I'm a terrible blogger

     I truly am very bad at this whole thing. Sometimes writing a blog sounds like a great idea and sometimes it seems like a waste of time. I go through cycles and I forget. I think what it is is that I have a desire to share, but also feel uncomfortable being exposed. And really, who am I exposed to anyway? It's not like anyone reads this shit. So really, the only point in doing it is to satisfy some kind of desire in me to put words out into the universe or something. I guess there's always the chance that someone could find what I post to be interesting, insightful, or helpful... if I followed through on it maybe. But for the most part is has kind of seemed like a public journal to me. And what is the point in that? It's not like it would be like a REAL journal. All the juicy details stay secret. So then if you're into the whole journaling thing you're really just writing two journals: one where you put what you really feel and think and one where you write what you want people to see that you feel and think. So either a blog is just like any other social media where you vent and portray a picture of yourself or you make it into something else.
    In the beginning I wanted to create a blog that helped people with personal projects while also showing off all the cool stuff I make and think about. So I started initially to write about philosophy and show off my sewing skills and teach others how to make a Battlestar Galactica uniform costume. I didn't do that. I made the costume and it's very cool, BTW. But I can't completely remember how I assembled it so I'm not much help there. But I suppose I could be for future projects I make.
   I've been thinking of a new format for blogging though. Something that shows all of my interests and thoughts in a way that might be more interesting to others as well. Basically mini blogs within a blog that are all different topics. So in each post there will be different sections that could vary from philosophy, science, professional, personal, etc. And if you don't give a hoot about my personal life, but like what I have to say about science, you can scroll right past it to the good part :)


TLDR: I suck at blogging, but I'm going to give it another go anyway. Stay tuned for new formatting!

November Creations and Coming to Terms with Failure

November is nearing its end and it's time for an update of my creations. Things went a little differently than planned (thus is life, right?) and I ended up working on different projects than I had earlier stated. The projects that I have worked on this month have been gifts for Xmas and not so much things for myself. I am working on an embriodery project (pics to come soon). I painted a watercolor for my friend (my first time working with watercolor!) and I think it actually turned out pretty good (pics to come soon). There were a few places early on that I made some minor mistakes but I'm learning not to let those little imperfections in my work bother me.

Speaking of not letting imperfections bother me... The other project that I have been working on is sewing an Xmas dress for myself. I measured out the pattern and sized it to myself but I made an error somewhere along the line in the measurements and when I assembled the pieces I discovered that the dress was too small. The dress has a lace overlay and lining and I already cut all of the pieces to the wrong size. Talk about driving myself crazy. Despite my mistakes I have been trying to be optimistic and take out the seams and make modifications, etc but I have found it difficult to continue. It seems like at every step of the way I find something else in it that I need to modify because of my original mistake. I'm at the point where I'm not even sure if I am going to continue with it or just throw the whole thing out. 

This is something that I have difficulty with in many of my projects. I always want my projects to turn out perfect the first time every time. It is something I am trying to work on: to be more comfortable with "failure" and to just get back on the horse. Also, to realize that just because I made a mistake, that doesn't mean the creation is ruined. In short, I am trying to be less critical of myself. I need to start realizing that I have the ability to modify or to even start over if I don't like something and there is nothing wrong with that! Afterall, even some famous artists have painted and re-painted the same subject, why should I expect to be perfect the first time? Art, like anything else, takes practice and I need to allow myself to make those beautiful messes!

xoxo

V

Travel and Creations

     I finally have completed my degree and am working with a company where I travel from job assignment to assignment, usually each lasting ~3months. Now that I am getting settled and I have time to work on projects for myself I have a set a goal of completing at least 2 projects per month. These can be in any medium - sewing, painting, drawing, clay, etc. I want to have "documentation" of these creations so that I can see all of the things that I have accomplished, as this is hard for me to realize sometimes. I often think that I am being lazy because I can't see all the work that I do. In the few months since finishing my board exam I feel like I have not accomplished anything but looking around and listening to people talk I realize that I was actually very busy. I helped create 8 costumes for my brother's beautiful wedding and made Viking banners for decorations. That's a lot of sewing for 3 months! Below are some "teaser" photos posted by their photographer Pink Light Images.







