LoopTangle

I’m not dead! Promise. The costumes worked out pretty darn well at DC, I cut one (the bellydance costume, just wasn’t comfortable wearing it) and ended up just doing my Steampunk Time Traveller and my Punk Rock Kimono. I lost my good camera somewhere along the line, so I’ve been relying on the old camera that has to be plugged in to work, cellphone cameras, and friends’ pictures. Here are two shots of the costumes:

God I love that kimono fabric.  I couldn’t find my underbust corset to wear with it, so to balance out the expanse of black from the overbust corset, I made a little obi with a black grosgrain ribbon to break it up a little.  Yes!  I wore an obi OVER a corset OVER a kimono.  I’m still trying to get some better pictures of the ensemble – I know more pictures were taken!

You can see B’s amazing light and sound reactive jacket with el wire running down the lapels and sleeves, too.  He couldn’t get it to do everything he wanted, but it was a fantastic prototype.  He’s going to start a blog to record his work with el wire, since it’s sort of a new and strange technology.

In September I decided to make a dirndl to wear to Oktoberfest, which turned out pretty cute:

B helped me with some fitting issues I had with the pattern (from Burdastyle.com) and we actually removed about 5 inches of excess from the top of the center back of the bodice…  I don’t know what that says about my posture, but we got it to fit like a glove in the shoulder and bust area.  I wish I’d been able to nip the waist in a little more, but I wanted to leave room for BIER!

Right now I’m working on 2 more kimonos, these ones from a commercial pattern.  It’s kind of funny to work with Westernized pattern pieces after sewing my own drafted rectangles for the punk rock kimono.  They’re coming along nicely and I’m glad to be working in cotton again.  Those long seams would be a bit nasty with slippery fabric.  I’m already pinning the edges to death!

Upcoming projects include some travel pieces for our springtime trip to Belgium (eee!  Art Nouveau everywhere!), a red tweed sweater for myself, some solstice gifts that I mustn’t talk about here, and I have an idea to knit some large gauge cowls for a craft fair in Dec. with 3 or 4 strands of yarn held together to make it super bulky and get a tweedy color effect.

I’m saving my pennies to get another camera.  I’ve been really upset with myself for losing it.  I miss all the good pictures!

I was called for Jury Duty yesterday for a death penalty case.  There’s a large pool of jurors they’re going to be interviewing and choosing from over the next two weeks.  We’ll see if I get picked.  The case details they gave me have really affected me, and I’m very depressed and a little in shock.  I don’t know why humans intentionally hurt each other.  This would be a fantastic time, in the coming weeks, to step inside my comfort zone and give me a quick hug.  My instinct is to curl up into a little ball and try to push it all away, but hugs are much better. 

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Ugh.  The plague got us.  I had about 3 days warning as B succumbed to the horribleness of the chest congestion flu and then we were both sick.  He may be pushing a little too hard and is still quite sick, though working, and today is my first day back at work since getting sick friday night.  Bleh.

I haven’t been able to read or even KNIT.  It’s awful.  I may try tonight, but every time I’ve tried I’ve gotten a horrible headache for my hubris.

I’m looking at you, all-too-quiet CDC.  Someone’s running flu strain tests on Atlanta, aren’t they?

Fevers bring out the conspiracy theorist in me.  Cheers!

He was looking for some snow to steal!

It’s snowing!  In Atlanta!

(I know, a poor excuse for lack of content.  But the promise of more knitting with a possible snow day is pretty tantalizing, no?)