Gonna rock and roll all night..

So, I've had a very kindly drummer extend an invitation to me to come see him play in his band. If this were any other person than who he is, I wouldn't be thinking so hard about what to wear to his gig, but he is who he is, so my mind has been whirling faster and faster since the invite.

What does a girl who adores corsets wear to a rock show in a bar? Really? This is causing a great disturbance in the maze my brain becomes when a new project presents itself. Do I dress sweet, or sexy? Being who he is, sexy was my first choice. First I was thinking a basic vest, to gain the corset-look, and a pair of lace-up pants, like the ones pictured below. It took me a good long while to find these, google-searching just "lace-up pants" was an...interesting journey. Thankfully afashion.net kicked up something like what I'd thought of.

http://www.afashion.net/sexy-lace-pants-p-376.html

But no, I really kinda want to go with a corset. So, I hunted through my patterns and came up with one that I think is meant to be a bridal corset, not meant for much reduction, that has shoulder straps. Straps would sort of soften the fact that it's a corset, right? I've got a deep plum-colored charmeuse that will be beautiful for this pattern(along with being one of Mr. Drummer's favorite colors on me, shh!), so corset it shall be, but with those pants? Probably a bit too much. I want to be sexy, after all, not trashy. Not that I think the pants are trashy, mind you. I might have to make a pair for the next show.

Now the question became what to wear with said corset to tone down the corset-ness. I think I've decided on a black circle skirt, knee-length, with a yoke around the hips and a "belt" attached at said yoke's side seams, probably fixed in place at center front with a pair of D-rings to wrap around. I'll have to play with that yet. That will be in black jersey, definitely. But what to wear under the corset? This is, after all, Chicago in October. It can hit 70 as easily as it can hit 35. Something with sleeves is a must. So, why not a black renaissance blouse? I can easily make a black cotton chemise, which will help keep me warm if need be, but if the bar gets warm it won't kill me by being overly hot. Sounds like a winner, yeah?

Concept sketch. I love that fashion figure.. Think its from Lovely-Whimsy. Pretty sure.

Yeah.. We'll see how many more times my mind changes before the show. I have until the 16th, after all. Could end up wearing absolutely none of this, but making it all.

A poll and procrastination

My sister pointed out that my business name might win me a lot of emails from people wondering where all the Twilight stuff is, since there's a Stephanie Meyer story titled Midnight Sun.

Who knew? Not me. I know, I know. Where the blazes have I been, that I wasn't aware of that?

So, for your delight and enjoyment, I have a poll! Please to be helping me decide which of these names you like best?

Which name do you like better?
Ophelia's Dreams Ophelia's Shadows Ophelia's Stars
	Results

Why is this procrastination, you ask? I'm supposed to be running an application over to my favorite fabric store this afternoon.. but the job is only three days per week. Granted, that's more than my current job can guarantee.. though since they're both fabric stores, I can't work for both at the same time. Something about not working for the competition, you know? And that's fine, since I kind of want out of my current job anyway. Two years of not being in the position I was hired for, though I've been trained for it I never got certified so they can't schedule me for that. Two years of being on registers, being blamed for every little Corporate decision that makes it that much harder for customers to save a little more...

There's nothing to say this other job would be any better, but the ladies that work there are all very nice and know me by name. Three reliable days, though.. It would be nice to have more days, but the four days to myself might be nice for finally getting my shop up and running. What do you think? I'm off to fill out that application

I'm alive still! And a give-away

I've stolen this from my favorite Aelwyn ever, over at the Hedgewitch Hollow.

The give-away:

The first 5 people to respond to this post will get something made by me, especially for you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
•I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I hope you will.
•What I create will be just for you.
•They say I have a year to get it to you.
•You have no clue what it's going to be. It’s a surprise to both of us at this point.


The catch? You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

Simple, right? I fully expect, if I check up on you, that this will be up on your blog shortly after you comment here, else I will make you something you absolutely hate!

