Many apologies for the radio silence these past several months. Time does have a way of sliding by pretty darn quick when you aren't expecting it. By way of explanation, life has been a series of not-so-great events that have zapped much of my creative energy and put me on auto pilot. My mom had an illness and hospital stay. My son had a cancer scare that culminated with a surgery and removal of a large (thankfully benign) tumor.
Then there was the Never-ending Winter, where we routinely had 8 ft. snowdrifts and were digging out until April.
I am incredibly thankful that all my family members are on the mend, and winter is now behind us.
Creative Endeavors 2015
This year in sewing - My daughter went to Anime Boston in March. She wore her Elizabeth cosplay that we made for PAX last year for one of the days. Then she and her friends had decided to do Steampunk versions of the DC Comic characters. She was Harley Quinn. I didn't unfortunately document carefully the fabrication process of the cosplay, as I usually like to do, but here are some pictures of the finished ensemble. (I made the skirt and frock coat, she made the hat & hammer prop. the bodice, gloves and wig were purchased).
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| This is the Elizabeth Cosplay from last year, she is posing with "Booker," Her character's brother in the game. |
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| Steampunk Harley Quinn |
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| The Girls of DC Comics: Poison Ivy, Black Canary & Harley Quinn. |
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| DC Comics' gang |
I have plans to work on another dress for my 'adopted' daughter. Our inspiration dress is one by Romanian design team Chotronette, comprised of Silvia Chiteala & Laura Cazacu. Their dresses are beautiful and whimsical. They have a 50's- (early) 60's vintage feel to them. My plan is to use one of my vintage patterns and make modifications as I go.
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| "Ivy Garden Sorbet" by Chotronette |
Other crafts:
Earlier this year, I stumbled upon a video about lacemaking on youtube. I have wanted to learn how to make lace for a long time. (my ancestry is Dutch, I love the beautiful lace that it made there. In addition to things like hankerchiefs, table covers, pillow edging, etc., there are the bonnets. In the 1700-1800's, traditional Dutch costumes included a bonnet or cap that incorporated lace. Each area of the Netherlands has a different costume. My people come from Alkmaar, (one of the great cheesemaking towns) where the woman's dress is a blue & white striped one, red kerchief, and a simple flared bonnet. Anyway, I bought myself a set of lace-making bobbins, and am slowly amassing the other items needed to give it a whirl.
Reading
So maybe not a creative endeavor, but definitely an individual passion. For the past several months, I have been indulging myself in reading. When I was younger, I almost always had my nose in a book. The library was my second home, so much so that when I turned of age, the librarian offered me a job there! When my kids were little, I always felt guilty about stopping to read. There was always something to do - housework, shopping, kid wrangling, all the mommy and wife and caregiving stuff. Maybe the mommy martyr syndrome had set in....we are really good at denying ourselves things. Although I would catch a book here and there, it wasn't as much as I used to.
I started reading more again awhile ago and it feels like part of my soul has been awakened again after a long slumber. I am partial to historical fiction, sci-fi, fantasy & paranormal stuff. I have discovered several new authors and am literally devouring books. At some poing I might create a 'have read' page on my blog with a summary and what I thought of the book.
Gardening
My son & I came upon the idea of creating a Carl Sagan tribute garden. Not sure how the idea came about exactly, but Peter is a big fan of Carl Sagan, and astronomy in general. The plan is to create a plant bed that includes several species aptly named flowers - 'comet gladiolas', 'stargazer lilies' cosmos, sunflowers, moon flowers etc. Along with several gazing balls that will be placed strategically as the solar system, some ground cover flowers meandering down through the center to resemble the milky way (probably white alysium), and maybe some twinkle lights as the kuiper belt. We are still in the creation phase, and I expect that most of the things we do this year will probably not come to fruition until next spring/summer, but it is a great project and we are having fun planning & doing it.
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| stuff we got for the Carl 'da man' Sagan Tribute Garden. |
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| Birdies! |
That's most of what I've been up to. Probably a few things I have forgot, but I will try to get back in the habit of posting a little more regularly.
Have any great summer plans? I would love to hear about them! Comment below :)
xo Yvonne
