Dad, Writing, Sewing, Trust, and Singers

They discovered my father did have a heart attack that was caused by a blood clot, but very little damage was done. He came home the Tuesday after he was admitted to the hospital and he’s doing fine – back to running errands, cutting the grass, exercising…The doctor told him to take two weeks off his job.

I have little else to say that would likely be of much interest to much of anyone. I’ve wanted to get back to writing stories but while I had ideas and inspiration, I had little motivation. But I recalled a story I started last year and never finished and decided to go back to that. I don’t remember enough of the details so I’m skimming what I wrote before I start writing again, but I think I’m over my writing block now.

I sewed a lot last month and some this one – a dress, two bodices, two shirts/chemises, two hats, two pouches. I’m working on a skirt and another bodice now. I should update my costume blog. I have quite a bit to add, but I need to take some pictures of separate items first (I have pictures of me wearing many of them combined, at the Renaissance festival, but I think I want them separate for my blog so I can do separate entries).

I’ve been thinking about trust lately and wondering how to learn to trust people in general and more specifically after bad experiences, and wondering how much I should allow myself to trust them, how much I should open up to them, etc. It’s difficult, because I’ve discovered that good communication is very important and that when you close everyone out, you become hardened, distant, and lonely. But figuring out how much and how to trust people when they could hurt you isn’t easy. My expectations of people have been significantly lowered and I don’t know if it’s unhealthy or not.

I’m not sure I actually meant to write about that. Oh well.

I am so glad Kris Allen won American Idol and not Adam Lambert (any comments defending Lambert will be deleted; you’re entitled to your music tastes and I to mine – post them on your own blog) due to both ethics and talent. I like Kris’s singing much better. Adam has a nice voice when he doesn’t sing so high, but he usually sounds creepy and/or like he’s screeching, and he creeps me out for other reasons.

Have an amazing rest of your life.
- WM

[Insert Title Here]

We (Mom, Laura, a friend and I, and possibly some other people) might go to the Renaissance festival next Sunday. If not, on their homeschool day. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been wearing my sword around the house to get used to it, so I hopefully won’t wack anyone with the end. I tried on several belts to see which is most comfortable with it and decided…to use the strap for my old camera case. The historically accurate people would have a heart attack and then excommunicate me, but it’s the only thing I have that’s long enough to wrap around my waist twice, so I prefer it to my cool-looking leather belts and a bruised hip.

We went shopping on Tuesday, and I got a new sewing pattern – Simplicity 6270. I’m going to alter (well, am planning on altering it) like this girl did with a similar pattern to make a sort of overdress/tunic thing. I also found a few shirts, and commented to my younger sister, “Aren’t you proud of me? I actually got something sort of fashionable.” She said something along the lines of, “At least they aren’t big t-shirts with writing-related things on the front.” Good-naturedly; she wasn’t being mean. But I /like/ my Clean Place shirts!

I was going to do Script Frenzy, but I didn’t remember it until close to the end of March, when I was rushing to finish my AAP story. Hence I had little time to prepare, and discovered I needed quite a bit more than that, since I’ve never written a script before. So I might check out a couple of books on screenwriting that someone recommended to me, and then try.

In the meantime, I have plenty of sewing I want to get done before the Ren. faire. I’m making a bodice out of brown microsuede, and if I finish that in time, I might make a chemise and/or hood.

Have an amazing rest of your life!
- WM

Writing, Reading, and Sewing

I’m really sleepy, so this entry might not be as coherent as usual. Last night, I finished the story I was writing for Clean Place’s current “Extra Credit Project”, Adopt-a-Plot. I’m not entirely pleased with the ending, but I like the story overall.

I went to JoAnn on Tuesday and Wal-Mart yesterday and got more fabric at both places. I had a 50% off coupon for JoAnn, so of course I had to use it! I bought 6 yards of dark brown cotton to make a dress. I’ve washed and ironed the fabric, cut the pieces out, and pinned some of them together. I’m not sure how it will turn out, since instead of doing princess seams, I laid some of the pattern pieces next to each other and cut a couple of things out as one piece instead of two. At Wal-Mart, I got some dark blue fabric for a skirt, green with a scroll pattern for a shirt, and some red stuff that reminds me of suede for a tunic. I was just going to get the blue, but the other fabric begged me to take it home.

