Just checking in...
Dec. 6th, 2014 11:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bethzyllaI'm still here! I just haven't done much that worthy of picture posts or even chatting about, really. This time of year is always tough for me in terms of being motivated to sew. Holiday prep, fall yardwork, and the urge to just cuddle up with my animals when the temps cool off wreak havoc with all my good intentions!
Sewing: I made a quickie cap, 18th century chemise, and faux quilted petticoat for the Georgian Picnic. My chemise did its job, but it was sewed at the 11th hour and has some issues. What is it with the 'simple' stuff actually being such a hassle? I'll have to do some extensive fixing of sleeve and underarm seams before I wear it next. Or maybe start over, I haven't decided yet. I need to adjust some of the pleating on the petticoat now that I've seen photos but that's an easy fix. The cap came out cute so I'll try to get some photos and make a post soon.
Sewing Plans: I have grand plans to make a new bustle dress this week. It's for the guild's Candlelight event on Saturday. Since it's a Christmas-y event, I'm going a little more literal than I normally would and using a jacquard cotton that has tiny pine trees woven into its pattern. I need to get some solid cotton as an accent for the dress (as well as to help break up the pattern a little) but in my head it looks so cute! I'll probably cobble together a new hat too.
My friend Chris is interested in coming to the guild meetup at the Kimball art museum for the Impressionist art exhibit. Bustle dresses are encouraged (yay!) Chris currently has absolutely nothing to wear for it, so I'll hopefully be making her an outfit from the skin out plus some accessories.
Holiday Stuff: I flew up to Indianapolis to visit my mom for Thanksgiving. When I got there, she was recovering from a very nasty stomach flu. On Thanksgiving morning, I woke up with a stomach bug of my own. Talk about the worst timing ever!!! So I missed out on the two holiday feasts I'd been planning to attend. :( I finally felt like myself again for the last couple days of my visit so flying back home was no problem. Just super disappointing.
Next week is Ben's company Christmas dinner. It's usually a small affair at a nicer restaurant, which is great since there are usually 10 people or less attending and we're all friends. I don't know what restaurant they've chosen this year, but I'm looking forward to it!
I'm also attending a Holiday Cookie Swap that my friend Chris is throwing. Everyone brings 3 dozen cookies, which are sampled and swapped at the party. Then everyone goes home with at least 2 dozen cookies made by other attendees. I've never been to a party like that before, but it sounds like fun!
Ben and I are planning to stay in town for Christmas this year. We typically choose to go home for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but not both. I really need to take down my fall decor and put up my Christmas decor. Actually, my Halloween decor is still sitting on the guest bed waiting to be packed up for next year. Heh, whoops!
Looking Forward: I'm going job hunting soon. I've really loved my time as a homemaker, but with Ben's work being slow this past year it just isn't a sustainable situation anymore. I'm hoping to find something I like that isn't retail and doesn't involve too many evening or weekend hours. I know that's sort of a tall order in this day and age, but I'm still hoping for it!
Ben has been thinking about going to college or a trade/vocational school. He's interested in a mechanical engineering degree if he decides on college, or a large engine diesel mechanic certification (think train engines or mining/construction equipment) if he decides on trade school. Neither option is possible at the moment since he's our breadwinner, which is another reason I'm going job hunting.
I still really want to throw a costumed dinner party in my backyard. I've been planning this for over a year now (not to mention collecting all the dinnerware, glassware, seating, etc.) I hit a snarl this spring when my neighbor's granddaughter came to live with him and brought her ill-behaved pit bull mix. That dog never stopped barking at me when I was outside, which set off the other dog that lives there as well as most of the other dogs in the neighborhood. I mentioned it several times to my neighbor but it never changed anything. I figured if I was uncomfortable outside, then certainly my dinner guests would be too! Well, the granddaughter has moved to Colorado and took the dog with her, which now leaves just one slightly-better behaved dog there. I think the dog could stay in his crate for the evening if I asked my neighbor nicely. So finally, I can start the planning in earnest!
