So happy to have made some good progress in my work on the holiday baskets. The fall themed one that I call "Pumpkin Patch" is done, and I'm about to list it in my etsy shop. I did add a fox to one side, and a bird to the other, since my last post showing it.
I've also almost finished a Christmas-Winter themed one this weekend, except for a few more details on the sides and interior, and varnishing it. I'm calling it "Snow Birds."
It's been fun watching the Olympics the last couple of weeks. Amazing how human beings can push themselves to extremes to achieve a goal, isn't it? And how some people's bodies are capable of incredible strength, flexibility, grace, precise movement, endurance, beauty, speed...though not all at the same time, generally! (Although I personally think dancers combine them pretty well!)
I was touched and inspired by many of the athlete's stories; were you too? Gabby Douglas' amazing gymnastic ability, the South African man with prosthetic legs running in track events, the young Saudi woman competing in judo, the first woman of her nation in the Olympics. Hard to believe that there are still places in this world where women are so controlled and virtually imprisoned in their homes, prohibited even from exercising. I heard that she may face a lifetime of being shunned and criticized in her own country. I wish her well and hope that her world will change for the better...and make progress toward freedom for her and the women of her nation and religion.
Another weekend has zoomed by. I'm back at my sewing machine for the moment, making a new ballroom dance dress for one of the other girls coached by my daughter's coach. Let me just say that I am not a great seamstress. I can sew reasonably well, though, and have made quite a few dresses in the last five years for Laura. I've had a few failures but most turned out pretty good. Here are four photos of Laura in a few of her dresses, with her partner Dakota.
So I was willing to make two dresses for Heather earlier this year for USADance Nationals in Baltimore, which we all went to in April. One, the Latin dress (cha cha, rumba, etc), turned out fine. But the other, for smooth dances (waltz, tango, foxtrot)...not so much. She wore it but I didn't think it was flattering enough or moved well enough. (I don't have photos of them, sorry about that.)
I planned to work on it this summer and fix it, but with my other projects to do for my etsy shop, I'm short on time. Sometimes trying to fix something takes more time and effort (and patience) than starting anew. I found a new pattern I thought was a good shape for the dress, and a print material I like for the skirt, and got started this weekend.
My sewing machine is a Singer I bought after we moved into our house almost 24 years ago. I get it serviced and fixed now and then, and it's solid metal--like a boat anchor--yes, it's sturdy, not fancy.
And what is it with sewing patterns?? Why oh why do they fold them like freaking origami!? Getting them back into the envelope is nearly impossible. Why are they folded in such ridiculous ways instead of simply in half over and over?
I got the dress made but not the lining and underskirt yet. It needs a try-on first to see how it fits her. I wish I were better at this! I'm hoping this one will be successful. Every dancer wants to feel beautiful on the dance floor, and the dress can have a big impact on how they look as they move and how they feel about themselves.
We had a lovely sunset tonight, all blue and orange.
And another week begins! Hope your week is wonderful.
I drive a '98 Mercury Mystique with about 114k miles on it. It's not very reliable, and not very pretty, but it represents "No Car Payment" to me, and so I drive it happily! I hope to get a couple more years of payment-free driving out of it.
My sister-in-law gave it to us a few years ago when she got a new car. We had been calling it The Little Red Car, then shortened to LRC, for awhile, but I decided to call it Lucy, because it's shorter than saying "L-R-C", and it's a ditzy redhead ala Lucille Ball. Sometimes she's Leaky Lucy, since after it rains I have a puddle in my driver's side floor...sometimes she's Lurchy Lucy when her tranny is out of sorts. She may be old, creaky and cranky, but she's got character.
I also decided to decorate her. Why not? Don't think we'll be selling her, except maybe for scrap when we can't get another mile out of her.
So I started shopping on etsy for vinyl decals for Lucy. I collected several, and thought, why not make her a rolling advertisement for my etsy site? I ordered some more decals and the last ones just arrived, from China after 4 weeks of shipping, last Friday. I also had bumper stickers made on zazzle.com with some of my artwork.
I spent most of Sunday putting the decals on in the garage. Hot and buggy out there (yay for Repel Lemon Eucalptus Insect Repellent!) Take a look!
The sun was a bit bright here, sorry, but this is the passenger side.
Here's the driver's side.
The back is the best I think. I paraphrased a quote to come up with the motto "Art is an Adventure of the Mind" to tie in with my blog name. Underneath are my website urls.
And the back window has an Art Life decal, a Peace Love Rescue decal, and my zazzle bumper stickers.
I put about 30 white butterflies all over the sides and a few on the back, and then used colored Sharpies to decorate them. I have no idea how that will hold up in the weather, but I'm sure I'll find out! I might add more later.
It's much more festive now, I think! I have no idea if it will actually lead to anyone going to my sites or not, but it'll be fun to drive around. Lucy is all dressed up and ready to hit the town.
PS...I sold another print on fineartamerica.com yesterday! This was one of the Napa Valley Vineyard, the original sold last month from my etsy.com store. This is being on a roll, for me!
