Drivers License, check. :)

Yesterday I took my behind-the-wheel test...I actually didn't get super nervous. I was way more nervous a couple of days ago when I helped out with a day-camp called "Arts In with the Stars", and we were trying to teach 9 little kids how to sing, dance, act, pay attention, etc. WAY more nervous before that. Yesterday before my test, I was actually more giddy with excitement. Yes, as I sat on the bench waiting for the examiners to get there, I was laughing and joking with my mom as the 3 other testers sat nervously fidgeting. Haha, I am so cruel.

Okay, so the hardest part was probably sitting in my car, waiting for the guy to come out and start the test. Actually, I didn't know if I would have the guy or the lady giving my test, and they tested two people before me. I had to wait like, half an hour! But finally, the guy came over to my car and introduced himself and it went from there.

Oh, I should mention that basically the entire town is ripped up because they're fixing all the pipes, or something...this is the second summer. Anyway, Mom and I almost could find our way to the courthouse, because all the roads that normally lead to it were closed, dug up, or had massive vehicles shoving dirt around on them. Mom finally had me pull over, and she went and asked a construction worker how we could get to the courthouse, and then we had to go find this little alley, which was also all dirt, and that is how we could get in. whew.

So, my test went pretty smoothly, other than trying to get past some of the on-going construction. I was too far away from the curb on the hill park (which was really a weird situation - we don't have any hills in the town, but he had me do an up-hill park, when it was in fact slightly down-hill. I was a little confused by that, but I got the directions of the wheel correct :)) My parallel parking was so easy - I've never really had a problem with that part, and my 90-degree backing went sort-of smooth...the backing up part, anyway. I forgot to change the gear to drive before I went out, so that was a little embarrassing. The most amusing part was when he wanted me to take a left turn, but when we got to the corner, the road was closed, so he's like "keep going to the next corner". We get to the next corner - road closed. So, he says again "turn at the next corner...if you are able". HAHA. That road was available, so I turned. Then, at the final park, he's like "You did pass today", all like...he just said it, with no sound of feeling for the fact that the kid has probably been agonizing over what he's going to say just then, and he just says I passed in a non-ceremonious way...trust me, if I was a driver's test examiner, I would make that moment more dramatic. :D

So, I passed on my first try...keeping up with the regulations of my family (all 4 of my older sibling passed on the first try, too.) I applied for my license...almost failed the eye exam because my hair had fallen down and blocked the flashing lights to the side...that was funny. My face is really shiny in my picture (it was a bit warm in the car...I didn't feel like adjusting the air conditioning), and yeah. It was fun.

Now I can technically drive by myself...I have not tried this yet, but I hope to soon. Not sure mom really trusts me....hey! I'm a pretty good driver! Obviously the examiner thought I did all right at it...so, in my favorite words of achievement, WOOT WOOT!!!

Pondering and Bubbles

I did the dishes last night after supper...not really that extraordinary on it's own. I know. However, this time while massaging the glasses with a rag, I began to compose this lovely little verse, and decided to share it with you :) Here is my composition,

~Orange Frolics~

Oranges in the Moonlight,
Oranges in the Sunlight.

Oranges getting more fat
as they are sat on by the big cat.

Nothing rhymes with orange,
so I guess we'll go with porridge.

That doesn't really work,
so I guess I'll go eat pork.

What? They're spelled the same.
Are you implying that I'm insane?

Oranges in the big league.
Oranges full of intrigue.

Oranges full of might
as they win the snowball fight.

~by me~


So, there you have it. Laugh as you will, I had much fun with this (as you can probably tell.)

I just went running. Well, sort of a combination of jogging & walking, with intermittent pauses to pant, huff, puff, and attempt to catch my breath, which was continuously escaping me. I arrived back home shaking, sweaty, and feeling rather proud of myself. (after all, for a while I was concerned about the possibility of collapsing into a quivering heap of pathetic-ness, never to rise again.) Okay, maybe that's a bit melodramatic. My family would eventually come looking for me - probably within the next day or two, so the odds of my never being seen again by the aliens that walk upon this planet are getting gradually less likely. (just kidding-I don't really believe in aliens.) Did you know it's hot outside? When I walked into my nicely air-conditioned house, I almost thought the refrigerator had finally expanded and taken control of the entire house-I knew it would happen some day! (The lettuce was looking rather suspicious today, now that I think about it...) - but I soon realized the the refrigerator hadn't taken over the inside, it was the oven that had conquered the out of doors!

As you can see, my mind suffered slight trauma from the overheating and sudden cooling.

Water is delicious. Do not underestimate the healing powers of H2O.

I think my two dogs are old. Tired. and out of shape. Obviously. Even with all my huffing and puffing and suffering, they still lagged behind. Ha! Who's cool now? (oh, wait...still sweaty here. nevermind:D)

Now I'm tired. And thirsty. and slightly bored. I think I'll go see if the refrigerator will yield the H2O under bombardment or possibly persuasion - hmmm...maybe both techniques would be wise... ;)

Successful Shopping

JoAnn Fabrics might be creeping up to my top favorite stores list. Okay, cut the creeping, it's there. :D I had a glorious time among the fabric on Monday. I was looking for fabric to make this dress: (dress B - it's the biggest picture).



After looking through every aisle and weighing some options, I discovered and approved of some very pretty woodsy-green fabric that I think will do the job of the dress quite nicely. It was on the $5/yard sale rack, so it was cheaper than most of the stuff at JoAnn's, although still a little spendy when you need 5 yards.

I already had some fake-leather-ish type of fabric at home that I wanted to use for the vest, so I didn't have to worry about that much. All I needed then was a bit of lace for the yoke at the neck. I decided an a dark purple lace that I though would complement the green, yet still be subtle and dark. This costume is to have very muted tones.

