Shire of Owl's Nest Event---Pirates of the Mediterranean:

The Shire of Owl's Nest Presents - Pirates of the Mediterranean: The Curse of the Maltese Owl
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Pickett's Mill Family Group Shelter
6789 Hiram Acworth Road, Dallas, GA 30157

I hope to be home in time for this. Anyone interested?

Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia Home Page:

I had a dream this morning about me being back in Girl Scout camp. It occurred to me in my sleep fogged mind after waking up that one of the things i could do to keep myself occupied was to possibly volunteer with the Girl Scouts. Used to love it and was so disappointed when I couldn't go from a Junior to a full Girl Scout (not enough in my area at the time). Maybe someone else out there might be interested in it as well.

Tonight after I picked Pat up from work we went to the "Pho and Com" (pronounced CUM) restaurant that's on HWY 92, east of sandy springs in the same shopping area where the Mellow Mushroom is.

OMG! It's sooo nice to have good Pho again! And not only is it good noodles, but they put the cilantro and stuff on the side so you can season it yourself. Apparently that's the traditional way to serve Pho. I STRONGLY suggest to anyone who's up that way to go try it out. It's WELL worth the drive too. They do pick ups and delivery (within 5 miles) too. I also suggest trying the smoothies. It's very unique and not like other smoothies, but they are good, or at least the strawberry is. I think they make it with strawberry yogurt cause it's a weird but good strawberry flavor. I recognize it and am sure it's from some yogurt I've had, don't know which one.

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Anyway, today has been really good. Was tired when I woke up, but got moving pretty quick. It was funny cause when the alarm went off the second time I reached over and hit Pat and said "What are you still doing here?". Apparently he'd hit the snooze and it was still the 'first' alarm (my second one goes off at 10am). So I got up and moving but grumply.

Dropped Pat off at work and then made the bad decision to stop by Dick Blicks on my way to my appointment. >_> Was SOO hard not to get the primary color pack of the good Winsor Newton gouches. It was only $36.39!! ;_; I managed to pry it out of my hands and instead go with the crappy Reeves set for only six bucks. Did get some Gum Arabic so hopefully it will help the crappy paints not be that bad. I pulled out an old Onyx Chalice Gleann Abhann blank scroll I had left in my SCA stuff (which is no longer exits because they became a kingdom) and have started practicing with the crappy paints. The blue and red were working ok, but the greens, which I had to mix to make an acceptable color, were not mixing well and are not even. Dunno how I'm going to fix it other than going over it later with another coat to make it completely opaque. I need a better light though, the desk lamp I have is still too dim to make it light up like I need it. Need a real desk lamp to shine down on my work. *sighs* Probably get that when I get my real drafting table. Oh well. It feels good to be able to do the illumination again. It's one of the things that I'm actually really good at.

Had a good lunch with android18sl after my appointment. Chatted about a lot of things, and was just a lot of fun. Made it back home to play with my paints and River for an hour before driving to go get Pat. Unfortunately I hadn't seen his LJ and had to wait around his office for over an hour before we could leave for dinner. I'm so proud of him for his job, even when it is inconvenient. He's gonna have to work this weekend, which is sad. Was looking forward to everyone being able to hang out, and will be weird not having him with me at the RenFaire (which its still in doubt if he'll have to work sunday or not, he might be able to go). Just.. trying not to really look forward to everyone coming over, just in case things go to shit and no one shows up. Too many times plans go awry and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. Just don't want to get my hopes up and then get depressed because it all goes wrong. If no one comes down, then I'm still going to go to the Ren Faire on sunday, hopefully with local peeps even if my out of state friends don't make it.

Anyway, now just relaxing at home. Think I'm going to head back and keep working on my illumination. I need to see if I can find my gold paint, however it was weird stuff that required turpentine to clean the brushes with. That's why I like watercolor based paints the best. Easy clean up!! Maybe I might try my hand at actual gold leaf overlay sometime. Still looking forward to having someone help me learn how to make original scrolls. *happy dance* Maybe I can get all my supplies before heading to Michigan so I can work on them up there. Who knows?!

Oh, BTW, if you want to know how the Illumination scroll work works, see this old scroll I dug up while I was cleaning. Too bad it's yet another scroll for a now debunk award. *shrugs* Still pretty. If you want better examples, try this page.

