The Love, Blood, and Rhetoric School

Katrina just wrote her first fan letter, via lj message, to the very funny, very talented, and possibly very sparkly ursulav. Katrina is convinced she must be sparkly, to be the source of the glory that is Harriet the Invincible.

We have read the first 12 chapters in the past hour and a half, and are only taking a break because my voice is tired and the baby woke up. I read the whole thing last night in the bath. It's a delightful story, and also serves as a child's first snark primer.

I have a wool sweater I want to make into a laptop bag. So, do I cut it apart, use yarn to sew the pieces together, and then felt it, or do I felt first, then sew?

The downside of felting last is that there's no way to 100% guarantee the finished size. It might not be a laptop bag. But stitching with wool yarn and then felting means it will meld together and be pretty darn untearable.

The downside of felting first is having to sew felt.

Apparently there are a million versions of this "Who Started YOUR Church" info graphic going around where Roman Catholics draw a straight line from Jesus to the modern Roman Church, with all other sects being branches. Some even flat out say that all Christians were Catholic until Martin Luther.

No. Sit down and be quiet.

Aside from the fact that nobody's mentioning my main Protestant man Zwingli (fist bump to Huldrych), um, hellloooo, anyone heard of the Orthodox Churches? The filioque? The Great Schism of 1054?

I get it. The Romans are loud and proud because the current Pope comes across all likeable, but get the effing history right. From a theological standpoint, the Orthodox Churches have the most direct line from the Antiochene Christians described in Acts. The Catholics split in 1054 when they diverged from the neo-Platonic worldview by changing the Nicene Creed to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

I'm not touching the issue of legitimacy. But if one is going to make an historical argument, one should make sure it's not complete crap.

Do you know where your copy of A Night in the Lonesome October is??

'Cause I sure as hell don't. *humph*

I just purchased a set of Elizabethan stays on etsy.

You know how the suggestion page when one logs in is generally pretty awful? Well, the other day it gave me a set of stays made from the Hunisett pattern, and the measurements of the stays when laid flat were exactly three inches smaller than my current bust and hip measurements. Which is perfect. Perfectly perfect.

And they're covered in rust, green, and gold brocade, and with shipping the total was 43 dollars.

Reader, I folded like a flimsy card table. I'm both ashamed and elated.

Happy happy birthday to lavenderfieldss!! Just in case I don't run into you out and about this weekend.

Making this Cossack opashen is like cooking Indian food. It's exhilarating, and a little scary, and even if it's a total flop I'll be glad to have gone through the process.

I am going completely and utterly pattern less for the first time ever. No looking up pdfs online or anything. I have a few decent photos of man-sized examples, and I am making one for a 3 yo based on those and my gut. Bruce is referring to it as "some hippy dippy do what feels right sewing".

So far I did a muslin mockup, made Robby sing "5 Little Monkeys" while I pinned it up on him, cut the red linen, and cut the blue faux silk lining for everything save the sleeves. I wanted to use that so blue it hurts color, but apparently that shade is only available in actual real silk, and, again, this is for a 3 yo. I got a close approximation in synthetic, and I love the tomato-colored linen.

I plan on working on this until I crash, Alec wakes up, or school lets out. Robs is out with Bruce this afternoon, so that's one less thing to juggle.

Katrina ' s German renn gown is going to be blue linen with two yellow linen bands on the skirt. I am NOT applique - ing the bands, the skirt is over 100 inches in circumference.

So, for a 29 inch length skirt I need: (asterisked lines will contribute to finished length)

1 inch blue for turning under
*17 inches blue field
1/2 inch blue seam allowance
1/2 inch yellow seam allowance
*2 inches yellow band
1/2 inch yellow seam allowance
1/2 inch blue seam allowance
*2 inches blue band
1/2 inch blue seam allowance
1/2 inch yellow seam allowance
*4 inches yellow band
1/2 inch yellow seam allowance
1/2 inch blue seam allowance
*4 inches blue band
3 inches hem allowance

I've learned to write these things down in excruciating detail, or I screw it up. I really don't like rotary cutting.

The remake of Poldark starts this week. I'm refusing to watch, even though it stars mmegaera's boyfriend.

Holy shit, yunz guys...I'm going to have a baby in about two months!!

Why is this always such a surprise? I chug along being pregnant for 7 or 8 months, and then it's like reality smacks me upside the head. Pregnancy generally leads to a baby! As in a tiny human being separate from myself.

And we're not even going to talk about how that little person is supposed to arrive! I mean, really. How inelegant.