aka Chesty LaRue

All Work and No Play Makes Larue Very Cranky Indeed (and likely to talk in the 3rd person)

I have been covered in bits of thread and smelling of puppy for about a week now. 

This is not entirely a good thing.

Luckily the Monks of New Skete know what they are doing, and the puppies slept from 10:30-6:30 last night and everyone is happier this morning.  Especially me.  I tend to get a mite cranky from lack of sleep.  Ask El Jefe and the Chick.  And did you know puppies are much cuter when you are not sleep deprived? It's true.

As I looked over my Sewing Spreadsheet yesterday, it seemed to me that it wasn't changing at all.  I was getting things done and deleting them from the list, but more things kept being added.  People have said to me, "Well, wouldn't you be bored if you had nothing to do?"

Yes, I would.  But that is what the "future projects" spreadsheet is for.  I just want to cross something off and feel the satisfaction of having done so.  When I finished redoing the guard for the underskirt on Princess A's purple dress yesterday I instantly packaged the whole thing up and brought it upstairs to put by the door so it could leave as soon as possible.  Because as much as I love to see my work completed and displayed on the mannequin (and more so on the person it is made for), I like to see it leave my house.  Maybe this is why I keep so few costumes for myself.  I have raised/sewn my babies and now they need to leave the nest.  Again, and again.

I like organization.  I like orderliness.  I love to have the Chick come and cut for me (can you imagine? Someone who actually LIKES cutting out patterns?), it drives me crazy not knowing where the stuff I had put on the table went to.  She is very patient with me and my OCD tendencies and allows me to move things so I know where they are, and then gets her stuff ready and cuts away.  And her cutting is very precise.  Which is WONDERFUL.  There is nothing quite so great as sewing something that has to be done right away and having all the pieces be the same length, size, etc., and marked with their tabs, etc. 

Non-sewing people might not get that, but it is just so relaxing.  Especially when you have been in such a hurry you go to serge two strips of fabric together and discover you have created a mobius strip and don't have enough leftover fabric to fix it.  (Not a good moment at all.)

I have been in such a sewing haze this past week that I have not watched any TV at all except for date night with El Jefe (Burn Notice, yah baby!), read any books, read any blogs, done much in the way of exercise, really done anything other than take puppies outside, help clean puppy pee, mediate between tired teenagers, and teach them how to hold puppies like footballs, which makes it easier to take two squirmy puppies outside at the same time.  I have also had my nose pressed to a serger or a sewing machine, or been meeting with clients.  I would not be surprised to reach in my bra and find a bobbin there.  I am fairly certain there is thread on my butt. 

And now it is crunch time.  I have much to accomplish before Costume College and Bristol, which is just a month away.  And starting next week the kids are in camp half-days, which means my puppy time increases. 

I am taking this as a good thing.  It will be good for me to sit outside and read a book while the puppies explore the yard.  It will be good for me to get away from the sewing machine and eat something with nutritional value.  It will be good for me to perhaps get on the treadmill and watch an episode of Law & Order (ding-ding!). 

And hopefully my spreadsheet will narrow down a bit and I will have some breathing room.  Which would be nice. 

Keeping me up at night...

Or the reason I haven't posted in several days:

Layla and Roxanne Larue, 8 weeks old, 4 lbs. each, Welsh Terriers.  They will be about 15-20 lbs. as adults, and will look like this:

They are cute and cuddly and like to get up at all hours, and Holy Crap have they completely reinforced the fact that I don't want another infant EVER.  And God Bless the Monks of New Skete, because I think their puppy training methods are going to enable us to actually sleep at night.  Because right now we are all so slap-happy that I think the kids are currently drinking coffee.

And yes, they are named after the Eric Clapton and Police songs.  We are big fans here at Chez Larue. 

Otherwise I have mostly been working on clients' work (pictures coming eventually), finishing up beading for the Princess (which is not as exciting visually when it is In Progress) and working on Georgie's Mardi Gras and German costumes.  And making really bad Santa jokes. 

Did I mention the lack of sleep? 