Yes... after dropping quu off at work I had to stop for gas (was running on empty) and said "fuck it" and went to that Handcocks closing sale I mentioned a few days ago.

Came away with 6 yards of brown crushed velvet, almost 11 yards of this ruddy reddish crushed velvet, both for $1.20 a yard. Nine yards of this brown twill cotton for 90 cents a yard. And a whopping 17 and a half yards of this gorgeous amber Kona cotton for 86 cents a yard. Also got some real Tatting thread (white and off white), 2 plastic tatting shuttles, one metal 'heirloom' shuttle (so I can tat while sitting around events and stuff), some buttons for the green dress (they go on the sleeves), as well as some more green thread 'just in case'. Even with the cheap prices it was more than I should have spent. But then I'm sorta a cheapskate. However, I have had kinda a crappy past few days, and while some women go therapy shopping for shoes or clothes, I go therapy shopping for craft stuff. Well.. at least it wasn't power tools.......... >_>;;;

Thinking of making some nice dresses out of the velvet. The brown I'm looking to use for some pants and maybe a sideless surcoat (not sure if I've got enough to make both). The amber is going to be a dress and then some. I can almost see using the brown sideless surcoat over an amber dress, but I'll need more color to go with it. I'm kicking myself for being silly and using this pattern rather than using the default easy dress layouts we all use for the SCA. Parts of this dress are lackluster (the lacings in the back and the neckline that's gathered for starters).  Also, if anyone wants some of this fabric just lemme know! God knows I've got PLENTY of this amber cloth. I might take pics of it later.

Speaking of the dress, I'm having to re-baste the whole thing. When I basted it the first time I stayed inside the 5/8ths of an inch seam allowance (like right along the edge of the fabric). The problem I'm now running into is the markings for the arm's is completely off. I wouldn't be so pissed if River hadn't have eaten my spool of navy blue thread that I was using for basteing. I've got a couple white spools so if I can't salvage more of the blue I'll switch to it.

Had a doctors appt today, went well. He's going to keep me on the 100mg of Lamictil for now. After a month or so might change the dosage but for now the current one is doing good. He did say that the antacid meds (even the bigger ones like Prolosec) should be fine, just being sure not to take them at the same time. I might try that and see if it helps. Things are getting worse. Made a mistake with dinner tonight and ended up with something akin to Italian sausage (cept it was Mediterranean) and it's ripped my stomach to shreds. quu was a sweetheart and stopped to get me a smoothie on the way home which helped a TON. One thing the doc today suggested was just going straight to a GI specialist rather than wasting time trying to find a GP that doesn't suck. I -think- though that to go to a specialist my insurance requires a referral, but might get around that by just going to a 'doc in a box' and getting a referral that way. Tomorrow I have to call the insurance anyway cause they are doing something funky with my therapist bill.

Anyway.. I'm exhausted so I think I might grab the DS, the rest of my smoothie and go lay down for a bit.

Was a good day, though it was dominated by zomies and zombie lovers.

Went over to bpeace's because he just got the 'flesh must be eaten' rpg books (at least I think that's the name). quu wanted to go so we went. Packed up my craft stuff including my dress and all three of us headed over (yes River went too). Most the time I was either tatting or making this nifty macamae belt kit I got from wal-mart for 5 bucks (had the wood beads and shells in it). I love the thing! Taught Cissia (sp?) how to do finger loop braids an tried to teach her how to do tatting. She picked up the braiding real well and really likes it. Tatting she was having trouble with but that is normal. It really takes a while before one gets used to the thread flip. I'm sure that once she actually manages to do it herself she'll have no troubles with it. However she learns a lot like me so it will probably take her a bit to get it.

We just got home a while ago and after I send this I'm going to lay here and relax with some tatting before sleep. Part of me really wants to make a bunch to try and sell on Etsy. If I can get Cissa (sp?) to help might make some goodly lengths of cording as well. We'll see.

Have an appt with the med doc tomorrow so have to get up early.

Laters!

