Hoodie Invasion ! Everybody stay warm !

Current Mood : Hoodie burnout.

All my trades are in – they got what I sent, I got what they sent. Yaay ! Everybody’s happy. I got a new pair of those green athletic shoes from the Deuce Gorgon ‘Casketball’ fashion set. There’s so few male MH shoes, I’ll snag up any I can !  I also scored the striped, spotted, and color-blocked ones from Operetta’s sole fashion, and Frankie Stein’s Dead Tired slippers. They’re so cute, with the bolts ! Now I gotta make her some nightwear, to go with ‘em.

Decided that I’d start remaking the Operetta shoes before I got down to a good steady sew, and began removing the gallons of paint. I figured I could wreck these, since I already had a pair, and wasn’t too fond of ‘em – but in a new color, maybe I could be. I’m thinking brown. Or maybe that silver-blue I used on Chris’ “Puma Dude” body. Too bad Mattel or some subsidiary not only used a metric ton of paint on ‘em, they utilized the kind of bonding that should be used on houses, instead of doll shoes. Wore my arm out, and got only one shoe partially done. I’m gonna hafta wait a few days before I take on the other shoe. Arm’s still ouchie.

After lunch – I froze the remaining chili, we’ve eaten as much as we can for now – it was so quiet, I decided it was sewing time. Was about mid-way through cutting out the t-shirt base I intended to sew today when I realized – not many guys (monster or otherwise) wear short-sleeved hoodies. I’d intended to lengthen the sleeves on that anyway, so why not now ? I could find some good cuff material later, for now, hemming would be fine.

So I sewed the lengthened hood to the lengthened sleeve shirt…and the hood was too big and the sleeves were too short. See ? Arrrgh. Deuce looks like a monk from a society that uses bad dry cleaners. Made the necessary alterations, and relaxed a bit. Tomorrow, I hope to sew up a couple pair of pants, so I probably won’t get back to the hoodie ‘til Friday. It’ll be good to get a break for a day.

However, as-is, the original one fits the ghouls fairly well ! Green’s wearing what Deuce wore yesterday, and I think it looks pretty good on her. She has her clothes on underneath, so it actually does wear and fit like a jacket. I’d only need to narrow and lengthen the sleeves for it to fit the ghouls just fine.  May make a hole for her hair or wings later. For now, all that hair’s tucked in there with her. It’s only now that I realize the genius of Crissy’s cloak that came with a hole for her abundant hair. First time I saw it, I thought it was ridiculous 70s styling. It was a very large, loud  plaid, with hot pink fur trim, after all…

It’s great that it works out so well, as there really isn’t the same super-simple short-sleeved shirt in her other pattern sets, for the ghouls. There is one fairly similar in the first set, but it calls for a lining. Could probably sew it without, same as the guy shirts, but it’s always good to have more anyway, even if you don’t use ‘em right away.

For now, though, I'm ready for some sleep ! My eyes are a bit tired. Sleep tight and cozy, ya'll !

Snakes in a Hoodie !

Current Mood : Hungry

Saw a bunch of Black Friday ads – lots of MH  going on sale early on the 23^rd, or late on the 22^nd.  Most of the dolls being offered  I already own… thank Everything. I’d rather pay full price and stay my big bottom at home than be out in that mess. I almost always practice ‘Buy Nothing Day’, and while I won’t have any money to spend anyway, I like to think I make a difference in not being out in a consumer storm, adding to the traffic and stress.

I’ve kinda gotten to the same ‘eeh ?’ attitude about MH. I didn’t think I was. But I’m seeing so much fervor about the Scaris line lately – when’s this doll, that doll, that prop coming out ? Halloween ? Tomorrow ? January ? Wheeeeen ??!1!! – it kinda put my ‘don’t know, don’t care’ attitude into sharp contrast. Seriously, some fans thought the appearance of Catrine De Mew on the Mal-Wart Halloween baggie of nothing meant that she’d be released then. And they’ve felt vaguely cheated ever since.

Me, I honestly don’t care. Maybe it wouldn’t be that way if ‘someone’ hadn’t censored my blog for ‘something’. I never did find out what the objectionable content was, much less who objected, but once I took down Scaris photos that’d been reposted elsewhere for days, everything was just fine. So I drew my own conclusions, and I’m just not interested anymore. I’d kinda like a Catrine, but I just don’t care about Skelita or Jinafire, and I seem to be the only fan that isn’t desperately coveting, and hasn’t been waiting breathlessly for weeks for the slightest hint to hit the water. Truth be told, I already have what I want. I’ve had it for years. It’s just taken me this long to figure out and enjoy it all.