The weather has been so rainy lately. I like some rain and storms, but I also like to see the sun. I am happy that everything is turning green. I think spring is my favorite season, aside from the humidity. Yesterday, with the sun breaking through the clouds, the light pink petals floating down from the trees, and the green buds everywhere, I was reminded of Narnia.

I’m still reading The Watchers, though not verra frequently. It’s rather odd.

Here’s a picture (it’s my picture of the day. See my Project 365 blog [the link is in the sidebar] for pictures from other days).

Well, that was pretty coherent, I think. Have an amazing rest of your life.
- WM

Nostalgia, Cloth, & Books

I was reading the blog of a Clean Place member, “Anywhere”, who’s staying with some other Clean Place members who live in Texas. Her descriptions remind me of the Moot (the annual gathering of Clean Place members, held in Colorado, to hang out, write, get to know each other, etc.). I’m feeling rather nostalgic now. I miss hanging out with CPeeps. They’re such fun, kind people. I wish I could go to the Moot again this year, but it’s too expensive. I’d need about $800.

Here’s a quote from Anywhere’s blog that I really like and certainly applies to the Moot (a term taken from Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” books, where it means “a gathering of Ents”): “Measuring things in goodbyes is not a good habit.”

I washed some fabric yesterday to make a new skirt. I think I overdid it. It’s a bit rough now. Oh well. It’ll still work. I need to exercise some discipline and not buy any more fabric for a while after I use my 50% off coupon for JoAnn’s.

I have some dark blue cotton fabric that I’m trying to decide what to use it for. I originally bought it for an Eowyn-inspired dress (inspired by her blue funeral gown, more specifically). I’m not sure if I’ll use it for that, or for a cloak, or for something else. The fabric I buy rarely ends up being made into the item of its original purpose.

I may have mentioned that I started reading “Patrick” by Stephen Lawhead. Now I’m putting it off to read “The Watchers” by Mark Andrew Olsen, because Patrick is not a very engaging read so far. It’s written in first person, and I’ve never much liked reading books in first person.

I think I might change my blog layout/look soon.

Edit: Changed it.

Have an amazing rest of your life.
- WM

Catchup

I had a rather busy weekend. A friend turned 18 on Saturday, and I went to her birthday party Friday night and spent the night at her house with some other girls. I wanted to make her a dress she can wear to the Renaissance faire if she ends up going with us, because going in garb is much more fun than going in “mundanes”. I procrastinated and ended up cutting the fabric out Wednesday and sewing it together Thursday and Friday. I had to put the eyelets in while in the car and while I was there, but I got it finished. I’ll probably post pictures on my costume blog (see links in the sidebar) before long. For now, there are some on Facebook.

We went to the creek near her house on Saturday and spent a while playing fetch with Kiwi and enjoying the scenery.

And then on Sunday, it snowed! That’s a rare occurrence in Georgia. The snow didn’t stick much, which is a shame, because we would have had quite a bit on the ground if it did. But it looked pretty, regardless.

There’s a picture of a cardinal in the snow on my Project 365 blog.

Hobby Lobby finally put McCall’s patterns on sale for 99 cents each again, so I went with Mom and Laura yesterday when Mom took Laura to art class. Mother and I went the library while she was in class. I checked out three books. The first is called Wings of Morning and is by Kathleen Morgan. I went over to the computer and typed “Scotland” in the subject box. There were hundreds of results and no descriptions of the content, so I gave up on that. I went over to the bookshelves. The first book I pulled off was Wings of Morning, and happens to be set in Scotland! It does look like it’s primarily a romance, but it mentions God on the back and is set in Scotland, so it will hopefully be interesting. I like some [clean] romance in books, but not when it’s the primary focus. It’s like a casserole – it would be disgusting if salt were the main ingredient, but the right amount of salt makes it taste better.