I have a lot of work to do before Costume College on the 30th of July (and WOO!  Uninterrupted sleep!  YES!) and should hopefully have pictures of something by then.  Otherwise I will just put up more Puppy P*rn. 

Off to nap.

Wench Posse: Sisterhood of the Magic Partlett

Awhile ago when I met Princess A she had an old white partlett that she wanted me recreate for her.  I ripped it apart, made a pattern, and made her several lovely new partletts to wear with last year's ensembles.  It was a fairly simple pattern and turned out a nice product.

Along the way I discovered that this particular pattern fit pretty much everyone.  It was like those traveling pants from that book and that movie.  To REALLY test this notion of the Ultimate Partlett, I had our own Gay Blade try it on:  (note - he is 6'7 with a 52 inch chest)

 

Stunningly, he was not only able to get it over his shoulders, but able to put his arms in it and when pulled properly in front it is only 4 inches apart.  (For this exercise the partlett used was the black one worn with Princess' pirate ensemble, and most recently worn by myself at Twig). 

We decided to conduct an unofficial experiment last evening on Wench Posse night.  It would appear that there are spots or something on my camera lens, and that the flash was VERY bright.  I apologize to the WP members for the less than flattering light.

First up was the bodacious Georgie, rocking the gang sign. 

Next up was our WIT (Wench in Training) or Recruit, lending her own brand of sassy to the gang sign.

TraynerShayne got in on the action with a very happy gang sign.

Hench D (honorary WP member) even had her service dog The War Rat participate.  Being that she does not have opposable thumbs, we are going to assume that what we see here is INDEED the gang sign.

 

Princess and Shimmy joined forces to show us just how roomy the partlett can be.  They also showed off how terribly cute they are.

And then the Chick decided to do an homage to Thriller:

And then showed off her MJ moves:

Not to be outdone, I was the final person to pose in the magic partlett in my own homage to the late gloved one:

Just keep it in the closet. 

Also finished?  The Disney Princess dress!  WOO-HOO!

As God is my witness, I shall never hand-stitch again.

Or not.

More excitement coming this weekend on the anniversary of our nation, and previews of the fabulous gowns being worn to Bristol.  Also?  I have given in and have listed my Venetian on eBay. 

Sigh.  There really should be a 12-step program for this sort of thing. 

Also?  Possible new addition to the family this weekend.  And no, I'm not pregnant (HA HA HA).  If it all happens there will be disgustingly cute photos tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Quick - someone comment

I have 666 comments so far on this blog and it is kind of creeping me out. 

Then again, perhaps I should get out more and not become unnerved by my comment meter.

Still - 666.  Sheesh.

File this one under ironic

Apparently a friend of one of the children found my blog recently, and by extension, the Chick's.  When her mother saw the titles of the blogs (aka Chesty Larue and Cheap But Not Easy) she thought they were adult content sites.   Hee. 

To any mothers of children who happen upon these blogs - my blog is for the most part a PG blog, as is the Chick's (although she is known to post pictures of hot men on Monday).  But don't be surprised if your child suddenly starts having an urge to shop more thriftily or wants to discuss the historical accuracy of the costuming in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies. 

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Wench Posse: All Princess, All the Time

I am so incredibly happy that I have been able to knock some stuff off of my spreadsheet this week/weekend, in spite of the A) dog dying, B) S getting hives from an unknown shellfish allergy and C) my still wearing the heart monitor. 

First up was the re-do of the purple outfit that Princess A wore last year.  She had sold the bodice and another underskirt along with a new black silk skirt that we had put the old trim on.  Here is a picture of the previous costume:

Being a starving young 20-something in the current economy, Princess decided to sell her dress and make a new one out of her curtains!  As God is her witness!  She will never be hungry again!

Or not. 

Anyway, she had some leftover purple silk and we had the purple main piece of skirt and decided to make some new bodices for it.  Current incarnation:

The underskirt is the one I beaded during many a softball game last summer.  We are going to trade out the guard for a black one with a little silver braid for some zing.  The dummy is actually slightly bigger than Princess, so it looks a little tight. 

