made

Sweet, no?

I made this bag for the Pride and Prejudice raffle. It got filled up with all sorts of Jane Austen-related items.

I love the black-and-white print. And the buttons just make me smile!

I bought big cover-your-own buttons at Fabricland, but when I sewed them onto the bag, they just looked dorky and floppy. So I bent the shanks over, and stitched the buttons down with an applique stitch; right through the fabric. It worked out really well.

And the best part (for me, anyhow)? I bought the black/white print fabric for $0.25 at the thrift store... the other fabric and the lining were a linen-cotton blend IKEA duvet cover (also thrifted)... and the wide black grosgrain ribbon was once a bow on one of the hats (thrifted, naturally!) that I made into a bonnet.

I'm back.

The play was a rip-roaring success.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It's been about 10 years since I was last part of a theatre production, and even more than that since I last acted in a play.

I definitely won't be waiting that long again, although my long-suffering husband has begged me not to do it more than once a year.

It was a pretty stressful time for my family. I was very impressed, though, with how they stepped up and helped look after things.

So now, here I am, back again in the swing of things... trying to wrap my head around making regular meals (the kids did most of the cooking for the last few weeks), cleaning (ditto - although not nearly as much as I would have liked), laundry (again, ditto - because being able to pull clean clothes out of the laundry basket counts, right?).

I'm even contemplating a return to the sewing machine sometime soon; masochist that I am. Apparently sewing 8 dresses, a jacket, two corsets, a petticoat and a chemise within a few weeks wasn't enough for me...

And, obviously, I will again be posting to the blog more regularly!

Five

Has it really been five years since I last gave birth?

Apparently it has.

tap-tap-tap...

It has been brought to my attention *cough*rachel*cough* that I have been neglecting this space quite shockingly. Apparently there are people who need to be kept updated about my goings-on. My deepest apologies to the three of you. I'll try to do better.

This here is the kind of thing that's been keeping me awake at night. Our production of Pride and Prejudice is now three weeks away from opening night. I've been sewing costumes from morning to night, and practicing my lines, and sewing more costumes, and then thinking of more things to sew. I love costumes!

I made this bonnet following the excellent instructions at the Oregon Regency Society blog.

I cut up a wee straw bonnet (99 cents at the thrift store), and covered it with blue silk (a sari shawl from Value Village), and lined it with a lovely cotton-silk fabric (a dress I found at the SallyAnn). The crown took 3 attempts before I was satisfied with it - oh, the frustration!

So, that's what I've been up to. Now you know.