The second book is called The Watchers and is by Mark Andrew Olsen. I’ve seen it somewhere before, I think in a Christian Book Distributors catalog. From what I read on the back cover, it appears to be about spiritual warfare (but is fiction). The other book is Patrick by Stephen Lawhead. It appears to be a (most likely highly fictionalized) telling of St. Patrick. I /think/ Stephen Lawhead is a Christian author. I also found a couple of movies that look interesting – The Pickwick Papers, based on a Charles Dickens novel, and Kidnapped.

We picked Laura up after her class and went to Petsmart to get gerbil bedding. Then on to Hobby Lobby, where I bought around eight patterns, some cord, and some jewelry-making supplies. Then to Sam’s Club. I sat in the car reading the book I borrowed from a friend, Blessed Child by Ted Dekker (which is very good so far). Laura came out and informed me that the animated Disney version of Robin Hood (where’s a fox) was down to $14 from $20. The movie is my favorite of the old Disney ones and I’d wanted to get it for a while. I was out of money, but Mom ended up buying it for me I’m looking forward to watching it.

We had some time to kill before heading to a Mary Kay party for a friend of ours that started selling their products, so we ate dinner out and headed to Borders. If I had any money when I went in there, I probably wouldn’t have when I left. I mean, who doesn’t need an English-to-Irish dictionary? There are other books there I’m interested in, too, but Borders is one of the more expensive bookstores (though have good prices on some things), so I’ll probably look for them elsewhere.

I had a good time at the Mary Kay party – mostly standing to the side thinking about books while people tested beauty products. I also talked with friends, which I really enjoyed, because I don’t get to hang out with them very often these days.

Have an amazing rest of your life!
- WM

Notes and Notions

There’s a note going around Facebook where you make something for the first five people that respond. Fun! I might post it more than once, after I make things for the first five.

Dritz sewing notions are 50% at Hobby Lobby this week, so I went today and got some eyelets and needles. The power cord to my sewing machine came yesterday, so I tried it out. The top thread breaks when I sew too fast. It might just be when I’m doing a fancy stitch, though. The bobbin thread got pretty jammed up, but I set the tension on “Auto”, and whatdaya know, it stopped jamming. The stitches look nice. I had fun trying out the decorative ones, especially the penguin. Who thought to include a penguin stitch? There’s also a duck and what looks like an alligator. I’m not sure I’ll find a reason to use those. The machine is quieter than my other one and seems to sew quite nicely. I was afraid at first that the screen didn’t work, but I just needed to adjust the brightness. It’s a lot heavier than my other machine, too. Which doesn’t mean anything to me, just thought I’d comment…*stops rambling*

Now that I’ve finished reading How Sleep the Brave, I’m back to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. I’m enjoying the humor, and the rest of it.

I thought of something to write about, didn’t hold onto the thought, and lost it when I was rereading my last two sentences.

Oh! My new story. The current “Extra Credit” project on Clean Place is Adopt-a-Plot 2 (because we’ve done it once before). Everyone that wants to participate submits two plot ideas and chooses one submitted by another person to base their story on. The one I picked is, “[Write] A story about a bounty hunter. But he/she’s not just any bounty hunter.” We have to write the story in 6,000 words or less. This might sound like a lot if you don’t have anything to compare it to. It’s not. For example, 50,000 words is on the short side for the average novel. I’m trying to fit as much character development in as possible while still moving the plot along to a satisfactory conclusion, and it’s rather difficult, but I’m enjoying the project overall. I’m posting it on Facebook as I write and get feedback for them, if you want to read it.

I need to go to sleep. Goodnight.

Have an amazing rest of your life!
- WM

The Sewing Machine Saga

I got a new sewing machine yesterday. Here’s the story behind it.

But first, in case you don’t want to read the novel I wrote on how I got my sewing machine, I’m going to write about something else first.