[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]

Ok.. I'm gonna post some links to the pics of the dress I'm working on. Some are ok, some are good, but quite a few are crappy since I just don't have a good way of taking pics of the dress while it's still unfinished. WARNING: Most these pictures are HUGE. Some I've cropped down, but most I've left at their gargantuan size so those who are interested can actually look at the stitches.

Anyway... ( On to the pictures! )

(14 04 2007 00:26:48) Update: Ok.. the second sleeve is done and DAMN it looks nice. Fits perfect and everything. Soo.. I said FUCKIT and am currently picking out all the stitches on the first sleeve and going to completely redo it. I might post pics later of the finished second sleeve.

Today while cleaning I found my spool of green thread that had gone missing last week. I've been going nutz because I don't want to have to go get grommits for the lacing holes on this dress. Also, I'm working on the sleeves and the thread on the one I had worked on was showing (couldn't simply baste it as I needed to finsh up the cuff to make sure the armhole get's positioned correctly). I've figured out a few tricks for hand sewing:

Always use a thread the same color as your fabric, try to get it as close of a match as possible or just a shade darker.

Baste! This is done by simply running long running stitches over your seems to piece the thing together. I suggest using a contrasting color like black or white so it shows up easily. Don't knot it in place, as you'll remove it once you do the real stitching. Once it's basted you can then fit it to your body size (and omg it's hard to get something to fit yourself than to fit someone else).

Keep your finishing stitches SMALL. I'm paranoid and want a sturdy stitch for my clothing so do just about everything in a backstitch. Yes this is insane, but it's far more secure than some of the other ones. I don't know how to do french seems yet, so this whole dress is a learning process for me. The first sleeve I did, the stitches were kinda big, no more than a quarter of an inch, but that was still FAR too big. This is stretchy fabric so just a small test and all the thread was showing. If your fabric is thick and stretchy (like this jersey knit i'm working with) feel free to keep the stitches tight. Looks odd while you're working with it, but it turns out ok in the end. Anyway.. on the second sleeve, I'm making my backstitches practically a millimeter and DAMN this is nice. Barely have to worry about it. To tell the truth, looks a HELLOFALOT like machine stitching. <3 Happiness!

I'm still a noob on a lot of things, but I don't let that stop me. I know a lot of tricks from my old SCA friends (more than one were clothing laurals) but actually doing them is kinda hard at times. It's like reading a cookbook and actually preparing a meal. Head knowledge vs Hand knowledge. Just cause you know how it should be done does't mean you know how to do it yourself.

Anyway... this reminds me... anyone know where to find GOOD grommits? I refuse to use those generic ones at the sewing stores as they always split and ruin my outfit.

And does anyone know of a leather supply store in the metro atlanta area? Like someplace to go and get huge pieces of unworked leather and leather crafting tools. There was this awesome place in Memphis and I miss it a ton.

OH! THIS REMINDS ME!

The Handcock fabric store just north of the 9/92 intersection (along 9 between Roswell and Alpharetta) is having a store closing sale. Apparently they are having like entire bolts of cloth for 5 bucks. So far I've resisted from going and only gotten info about it from quu who got it from a co-worker of his.

Etsy :: Your place to buy and sell all things handmade:

OMFG this place rocks!!! Let's see.. I followed a link to youtube that was debunk, and somehow came across a different vid by the Threadheads. Eventually I found THIS VID and thought I'd check out Etsy's main website. HOLY FUCKING SHIT SOO AWESOME! With the prospect of starting my character in SOLAR coming up, I wanted to see about making my own spellbook (cause if I am right, the 'newbie' spellbook is just a sheet of paper o.0). Was going to check the Etsy site to see if they had any tutorials on book binding when I found this guy's listings. SOO AWESOME! I'm thinking of spending the 7 bucks to get the bookbinding kit for beginners. He says that you can request specific colors and he'll try to put them in your kit.

IT IS SO NICE TO HAVE A FUCKING GOOD CRAFT HOLE PUNCH!!!

Why say this? I have to make some holes for the lacings for the dress I'm sewing. The pattern says to use Grommets.. but god damnit I have yet to find a grommet set that actually WORKS. The generic stuff at the fabric stores always split and are horrid. So what do I do? Screw grommets, just punch a whole and reinforce it with a buttonhole stitch and you're FINE. Gods they were doing that for hundreds of years. don't need no damn grommet.

