Wednesday, 9 January 2013
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Megs was in need of a loving
The dobe got a strange lump on her leg before Christmas. The vet initially thought that it was an insect bite that she'd licked too much but I'm glad that we weren't so sure as on Friday she had, what we now knew to be, a benign tumour removed. She was a sad girl who returned home, her history with vets has not been good and the entire experience drains her. I don't think I'm exaggerating to think that she knows that what happens is for the good, but she does not enjoy the process. When it came to bedtime the pain was evident. She sat on her bed, the whites of her eyes showing and her mouth as stiff as if she had her teeth clenched. So there we sat, on the cold bedroom floor, long after bedtime and I held her till she was ready to fall asleep because I knew, there and then, with utter certainty that this is my girl. We may not be related, the same species even, but she is my girl and I adore her with the same depth of feeling that I save for my very favourite people and the other furry and feathered souls that have snuck into my heart.
There was a Church camp in Hong Kong, we went there a few times for the weekend and maybe once with school. It was in the mountains, we did lots of walking, and on the paths around the site there were signs that often made us laugh; my favourite "Don't step on the cat, she may be your Grandmother!" It made no sense, and I never saw the cat, but as I learnt officially about Buddhism at University, I saw how I had, through experiences like that, been living with Buddhism my entire childhood in Asia. It had formed a great deal of how I thought about the world and, most especially, the notion of souls. I find it perfectly acceptable, from both a faith based and scientific standpoint, that there is an essence, an energy in every living thing, that can not quite be explained by science, and which we think of as the soul. I think it is one of the true wonders of Buddhism, the idea of reincarnation, not necessarily for what it teaches you about the progression of your faith, but for the beautiful way in which it ensures that the basic tenants of that faith, and rights that it bestows upon each soul, are shared inclusively with the other creatures on our planet. For each of us to be able to recognise and relate to this energy, both in humans and non-humans, I see as utterly natural. We've all met someone with whom we instantly shared a rapport... or wanted to escape from fast. Fallen for that one puppy in the pile of equally cute puppies or found the one dog at the rescue shelter that catches our eye. I'm not suggesting that they might be long lost Uncle Frankland, but they have an energy we like and, you never know, might just share some of what was once Uncle Frank's!
And so it is with the Megs and I. She is a real needy fusspot who whines way too much, thinks she can wrap me round her little finger and sulks monumentally when she doesn't get her own way, can pull me off my feet, if she thinks there's a fox to be caught, farts like you wouldn't believe and utterly hogs the sofa but look into those eyes and there's that connection. The one that says we recognise each other, and we love what we see.
There was a Church camp in Hong Kong, we went there a few times for the weekend and maybe once with school. It was in the mountains, we did lots of walking, and on the paths around the site there were signs that often made us laugh; my favourite "Don't step on the cat, she may be your Grandmother!" It made no sense, and I never saw the cat, but as I learnt officially about Buddhism at University, I saw how I had, through experiences like that, been living with Buddhism my entire childhood in Asia. It had formed a great deal of how I thought about the world and, most especially, the notion of souls. I find it perfectly acceptable, from both a faith based and scientific standpoint, that there is an essence, an energy in every living thing, that can not quite be explained by science, and which we think of as the soul. I think it is one of the true wonders of Buddhism, the idea of reincarnation, not necessarily for what it teaches you about the progression of your faith, but for the beautiful way in which it ensures that the basic tenants of that faith, and rights that it bestows upon each soul, are shared inclusively with the other creatures on our planet. For each of us to be able to recognise and relate to this energy, both in humans and non-humans, I see as utterly natural. We've all met someone with whom we instantly shared a rapport... or wanted to escape from fast. Fallen for that one puppy in the pile of equally cute puppies or found the one dog at the rescue shelter that catches our eye. I'm not suggesting that they might be long lost Uncle Frankland, but they have an energy we like and, you never know, might just share some of what was once Uncle Frank's!
And so it is with the Megs and I. She is a real needy fusspot who whines way too much, thinks she can wrap me round her little finger and sulks monumentally when she doesn't get her own way, can pull me off my feet, if she thinks there's a fox to be caught, farts like you wouldn't believe and utterly hogs the sofa but look into those eyes and there's that connection. The one that says we recognise each other, and we love what we see.
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
A box of memories and the Nikon D90
I am a lucky girl. I know that I'm a lucky girl. I have my beautiful daughter, friends, family (furry, feathered and far-flung) and the lovely boyf.
There I've said it. Done, dusted, about to be published on the interweb ;o) ...it's amazing what a day back at work will do, especially after a couple of weeks of Christmas cheer and goodwill, and we did have a pretty lovely time.
But, going back to the subject at hand, two of my favourite presents this year (apart from, to name a few, my Lady Gaga perfume (unexpected and really good, who would have guessed?), the vegan chocolate and lemonade making kits, the wooden chook and lots of new saucepans!) were a box of (what I thought were lost) mementos that the child had found and kept for me and a very shiny, new and achingly cool camera from the boyf.
The box is so special, not just because of what it contains, but because the 11yr old knew that she didn't need to buy me something to give me something perfect. It was entirely her own idea and she had obviously been plotting it for a while; she is a clever old soul sometimes, my daughter, and I am so utterly proud of her.
