Deadlines and daydreams - Lisa and Robin

One week from tomorrow we're getting together for another fitting and sewing day.  While waiting, we've both been thinking a lot about costume details, doing what we can and prepping everything else.  Also made some last minute trim purchases for things we just discovered we needed.

We just learned the date that we'll be attending the Dickens Faire (SF) and it's sooner than we'd hoped.  Lisa's daughter will be playing flute at the Faire so we're going on the day she performs, and she will need a dress!  We are hoping against hope that it is also the stealth Steampunk day at Dickens.  It was so fun last year.

A quick look at our calendars reminds us that, after next weekend, we won't have many (if any) opportunities for a 'group sew' until the Faire.  That means more fittings in public restrooms after work, and uber-efficiency. 

We pondered the theme for next year's Nova Albion Steampunk event - Vikings Celts and Villains.  We're bemused.  Lisa spent half a day excited about portable Tesla coils, only to discover the potential for lethality.  But, hey, what a way to go!  I can't help wondering how Vikings and mechanicals will meld, and yet, based on my appearance, I think Viking is an obvious choice for me.  But how?

All these time limitations have also dragged our body image issues into the bright light of email.  We are 'women of a certain age'.  If our faces were fabric, we'd line them.  If our bodies were dresses, we'd take them in in more than a few places.  And we both recently found ourselves in the 'fat trap'.  This I define as that mental state that tells you you're fatter than usual and with just a little work you could drop weight and your clothes would fit better.  Certainly true!  However, while you are doing that, time is passing and your dresses, corsets, skirts are not getting made.  And you have a deadline.  But if you go ahead and make it, and then lose weight, it won't fit!  Then again, things are all taking longer than you thought so maybe you should go ahead with what you need to do.  This is particularly tough for Robin because, despite her current concerns, she is still tall and slender.  Just not as slender as she'd like!  (we all know that one)  She knows she can lose the weight with extra workouts but she has a lot of sewing to do.  She is making a new corset and can't fit her waistlines and bodices until it's complete.  If she waits on the corset until she loses weight, Lisa may not be able to help her with fittings (school starting, multiple birthdays, Halloween and acting class costumes, Pumpkin Festival).

Here is our solution - Start the corset and make it tight!  If weight is lost, it can be laced tighter.  Make the muslin for the bodice.  Hem the skirts, because it won't make that much difference in the length.  Then she can go on to make the clothes for her sweetie, and work on the corset, leaving that bodice for last. 

Lisa has a different problem.  Yes she needs to lose weight, and doesn't want to make clothes and have them get too loose.  She's willing, however, to cross that bridge when she gets to it.  On the other hand, she loves the costumes she's making, but not on her.  So while she loves to make them, she dreads actually wearing them.  Pathological dread. 

But enough of the cranky body image issues.  This is not news for any woman, and my daughter sent me a picture of what she wants her dress to look like:

So cute (and thanks to redthreaded on Etsy who made and sold this).  I'm going to attempt this without a pattern, using bits of patterns I already have.  Picture of the fabric as soon as we pick it out.

In summary, we are now making Victorian dresses for ourselves; Renaissance dresses for ourselves; Robin making Victorian and Renaissance outfits for her man; Lisa making a Victorian dress for her daughter, and a Steampunk jacket.  Only our Victorian dresses are more than twinkles in our eyes and some fabric in a closet. Twinkles, NOT Twinkies.  Really.  Neither of us has Twinkies in our closets. We have a lot of fun work ahead, and vow to make an extra effort to share some of the snarky quips that are usually limit to email exchanges between Princess Perfection and Crusty the Crank. 

I don't have much to add to Lisa's summary except that both of us have been harangued and whipsawed by the Financial Markets so much that neither of us can turn our heads well, furthering the sewing slowdown (and the lack of progress on the fat meltdown for me).today I wrote:  IRockin' my look today

which consists of one of those heat-in-the-microwave neck-and-shoulder covering bird-see-filled thingies for my stiff neck, covered with the very voluminous snack-skin print scarf/table runner.  God, I'm hot in so many ways! Lisa, of course, mocked my spelling errors and wants to know what a snack-skin is. Twinkies! 

I'll be cutting out the corset  and Pagoda Top muslins tomorrow, later than I'd planned and need to have both together for our sewing meeting.  I need to get some sort of handwork project going because I find myself with hours to kill just waiting for something (car repairs, doctors office, etc.) while I really want to be home sewing. And my dog hates me because he's getting less playtime now. Matter of fact, my boyfriend feels the same way. However, I'm making great progress procuring supplies (something I do really well) and now have ordered everything I need to finish the Victorian costumes for both myself and beau, including bonnet supplies. "Princess Perfection" even has all her fabrics preshrunk, ironed and on hangers in the closet with yardage tags on every piece and all the notions grouped according to project. I do this because I'm the type of person who can lose something in my own house for days on end. Onward to greater sewing heights! - Robin