...ok, so I won't, not really, but I'll be quite sad if you don't repost.


In other news, I'm alive! ...if you didn't notice. ;) Slogging through real life is getting the better of me, but I'm still costuming, so pester me if I don't put a blog up within the next week about the pieces I made for myself for the Repo! The Genetic Opera shadowcast I was in. Maybe I'll even detail my time with the cast, for the two shows I performed in! Won't that make for dull reading?

Keep dancing under that midnight sun, lovelies.

Repo! moment

So, I'm really bad at this whole not falling off the face of the earth thing, I guess. I'm sorry! A short while ago, though, I had written up a product review for my dear friend SarahPuff. This time, it's my turn for a blog update.

Now, this won't be about clothes I'm making(unless you count the fact that fans dress up for Repo! like they do for the Rocky Horror Picture show, and I'm no exception. I'm planning on attempting a remake of a Roberto Cavalli dress that a character wears in the film), but I'll be telling you about something much more amazing. This blog, my friends, will be my attempt to introduce you to an amazing rock opera. Don't make that face, it's better than it has any right to be.

Repo! is an incredible film by director Darren Bousman(directed Saws 2, 3, and 4, if you care to know). The amazing cast is mainly compiled of Alexa Vega(think Spy Kids), Anthony Steward Head(yes, the librarian on Buffy), Paul Sorvino, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton(I know, that's what I thought too, but it wouldn't be Repo! without her!), and the mind-boggling Terrance Zdunich.

The premise of this movie by Mr. Darren Smith and Mr. Zdunich(yep, multi-talented man; he even composed a number of the songs) is that, in the not too distant future, in responce to an epidemic of organ failure, a large bio-technology corporation will offer financing on transplant surgeries. If the contract isn't signed in blood, however--as in the case of Blind Mag(Ms. Brightman)--your account will be handed over to GeneCo's Repo man. That's right: GeneCo has managed to legalize organ reposession, and therefor, murder. For those who have become addicted to surgery, the "scalpel sluts," a painkiller called Zydrate has been supplied. Despite GeneCo's best efforts, Zydrate has a definite street presence. Even Amber Sweet(Ms. Hilton), the daughter of GeneCo's owner, can be found in the alleys from time to time, searching for a hit from everyone's favorite dealer: Graverobber(Mr. Zdunich. See what I meant about multi-talented? And that voice!)



With a great script that is so deliciously memorable--could you forget the line, "Amber, happiness is not a warm scalpel!"--and fans who dress up in costume and sing along, this rock opera is definitely worthy of attention. Even better is that the DVD will be released on the 20th. Yes, this January. 16 days from today, I will be dancing in my livingroom to Joan Jett's appearance in the song "Seventeen."

The Chicago Repo Army

By the way, Mr. Zdunich, if ever you somehow see this. Thank you very much for being so awesome for the world to see, but do you have to be this awesome? You'll give us all complexes!

Join the craziness! It's good for your health.

A dinner date? Um, no, that's ok. Really.

Corsets and winter coats have been put on temporary hold. My sister and I have a date on November 21st with a couple of vampires, and we simply must look our best! I get to puzzle through two "prom" dresses in this short time--not that I had much more time to make her dress for her actual junior prom. I think I got that one done in about four days, with at least two all-night sewing sessions.

I have a good idea in my head for my dress, borrowing heavily from Ms. Meyer's inspiration for Alice's dress in the book(see her website and the FAQ for a picture of the dress she had found, it's stunning!) Why Alice, you ask? (Or are those just the voices in my head leftover from a long day at work with my co-workers yammering in my ear over the radios?) Because with my new haircut, I apparently resemble Alice.

Do I really compare to Ashley Greene? No, I didn't think so, either!

