Long Time No See

So it's been over a year since I posted on here. I always felt like I needed to make my posts worthy of being read by strangers. Only, what do I have to say that a stranger would want to read about?

But no one actually reads this. So I decided to make it into a diary. An online diary, that maybe 2 people will ever read. More people read my diary as a teen, so I should feel free to say whatever I like!!

First order of business. A very short overview of the last year.
1- Hubby got transferred to Regina.
2- House sold after we lowered our asking price $50,000. Ouch.
3- Bought a new house and moved to a bedroom community.
4- Girls started a new school which is quite diabetes friendly.
5- Actually started making friends. People I can stand being around for more that 5 minutes, yay!
6- I'm down to having to go to the school only every second day.
7- Joined a performance bellydance class. I'm going to get up on stage, dressed in a fun costume, and dance. With people watching. On purpose.
8- Between the amazing way dancing makes me feel, the extra time on my hands, and the adult conversation, I am dying to sew and create.

And that brings me to why I'm posting. I am going to start experimenting with patterns, fabrics, and construction techniques. I thought that using this blog as a record of my attempts, both successful and unsuccessful, would be a handy reference for myself. And anyone else interested in similar things.

The girls are out of school for the week and we're hanging out creating and playing. The girls are trying to play Munchkin alone (10 and 7 isn't quite old enough to do it without help) as I write. There are 2 corset patterns on the floor beside me. One modern one and one historical one I'm trying to adjust to my measurements. Since I have a broad back, straight figure, and a small bust, that is harder than it could be. I've been reading a lot of articles over at Foundations Revealed. I'm a member, but there are some great free articles, too. I need to do an order at Farthingales soon, and I don't really have a place to sew in my unfinished basement yet, but I can play with the patterns and styles, and sew in the floor if need be. I need to make some parts of my dance costumes anyway, so I can play at least a little before I get some busks. Now that we're all caught up, I just need to get to it and post my progress. To work, and see you soon!

Hangeul Day Project

Hangeul is the name of the writing in Korea. October 9th is Hangeul Day. The website we are using to learn Korean from is called Talk To Me In Korean. The teachers from the site are putting on a display of Hangeul written by their students this year, and we thought it would be fun to submit entries. Since I do almost nothing without fibre in it, I thought it might be fun to try out a new batik technique I saw recently. Turns out that as long as your dye uses cold water, you can actually use white glue as your resist! So, first I picked what to write.

 My first attempt. Sloppy, and way too big.

I decided to write "I Love South Korea". Well, sort of. As close as I can tell, since I don't speak Korean well yet. It took hours to get the words looking like I wanted, and then I finally got to the shirt.

 

The glue is applied.

I placed my stencil, written in washable black marker, under my shirt, and added a layer of glue in the lines. This took longer than anticipated. A lot longer. Turns out I can only manage this with a toothpick. I don't know if it was because I was using old glue, or maybe the brand is just thick, but it really didn't run well. Then, I left it to dry. ALL DAY!! Actually, once I put a fan on it, it went a lot faster, but still.

The inside after drying.

After is was no longer tacky, I turned it inside out and removed the excess paper. Now, the instructions implied that all of the paper should be glued on. This was my first sign of trouble.

First of the dye.

I got out the easy tie-dye kit I had hiding in my stash, and got out the red. I started by squirting it on, but it didn't look like I had enough, so I put it in a spray bottle, and that seemed to work better. This shot is after the front top half was covered. I then flipped it, and did the back. Once the bottle was empty, I filled it with water again, and did the bottom half, front and back. Then, following the directions, I sealed with plastic.

Sealed with wrap. Doom imminent.

I left this for about 2 hours, and then I couldn't resist peeking. The glue was tacky again! I uncovered it, and paced around, thinking I'd screwed up. I spent hours coming up with fun, but labour-intensive ways to save it if the words weren't visible, and then finally went to bed.

I soaked the shirt for 10 minutes in cold water, and then spread it out for inspection. The words look a little lighter, and the washable marker did bleed a little, but only the last step will tell.

I tossed it in a hot water wash, as instructed. Two, actually. And then I dried it on hot in the dryer. And...voila!!

My submission.

The shirt isn't red, that's for sure, but I still like it. I definitely needed another coat of glue beforehand, and another shot of dye in the end, but it still worked ok! The writing on my neck is the hangeul for Hangeul Day. Doing that in the mirror is harder than it sounds!! 

This is Gwen's submission.

So, I sent off both pictures. However, I only got a response from Gwen's. I had fun making it, and I guess I'm okay if it doesn't get included, since it doesn't really look like writing, but still, I'm definitely pouting right now!! I would happily do one on paper, if I get response in time, but since it's the middle of the night there, and it's due tomorrow, I might be out of luck. Oh well. OH!! We requested Korean names, so we might get to see those on Oct. 9th, too. The girls are excited. I'm doing another shirt, long sleeved, with more writing, more glue, and in red and blue next. Watch for it, and let me know if you've ever tried batik!!

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day!! Give me Smurfs!

Arr, me mateys, have yee any Smurfs? Perhaps some blue paint with which to swab me chil'ns? Or some rum to make me Smurf search easier? Okay, that's annoying, isn't it? I'll stop now.

See, this year I need to make 2 Smurf costumes. Smurfette, to be precise. Sounds easy, right? Well, the only problem is that Hallowe'en here is generally below freezing, with a decent amount of snow. So, the kids need to be able to go out trick or treating in the costumes, but also wear them indoors at school all day. They  really loved the movie (who doesn't like NPH), but I was hoping I could do something more fun. I'm loving feathers lately.

 I really like this suit that Kim Junsu wore when they performed in Vancouver. See the feathers on the shoulders? They form a V in the back. (From withJYJ.)