She went for the simple trim look because she wants to bling it out all to hell with jewelry.  I approve of this plan.

We are also making a second underskirt and coordinating sleeves to go with this.  There is also a purple silk doublet with matching beaded sleeves (a la the underskirt and in the style of her previous blue pintuck over there in the left margin) in the works. 

But for the most part?  It is done.  Which makes me so very pleased.

The second one we have almost done is the blue taffeta.  Contrary to the pictures, it is actually a dark blue/grey shot with black.  The braid is beaded and from eBay:

The braid is only pinned on, as we are still working on final placement.  It is to be handstitched in place.  Princess is pleased that she has cleavage in this shot.  El Jefe is supportive of this plan, always.  For everyone.  Well, for women, anyway.  Who are not his daughters. 

There are some hanging sleeves for this as well that need to have the braid hand-stitched on them.  Otherwise?  This bad boy is DONE.  Finis.  Get out of my house kind of done. 

The underskirt is a lovely brocade style white silk that requires (YES!) no beading.  Can I get a boo-yah?

The only actual dress after this is the blue velvet, which will be of such stunning magnitude that it may destroy the server in its glory.  (Tooting my own horn for a moment there, but seriously, it is very pretty and I am looking forward to sharing it with the blogosphere.)  Then she has a cloak, some chemises, a redo of her farthingale and a comfort gown.  Which puts her down in the "extras" department after this.  She claims to be my most selfish client.  I am okay with this, as she makes me jewelry and convinces my children not to shave their heads.  Its a win-win.  She is also a lovely walking advertisement of my work. 

As for children, G went to Pridefest today with the lovely Gay Blade, who is our 6'7 King Henry and an all around great guy.  Who else would take 3 14-year-olds dressed like this to the Parade and out amongst the vendors?:

The other two girls are friends whose names are not being disclosed at this time.  Although Miss Pink Hair there looks to me to be an exact duplicate of Maggie Gyllenhall.  But maybe that is just me.

Also?  Check out the fauxhawk on G and the fact that she is like 2 feet shorter than everyone else.  Apparently we Larues are a wee people. 

For this week I have more Princess wear, some Duchess wear, and formal pink French outfits for bellydancers.  With (cross your fingers) no trips to the hospital that were not already planned. 

Let's all think positive thoughts, shall we?

In praise of man's best friend

Just wanted to post a note that I updated the status on the blog here to include the death of Isabelle, our crazy, sweet Australian Cattle Dog.  While clearly not right in the head, we loved her and will miss her terribly.

 

This picture is a rare one, as usually we got pictures of her butt as she ran away, as she did not like the camera.  She was a big sweetie. 

On a lighter note, the crotches of El Jefe's shorts are now safe.

Wench Posse: Throw me some, Mister! Edition

Wow.  It is amazing how much work I can get done when El Jefe is out of town and I have given up little things like sleep.  I mean, seriously.  I had worked the other night and then started reading an article on Jon & Kate Plus 8 for some reason and suddenly it was hours later and I had wasted these hours of my life (when I could have been sleeping) reading about Jon's hair plugs and Kate's reverse mullet.

The mindless gossip.  It draws you in folks.

However, this week I have been sewing like a madwoman and have accomplished much.  I finished the purple bodice and outerskirt for Princess A, as well as 2 underskirts and one beaded sleeve.  (Am half way through beading the other one.)  I also have the taffeta overskirt of another outfit, and the bodice is ready to go for tomorrow morning.  I have removed the old lace from partletts and am ready to put in the pleated collars.  I am a MACHINE, I tell you. 

Actually, I am wearing a machine.  A heart monitor to be exact, for one month.  It is checking to see if I have any more of that nasty SVT from January.  Basically, I am to push this big button whenever I have an "event."  But what exactly constitutes an event?  Do I press the button if I see Jason Statham with his shirt off and my heart starts racing? 

These are the things that keep me up at night.

