i am sew crazy!

I cannot believe myself. i am definitely crazy. I worry about the little things and then just jump head first into the big things! Let me explain.

I have been wanting to get back into sewing. i used to do quite a lot of it. i started sewing around the age of 9 or so, with my mother's help. I think the first thing i made was a green corduroy pull over dress that I loved to death. Later on, in my early twenties I worked at Fanny's Fabrics and got quite good at pattern interpreting, and sewing in general. I made a few dresses for myself for various fancy dinners, and lots of casual skirts and shirts and stuff. Since I've moved to Ottawa, I haven't done any sewing at all. The only thing I did was my wedding dress. This sounds more impressive than it was - it was a really simple dress made of stretchy cotton with a veil-y thing attached to the back with some embroidery, nothing high end.

So I've been excited about sewing again ever since my sister gave me an old (1949) Singer machine. It's beautiful and sews so smoothly! I actually haven't had a lot of time this winter for much more than a couple of mending jobs, but I've really been drawn to lots of linen materials lately, and want to make lovely table cloths and napkins and things to sell through Manus Made. I was also thinking of making some loungey-yoga pants and such, I have a few pairs that are SOO comfy, and think they would sell well. So, I thought I would start with something simple like a bag or a napkin, and then my sister-in-law asked if I could make a dress for her sorority formal dance (Nu Sigma Pi!) and I before I thought about it, I said yes!

So... she found a beautiful pattern - unfortunately it says TRES DIFFICIL all over it (advanced) and now I'm freaking out a bit as we went and got some gorgeous lavender silk and chiffon for it, costing several hundred dollars! If the damn thing turns out, it will be absolutely spectacular. She says she has complete faith in me, and even if it doesn't turn out, and it ends up being a tube dress, she will still love it. So her faith in me, and her acceptance of my potential sub-standard work, is urging me to have the same confidence in myself!

I think I might chart the progress here, one, so it will keep me motivated, and two, so that if there any people out there with sewing skills, they can email me and let me know what I'm doing wrong!!! :)

51 things

1. i am 35
2. i got married 4 years ago, we met 5 years before that
3. i have had at least 5 surgeries in my life
4. i am a public servant
5. i am also a business woman
6. i like to sleep
7. i am a researcher at heart, and will research all options before choosing what to do. this takes a long time and i am trying to curtail this habit.
8. i am creative
9. i took piano lessons as a child for about 6 years. i stopped them sometime in highschool, and didn't play again until my husband bought me a piano for my thirtieth birthday.
10. i own tap shoes and flamenco shoes. i've only taken a couple of classes
11. i like summer and want to live in a warmer climate
12. i like to travel
13. i am not very social - i spend more time by myself than with anyone else
14. i'm not good at making small talk, and find it hard to get to know someone well
15. i like to make things with paper and fabric, mainly because of the colours and texture
16. i want to live in a natural home, preferably an adobe house or a dome home
17. i love to dance, mostly in my house
18. i love to play with my big hoop, although it's very difficult inside in the winter!
19. i am trying to respect myself enough to stay healthy and fit
20. i love to suntan, even though it's not "good for you" I still think it makes people look healthier
21. i have a dog who is 9 years old
22. i flew off a bike once, going over the handlebars. i landed on my face and knocked a tooth out. i was in so much shock once i got to the hospital that i was laughing after i realized i no longer needed to go and buy a halloween costume anymore!
23. i was bullied in school
24. my grandfather gave me a typewriter when i was 10. i loved it and used to type and type and type, usually just retyping my favourite books. this is how i learned to type. later in highschool the guidance counselor told me i'd make a great secretary
25. i created a library in my bedroom of all my books. i made up an inventory numbering system, and attached labels to all the spines, and set up a book for people to sign when they borrowed a book. i never lent anyone any books, as i liked my library too much and didn't want to have spaces in it. another guidance counselor later told me i'd make a good librarian. i actually wanted to sign up in university for this, but a family member looked at me like i was crazy and i so i felt like it wasn't a "good enough" job.
26. i'm goofy
27. i am taking belly dancing lessons. my shimmy is really good.
28. i do not have a sweet tooth in general, but if you give me a freshly baked apple fritter i will follow you to the ends of the world.
29. i am a half-orphan. my father died 5 years ago
30. i never thought I'd like a vacation where you sat on the beach all day, until i took a vacation where i sat on the beach all day.
31. i am four feet eleven and three quarter inches tall
32. on the other hand, i am often spontaneous and impulsive
33. i own a house. some of the rooms are nearly complete and gorgeous, but most of the rooms remind me of student housing.
34. i love my family, and my family-in-law
35. i am a good baker
36. i am compassionate
37. i am a picky eater
38. i took violin lessons as a child, got good enough to be 2nd violin in the city youth orchestra, and then gave it up when i thought it wasn't cool anymore. twenty years later, i can barely remember the string names.
39. i like to laugh
40. i wanted to take dance lessons as a kid SOOOO badly, but i knew my dad thought it was stupid, so i never asked if I could, cuz i didn't want to hear him say no.
41. i had my first Krispe Kreme experience last April. it was religious, and i am a convert
42. i love being female
43. i used to wear a lot of black clothes, and now my closet is starting to look like a rainbow
44. i like taking pictures
45. my favourite wine is chianti
46. my favourite colour is orange
47. the friends i do have, i love them dearly.
48. if i won 5 million dollars, i would quit work, travel a lot, build a big beautiful house, and apprentice at a fashion design house.
49. i think my husband is beautiful.
50. he thinks I'm beautiful.
51. so do i.

just hooping around

Ever since my hooping and belly dancing routine, I've been wanting to use my hoop again. The problem is that, at 4 and a half feet in diameter, the hoop is rather large and I'm finding it hard to play with it in the house. I go to the basement, but then I can only spin around on the spot, cuz if I move to the left, I'll hit the furnace, if I move to the right too much, I'll hit the dryer, or the clothes that are hanging to dry, and if I move forward I'll hit Arek's drums, and backwards, it's the door. So, this is fine if I just want to stand around and hoop in one spot.

However, I've been reading hooping dot org, a forum for people who like to play with hoops, and I'm inspired to try some of the tricks and dances that other people are doing. Problem is, most of the people live on the US West Coast, where one can hoop outside all year round! Me, I've got two feet of snow out back on the deck, it's often freezing raining or snowing, and it's really hard to hoop while wearing a parka. So, hence my need to find a space in the house. My living room would probably work, it's just I would have to move two big armchairs and a big 3 foot square coffee table each time. A little much for those times I just want to play around spontaneously... I'll figure it out I'm sure. You'll just have to stayed tuned!

I did try some tricks the other night though, in the basement. Even though I nearly broke a few major household items, it was worth the near-breakage, bruises, and humiliation of having the hoop smack me in the face. One lesson learned - new tricks will have to be tried WITHOUT wearing my glasses. I learned two tricks: to grab the hoop while it's spinning around my waist, and to bring it up over my head and spin it round my hands (did I mention our basement ceiling is only 6 feet high... it's a good thing I'm only 5 of those), and then bring it back down to my waist again, while it's spinning the whole time, AND without dropping it. The next thing I learned was to bring the hoop from my waist up to my neck. It's not as painful as it sounds (the spinning around the neck part I mean, the learning part was very hard, as the damn thing slammed into my face a couple of times. I thought I gave myself a fat lip, but the swelling came down in an hour or so). While you're spinning the hoop around your waist, you just kind of crouch down, and get your shoulder under the hoop, and it starts going around your neck. I'd like to try spinning it around my thighs and/or knees, but I'll have to clean out the basement first, I think!