 

I am putting forward a few options for my November 2014 project goals:
1) Upcycle one of my cardigans by putting lace pockets on it
2) Make my Xmas dress with the pattern I bought this month
3) Upcycle a men's dress shirt into a women's tunic
4) Create Xmas presents for friends & family


I will post more pics of the banners and wedding costumes as I get them and I will post pictures of my finished monthly projects as I finish them!

xoxo
V

BSG Beginnings

I have been working on getting started on making my Battlestar Galactica, or should I say Battlestar Valkyrie, costume. I am making an admiral's costume. So, as one of the purposes of this blog I am going to document my progress on my costume so I can keep track of it for myself and also I hope to post my entries on a BSG costuming site to help others make their own BSG costumes. It seems that there is a shortage of tutorials for them, especially for women. I haven't started sewing yet but I've made a list of what I will be using to make the costume. This list is subject to change as time goes on and I find out that I’m missing something haha

What You'll Need to Make a Female Admiral’s Uniform

Patterns:

-McCall’s M4745 (Men’s Civil War Costume – use coat B)

-McCall’s M5860 (The Perfect Jean Jacket – used as a reference to make princess seams)

-Vogue V8479 (Women’s dress pants)

Fabric and such:
-Navy Blue Suiting (I bought 6 yards of 'medieval blue melange' spring suiting (100% Polyester))

-Navy Blue Lining (I bought 4 yards to line the jacket)

-Fusible Interfacing (I bought ¼ yard)

-Silver Vinyl (I bought ¼ yard of shiny silver vinyl to make the piping – vinyl is used to make the piping of senior officers’ uniforms, not junior officers’ uniforms. Flat silver (gray) vinyl would also work nicely as long as it has some sheen)

-Gold Vinyl (I bought ¼ yard – see notes above for silver vinyl)

-Navy Ultrasuede (I bought ¼ yard, used for shoulder patches)

-Gold thread

-Silver thread

-Navy thread

Other Materials:

-1 Navy 4-in Zipper for the pants (not a “sports” zipper)

-Snap Buttons (it’s easiest if you buy a package with the application tool

included)

-Hook and Eye

-Rat Tail Cording (about 5 yards, used for piping)

Tools:

-Sewing Machine

-Various Sewing Machine Needles

-Hand Needles

-Iron and Ironing Board

-Pins

-Tomato Pin Cushion

-Tailoring Chalk

-Marking Pencil

-Sewing Gauge

-Measuring Tape

-Seam Ripper

-Sewing Shears (or plain scissors)

-‘Bodkin’ with Hook (see picture, used for turning tubes, don’t sweat it if you don’t have one – a safety pin will do the trick as well)

Accessories:

-Battlestar Patch (I bought mine from scifigeeks.com)

-8 Uniform Buttons (I got mine on eBay)

-2 Admirals’ Pins (eBay)

-Senior Flight Wings (eBay)

-Dog Tags (you can buy personalized dog tags at quantummechanix.com, but I am lucky enough to have an engraver for a brother so mine will be made by him)

-Law Pro Boots (I plan to buy mine at qmuniforms.com)

-1 ½ inch Navy Webbing Belt with Black Slide Release Buckle (I got mine at strapworks.com) (or you could make your own out of navy webbing and a slide release buckle)

- (2) ½ inch Black Plastic Slide Release Buckles (for cuffs)

Introductions and such

I am a new blogger and I;m really excited. I have 2, my other being on livejournal. I am planning on making both blogs very similar. My intent for these journals is to talk only about my current projects and ideas. Those being artist endeavors including but not limited to sewing, cooking, painting and drawing, other topics may include philosophy, poetry, short stories, books, and life. My goal is to make a journal that a stranger could read so I don't want to include a lot of personal information or person specific entries. I will however, include personal thoughts, but not complaints (e.g. school, money problems, family issues). My goal is to have an interesting, inspirational, and even instructional online journal that many people can enjoy. I will be posting my first official topic-related entry soon. Hopefully I will have some fabric soon to start my current sewing project. I am making a Battlestar Galactica Admiral's uniform, but I will talk more about that next time!


Just a little information about me: I'm 21. I live in St. Louis, MO. I'm a total geek/gamer chick and I love creating and viewing art. I also love baking and cooking, and philosophy. I'm currently reading Thus Spake Zarathustra (love Nietzsche!) which I also hope to talk about more in-depth in a future entry. I'm in school for psychology (undergrad) and planning to go to grad school for physical therapy. I'd like to be a physical therapist/yoga instructor and open my own practice. I may talk about the process a bit, though I don't want to get too caught up in that in this journal.