My sister has what we affectionately call "Bella Balance Syndrome," i.e. the ability to trip over something while standing still on a flat, stable and completely clear surface. She will be dressed as Bella, just as soon as we figure out a design we both agree on. She didn't care for the dress in pictures from the movie, nor did she like the dress described from the book(also in that FAQ). Too frilly, she said. Well, yeah; ruffles tend to make stuff frilly. Maybe I'll add a tiny ruffle to the neckline of her dress. Mwaha! I am, after all, her older sister. What's the point in acknowledging that if I can't mess with her a little?

Elisabethan corset

Act 1, Scene 1

Ah, my dears, I disappeared for much too long! First I was always at work, watching people buy fabric I would love to take home and play with. I changed my availability, so now I have two whole days devoted to being home and staying crafty. Yay! Then, a grave injustice: one of my managers gave me his cold! Three weeks later, I was convinced it was no cold, but some form of the plague and I would be dead before long. (No, obviously, I didn't die. Lucky me!) Then, my dad's truck, Chester, died of a blown head gasket. Now, I don't know much about cars, but I know enough to know that a blown head gasket means the car is pretty well dead, unless you want to spend massive amounts of money trying to fix it without a real guarantee. So now dad has my darling little car, my precious red Colonel, and mom and I are sharing her Taurus. (I really should name that, since I name everything. Life seems to finally be settling down a little for me to get some work done.

So what did I decide to do with my small bubble of relative sanity in this chaos that my life has collapsed into?

You betcha, last night I cut out the fashion layer of a corset. I had the pattern drafted by 11:30, cut the fabric out by 11:45(snack and Pepsi break, you know), and sat down to test the fit. Let me tell you, for those of you who don't sew, pinning yourself into even what will be a front-lacing corset is not such an easy feat. I don't know how many times I stuck myself, causing hostile muttering that scared my cat away from sitting over me and supervising. A little trimming, even more pinpricks, and then it was off to bed with me because it was somehow suddenly 1 am already, and I had to be at work to open.

So, there I sat, scribbling my tiny calligraphy in my little journal to type this post up, pondering my Elisabethan(spelled wrong defiantly, I spell my name with an s, not a z) corset every moment of my work day. What do I want to use as an inner lining? Denim. What kind of boning, and how long will it take to arrive? Will I go crazy and paint pretty designs on the wooden busk? It will be removable, to use in other such corsets I'll have in the future. Most importantly..

How much longer until 5 o'clock, when I get to go home and get some real work done??

5 o'clock came, and as I sat waiting for mom, watching more gorgeous fabric go out the door past me, I giggled over the new commission I got. My co-worker asked me to make her a gable hood! The Tudor-era headwear that is, quite honestly, shaped like most of today's simple birdhouses. For your head. How awesome! She had seen The Other Boleyn Girl ages back, and loved the look.
Picture courtesy of Wikipedia, which is truly a mind-boggling site. But lookit the hood! How cool is that?

Fantastic movie, by the way, and an even better book; I strongly recommend both! I bought the book Sunday afternoon at Borders, had it finished sometime Monday evening(after another 9-5 day at work), and promptly reread it. I've decided I now have to read everything by Philippa Gregory. I think it will be a far better use of my time in between work and sewing than reading another series I could mention, having lost six days of my lie to. No, I won't tell you which series, I like the whole not being lynched part of my life.

So, essentially, in the very near future, you get to look forward to an Elisabethan corset, a gable hood(maybe she'll even let me take a picture of her wearing it!), and I think I'll make myself a French hood, just for fun. Enough blabbering at you, dears, I'm going to get started on my goals for the night. Ta!

Well hello!

Hello, my faery friendly darlings, and welcome to my blog! How are you this fine evening? This will be a little nook where I give you extra pictures, perhaps a little insight into my life, and on occasion, you'll be seeing a few little tidbits that won't be listed for sale anywhere else! Isn't that exciting? So pull up a comfy toadstool, and sip some of the honey, and hang around, because even I don't ever know what's going to happen next.