I also went to Ikea and bought this teal velvet fabric, which is currently a pair of very long curtains:

Princess insisted I purchase it as it "looks fabulous with your hair!"  Then she sorted through the Closet, and found this flocked silk I had set aside on the My Shelf, Don't You Touch That! and we decided it really looked quite lovely together.  So that will be a fancy outfit for me someday.  (Flocked silk compliments of Joann's sale for $6.00 a yard.)

The same day Princess, S and I visited several Army Navy Surplus stores to purchase some supplies for my Renaissance costume for Bristol.  This is what I found:

Lots and lots of shoelaces.  At $.25 each I bought $9.00.  That should tide us till forever. 

Really!  A sewing pattern!  I love the jacket and am going to make this my Steampunk jacket for next year.  Maybe with longer tails in back, though.

Really dusty cool sunglasses for $1.00.  Also for my Steampunk costume.

And the stuff I actually went to buy:

And what, you are thinking, could this be for a Ren Fest costume?  Well, I gave some hints earlier in the post showing the Chick in her Green Bay Packer hat.  Here are the fabrics for George's costume:

And speaking of Mardi Gras, the Wench Posse met tonight.  We consumed chocolate, pop, liquor, and made our own Mardi Gras beads out of some garland from Sassy Art Goddess. 

These are also for George's costume.  Note the Chick doing the Gang Sign.  Sniff.  I am so proud.

In other news, my daughter is home from visiting the Grandparents in NC, and has purchased a rainbow colored tutu:

Yeah, I don't know what that's about either.  It's cute, though.

And she brought me back this adorable pig that she made out of a sock:

She is going to make her fortune selling them on Etsy.  I am afraid I will look in my sock drawer some day and it will be empty.

Tomorrow I should have some pictures of lovely completed costumes for the Princess, as well as progress on everything else. 

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what the crazy costume fabrics and accessories are for?  (I can't remember if I have mentioned it specifically in the blog.)  Wench Posse members are not allowed to comment on what they are for.  However, random strangers who get the answer right may find themselves awarded a little stuffed pig from my sock drawer. 

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

16 years and still no further with the murder-suicide pact

It is my 16th wedding anniversary today with El Jefe (and TraynerShayne's birthday - Happy Birthday to you!) as well as my Mom's birthday, and in celebration of the anniversary part I invite you to check out the fairly detailed post from Last Year's celebration. 

Sniff.  We were so young and cute then. 

Maypole dancing can be harmful to your health

Wow has it been a strange 48 hours.  I spent an overnight in the hospital due to chest pain, mainly because I had that surgery in January and they get kind of nervous about complications and such when you have a body part that is difficult to replace and it hurts. 

Turns out it is instead likely something muscular and related to the EDS.  I have teased my trainer that it is because of her new schedule, but I actually think it might be related to either A) the bodice/corset I wore to the Twig faire, or B) my inability to go left instead of right during the Maypole dance at Twig, as suggested by the Chick.  Either way, it hurt like a little Dutch biscuit (tm FIL) and I am now home with cholesterol scores in hand.  Which were good, incidentally.  But could be better, and thus I need to actually Watch What I Eat. 

So this weekend (being my anniversary and Father's Day and all) is going to be one Bacchanal Feast of splendor here in the Larue house and then Monday brings the chicken, fish and fresh vegetables.  No more Happy Hour Dairy Queen for me.  (insert sobbing here)

Costuming?  Yeah, haven't gotten much done.  Brought some beading with me to the hospital, but was mostly side-tracked by the intermittent tachycardia runs and the soothing music on the National Parks channel.  There was also a Water Channel, Green Channel (mostly forests and such), All Hawaii Channel and the Fishtank channel.  I think the Water channel really only serves one purpose, really. 

It did occur to me as I read my book in the ER (that I have been trying to finish for MONTHS) that this was the first completely uninterrupted time where I really had nothing I could do but rest and read.  If they hadn't taken blood every 4 hours I might have hung around longer. 

So this weekend is all about the hand-beading and forced rest (better than a forced march) and next week we resume normal costume craziness here at Chez Larue.  I am very much looking forward to it.

Also - I would avoid Maypole dancing if I was you.  Nothing good can come of it.