Hand stitching and MORE hand stitching

After getting a decent amount of sewing done for my little Akuma top, I got a job interview that asked for sample work. So I got back to my dress projects, and started doing a hand-sewn invisible hem stitch on the bottom.

It’s a gathered dress-I’ve got like 7 or 10 inches left. It’s taken (so far) many One Piece Episodes, quite a few Voyager episodes, and whatever other people were watching at the time.  This hand stitching is taking about half as long as it took to sew the entire dress, which either means I’m out of practice, or my needle isn’t the sharpest.

Considering it started going faster after my first 6 inches or so, I’m guessing I was just out of practice for it. I’ll try and finish that up today. Once all 3 dresses are finished (the other 2 will be hand-hemmed as well) I’ll be getting photos. It seems like I’m promising a lot of photos, better get more on the book of faces for you all.

Regarding the job? The interview went well, but I went with a different offer. Hoping to start sometime this week.

A Tiny Little Akuma

I decided to take a break from my current dress projects (a group of 3 girls with matching dresses…) and get back to patterning. I’d like to get some Street Fighter costumes done this year, and I’ve done a lot of research to try and get the patterns right before I commit to getting fabric.

But, I have not had any luck finding a base I like for Ryu and Ken. I have a Taekwon-Do Dobok-but I can’t use that for etiquette/respect reasons. To problem-solve, I measured my little one (with the help of my husband-kids can be so squirmy), and made a pattern based on what I thought would work.

I decided to use what fabric I had on hand, of which the most I had was a dark blue linen. So-son of mine is going to get an Akuma costume. Because that’s what the fabric dictated. No other reason really…

Once it’s done I’ll try and do a more “How-To” post with pictures. If you want to catch a glimpse of the pattern drafted, check me out on Facebook. (:

A Day of Change

Mother’s Day…My first as a mother. This week has been full of different challenges, and I made some pretty big decisions about how I want to move forward in life. And on one hand, it sucks. On the other hand, I know that these changes will help me be healthier and a better mother in the long run.

This is definitely a day of change. This time last year, I didn’t have my little one, but now, my little one is supporting himself standing, learning to climb, and has an idea of how walking may work. It is almost insane to think that he has learned this all in less than a year. But at the same time, it is something truly wonderful to see. The sense of wonder or frustration when a toy works expectedly or unexpectedly, and the desire to explore more.

It almost begs the question how much change am I capable of in a year. As I didn’t see much of a reason to change this time last year, it will be interesting to remark how far things have come once I get to year mark for my current yearly goals. I think that’s why it’s recommended for goals to be written down. You can then accurately look back and see what change has occurred.

I think the biggest trick is to keep at the goals, maintain the change, and be brave through it all.

Back in Business?

So, adapting to life with a new child is not as easy as some people make it out to be. But it’s also not earth-shattering. I’ve completed a few costumes (or at least, made them wearable) and I’ve participated in a few events as either attendee or showcasing some talent, and I advanced a rank in TKD. Progress is possible.

This year I’ve made some goals for myself, and while I haven’t met all of them consistently yet (like updating this blog…), I have been taking steps towards them all. That being said-I have a Facebook counterpart to this blog now and I have an email address specifically for this blog and website. (See the Contact page)

What can you expect? More pictues shared on Facebook and more costumes. I’ve been waiting to do a write-up on some costumes I did with The Pink Po’udo-as they want better wigs and accessories (for awesome photos). I’m going to be experimenting with doing a sort of time lapse video of some sewing projects, and getting more progress pictures for all projects.

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

So I typically write these posts by hand before typing them up and making them flow well… This is not one of those posts. This is a catch up post to detail what I’ve been up to.

I’ve done a hat commission, I finished some costume commissions, and instead of testing to my next belt, I had a baby instead. Maybe I will write about some of those adventures, maybe I’ll just write about stuff that is more current with me.

For now, husband of mine and I moved to a better place for us financially, and about 9 to 10 days later, our son came into the world about 2.5 weeks earlier than planned. After the adjusted delivery date (as we miscalculated) was a month sooner than initially thought. So it was crazy. Moving went well because we had a ton of support from family and those like family.

We’re in a period of adjustment right now, trying to work at what will help us support and grow our family. I guess we’ll see what the future holds.