Inspiration

So much for taking a break.  Between ignoring biology and the FE, my fingers itched for something to do.  A few months ago, I started reading Tea Rose Home's blog (which you can find here), and I've really been impressed by the author, which I'll be discussing after my project blurb.  After seeing a cardigan upcycle, I was inspired to try it on one of my own shirts.

This isn't the original shirt (very similar), but yet again, I've forgotten to take before/after pictures.  On that note, I always feel odd about not having B/A pics.  One, there's always the chance that someone will want to repeat *my* fashions and need a tutorial.  To this, I have to think, "But Victoria, you don't use patterns, and you frequently use other people's tutorials."  In fact, public service announcement:  for the love of peaches, don't follow in my footsteps if, by the off chance, you like my creations.  I eyeball nearly everything, and tend to end up with lots of mismatch. 

Two, and this is the bigger one, there's suddenly no proof that I actually created these things I'm showing off.  But then there are counterarguments - 1.  My work is pretty shoddy, so it's pretty obvious that *someone* hand-made it, and 2. Really, there's no proof that I am who I say I am.  I could be a portly 30-year-old blogging from my mother's basement.  Soooooo... in other words, I frequently concern myself for no reason at all.

Continuing on.

That having been said, I did get a quick shot of me taking away a small bit of the the sleeves.  This shirt, as so many other before, was an old turtleneck of Dillon's.  It didn't fit him very well, and it looked purely awkward on me.  Also, I dislike significant tapering in clothing.  Fun Victoria Fact - "Jeggings" are not okay, and the same can usually be said of skinny jeans.
 

My plan was to make a bolero of sorts.  I've always wanted a jacket like this (the one that the red-head is wearing) because frankly I find them smashing.  This was... definitely not the right material for it, though.  After a lot of compromise, and of course, inspiration from Tea Rose, I came up with this:

The black material came from an old tee shirt that I got from school.  Actually, this is something that want to share for my own amusement.  Take a look at almost any basic tee, and you'll notice that there is no seam from your armpit to your waist.  I have no clue how they do this.  It was explained to me once, but I'm pretty sure it involved witchcraft***.  Regardless, the nice little result of this is that if you cut up the shirt in sort of a spiral formation, you can get a single long strand of fabric, which is what I used for the ruffles.

Using some leftover material, I made a quick rosette to cover bottom corner, where the two ends of the long ruffle met.

As for those heinous sleeves, folded them up and made this faux strap:

Project:  Success.

Okay, so back to Tea Rose.  Kind of.  It's a little bit of a spring board, I guess (I'm really bad at organizing my thoughts today).  Ms. Sachiko, author of TRH and owner of her own company, is probably one of the most genuine bloggers I've ever read.  Her tone is unbelievably... cordial.  I can't think of a better word to describe her, and it's absolutely amazing, given that we live in a time of cutting words, especially on the Internet.  Admit it.  The Internet is full of stinging jabs and "derp".  That's just the unfortunate truth.  Yet she maintains a massive fan-base (I think.  Maybe 5000 followers isn't that big.  I really don't know how these things work).   

I think what staggered me most though, was when she recently posted of her medical history.  My understanding is that illness and crisis is a paralytic.  She, instead, pretty much went, "Screw that noise" and is creating art now. 

Those of you who know me personally understand that, while I have a bit of a "Victoria-Rage" mode, I'm usually a level-headed person.  Part of that, I think, stems from the fact that I have quite a lot of emotional outlets - my writing, martial arts, crafts, and an on-off therapist (i.e., a school counselor who lets me vent some stress, no more, no less.)

The big thing, though, is that I've lived a pretty standard life.  I've never faced a serious crisis, been abused, attacked, etc., for which I am ever thankful.  At the same time, though, I wonder if that means I'm never meant to be unique.  No, not in the "unique snowflake" b---s--- we learn in grade school.  I mean properly stand out.  Back in elementary school, one of my friends made the joke that she would never want to be an artist because she would have to be dead before she could be famous.  We laughed at the thought and very wholeheartedly agreed.  Nowadays, I know that's pretty... not true.  But I do have to wonder if something really traumatic has to happen before you elevate yourself to legendary status.