I hope you had a great Singles Awareness Day. Congratulate a single friend and comfort one who dates.

…Just playin’. ;p My parents bought my sisters and I chocolate and jewelry (I got a pretty leaf-shaped necklace, and some earrings came with it), and Dad bought Mom chocolate and a cute, stuffed dog with a couple of hearts on it.

Okay, now…

I have a simple Brother machine (this one). I knew I wanted to upgrade at some point. I heard that Bernina sewing machines are some of the best there are, and that Bernina Bernettes are a less expensive version. I found one on the Hancock Fabrics website, here, for $350, so I decided I’d save up for it. I don’t remember what inspired me to research it, but a couple of days ago, I looked it up.

I discovered “it isn’t a Bernina. Well it is and it isn’t the Bernina name is used as the lowest end machine, However it isn’t a True Bernina. The Cheapest machine Bernina makes is 600+ this one is the lowest end, just like some of the Janome’s that Hancock sells they also are not true janome’s. The are made in China usually and are of very poor quality. You will not find a Bernina dealer with this machine since the Bernina company doesn’t make it,” to quote the source. I found this information several places. I started researching other brands so I could find another and know what to save up for.

I decided that I wanted a Kenmore. Kenmores and Janomes are the same and I heard they’re one of the better brands (aside from the really expensive ones – Bernina, Viking, Pfaff). I researched various models and was considering either the 19110 or the 19233. I found them on Sears.com for $299 and $380 (on sale, down from $450), respectively. I wasn’t sure if the extra stitches and functions on the 19233 were worth the extra $80. After a little more browsing, I came across it on another site, Ken’s Sewing Center, for $300, the same price as the model below it. It had been factory-serviced (meaning someone returned it from reason and the place they returned it to couldn’t sell it as new because the box had been opened, but it was still in perfect condition). I asked the people on patternreview.com if Ken’s was a reputable dealer, and they are, and someone said it looked like a fantastic deal.

But someone else pointed me to a topic on the Kenmore 19606. This is originally a $700 machine. It’s being discontinued and Sears was selling it for $225. But there are very few left for sale in the country. Someone said they had called all of the Sears in the Atlanta area and was told they didn’t have any. You could have one ordered from out-of-state Sears, but you have to have a Sears card. I asked if that was the only way you could get one if there weren’t any at nearby Sears stores, just to make sure.

Someone said that a certain Sears in the Atlanta area still had their floor model. They had thrown out the box and accessories, so the manager said they could take another 20% off to help whoever bought it afford the accessories. I called to ask if they still had it and they did, so the next day (Saturday), Mom drove me there and we picked it up – a $700 machine for $180 + tax. I was (and am) very happy.

Of course, I have to buy the power cord ($8) and the foot control ($59! I don’t /have/ to buy it, because the machine has a start/stop button, but I think I’m going to anyway). They’re available at the Sears parts store. I think I’m also going to buy a few presser feet from them, so it’ll be close to $100 more, but that’s still /a lot/ better than $700 total. I downloaded the manual for free from managemyhome.com and saved it to a disk.

I think it must have been God who directed my steps to finding that machine, because of the timing and the fact that I really didn’t have a reason to research the Bernette I had my eye on at the time, due to the fact I wouldn’t be able to afford it for a long while (for the Kenmore, I borrowed money from my savings account, since it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I don’t like doing that. At least I have a regular babysitting job).

Props to you if you actually read all that. Here’s a picture for your patience (or impatience if you just scrolled down). I like the lavender color on it.

Have an amazing rest of your life!
- WM

I’ll try to be good about blogging again.

Laura is moving into Matthew’s old room. We bought curtains, sheets, and a bedspread yesterday, and paint today. We’ll probably get it all painted today, and she’ll probably move in in the next couple of days when the paint smell fades. She’s painting it a light silverish tealish color. She and I have never had our own rooms, so I’m looking forward to it, although I will miss chatting late at night.

