Green Monday

Ahhhh. The wearin' o' the green! I actually remembered this morning and managed to find a green sweater to change into on my way out of the door this morning!

I had a great weekend, very busy as usual, and fairly productive! I got 4 competition suits finished and delivered for next weekend's NKY show, and took two suits for another client to be tried on--and remade. Not quite enough fabric in the bootie area, there. I was being so overly conservative as I cut these things out before, that my girls were all sending them back to be redone...I guess I went too far the other way!

I got those suits re-done and ready to be re-fitted and cut out two more suits, for a different client! I'm so enjoying this work, I hope I turn out to be good at it so that people keep coming to me!

I also finished a set of blocks for a swap, which I haven't participated in forever, but am looking forward to getting back in contact with quilting friends. Not that I have time to quilt, but I have time to think about it and wish!
I am actually taking a few days off over the next two weeks and hopefully I can get in there and get some quilting done...and maybe another set of blocks for the swap!

No pictures this time...I took some, but I don't want to post the finished suits until Abbie and Maja wear them next weekend...I want to post pictures with them all fixed up and be-youteeful on stage.

More suits, carbon footprints, and it's Friday!

what a week! I have been in a total fog the past few days, but I think I'm coming out of it. My diseased mind tells me that I probably have a vitamin deficiency as a result of my protein/fruit and vegetable only diet, and I should probably eat a loaf of bread. On the other hand, I have been eating this way for 18 months and haven't really suffered as a result of it up to now, so it's maybe some sort of temporary (but very serious and requiring lots of sympathy) 24-hour cancer or something. Or it could just be PMS, winter and stress combining to get my attention: HEY! Get some sleep!

but Hey...I'm having the time of my life making these posing suits and getting the embroidery thing going, working all that.

We had a girl scout meeting last night and talked about our Bronze Award Service project. I presented my idea to the girls and they loved it (a minor miracle). Now I just have to suck up the energy to get things rolling. Here is my idea: We are going to have a Carbon Footprint Education Station: We will set up a Kroger or somewhere like that and offer free tire pressure testing and filling ( to increase fuel efficiency), and provide starter plants for home-grown produce (to promote sustainable, locally grown agriculture) and maybe even make recycled recipe books...recipes taken from other sources, printed on recycled paper and bound with handmade/recycled paper. We'll also pass out footprint shaped fliers with information about reducing the Carbon Footprint. I'm so excited (in my mind)...getting this off the ground might take a little more than I can do.

the images that weren't

I tried to post these pics yesterday, but that didn't work. so here they are today! First up are of the two-piece I finished embellishing yesterday:

And here is the view down my street the other day, Saturday, during the 'blizzard'. I guess that, technically, it really was a blizzard, but it all seems so anticlimactic now. Everything is all melted into a few big grey crusty piles. but here it totally looks like we live WAY out in the boonies, where in reality there is a street there and lots of driveways to be seen on a clear day!
Here is poor Stella, standing on the front step, waiting to be allowed back in the house. I kept trying to get her to go out and run around so I could get a picture of how the snow came up to the dogs' bellies, but Lucy wouldn't even go outside, and Stella wasn't stepping of the stoop unless her boy was out in the yard...and Sam was safe in the basement playing video games.

The Blizzard that was

Well, we had about a foot of snow between friday morning and Saturday afternoon, then the sun came out and it's almost all gone now! Seems kind of anti-climactic--like after all that, we should get to sit around and admire the weather a little more.

I have to say that I really enjoyed sitting around for two whole days doing nothing much. Friday night some friends came over and played board games and had snacks, then Saturday Karen went to a friend's to play in the snow all day (and night) and the menfolk spent the day shoveling the neighbors out. Daniel was especially thrilled to make lots of money doing this...Sam decided after about a job or two that he had enough money and would rather build igloos and play video games.

I was sad to learn today that the father of one of Karen's classmates died yesterday, possibly from a heart attack while shoveling his driveway. Ick. That makes me sad and scared.

I met with two new posing suit clients yesterday...the bidness seems to really be taking off! I really love doing this. I usually take Karen along--I'm trying to gently indoctrinate her into the world of strong women. I don't want her thinking that she has to be a steroid freak, just that muscles are beautiful. I am occassionally conflicted about the sport of body building/figure and fitness competition. I totally admire the work that goes into getting in the kind of shape these women are in, and the dedication and committment. These people eat so clean...but then when it gets close to competition time, the diet gets very restrictive and doesn't seem so healthy. that scares me a little. I appreciate the way that the competitions focus on the feminine aspects of the female competitors...they get their hair and nails done, wear beautiful blingy suits (I especially like the suits...). Not sure about the shoe thing...those four inch stripper heels are icky...but then I realize that they only have to wear them around the stage for a few minutes--it's not like anyone expects these ladies to wear them to the gym! Okay, but the boob thing...that is a conflict for me. There are so many store bought boobs out there! I certainly defend the right of anyone to have boobs, even store bought ones, or to have big boobs reduced...I just hate like hell for anyone to think that they HAVE to get boobs in order to be a successful competitor. hey, the fingernails and hair extensions are temporary...why not go with temporary boobs? They fit nicely inside the suit and there is no surgical recovery time! I'm not going to stay on this soap box...after all, I am blessed to have enough in the boob department--for all of my body image issues, the boob thing has never been a problem for me. So I'll just shut the hell up now.

More Bling for Phyllis

Poor Phyllis. It's snowed about six inches since 9am today and she's lucky to be wearing a one piece suit right now. At least we aren't making her go out and shovel snow. After Abbie and Maja looked at the suit, it was decided that we needed more stones. The photos really don't do it justice...I think that we need motion to really see the shine of these stones, but at least the pics give us an idea of layout. I put about twice the stones on there since yesterday's pic.

I also did Abbie's two piece. The stones are amethyst and crystal. There are about...5 gross amethyst and four gross crystal stones! Again, it looks better in motion, but I think this pattern is pretty cool.

Okay, everyone: Keep warm and dry. Here in the greater Cincinnati area it's supposed to snow another six or eight inches in the next 24 hours. The weather guys are so excited! I'm happy for the weather guys, and also glad that we get to listen to something other than primary election crap!

One suit down, seven to go

Okay, I have been lax in posting here, haven't I? I've been very busy elsewhere. The posing suit thing is taking off, which is cool, because it means---income! At least it might mean income somewhere down the line. Right now I'm doing well to cover my costs!

Here is Daniel modeling Abbie's one piece for the NKY NPC which will take place March 22 at the Northern Kentucky convention Center. Doesn't it look good on him? He needs some tanning, but other wise I think it will work. He's leaning out nicely (that's body building jargon...).

This is a one-piece that I made as a trial for Maja, but it was way too short in the torso, so I jeweled it up last night as a sample. This is basically what you get for $150 right now...a suit and 144 20ss crystals. The ones on here are not Swarovski, I was experimenting with a cheaper glass kind...and they look cheaper...not near as much pop as the Swarovski (see Abbie's suit above!)

It's kind of amazing how little coverage you get with 144 crystals! Not much bling at all. Abbies suit has about 4 gross applied right now, and I think I need to add another 2. My pictures don't do it justice, but it really shines in person!