afternoon and am feeling ridiculously accomplished. I have to say, the bottom of that bloody skirt is dead heavy and I don't even have the final b/w strip on the bottom. The interior of the chevrons is currently unlined and I'm afraid that adding lining will add additional weight. I have to trim off quite a bit of the white pleated layer, so that may help. I'm loving this dress though! I'm excited to start the bodice!

Or perhaps more accurately: Eleven Excuses for Not Costuming. Actually, for two months I didn't really get through all that many books. I did read quite a few things that I didn't finish and set aside for later. I didn't include them on the list, or several of the poetry anthologies I read cover-to-cover like the freak I am.

A Brief History of the Dead, Kevin Brockmeier
This came up on my LibraryThing list. I stopped taking their recommendations after reading this one. I felt pretty meh about the whole thing. I liked the concept, but in the end I didn't feel as if I had gained anything by reading the book. Just meh.

Emma, Jane Austen. (Re-read, of course)
What can I say. Perfection. I'm talking about Mr. Knightley of course.

Possession, A.S. Byatt
I loved this book! The main characters weren't particularly likeable or interesting but the intertwined storylines, literary references and original bits of poetry were quite perfect.

The Road, Cormac McCarthy
This might possibly be the most depressing book I have ever read. Seriously, this book makes Wuthering Heights look like a fairy tale. This doesn't mean that I didn't like the book. I liked it (I like Wuthering Heights too), I just couldn't sleep for a couple days afterward and had terrible nightmares. I had to pull out (Stephenie Meyer's )Twilight afterwards to drown myself in happy sparkley nonsense.

The Mediator Series, by Meg Cabot
1)Shadowland, 2)The Ninth Key, 3)Reunion, 4)Darkest Hour, 5)Haunted, 6)Twilight
These books made me so happy.  I love YA rubbish, especially when it involves the undead.  To steal a line from petullant , don't judge me!  Meg Cabot's undead characters are so much better than Stephenie Meyer's.  I spent a lot of time laughing.  Anyone else notice at least one Star Wars reference in each book!  She actually compared a character to Grand Moff Tarkin!  I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the sofa.  I really enjoyed the fourth and sixth books.  The second and third were kind of meh, just filler.  It helped to picture Jesse de Silva as Ben Barnes.  That's just me though.

Sword and Citadel, by Gene Wolfe
I'm still chewing this over.  I really need to re-read the entire Book of the New Sun.  I feel like too much went over my head, like I should have taken notes.  I also left too much time between reading the two volumes and I forgot many of the finer details from Shadow and Claw.  I tore through the first half and slowed in the second.  The final quarter of the book took me forever to finish since everything was rather confusing at that point.  Overall I loved both books comprising the Book of the New Sun (or four books in two volumes, however you please) but I wasn't entirely satisfied with the ending of the book.  I felt as if there was too much information in the last quarter of the book and I didn't absorb much of it.  It is a bit like The Silmarillion, but unlike Tolkien's works doesn't include a glossary.  I fully understand that the terms used in the book are supposed to imply the meaning, but eventually I got tired of thinking things over (lazy, I know) and wished for appendices and some bloody maps.  Fantastic books, but not of the sort you would want to read too quickly. 

I'm sure you all were just dying to hear my movie review and will hang on my every word. I finally saw dragged my long-suffering husband to the movie on Sunday!  I didn't really read much in the way of movie reviews, so it's mostly first impressions.  While I certainly couldn't call it a good movie, I actually liked it. Mostly for the lulz and fanwank potential, naturally.

( Spoilers ahoy. Hey, you know he's a vampire right? )

This is my second year attending this event, which once again benefited Make-A-Wish. This year I decided not to be a baby and make a day trip rather than spend the night in Appleton to mooch off my parents.  Sadly, I didn't get much sleep the night before thanks to the miasma of despair and horror that was the result of spending the whole evening reading The Road.  I didn't have to leave too early, but unfortunately had to get up early to curl and attach ridiculous amounts of fake hair (and hair-buns) to my head.  And yes, I did have to drive all the way to Green Bay wearing my picnic gown hair buns.  The gas station attendant didn't even bat an eye as I picked up my necessary early-morning coffee.  It makes me wonder what her early morning customers usually look like.

The event went well, though there were far less kids than last year.  It is always nice to see friendly faces from the MWG as well, though again, not as many as last year.  Sadness. 

It is always this time of year that I begin thinking about a new costume, and at this point I'm really considering canning my Padme costumes.  Padme doesn't really get much love.  Fans generally fall into three categories:  (adult) males who leer at you, women who think you are Princess Leia, or worst of all, little boys who are disappointed because you aren't a stormtrooper.  Leering males I can handle, disappointed children, not so much.  I may need to go imperial.  Of course, I could build an R2 unit and then I'd be a rock star and I wouldn't have to worry about feelings of inadequacy.

My photos are here, but I have to post my fave:

  Aaaaw. 

Since the weather turned out to be gorgeous over Halloween we decided to take one more hiking trip out to Devil's Lake. The foliage was stunning. I'll not bore everyone with too many tree photos. There is also a photo from trick-or-treat on Friday, with Isa's gravity-defying hairstyle.



 

  My favorite from Saturday





( Picspam this way )





( Halloween  )
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Tackling any sort of costuming project immediately before Halloween is never the best idea. If it is a project that requires special tools and/or supplies that are hard to obtain locally *cough-leather working-cough* you can be certain that your credit card will hate you come November. The snaps I originally purchased were slightly too short to set into the belt closure in the back, so I ended up having to buy rivets and used them to set velcro at the closure. Of course, I also had to purchase more leather to make a loop at the back to cover the riveted velcro closure. I also finally put the last coats of leafing on the food capsules. I had to reference a food capsule thread I had posted on Midwest Base and was embarrassed to realize that I had originally posted it about 15 months ago. *Blush* So, after all my fine work and abuse of the credit card, the belt is finished! Too bad the trick-or-treat date was actually last week and we no longer need the costume! FAIL. I actually start to get nauseated when I think about how much money I've put into this costume and I still don't have pouches or screen accurate boots!
 


( Clicky! )