When we went to Wal-Mart yesterday, I found a pair of plier things made for inserting eyelets and snaps. I’m happy I spent hours outside on the concrete patio pounding eyelets into the bodice and skirt that I made Laura for Christmas because the table doesn’t work very well. This will hopefully make inserting eyelets a lot easier. I haven’t tried it out yet, but since I have some eyelets to insert in a dress pretty soon, it won’t be unused for long.

I’ve almost finished reading Black by Ted Dekker for the second time. Then I want to read Red and White again, and then Chaos, Infidel, Chosen, and Renegade by the same author. I got the latter four for my birthday, but I haven’t read them yet because they have a lot to do with The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, and White) and it’s been a year since I read that. I also put a book on hold at the library this morning (online) – How Sleep the Brave by J. H. Hunter. Someone recommended it to me. It sounds very interesting. Not that I should be adding more books to read. *Whistles innocently*

Have an amazing rest of your life!
- WM

Sewing, School, and Sean Johnson

Hancock Fabrics has Butterick sewing patterns on sale for 99 cents through the 17 of August, so Mom took me there today since she needed to go out and do grocery shopping. I bought three patterns - a shirt that looks similar to the one Prince Caspian wears throughout most of the movie, a Robin Hood spin-off that I got for the trousers, and a cloak (the one Legossi makes her lined cloaks from) – along with some boning and bias tape. I discovered it’s cheaper to buy boning online (after I looked at the receipt. Mother payed for said items).

We went to Zaxby’s for lunch, and then on to Wal-Mart. I found some multi-purpose shorts that go down to my knees, some earrings to replace the ones I lost, and some sewing pins to add to my blunt, almost-ancient collection.

My sisters and I have been staying up late to watch Olympic gymnastics. We watched Americans Nastia Liukin and Sean Johnson win the gold and silver medals, respectively, for the women’s all around last night. The American women’s team placed second in the team all-around, and the American men’s team recieved bronze medals for the men’s version the night before last and the one before that (but not respectively; switch it around).

Yesterday, Mom made a list of the schoolwork I need to get done this year to graduate. I have to finish French I, geometry, history, and vocabulary from 11 grade (I slacked off while taking a chemistry class taught by another homeschooling mom who gave us, in my humble opinion, way too much homework). And for 12 grade, I have algebra II, astronomy, French II, history, vocabulary, and literature. I think that’s all.

“That’s all” is actually more than I would prefer, but that’s okay. It does mean I’ll probably end up putting aside the reading of fiction almost completely, so I’m not sure when I’ll finish A Tale of Two Cities. I read a little in the car today.

Speaking of things I need to do, house-cleaning is one of them.

Have an amazing rest of your life!

- WM

Brigandines and Squirrels

A one-eyed squirrel has been visiting our birdfeeder. Rumor has it, he lost the eye to a Telmarine king and hasn’t spoken since. But that’s unlikely.

The Telmarine probably wasn’t a king.

I shall attempt to get a picture in the future, if I remember.

I need to start setting an alarm or something, because I sleeping late because it takes me forever to fall asleep because I keep sleeping late because I stayed up late. Last night, I thought very thoroughly about costumes I want to make and somewhat about short stories I want to write while I was trying to fall asleep.

Today, I worked on a dress I’m making, did some house-cleaning, spent quite a bit of time studying Prince Caspian’s brigandine and researching scale lamellar and fun foam online, and researched various other costumes. (My laptop is being so slow at the moment, I think it deserves an award of some kind.) I’m seriously considering trying to construct a brigandine, but it will probably wait until after the other costumes I want to make (Ithilien ranger, Susan’s farewell overdress) which will wait until after the costumes I’ve comitted to making (two basic Renaissance lady outfits).

Oops. I just wrote about sewing outside of my costume blog. :ninja: There’s a link to it on my sidebar.

I have yet to finish A Tale of Two Cities. I should go back to reading more. I also started Bringer of Storms, and I’m reading From Sea to Shining Sea for history (which comes before pleasure reading, so I don’t know when I’ll finish the other two).

Have an amazing rest of your life!

- WM