I know this thought is pretty trite, but when was the last time you saw a biography about a person who led a perfectly normal life and decided to do something extravagant?  Being awesome usually means taking a massive risk, and if you're already happy enough, why take the leap?  And these people who do go big instead of going home... is it because they have nothing to go home to, so they say, "You know what?  It can only get better from here."?

So... now I'm just doing exactly what I said I WOULDN'T do when I started this blog... angst.  I guess I'm feeling badly about myself because I recently walked into a book store and looked at the teen fiction section and realized, "Dear lord.  Even if I can ever publish my own book, it's just going to be a dusty tome on a shelf of unwanted, smutless romance novels.  Why am I even bothering?"

... But... seriously, if a woman without a leg can be as happy as she is, doing what she loves, why am I being such a damnable Debbie Downer?!  Ugh, I hate when I get in these moods!

:: Punches self in face ::  1 week to the FE, and 1.5 weeks to NaNoWriMo!  Holy fricker-fracker! 

Yeah, I don't know where to go from there.  I'm curious to see how other people feel about inspirations and dreams and the such, so feel free to leave your comments in the dooblie-doo. 

Until the next.

*** The process is actually called tubular knitting... Pretty nifty - look it up if you are interested.

Notes on "Productivity"

Weekends that are bad for homework usually mean that they were good for crafting.  Last weekend into this weekend is definitely one of those occasions.

I've been quite busy with little things here and there, even if I haven't been posting.  But, in my defense, I've had several reports and first round midterms since last we spoke, so I apologize for the brief break.  To make up for things, I'll share a few of the things I've been working on.  Last weekend, I filtered through Dillon's pile of things and came across two pieces that seemed to ask for a revamp: 

Actually, the top one was originally about as purple (and darker) as the hood on that silken... hood-thing (an old night-shirt, I think.  Screams "court jester" to me).  That orange color was the result of me trying to lighten it with Rit Color Remover.  Certainly got rid of the purple, but I wanted something that wasn't so "Orange Jump Suit", if you know what I mean.

So, added half a package of Rit Scarlet, and this was the lovely bit that came out:

Nice color.  Originally I wanted to make a collared shrug for myself, but after showing it to Dill, he said he liked the new look so much that I chopped off the slightly-too-short-sleeves and made him a new button-down.  He got a few compliments on it in class, as well :)

As for that funky silk piece, I have to tell you, I've never been so scared to work with a material as I have been w/ silk.  I had read online how finicky it was to clean, which was bothersome, since it was all wrinkled and a bit off-smelling from sitting in storage.  I finally got so fed up with it that I ended up just dumping it in a sink of cold water and washing it by hand with some dish soap.  Worked just fine in the end.  After quite a bit of un-hemming and restyle, I came up with this:

It's a little... "eh" at the moment.  Since I've taken this picture, I've cut a bit off the sleeves, but it's still a bit boxy for me.  I was hoping to have a cute little dress for parties, but something about it just seems off.  Project status:  limited success.  At least I know how to handle silk, now, so take your victories where you can.

Anywho, this also probably needs an honorable mention:

Who needs Hello Kitty when you've got Nerdy Kitty?  This is a shirt I've been wanting to make for awhile, though I'm not super pleased with the layout.  Sewing shirts has always been an issue b/c it always stretches at the ends.  It might me that I need to set the tension lower on my machine... suggestions?

I will admit, though, I am very happy with the way the drawstring up the sides came out.  This used to be an over-sized tee (courtesy of Dillon, of course), that I cinched up a bit.  The drawstring came from another tee shirt.  I stretched out the material and made a nifty little cord.

The fact that I've been having limited successes with sewing rather recently might be a hint for me to take it easy on the projects...  especially with NaNoWriMo coming up!!!  My first time trying!  Aaaaaagh, I'm so nervous.  I have this horrible habit of backing out when things get to be "too much", so I'll need help not doing that with this...  I have an idea for a plot, but it's so nebulous.  Plus there's the FE right around the corner, so I'm doubly freaking out... 

In other words, you may see less of me in the next few weeks, and if you do, it'll be me ranting.

Until the next.