What I've been working on

Here is the dress I was working on, up until the zipper confused me, and now it's on my dogs crate in a plastic bag. What? You may ask, a zipper was your downfall, a failure? Um, yes, I was frustrated, irritated, and my zipper foot was refusing to work with me, so I folded it up and put it away until my mom can help me. She is a Wiz at sewing garments.

The pin cushion (with 6" doll needle sticking out of her head) is my sweet old lady pin-cushion I made forever ago. I drew her face and realized it had to be sewn to something, which turned into her flowery body (which I intended to be more voluptuous, but this was two years ago when I was still in the thick of learning about making patterns).


Okay, it doesn't seem the lighting is right in either of these pic's, but whatever. I've been working on this doll for a couple months now, and she is almost finished, i just have to figure out how to turn her fingers. I finally bought some of those tiny tube turners, but the hands I had sewn together were a double thickness of fabric and refuse to budge. And when they DO start to turn they tear and fray, regardless of the Fraychek I painted them with.

Ah well, I will get started on that once again after I get my sewing machine back from it's general maintenance. It was supposed to take 7 business days, but the guy was really busy, so I probably won't get it back until next week sometime. Which is good, it forces me to blog in order to get rid of my creative anxiety. I have a lot of that lately. More on the doll later, I've got to get ready to drive to Pocatello, ID to pick up my best friend Mindy.

I'm Bad at this

I keep trying to motivate myself into posting more -- but I fail miserably every time. I think of things to blog about, and then put it off... Obliviously, for months. Anyway, I am going to TRY to be better. There is a lot (okay, not much) going on, and I really need to attempt my blogging greatness.

First thing, I have a favorite new author. I love Stephen King, not his horror, but mainly his Dark Tower series, and any book having to deal with it, which is most any book he has written. I believe what I feel for Mr. King can be called a warm fondness. I love his writing style-- which is mainly story telling, you feel like he's right there telling you what is going on.

Anyway, I don't buy books anymore -- I'm neurotic enough that it makes me nervous (What if I don't really like this book? What if I'm wasting my $15, and just feel disappointed with the plot?) -- so I check out books from the Murray Library, where I can randomly select anything from the shelves and not feel one iota of bad if I don't like the book. Back when I was buying books at Costco I read a couple of really great books (Time Travelers Wife, The Shadow of the Wind), the type that make you cry with the knowledge of how the characters must feel. But, there were some bad ones too. The one I believe broke me in regards to buying books was The Thralls Tale.

You may ask, what was so bad about this book? Well, it was a fascinating tale told by a dull writer. Or, the author, Judith Lindbergh, was trying to be so symbolic in her prose and story that it tore the soul out of the book. I forced myself to finish the book, because I bought it, and I believed there had to be a reason that so many people read it. I wouldn't recommend it. If you want it and are willing to pay for shipping, I will gladly send it to you.

Anyway, back to my first point. I have found a new favorite author. His name is China Mieville and he writes AMAZING science fiction. I randomly picked Perdido Street Station off the Library shelf, and instantly thought -- oh, a creature that wants his wings back and the scientist willing to try to get him back in the air... meh. But I checked it out, because the library lets me read anything I want, and doesn't ask any questions. I love the library.
This book is 640 pages of disturbing poetic steam-punk (which means electricity doesn't exist, everything is lit by gas, and nobody is aware of how badly they are polluting the rivers with their toxic waste)(I don't think they'd care if they did know)(and yes, I know you wanted me to define steam-punk, because I had to have somebody else tell me what it means). China prefers large words to small, old words to new, and starts in first gear before revving it up to 120 mph. Which is to say, you get to know the characters intimately before he leads you into the really weird stuff. Before you meet the Weaver, who is, I believe, one of the best fiction creatures ever thought of.
After Perdido I instantly read The Scar. While reading through this book I felt awful I didn't buy it, there are so many quotes that I wanted to highlight -- and I wrote them down, and would type them here for you, but my cat has roosted in my lap. Once he has roosted, I really can't move him
Anyway, read anything my China Mieville. I'm holding off on reading The Iron Council, because I want to save that for when I really NEED to read a good book. I wish Mr. Mieville had a freaking website, perhaps he is too steam-punk in his life to get his ass on top of that. Hm.