Sewing: I made a quickie cap, 18th century chemise, and faux quilted petticoat for the Georgian Picnic. My chemise did its job, but it was sewed at the 11th hour and has some issues. What is it with the 'simple' stuff actually being such a hassle? I'll have to do some extensive fixing of sleeve and underarm seams before I wear it next. Or maybe start over, I haven't decided yet. I need to adjust some of the pleating on the petticoat now that I've seen photos but that's an easy fix. The cap came out cute so I'll try to get some photos and make a post soon.
Sewing Plans: I have grand plans to make a new bustle dress this week. It's for the guild's Candlelight event on Saturday. Since it's a Christmas-y event, I'm going a little more literal than I normally would and using a jacquard cotton that has tiny pine trees woven into its pattern. I need to get some solid cotton as an accent for the dress (as well as to help break up the pattern a little) but in my head it looks so cute! I'll probably cobble together a new hat too.
My friend Chris is interested in coming to the guild meetup at the Kimball art museum for the Impressionist art exhibit. Bustle dresses are encouraged (yay!) Chris currently has absolutely nothing to wear for it, so I'll hopefully be making her an outfit from the skin out plus some accessories.
Holiday Stuff: I flew up to Indianapolis to visit my mom for Thanksgiving. When I got there, she was recovering from a very nasty stomach flu. On Thanksgiving morning, I woke up with a stomach bug of my own. Talk about the worst timing ever!!! So I missed out on the two holiday feasts I'd been planning to attend. :( I finally felt like myself again for the last couple days of my visit so flying back home was no problem. Just super disappointing.
Next week is Ben's company Christmas dinner. It's usually a small affair at a nicer restaurant, which is great since there are usually 10 people or less attending and we're all friends. I don't know what restaurant they've chosen this year, but I'm looking forward to it!
I'm also attending a Holiday Cookie Swap that my friend Chris is throwing. Everyone brings 3 dozen cookies, which are sampled and swapped at the party. Then everyone goes home with at least 2 dozen cookies made by other attendees. I've never been to a party like that before, but it sounds like fun!
Ben and I are planning to stay in town for Christmas this year. We typically choose to go home for either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but not both. I really need to take down my fall decor and put up my Christmas decor. Actually, my Halloween decor is still sitting on the guest bed waiting to be packed up for next year. Heh, whoops!
Looking Forward: I'm going job hunting soon. I've really loved my time as a homemaker, but with Ben's work being slow this past year it just isn't a sustainable situation anymore. I'm hoping to find something I like that isn't retail and doesn't involve too many evening or weekend hours. I know that's sort of a tall order in this day and age, but I'm still hoping for it!
Ben has been thinking about going to college or a trade/vocational school. He's interested in a mechanical engineering degree if he decides on college, or a large engine diesel mechanic certification (think train engines or mining/construction equipment) if he decides on trade school. Neither option is possible at the moment since he's our breadwinner, which is another reason I'm going job hunting.
I still really want to throw a costumed dinner party in my backyard. I've been planning this for over a year now (not to mention collecting all the dinnerware, glassware, seating, etc.) I hit a snarl this spring when my neighbor's granddaughter came to live with him and brought her ill-behaved pit bull mix. That dog never stopped barking at me when I was outside, which set off the other dog that lives there as well as most of the other dogs in the neighborhood. I mentioned it several times to my neighbor but it never changed anything. I figured if I was uncomfortable outside, then certainly my dinner guests would be too! Well, the granddaughter has moved to Colorado and took the dog with her, which now leaves just one slightly-better behaved dog there. I think the dog could stay in his crate for the evening if I asked my neighbor nicely. So finally, I can start the planning in earnest!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-12-06 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-06 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-06 07:06 pm (UTC)I'd love to come to a dinner party sometime - that sounds like so much fun!
Good luck with the job search. Have you checked the local schools/colleges to see if they are hiring any office workers? I had a job as a library aide one year and it was one of the nicest jobs ever.
no subject
Date: 2014-12-07 04:44 pm (UTC)We will be so festive at Candlelight! I don't think I've seen your 1860's dress (or if I have, I've forgotten what it looks like.) My fabric is red, white(ish) and green too! :)
no subject
Date: 2014-12-06 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-12-07 04:45 pm (UTC)