What's great about my life right now

-I live in an apartment with laundry.
-The choir (as directed by me, eep) did a WONDERFUL job today in Sacrament meeting.
-I have made 3.5 hats this semester.
-I've already improved my rendering.
-I have a box of 12 grey markers in the mail, GREYS!
-We're feeding the Sisters and an investigator for dinner. Said investigator is AMAZING and just great.
-Fall in Pennsylvania is the most beautiful fall I've ever seen. If I could just plop some mountains down it'd be that much better.
-Technology means I can still keep in touch with all of my non-grad school friends!
-I have so many new and lovely friends!
-Roller derby is a thing that I go to now.
-I've started a new and consistent scripture study schedule that has already blessed me in ways I couldn't even have imagined.
-I'm in a color theory class. We're learning to mix any color using warm primaries, cool primaries, ochre and white. It's pretty legit yo.
-I've kept my room clean the entire time I've been here (ask Genevieve, she knows!).
-Walk in closet.

No pictures, see previous entry if you have a beef with my recently blogging. 

Promises and Not Promises

Tomorrow I start the last legs of my journey to State College, PA for my first year of graduate school!

As pertaining to this blog:

I promise to update you as much as I can.
I not promise to make that as often as you'd like.
I promise to update you with my grad school happenings.
I not promise that these happenings will be more than the fact that I'm tired and grumpy.
I promise to post pictures of projects.
I not promise to post them in a timely manner.


If these promises and not promises don't suit you then be that way. It's what you get!

Clothes I refuse to ship

All Saints black wool jersey dress
All Saints lamb leather military jacket
1940s black crepe dress
1960s black wool dress
Teal/Nude evening dress
Eddie Bauer Norfolk jacket
Merlot & Lace dress
Garden Party Dress
NYC striped thrift dress
Terns skirt
Corset
Corset

If I packed all of these $5K would be a modest estimate. I'm not risking it. 

Fabric Catalogue

I spent the last two afternoons cataloging my fabric! I have a personal rule that I don't travel with fabric unless it'll come back as a garment. No exception for grad school. I've organized my bins into knits, silks, cottons, and wools. I've swatched and bindered the fabrics so if I want something I can send my mom half the swatch and the location of the desired piece. Pretty great huh? Yeah, I'm sure mom thinks so too...

Top middle is one of my favorite pieces of silk, middle bottom is a silk/wool I got for $45 off a designer dealer, and middle bottom is a great dupioni.

Up Next

I leave Cedar City in a week, a week. I extended my contract for two weeks, so should have been gone by now, but they needed me and I didn't want to say good-bye yet. I'll have a week at home in Nebraska, then I go to grad school at Penn State!

People keep asking me if I'm excited, and I am, but I'm also very busy here still, and have all of my friends and my lovely apartment to relish in for my last week. I figure grad school will be here soon enough (three weeks?!) so I'm taking advantage of the time I have left here. Very near is being busy and crazy for three years straight. I'll take a few more night on my porch with my dear ones.

Big move! Soon I will be in an entirely new part of the country with all new people and surroundings and tasks and experiences. I've been rather comfortable and cozy for two years? six years? 24 years? eh, awhile at any rate. I'm thrilled to learn and know new things, be given new and fresh opportunities, and give my all to something I love.

I'll miss it here, big time. I'll miss my lovely friends that mean so much to me. I'll miss the work and the atmosphere and the art, but I leave to become better and to hopefully to return with more to give.

Was this schmaltzy? I'm feeling schmaltzy. 

What Jo March would wear to her wedding.

Those around me recently know that I've had a mild Little Women obsession. I finished the book again and I just think it's the best, barring Persuasion. I've also been trying to create something every day (again...a resolution I have mixed results keeping). So, I decided a paper project would be to design Jo's wedding dress.

She would have gotten married anywhere from 1868-71 by some calculations. The silhouette might be a little slender, but she wouldn't have gone all out. I had a time deciding how fussy and feminine she'd be. The dress is definitely not white. She's too practical for that, and would want to wear it again. I want it to be a nice light blue (like the color of this blog maybe...), yellow, or light brown like this dress. I imagine Amy would have put away something for Jo and that's where the lace collar and cuffs come from, that can be removed for less formal occasions.

After I was satisfied with Jo I drew Professor Bhaer and had a heck of a time with his face, until I just looked up a picture of Gabriel Bryne from the film. He's wearing Colleen Atwood's design for him. And he has a beard. Professor Bhaer has a beard.

And Jo looks a little like me. I worked SO hard not to make her as tall as me (ok, I didn't try that hard)...I'm trying to draw real people...but all my faces, unless I really try, end up looking like me at least a little. And if I try really hard they look A LOT like me :)

Anyway, here you go.

Sexy Sunday: 3 hr dress

Made this on Saturday during the shows. Copied the top of my evening gown pattern and drafted the skirt pattern, cut and sewn during the matinee. It's pretty cute, right? Also, knits are great, no closures!

Nine West shoes
Banana Republic belt
Hand-me-down necklace
Target earrings