empress lulu of the space bees

"one night performance only! be amazed at the refined ferocity of the empress of that fantastic and opulent race of beings; the space bees! be enthralled by the daring, the beauty, the ravishing of the senses that leads ones very being to the brink of utter ecstasy! get your tickets now! this artistic endeavor of only a few hours will not be repeated again in a lifetime, don't miss out!"

a skirt with pockets

've been on a nani iro fabric collecting rampage. two yards of each one i love. that would be enough to make something such as a shirt or skirt or tunic. i hope.
one in particular i've been eyeing is the saaaa saaa in pink from the basic line. alas, but my hopes of having two yards were dashed against the boulders of procrastination; there was only one yard remaining for sale. but it would be enough for a skirt, so i went ahead and bought that last lonely yard.
it's strange what you miss when you don't have, and only to come to this realization when presented with what it is. pockets in skirts is one of these things. you live your life for years wearing skirts and then one day you purchase one with pockets; and suddenly you know that this is one luxury you can't do without.
so i used the selvedge from one side of the width for the waistband, reinforcing it with a narrow grosgrain ribbon, created pockets, attached the lining, and installed the zipper. which took longer to attach properly then the time that was used to sew the rest of the skirt. one day zipper, one day i will conquer the likes of you! and in the end i have a light and airy new skirt to wear in the coming toasty months. one with pockets.

this i have got to see

and luckily it is the day after my birthday. sweet. i don't remember reading the book as a child, but i definitely remember it being big, and seeing it at the library a lot. the trailer is captivating and i love the song they used.
this has also given my brain fodder for halloween. i know for sure that i can sew a costume together before that time. i'm excited. i'll be warm and get to wear a crown. oh, yes, a crown.

i actually quite liked it

i thought the movie australia was rather nice, poignant really, and rather beautiful. yes, long, but it didn't feel so when one was watching it. i had heard so-so reviews from some sources, but as i've come to find out, most of the movies i find wonderful are given reviews that are rather shortchanged. and though i may tire of happy endings as being the norm for hollywood, i did not mind it in the least for this film.

somewhere to sit and eat

the dolls in the dollhouse can finally sit down and have some breakfast. oatmeal, actually. the table hunt was successful; the cafe style table is a perfect size for the kitchen, not too big nor too small.
i also found a table for the living room, but i wasn't 100% sure of it at the time. i thought i was prepared to go to the dollhouse store, camera in hand, detailed list of needs and wants, in the vain hope of not becoming overwhelmed. i grabbed the above table right away, then saw one next to it that had real possibility for the main dining area. tables in hand, off i went to look for chairs to pair with it. and that, dear folks, is how one starts looking at the want list and adding things. but somehow after an hour and a half, i pulled through, two purchases poorer; purple flowers for the upstairs hallway and a table for the kitchen.

a 2 hour car trip later, upon arriving home and putting said table in it's new locale, i had second thoughts of the other table. about how the glimmer of that mirror, the shade of that frame would correspond fantastically against the table. about how dark the little nook is, how this one piece of furniture would brighten and draw attention. and i doubted my choice in not getting both tables. alas, good thing for telephones and the mail system.
the little table looked alone in the kitchen, so i pulled out my box of old furniture and placed two chairs from the previous dining set along side the sleek new marble top. looking at the pairing i thought, "this actually doesn't look that bad, i actually like the warmth of the wood in correspondence with the cool steel and glossy white." and so they stayed.

double gauze and nani iro

of all of the fabric in my stash, i must say that my absolute favorites would be the ones from nani iro. they're soft, pretty in a most delicate way, cool, and make the best clothes. i want to collect as many yards as possible. i keep telling myself, "you need 2 yards to make an article of clothing, so figure that said article of clothing store-bought would be more than the cost of fabric, so suck it up and buy it already.", and then i put that on repeat in ones head.
at first i only bought quarter yards, then i bought half yards, now i'm at the full yard cut, so i'm hoping that the next time i purchase some i'll finally be able to get the needed two yards. as far as the rest of my collection? i really can't see wearing any of them as clothes. so that leaves one possible alternative, anyone up for some quilting?

and now for something completely different...

yes, it's tape, that most useful of desk accessories. and now in some very pretty colors. i like colorways, they make me happy; it's also my very favorite way to organize.
japan is the land of awesome things: anime, manga, fabric, paper, electronics, and now tape. i managed to track down a roll of this stuff at the dwr tools for living store. i saw it in blog land, and really needed to have it, it really spoke to me through all of it's pixeled glory. what shall i tape now? well first, a label for my glitter, to replace the one my cats thought would taste nice. and then who knows? i could also just look at it. yum.

yellow sparkles

yesterday i drew out a pattern, cut out fabric, sewed pieces together, added buttons, then glued everything to a frame. at the end of the day i had myself a cute little clutch. the glue was a little stinky; but as chemical bonding often times goes, the smell is fading as it works through the curing process. there weren't any major snafus, perhaps the interfacing could be a little stiffer. i could not have done it so quickly without the helpful aid of u-handblog, and her excellent tutorial.
sometimes it hurts to use a favorite fabric, but then you get something pretty out of it, so it becomes ok. i'm really liking the soft lavender of the lining, it's similar to the wallpaper i made for the bathroom.

sewing with da machine

i've had my eye on a certain sewing machine since december, and finally was able to get it. the pretty thing came last week and i've been playing with it ever since; i have dubbed it "lola". first i took in and took up my work pants, then i widened a nautical blouse for my brother's fiance, and earlier today i was sewing together a kiss-lock purse i've been thinking of doing since november.
so, as usual in my demented quest for more creative skills, i've been wandering through blog land in search of other sew happy types. there are so many blogs out there with lots of wonderful things; if i can find clothing fabric that's pretty i'm going to start making my own clothes. one book i have, stylish dress book, has lots of simple and pretty patterns that can be changed up by using this sleeve over that one, or shortened to make a tunic into a blouse.
well, i'm off to find a kitchen table for the dollhouse. here's to a successful hunt!

everything but the commodore

inside joke. i'm actually referring to the commode. anyways. the tub and plumbing are completely movable in case i decide to rearrange the placement. in keeping with the vanity, the tub faucet is encased in cork as well. perhaps i will get a bidet along with the toilet. if and when i can purchase just those two units alone. i don't really care for another set of bathroom appliances.