That said, if they release a Slo-Moe or Heath Burns, I will be so nutz until I get one (preferably both), that it’ll make most fans look calm and reserved, and willing to wait for all the kids to get first pick.

Anyway, the big proof that I’m wanting what I got is all. this. darn. sewing ! It’s like I can’t stop. I was not even gonna sew today, but Chez Insanity was so quiet after Hubby’s drawing class, I couldn’t resist. Since making a hoodie was all-new, I went for the scrap fabric, so we’re back to the thin white stuff. Sorry ‘bout that !

I pulled up some images of hood patterns. I’d planned to use the well-worn NG Creations t-shirt pattern base, so that’s all I’d need. With the shape established, I traced Deuce’s head, thinking  that his head would be the biggest (it’s doubtful Gil would want to wear a hood over his tank), so if it fit him, it’d fit the rest of the cast. The first hood mostly fit, but was too short to add to the shirt collar. So I gathered it at the bottom edge, sewed on a scrap of ribbon, and gave it to Dearest Son – it’s now a Barbie bonnet  ! Also fits ponies with large plastic hair.

Added a half-inch and sewed it again – might work for the ghouls and guys with no or flat hair, it was still kinda snug. But I wanted to see how it’d work, so I sewed it to a shirt, and it does work for Deuce, it’s just more tight than I’d want. So I reworked it, as separate ghouls and guys versions. I already have Version 2 cut out, so wish me luck !

Thinking of replacing the Velcro ™ with zipper bits…maybe when I have an actual workable pattern, I’ll try that. I got *lots* of zippers… 

Unfortunately, Jackson thought I was kidding when I said I needed orange fabric today...

Current Mood : Sleepy...but I really want some orange juice. 

My mind was all about entertaining me last night – I had dreams of new Jem episodes, featuring the new Integrity dolls and animation, mixed together. Guess I’ve been watching too much of the old series on Netflix. It was pretty neat, though. Wish I could remember more of it.

Went digging in the fabric bins – two under the desk, one in the bedroom – and the four  milk crates for orange and any other ‘masculine’ fabric. Found a bunch, so I can finish off ‘Boyfiends Week’, in my own questionable style ! Which is good, I don’t foresee any trips to fabric or craft stores any time soon. I still have to try that hoodie idea that Alrunia gave me, and I wanna try sweatpants, too. I figure I can modify the elastic-waist shorts pattern from NG Creations for those, and maybe use flannel instead of too thick, too dense fleece, but like the collars, the hoodie I gotta plot out m’self.

For today, though, I kept it simple and just made orange pants, to go with yesterday’s shirt. Kept the hems, since the fabric was a shirt remnant of Dearest Son’s. It was completely wrecked save for one panel, but so far, it’s made a tube dress and a pair of pants, with maybe enough left for a skirt or a pair of shorts. Should get on that soon, so I don’t have to store a scrap.

The pants came out well, especially considering I used stretchy knit fabric with a woven cotton pattern – and I’m proud I remembered to change the machine needle. I gotta remember to use more colors with the guys. It’s so easy to stick to blacks, dark blues, greys, and white, especially when you have a lot of those in the stash. Jackson and Gil are welcome splashes amid all those white shirts and black pants !

A very busy Sunday !

Current Mood : Happily creative !

Current Image Notes : Click to see more !

Whoo. Hard to believe last week went by so fast when some parts of it seemed to go on forever. And other parts were just so much fun ! The second-to-last home game at the University was yesterday, and we get a whole weekend of no traffic issues before the big, huge, statewide feud rivalry, worst game of the year finishes 2012 off. I swear, if we leave Chez Insanity for so much as a soda on the 24^th, we’re darn near asking for it !

Slept ‘til we couldn’t sleep anymore, which was wonderful. I got back to work on straightening out my ‘work’ surfaces, which always get clotted and crowded when I sew a lot. Since I’m cultivating the habit of sewing at least a little every day, I gotta leave most of it out, or waste a half-hour dragging out and putting away. I know it doesn’t sound like much of a penalty for having everything in order, but when I got an urge to sew, I gotta go !