So where do you get this nifty punch? The leather craft area. Not the beading area, but typically where they have things like the masks and stuff. Anyway.. more hole punching.

gods this pattern is fucking weird. Next time I make a dress like this I'm making it SOO much simpler.

Ahh.. the joys of sewing an entire dress.... by HAND!

Yes.. I don't have a sewing machine so I'm sewing this whole thing by hand. Believe it or not, it's not as bad as it sounds. Heck, even with a sewing machine, some things still need to be done by hand anyway (like hemming). It's been so long I've had to look up the various stitches again

The best thing about doing it by hand is that I can make sure it's fitted right. Technically even if you're doing it with a machine you should just put everything together with long running stitches first and then have the person it's for try it on so you can make the proper adjustments. Also, if you're going to be working with any kind of expensive fabric like brocade, you FIRST make the outfit in something dirt cheap like broadcloth, fit it, make sure it looks right, pick it apart then use those pieces as your patterns (the adjusted broadcloth). I speaks from experience!

And my god I HATE HATE HATE gathers!

Swear my thumbnail is going to fall off or something, I keep poking the needle up under my left nail and it's sore as shit now.

Oh, and when you cut the pattern out, generally cut it out at the max size and then adjust it down. Most store 'sizes' are smaller than they should be, so if you wear a 9 you'll find the pattern for the 12 is pretty good with minor alterations. Course that depends on your fabric too. If it's really stretchy (like this jersey knit i'm working with) then you might find the smaller size works ok. Just as a rule I always cut it to max.

Dug my dress form out... it doesn't have a proper stand but I was able to hang it from a nail in the living room (the nail was already there, I swear). It's small, but at least I don't have to keep putting the dress on and taking it off for sizing as much.

Yes.. you heard me right.. Play Dough.. made from peanut butter..

specifically.. equal parts creamy peanut butter and corn starch. Just mix it thourghly.

Stuff is clean, smells good, tastes good.. and is fun!

it even responds to your body heat and melts slightly.

I made a tablespoon full (half a tbsp peanutbutter and half corn starch) and it made a nice sized ball. ZOMG! I can't decide if i want to play with it or just eat it. >_<;;;;;

Little Hands Paperweight

Before you know it, your child will be all grown up and you'll hardly remember those soft little hands. But making a Little Hands Paperweight will help keep those precious memories.

Ages: Adults and kids 2 and up
Duration: Over One Hour

( Read more... )

Sand Dough

This recipe's not for eating, but it makes a great craft activity!
( Recipe Here )

Candy Clay

Here's what you will need to make it:
( Recipe Here )

Potato Beads

Sent in by:
Brandie of Fairfield, CA

What you need for this ZOOMdo:
( Recipe Here )

Zlime

Sent in by:
Christopher of Wall, NJ

Slime + ZOOM = Zlime!

( Recipe Here )

WACKY WATERCOLORS

( recipe here )

My side is still hurting. I'll do some more research over the weekend about getting a doctor then start making calls on monday. So far no one has recommended anyone so I'm just going to have to wing it. *sigh*

I've been working on coloring an icon for my friend freso and it's coming along nicely, or at least I hope so. *sigh* I've got all the line art done and have started blocking out the coloring. After that it's the shading, something I absolutely hate... then testing shrinking it down to make sure it looks right.

On another note, quu has gotten up the Wiki for our RPG. Now he just needs to put more info on there. I was going to try to transcribe his notes, but his handwriting is actually worse than mine, and that's REALLY saying something. I learned to type in like 1st-2nd grade and my handwriting hasn't gotten much better since then. ¬.¬; Also he really doesn't have much written down. *sigh*

I've continued to work on my sleeve, I've added some pics to the Gallery (in the "MISC" album). They arn't very good cause I can't figure out how to get the "macro" feature to turn on (it's for taking closeup pics, 6-10 inches).

Speaking of pictures, I've scanned in and posted some of the pics from LostCon 2. It's not all the ones that quu took, but some of them at least. Some of the names I don't remember, so PLEASE comment on the pics if you know who they are. I've also posted some of the 4th of July pics from 2003. Look for them in the "Kor Parties" album.

I'm tired now. I think I'll go to bed.