As for the camera. Well, I only hope I can do it justice really, it is one amazing piece of technology. I could never bought myself one but the lovely boyf has taken the last few Christmases as an opportunity to help me do what I love to do. Thanks to him I have Miss G, my laptop and now the D90; all of which make my creative life easier, more enjoyable and let me broaden my horizons in the process. He spoils me, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't like to be spoilt!, but it is about much more than that. I know that the things that I do in my free time can get me all caught up and become consuming; they are pretty solitary and selfish pursuits. As anyone who lives with the steady hum of a sewing machine, the click-clack of the keyboard as you google some more research or another post is thought through and typed up, or who goes for a nice walk with their beloved... trailing behind just to get "one more shot"... will tell you. To support that, aid and abet it even, is a great gift because he knows, as well as I do, that he's lost me now for a good few more evenings; certainly until I've finished wading through the (rather scary) owners manual, and my newly acquired D90 for Dummies!
He is, truly, a very lovely boyf and I'm a lucky gal... and yes, there will be more photos appearing on this blog :o) Sorry folks!
There I've said it. Done, dusted, about to be published on the interweb ;o) ...it's amazing what a day back at work will do, especially after a couple of weeks of Christmas cheer and goodwill, and we did have a pretty lovely time.
But, going back to the subject at hand, two of my favourite presents this year (apart from, to name a few, my Lady Gaga perfume (unexpected and really good, who would have guessed?), the vegan chocolate and lemonade making kits, the wooden chook and lots of new saucepans!) were a box of (what I thought were lost) mementos that the child had found and kept for me and a very shiny, new and achingly cool camera from the boyf.
The box is so special, not just because of what it contains, but because the 11yr old knew that she didn't need to buy me something to give me something perfect. It was entirely her own idea and she had obviously been plotting it for a while; she is a clever old soul sometimes, my daughter, and I am so utterly proud of her.
As for the camera. Well, I only hope I can do it justice really, it is one amazing piece of technology. I could never bought myself one but the lovely boyf has taken the last few Christmases as an opportunity to help me do what I love to do. Thanks to him I have Miss G, my laptop and now the D90; all of which make my creative life easier, more enjoyable and let me broaden my horizons in the process. He spoils me, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't like to be spoilt!, but it is about much more than that. I know that the things that I do in my free time can get me all caught up and become consuming; they are pretty solitary and selfish pursuits. As anyone who lives with the steady hum of a sewing machine, the click-clack of the keyboard as you google some more research or another post is thought through and typed up, or who goes for a nice walk with their beloved... trailing behind just to get "one more shot"... will tell you. To support that, aid and abet it even, is a great gift because he knows, as well as I do, that he's lost me now for a good few more evenings; certainly until I've finished wading through the (rather scary) owners manual, and my newly acquired D90 for Dummies!
He is, truly, a very lovely boyf and I'm a lucky gal... and yes, there will be more photos appearing on this blog :o) Sorry folks!
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
The 1873 corset continued...
Well, I've had the lurgy! Woke up Boxing Day with itchy ears and it all went downhill from there... good thing about the enforced rest though is that I have had plenty of time to think and google, plot, play and plan the new corset. And, I made a great discovery, the beautiful Before the Automobile blog and, in particular, an amazing version of the 1873 corset; oh, to have even a smidgen of M's talent.
In addition to being a very talented seamstress, she is a generous lady who answered my email full of questions about redrafting Norah and it's construction. Armed with her tips and advice I, very randomly, found myself making my first muslin mock up yesterday. It was all very unplanned and haphazard, no planning or photos etc., and I spent the majority of the time telling myself that you can't just suddenly decide to mock up a corset as intricate as this with no planning or real forethought (on New Year's Eve no less) and it not be an utter waste of time... I was a lucky lady, the fates were on my side.
The corset is surprisingly easy to sew together, not construct - that will be a whole other story, but piece together based on the annotations on the pattern. I was expecting some serious head scratching but, apart from the obvious amendments that I still need to make to the pattern, it was nice and straightforward.
In the meantime, I have filled an Evernote notebook with web clippings of various fabrics. What was immediately obvious, from M's corset, was that the cording would not work with my original idea of a canvas top layer. I have been looking at different, softer canvases and also at Aida's but also found, in the googling, some rather lovely fabrics and am now utterly undecided as to what to do... I feel some sample ordering coming on.
In addition to being a very talented seamstress, she is a generous lady who answered my email full of questions about redrafting Norah and it's construction. Armed with her tips and advice I, very randomly, found myself making my first muslin mock up yesterday. It was all very unplanned and haphazard, no planning or photos etc., and I spent the majority of the time telling myself that you can't just suddenly decide to mock up a corset as intricate as this with no planning or real forethought (on New Year's Eve no less) and it not be an utter waste of time... I was a lucky lady, the fates were on my side.
The corset is surprisingly easy to sew together, not construct - that will be a whole other story, but piece together based on the annotations on the pattern. I was expecting some serious head scratching but, apart from the obvious amendments that I still need to make to the pattern, it was nice and straightforward.
Based on M's advice, I lengthened the corset but decided not to add anything to the the width and, as it happens, the front of the corset fits perfectly. I will need to add approx. 2" across the back, which I will divide equally across the side and back panels. What was immediately obvious was that the panels on the bottom that form the shape of the hips need to be adjusted. The front one, which should be a single, sweeping piece, I had to extend and will need to redraft. I also need to lengthen a couple of the other panels and, am thinking of extending them all a little more as I am looking for quite an exaggerated shape.
As I pinned the mock up to Miss G I made notes on the main pattern, measuring and redrafting as I went along. I will then unpick the mock up, add in the new pieces and, with any luck, have a finished pattern within a couple of attempts.
In the meantime, I have filled an Evernote notebook with web clippings of various fabrics. What was immediately obvious, from M's corset, was that the cording would not work with my original idea of a canvas top layer. I have been looking at different, softer canvases and also at Aida's but also found, in the googling, some rather lovely fabrics and am now utterly undecided as to what to do... I feel some sample ordering coming on.
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