My usual practice of putting something in my way so I’ll eventually get tired of moving it and fix/ finish it worked once again this morning. Last month, when I finally went to add the tulle ruffle to Clawdeen’s Barbie gown, it occurred to me that I had no idea how to sew tulle. I cut a quick rectangle and folded it, and gathered it at the top – the raw edged side, not the folded one – like ya would with regular cottons. Worked fine, so I applied the same techniques to the hem ruffle, and I love how it looked.

But it left a gathered bit of black tulle on my sewing desk. Before I tossed it, I tried it on the wrecked body I keep around for fittings. Hmm…somehow, I not only cut it but I gathered it just right for a pettiskirt ! Lost interest, but it floated around my desk ‘til I got tired of it being around, which was today. It was a bit too short and too plain to really work as-is, so I looked around for a scrap of the black lace I used on Ghoulia’s brown dress. Instead, I found the multicolored ‘cheetah’ print trim I bought a few weeks ago. Boom ! Fifteen minutes later, I had a cute little slip-skirt, with a Velcro ™ closure, at about the right length to peek under a miniskirt. Yaaay !

Unfortunately, it didn’t really ‘go’ with most of the skirts my ghouls were wearing. Ya’ll know how I am, most wear longer skirts. But there was one…that slightly baggy blue one that looks so good on Lagoona, from the ‘Midnight Magic’ knockoffs. Even better the ‘blues’ part of the variegation was in front ! I think it looks great, almost that it appears to be part of the dress, but it isn’t.

From there, I finally used up the other MH sock – but my attempt at a sweater failed badly. While I didn’t want another knit tube dress, that’s all I could salvage out of it. So Operetta got that. Then I put closures in a dress I made months ago. That left only a new test of the latest collar for the Boyfiends and the thing I cut out for Halloween and never went back to.

So there’s Gloom Beach Jackson, in his new shirt ! I think the new collar is good, so I’m not gonna mess with it any further. I was bemoaning the lack of masculine fabric – that’s made from a men’s shirt I got off a 50c rack at a thrift years ago. He’s still wearing what I think are possibly Bratz Boy jeans, so I need to make pants tomorrow. Wonder if I have any orange fabric…or a different shade of denim…? 

I finally made jeans with the NG Creations 'Jeans' pattern !

Current Mood : Better. 

Today started off interesting – my rarely-used LiveJournal account had been suspended. No idea why, I mostly only used it to read and rarely respond to an MH group I liked. And while I checked it every day, the new posts are few, and I don’t think I’ve responded to anything but a single sale in months. As for journaling, I do that here. Not there. I got no e-mails from LJ, no reasons, just a perpetual blank ‘your journal has been suspended’ screen with a goat dressed as a pirate, which won’t even allow me to read the MH page. I can get in via a back door through the don’t-read-it-anymore Girl Genius  community page, but it’s hardly worth the hassle.

I sent out a ‘why ?’ message in the manner prescribed by their FAQ, but I wasn’t counting on hearing about it for days – that’s what it said. But they reinstated it about twelve hours later, saying I’d been yanked in error. Wheee. Ah, well, I was thinking of thinning my subscribed sites anyway. If I ever figure out Tumblr, I’m migrating !

Hubby had the grand idea to invite all the neighbors over for chili. So we bought a buncha stuff we’d need, got up early, and ran around like chickens cleaning house and cooking, and everything. And…yup. A grand total of nobody showed up. At least we won’t have to make anything else for lunch (or dinner) this weekend. My home-made cornbread came out great again, too ! And I found a missing doll shoe, but I’ve lost a strip of soft Velcro ™. Ah, well. When things got quiet, I reorganized my ribbon racks – most of my ribbon is in the closet, but I can hang the spools on the racks on the craft cart – then sorted out the elastic cubby slot. Been meaning to do that for weeks ! 

Watched Hollywood Air Force on Netflix as I sewed, which was silly fun on both fronts ! Some adult jokes, some up-top nudity, but otherwise fairly clean. Humor on the Police Academy scale – it even features one of the same actors. Found a scrap of denim, cut from a worn-out pair of Dearest’s jeans, and finally made jeans with that NG Creations jeans pattern. Shortened the hem about 1/8”, which I think helps ‘em hang a bit better. The pattern as-is accommodates Chris’ tail well, which is great. I think Mattel made a good decision to place tail options at the lower back, instead of the back end.

And as ‘Boyfiends Week’ closes on its seventh day, I’ve made seven complete outfits for my dudes. That was the goal, but I already have the next outfit in mind, so ‘BW’ will most likely continue for at least for three more days – enough to re-dress Gloom Beach Jackson, Deuce, and Holt. Not sure if I’m gonna start on the HooDude Project next, or take a break for a couple days. If what I have planned for tomorrow works, I already know I’ll want to make something else to go with it…

The fun never ends at Chez Insanity ! Want a big bowl of chili ? 

