Me Again!

Hi!
It's been awhile huh? A lot has happened both good and bad since I last wrote. Best intentions and all... I have moved - not far away but living a very different lifestyle now. Pretty much EVERYTHING in my life has changed. I'll talk about some of those things bit by bit over the next posts.
This week I decided to bring back into my life a few of the things that I enjoyed doing "before" that I haven't kept up. Blogging is one of those things, hence the reanimation of this little blog. Another is sewing.
I started the year so full of ideas of what I was going to make, what challenges I was going to join. It all started well... Anyway, I will be taking part in the last few challenges of the HSF 2014 challenge.

I am (re)starting with Challenge #20 - Alternative Universe. I have chosen to make something that relates to a character Mara from a trilogy known as The Empire Series by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts. I read the series some years back. It is a kind of spinoff from the Magician series by Raymond Feist and is set in Kelewan, a place with a green sky. Weapons are made from hardened leather as metal is very scarce. Although we are definitely talking alternative universe, the authors drew on both Japanese and Hawaiian culture when shaping Kelewan. Loose, short, flimsy robes are worn, so I am choosing to make a kimono jacket. It will be based on a tutorial I found on www.elleapparelblog.com. Rather than hemming around the edges I am planning on making a bias binding from my fabric and using that. The fabric is not really "Kelewan-ese", but it does give a kitschy nod to Hawaii and will be useful and fun to wear in the summer. Here is the fabric:

It is rayon and I believe I may have shown this fabric before.

At this point I am planning on handsewing as much as possible, just because I love handsewing, but we'll see how that pans out in reality.

I'll do a few posts during construction I would like to give you some background on the books I am using as inspiration.

On a different note I went for a rehearsal this afternoon at a place I will be singing at on Saturday evening. I missed the turn and found myself heading up to North Brother Mountain. Because the road was narrow, windy and very steep, with a precarious drop on one side I wasn't able to turn back till I got to the top! The view however was worth the inconvenience:

It looks like a painting doesn't it? But it's real. When I left my rehearsal I had to wait for these guys to cross the road before I could drive off:

You can't quite see here, but one was a little bigger than the other and had a little mohawk. Very cute.

Till next time,

Robyn x

Getting Back On The Horse

Well I completely missed the deadline for the Sew For Victory 2014 challenge, and I have missed several Historical Sew Fortnightly 2014 challenges. I am a little annoyed with myself about this but to be fair I was unwell. Now I am well and truly on the mend it is time to get back into it.

I will be joining the HSF 2014 challenges #11 - The Politics of Fashion (due 15th June) and #13- Under $10 (due 14th July). I have both challenges planned and have already started to write a blog post on The Politics of Fashion.

I also think this will be fun:

It's a 1920s sewalong, which will start on 3rd June (the day I get back from my next Sydney trip) and will include underwear, dresses, wraps, hats and belts. I can't wait!

Till next time,

Robyn x

Weighed, Measured...You Know The Rest

Yes, it's get out the violins time... Well really it's total makeover time. When I say total makeover I mean ALL of me, not just the physical - although that's as good a place as any to start. I have officially hit "the BIG time" weight wise. I weighed in this morning at 80.2 kgs. I'm not even going to tell you what I discovered when I checked my measurements (blush with shame). Considering my cholesterol is crazy high and I'm still having testing to see why I keep getting chest pains, my weight needs to come down. Not to mention the fact that if I expand much more I will once again have to fork out for new clothes.
Here is a selfie I took this morning to remind myself of my starting point, not weight-wise, just physically in general:

Looking a bit ragged wouldn't you say?

As a way to track my progress (or lack of), I'm going to take a Saturday Selfie for the next little while.

I've also been having a bit of trouble creatively. I'm just not feeling it regarding singing and haven't really been practicing which is very unusual for me. I usually spend a few hours a day on practice. From tomorrow I'm going to set a timeframe and just practice for that time, even if it's only half an hour, and even if I'm "not feeling it".

Making things has become a problem too. Nothing is working out. I've been starting things, then having to unpick and unpull because I'm making the most ridiculous mistakes. So, to make sure I keep creating without too much stress on whether things will turn out, I'm starting a really basic crochet blanket. I'm just going to do squares in double crochet, and the end result will be something useful. Surely I can't go too wrong there?

Another thing is reading. I always have some book or another on the go, but right now I can't settle. I keep starting and stopping, try another, same thing again. Well today I have chosen a book "Water For Elephants". I'm going to read at least 1 Chapter per day and finish it.

I'm a little behind on my makeup course assignments. This week I'm going to submit the "Night Glamour" Q&A and practical. And get a start on the next module. AND I'm going to get my notes organised. This morning I ordered a "practice head" for makeup. It will be great for when I don't have any real, live models around and also when developing new products for Sukielektro.

Well, I guess that's it for now. 

Take care.

Till next time,

Robyn x