I would love to do this for Hallowe'en for one my DD's.

(From MelissaJane Boutique.)

Or at least some traditional Korean clothing. They watch a lot of kdramas, listen to kpop, and are learning some Korean through Talk To Me In Korean. But alas, no, Smurfette it is.

I also get to get rid of 75% of my stuff, and we have to finish all of the renovation on our house, preferably by Christmas. Mind you, we can't find any land to move onto, but my DH can only commute the 3 hours a day for so long. I'll crank up the kpop, dream of feathers, and try to whittle down my extensive stash. *sigh*

Wow, a whole year.

Well, I got sick. But it is now being managed. My daughter's diabetic control went to crap while I was sick, but now I'm on top of that, too. And I have to move. Actually, I have to build a house. Now that I am, I'm starting to come out of my cave a little. Talking to people, doing research. It feels good to join the land of the living.

The girls and I are caught up in the Korean Wave, too. We watch Korean TV, listen to Korean music, and are learning the language. Anyone who is okay with reading subtitles should really see some of the movies. Sungkyunkwan Scandal is unbelievably sweet. We also think everyone should support K-pop artists. No matter your style, more R&B, more Hip Hop, more Pop, they have it. Dance music, ballads, and all with role models I like my kids looking up to. It's great!! My oldest DD and I are even learning the dance to Lucifer by SHINee! I haven't played with any fiber in so long, I'm getting tremors. So sad.:(

Birthdays!!!!

Well, it was my DH's 34th on June 10th, and he was a little spoiled. The girls made him a treasure chest cake, and they did almost all the work themselves.

Of course, the gold coins had Disney fairies on them, and the cake had to be reinforced by icing, since it fell apart during construction, but it still tasted great. He got pen kits for his lathe from me, and a tackle box from the girls. Since it was his birthday, we went to the lake with the in-laws. It was really nice, we'd never been to that lake before. We went golfing. Well, rode around in a rented golf cart for a couple of hours. I got a sunburn that prevented me from wearing anything that touched my back, or really even moving, for 3 days. And I was wearing sunscreen!

My poor little diabetic DD is too small for her tricycle. We had to get her one for up to three, even though she's 3 1/2. She's a little afraid of falling, but we got that covered. Now if she falls, she just bounces! No scrapes, nothing! All that birthday cake and camping food meant her glucose readings were through the roof all weekend, and we were up all night, with her crying. The insulin just doesn't act fast enough sometimes! I didn't get anything "fun" done recently, and to make matters worse, I got a Sony Reader as an early birthday present, so now I have one more other thing to do! It has RSS capabilities, as well as the books, and audio, and pictures, so I may not get to anything in a timely fashion!! Not enough hours in the day! On the bright side, I have a place saved at a playschool in the fall, so I can start to get some time to myself. Because of the diabetes, it's just one morning a week to start, but some time is better than no time!!

More Time?

My physiotherapist gave me an okay to return to active duty, and my kinesiologist gave me some new exercises. That means that I no longer have almost 2 hours a day of exercises to do! Which is nice, because they didn't actually help me lose weight, or get in better shape, they just increased my flexibility and forced my discs back in my spine. Now, I have real exercises, and am starting to get desperate for yoga and bellydance. I just got Rachel Brice's Arms and Posture video, and figured that it was in line with the exercises I have prescribed, so why not?

I was also thinking of a project to give my DD. She seems to be missing me a lot (I'm either stretching or purging for the garage sale), and I wanted to give her something. I thought I could make her a friendship bracelet while we have movie night. She loves the idea of sympathetic magic - she tries to save all her toenail clippings and hair - so I thought I could put some of my hair in it. She could wear it to school, and feel like part of me was with her. 

My DH spent some time in his garage, and then gave me this. I only hope that I'll get as much time to do my own thing. But , y'know, not likely. He started on another large blank, and I bought him some pen kits for his upcoming birthday. Meanwhile, there is a project waiting on my cutting table, a head that needs a body, and a mask that needs painting. And I'm slowly gaining back the few pounds I lost now that I'm a recovering cripple. Oh well, microseconds are just not enough!

30 Minutes, and The Good News

Is 30 minutes to myself too much to ask? My DH takes care of the kids, and yet I still don't get 30 minutes uninterrupted to dance, work out some tension, get my heart rate up. I'm lucky if I get 20. If the kids get any hint that I'm leaving, or that they are (but without me), my little one has a break down. The few times the Grandparents have stayed with them so DH and I could have a couple hours as adults, the little one spends the next couple weeks as my shadow, panicking if even her father tries to hold her. This strikes me as beyond separation anxiety. I know they love me, but seriously. They are 5 and 2, could I really still be the absolute centre of their universe?

On the up side of life, we bought a used truck. 2006 F-150. Not that I like trucks, but it will pull our trailer, and that means I get a nice summer vacation. I finally got my nose pierced. And yes, it does really bloody hurt. My navel piercing might have actually hurt less. Giving birth to my daughter on the bathroom floor in the middle of a blizzard wasn't as shocking as the stab of pain when she forced the needle in!! I know, what did I expect, I'm an idiot. Also, there are some new books out on corset making I think I'll have to get, and I must make an order at Farthingales, as well.

I did get to spend time with another stay at home mom, shopping in the city. Just us and our 4 kids! For some reason, it didn't seem nearly as bad dealing with the kids. Maybe having someone to talk to while we shopped made a big difference. Also, we went to stores I don't go to on my own. The hat store, the metaphysical shop down the street from the hat store. The piercing place!! It inspired me, got me out of my living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-doing-nothing-exciting funk. Now I feel energized, and ready to create. Plus, the nose ring makes me feel more like I'm 30, less like I'm 60.

And last, but never least, hail spring!! After picking up DD from school, I just left the kids outside. YAY!!