Beauty Is Pain

Deep inside me, beyond the writer, beyond the singer, in the deepest depths is a designer. Someone who wants lush fabric and gorgeous clothes. Some I design and some I make fro patterns. Not jeans. I will always buy those and T’s. Beyond that. Jackets, dresses, coats, something plain, or stuning, or full of art. It’s in there, dying to come out since the days of my youth when my Barbies had fashion shows created with leftover linings and string.

I’m learning. I can sew, but my finishing work sucks. I want more than that. I want to finish and play and make fabric by taking something boring and embroidering on it. Buying nice fabrc once a year and creating a classic. I’m no Project Runway candidate, but I love this and I am capable of it. We’re following a ourney and seeing where it takes me. Maybe nowhere. That’s fine to.

I’m not great. I’m not even that good,  but I like to try new things, historical and modern and I’m having a lot of fun with it, so I’m dragging you along. If you want to read about it.

Right now, I’m making presents for Christmas and will photo them and put them up after they’ve been gifted. So hang onto your hats!

This weekend is the fourth of July parade in Fenton and I’m in it and my article was accepted for Renaissance Magazine! They can’t get it in till the November issue, but it comes out in mid-September, so all is not lost. I’m thrilled they took it. I don’t write a lot of articles. I write sexy, touching, or funny. They wanted straight forward. How do you do that?

My Italian is coming along. I’ll be doing something and the sentance that describes it will pop into my head. I don’t translate and I can’t speak it on the fly, but I love Rosetta Stone because it teaches you to think in Italian. My sister says she knows she has a language when she dreams in it. I’m looking forward to that.

I have a ton of stuff to post and not one post up. I will fix that tomorrow. I wrote an article for Renaissance Magazine and as soon as it’s polished, it’s off. I’m terrified of rejection of personal articles, so I get squidgy about them.

I have been buried all week and no photo updates. I will have all my garb, minus a pair of sleeves (Rats) with me tomorrow. Oh, and a hat I am playing with. I need Debra’s say so before I play with that too much.

I am also making brownies for tomorrow and it’s a delicious, but not so easy recipe. No nuts. I’m the only nut that goes with the brownies. I will post pictures later today, *IF* I can get some garb done for my friend who is attending Derbyshire with me on Sunday and make the brownies. OF course I could always just go out and buy a cake… naw, I want brownies.

I can now report that I can make a camicia in record time. Although, I am learning a new closure today, from my friend, BY PHONE, so this should be an interesting day.

Garb-land is a silly place and I now think I hate it. I tired on my blue dress Saturday night to wear on Sunday. It was two sizes too big. I remade the thing overnight. I’m getting all the stuff to make two more bodices and that way I can have them ready to attach the skirts to, should this happen again.

I don’t need my corset. The zip ties Aaron suggested work so well, and give such nice lines, that I bagged the corset.

Handing out flyers is a cinch.

I won’t have my cranberry sleeves done by Saturday, but I will have everything else and that should make evreyone satisfied. I made them too small at the wrist and the fabric is on sale, so no big deal to re-make them. Just time and I have that.

The singing is going well. I have my voice back to a place where I can sing for three hours without tiring it. I don’t know how that is going to work when I add the faire talk into the mix, but I’m happy with it. The accent is working, if a little heavy, but I want people to ask me what I am saying. I want interaction and laughter.

So, it’s coming along.

Four hems, a billion buttons (that’s the cranberry dress, I have a little time on that), three buttonholes (between two dresses), lining my basket and hiding a place in it to keep a power bar and my id, finishing the hats, and Gene-Gene’s little Garb. He is a little guy, he has little garb.

He is dressing as a musketeer, I know not period, but Grandma is going to use her professional embroidery machine and put a dragon on the front and the two sleeve covers and, “Dragon Slayer for Hire” on the back in an old English Font. The adorableness will be too much for most and they will succumb, oh yes they will. How can you not take a brochure from a bowing child who is offering to slay your dragons? You can’t. All of Bellville is getting a brochure and will come to the faire. Poor Bellville.

I have dresses. Okay, I need hems, and to finish some tedious work on the sleeves, but I have two dresses and they make me feel like a thin princess. Okay, I’ll never be thin, but this sure beats 320lbs. I’ll take it. I’m finishing sleeves and hemming today, I’m also working on my son’s garb. He’s going with me to hand out flyer’s on Sunday at a local festival. His is easy. Grandma embroidering the dragons on the front and two sleeves will be the hard part of that. I can make plain black pants with my eyes closed.

My hats are turning into a pain in the ass. Still, if I can get the billions of silver fluer de lis buttons sewn on the panes of my sleeves today, I should be doing well and not naked on Sunday.

I’ve hardly sung this week. I have a sore throat. I think it’s my allergies, so I’m going to take a benadryl and work through it today.

Kids are out of school at noon. It’s D-day and I almost made it. I can breathe again.

The cranberry bodice has some headaches attached to it, but it’s only in need of trim (approved, none metallic trim) and buttonholes to be completed. I think and I mean, THINK, I can get it done today. The skirt will take longer because of the approved trim, but I’m getting there. I have the kids at school for four more days and I lose all time after that. The sleeves are going to be a pain on the cranberry dress, they are paned (ha-ha) and will take a bit longer, but that’s not something I’m worried about.

I’m sure Debra will get back with me today about keeping the front of my dresses open, kirtle style with a plain underskirt. I’m going to need to be able to take these dresses in. As of yesterday, I’d lost over 21 pounds since March. Nice that my summer clothes fit again.

I feel so free right now when I think about sitting out in the grueling sun and doing this. I just love it. I love rehearsal, the wonderful people who all have amazing stories, the whole thing. Does that mean that as a first year I’m in like Flynn? Um, not from a cast who words seamlessly. I have to work for my spot, but rehearsal and making the day wonderful and helping people forget they are in Michigan in what I can only call a recession, is a good thing. My ultimate chance to be a hostess with the mostest with an Italian accent, a song and flowers. I know I sound like a dork, but I can’t help it. I’m smiling more.

I love my children. They are my whole world, but I need something for me and this is it. That time travel book is shaping up too. How can I make the alpha male travel in time too and not be a vampire? I am trying to find a vampire attractive, a lot of people do, but maybe not me. Maybe he could be sent back in time by the government?

I wonder how the larger cast is going to accept the new folk. Probably be on time, be in your place, don’t complain and stay out of someones bit and it will be fine.

I do have to think about accommodation. More on that later.

I still have five bazillion things to fill out on my sheet for the evil director. I just walk up and talk to people. I’m never at a loss for words and pre-done bits… I know it will probably help, but I want it to feel very spontaneous. Of course having an arsenal available to you is a good thing too. I’m not a total dork.