Thank you for being my wonderful friends !

Current Mood : Taking stock. 

Gotta apologize again for being so emotional yesterday. You don’t need my life Samsonite, you probably have a closet-full of your own. Thing is, this is the one place I can express myself, with no censors save my own. Thanks for being here with me – and being there when I need a friendly voice. I really appreciate it, and it’ll help for a long time.

I was gonna whitewash this, but if you put up with yesterday, I think you deserve the whole story. Truth of the matter is, it wasn’t a friend who pretty much shattered my self-image last night – it was Beloved Hubby. So don’t be surprised of the ‘Beloved’ part vanishes for a while. I still don’t know exactly how I feel about everything he unloaded on me, I’m kind of in shock. We had a discussion yesterday  that started with me feeling marginalized and squelched lately, and ignored most other times, and that part of the dialog lasted five minutes. Then it switched to an hour monologue of everything he thinks of me, and not one whit of it was good. I sat there, tears pouring down my face, with an expression of sick horror, not believing what he was saying…and he kept going. He was like the Energizer Bunny of Blame. I am not going to repeat what was said, but suffice to say that even if it needed to be said, I’d have never hurt him – or anyone - the way his words hurt me.

Oh *&^%k, it hurt, and some of his words were worthy of consideration, but it could have been handled much better. And we never did return to addressing my issues – after all, I’m selfish and every thought, word, and deed I’ve ever had is negative, so what would be the point ? He’s a saint, I’m the worst thing humanity has somehow birthed in the last century, or at least since Hitler. No, those aren’t his exact words, but that’s how I felt listening to the ones he did use. Somehow he knows exactly what I think and what I believe, and it’s all bad and negative. I had to wonder why, if he truly believed those things, why was he still here ? It was taking all I had to sit and listen to it.

He did this once before. He told a message board that the only reason we were still married was because he feared for Dearest Son. And he wonders why I have trust issues. He should be grateful I somehow forgave him for that, but this time, he’s hurt me too much to ever fully open up to him again. I think he may well have his self-fulfilling prophecy. I’ll probably forget, but I don’t know how I’ll ever forgive again.

An hour ago proved it. He made the incorrect assumption – because he knows how I think – that when Strawberry Shortcake came out, back in the 80s, I liked it. Um…I was an adult. I found it treacly and over-simplified, and didn’t pay attention to the videos. The ‘new’ version was more of the same, with updated clothes and such, but nothing ‘real’ besides ‘Sailor Moon Says’ style plots. I said I didn’t find anything of merit to me as an adult when I watched it – and he said I was wrong. Huh ? How can an opinion be wrong ? Evidently mine was.

I told him I didn’t appreciate him silencing me like that, it was an opinion, and I’d couched it as such. He said I’d said it like a final decree, and he wanted Dearest to make his own opinion. Love it how he sees my words as negative as possible. Perhaps it isn’t just me with that little issue.

Anyway. We’ve reached an uneasy peace, and I still don’t know how I’m gonna handle it all when the shock wears off. I agree about some of what he said, and I’m working on those issues as we speak, but I still feel attacked, and still think that if he thought my behavior needed some modification, there were far better ways to handle it. Especially if he thought I didn’t trust him before last night !

But, life goes on. I got behind in a trade, and have to work on that tonight. There’s the pants I sewed yesterday – same shirts as before – and I sewed a grey pair today that feels like close-cropped velvet. Possibly velveteen ? That's the problem when ya buy yard-sale fabric grab-bags, you have no idea what that stuff really is ! They came out *nice* , and as you see in today’s photo and will in tomorrow’s, they fit easily over their shoes. Yaaay ! Dearest Son and I finally got going on that no-sew tulle tutu for his dolls, and it came out great ! I cut up less than a third of the yard of tulle we bought, and had lots of the strips left, so we’ll probably make some for the ponies. Dearest did most of it himself, and I’m so proud of him !

I’ll be OK. Thanks to you all. Thanks for being my friends ! (big, sweeping hugs)

Sorry...

I’ve had quite possibly the worst day of my life today, and I’m still mentally recovering. The only good thing I can say is that nobody’s ill or worse. It truly huts when you find out what people really think of you. I hope tomorrow's better.