I was also planning another dress.



The dress I am planning is the blue & white one in the top right corner. Of course, I don't really want to copy that look, so I was just looking for a cool fabric that would look elegant - not really a specific color. Technically that makes shopping for fabric a lot easier :D.

The fabric I decided on is GORGEOUS! At least, I think so. It's a dark purple with embroidered gold flowers (there's a hint - no more than a hint - of pink in them, too!) Anyway, I am totally in love with this purple. For the big gauzy sleeves and the drape I got a pink chiffon. It's sort of a dusky pink - it goes really well!

I still need to find trims and zippers and such for both dresses (the store was closing), but I think I have made an excellent start! I can't wait to start sewing, but, since I don't have everything I need, I have to wait. Plus my mom wants me to help her with some other projects first. So, I guess I'll just have to be patient. :)

Daydreaming about....fabric?

Okay, I realize that some people (actually, most people) don't really get a thrill just walking into a fabric store. These people find it all boring, and don't understand why other people find such joy in touching different materials to feel the texture and weight, and just, well...love fabric. Okay, I used to be one of these slightly skeptical people, and would get really bored while my mom would wander through fabric stores at what seemed a turtle pace. I would much rather have been in a clothing store (where stuff is already made, thank-you-very-much), trying on stuff, etc.

Recently, however, I seem to have undergone an alteration in toleration (sorry - I liked how that rhymed)and I now have gone insane. (In the eyes of some people - those same ones we were talking about earlier) ;) I have become obsessed with fabric, patterns, dresses, skirts, trimmings, measuring, etc. I have gone through my little collection of fabric, measuring things to see if I have enough to make something, anything cool. Last night I figured out what fabric we had that I could make work into a peasant costume, but now I might have to alter all my calculations because I'm getting a different pattern. Yes, today I was looking at patterns online - again - and discovered that McCall's has some really awesome historical costumes. My mom let me purchase 4 of them! I got this one vest costume. It's all held together with lacing, and if I make it right, will look totally vintage! Here's a picture:


A little weird, but that's okay with me.

I also got three other patterns. One is a skirt pattern that totally goes with the vest:




Another is this dress that I just fell in love with. I think it is so simple and beautiful. (in case you can't tell, I'm really into medieval stuff right now):



And finally, there's this completely different dress that is a Victorian style. I've been looking for a pattern that I really liked, and I LOVE this one! I'm putting up a couple of pictures.

This first one is the front. This "dress" is cool because it's actually in 4 pieces. There's the top, which is laced up the back, and then there's the skirt, which has a waistband that laces closed, (both are separate, but it still looks like a dress!)



Here's a picture of the back. There's a bustle that you can attach, and also a train. (the pattern actually calls these two things "detachable")



And here is the other picture that was on the pattern envelope. You can see why I fell in love. In fact, I think this would make the most gorgeous wedding dress! (hey, I'm a girl. it's allowed to think about that.) :D Anyway, this dress just makes my happy inside.



So, that's what I've been up to these days. I suppose I should have started by telling you about my fabric shopping trip the other day, but I got distracted by my pattern finds today! I have a habit of such long posts! I'll tell you about my fabric in a different post. :D

First Costume!!!

Do you remember a few days ago when I revealed all my crazy plans to make a bunch of costumes? (If you don't, you can always scroll down the page...;) Okay, so on Monday I went into the sewing room and dug around in the fabric my mom had stashed there, and plotted and schemed on how I could make a dress with these random scraps that really weren't big enough by themselves. After deciding on which materials went together and I could actually use, I went to the pattern collection, and found what I thought would be the easiest patterns to adapt to what I wanted. (I drew up a rough design.) Oh, I should probably tell you I wanted to make a medieval sort of princess dress that was almost woodland-like. It's hard to describe, so sorry if you didn't really get that. Anyway, since I didn't have a dress pattern that even came close, I thought I'd make a skirt and then have a bit more freedom with the top. I used my favorite skirt patter, that is gored (meaning it has like - six panels or something like that) and it flips out at the bottom. Super cute. I lengthened it to floor length, and alternated colors for each panel, and ended up loving the result! It took me pretty much all day on Monday to sew it, but then that included the designing and designating process. (My 4-year-old nephew was visiting, and "helped" me for a while...I actually loved having him around while I was sewing. He was so cute! I'd let him pin little scraps together, and he picked out the thread colors, since I wasn't extremely fussy. Of course, he got bored after a while, and ran off to play, but it was fun while it lasted.)

On Tuesday I turned my attentions away from my completed skirt and worked on the top. I took a really long time deciding which pattern to use, and working out what I even wanted. In the end I used a new pattern, which was a bit risky, I thought. The alterations to this pattern included shaping the neckline differently, and instead of putting cuffs on the elbow-length sleeves, I added my own design of elvish sleeves. I also added a shawl-ish piece at the neck, to give it a more layered aspect. I had to rip apart an old dress of my mom's to get enough fabric, and figuring out a new pattern is always interesting, but I finished it, and sort of liked the end result, though not completely satisfied. However, it was evening, and I was tired, so I let it rest until the next day when I would be fresher.

Wednesday morning I made my elvish sleeves, and the shawl pieces. Then I had the fun of digging in the ribbon boxes and finding trimmings and flowers to embellish my creation. Oh, I almost forgot! I also pieced little pieces of the flowered fabric together to make a long belt. I needed this extra splash of color, and when worn, the belt is to be tied in a certain way so there is flowery fabric on the left side, since otherwise there wouldn't be. A little bit of a weird idea, I realize, but Hey! This is my dress, isn't it? My finishing touch was a lacy-ribbon headband with a freshly glued flower sewed onto it. I celebrated the completion of this bit of fun by trying it all on and having a photo shoot! Here are a couple of my favorites :)