The Adventures of Skull Boy and Water Baby...

I'm going to write a series of poems predominantly about two characters, Skull Boy and Water Baby, (who are based on a couple I saw at the Rites of Passage Tattoo and Art Festival, which I'll post about in a few days). Here are the first few poems, they're in a kind of an order. I haven't worked it fully out yet, maybe you can make your own.

And that inspired me to write this one....

Missing you
is writing bad-love poems
with a pick-up line magnetic poetry set
on an empty fridge.








Well I hope that gave you some enjoyment! Please feel free to critique the poems, it is always helpful to know what people think doesn't work.
as always, h xx

Wondering What the Big Deal is...

After a discussion on depression in a Uni class last week, a girl came up and asked me "Why are you so open about having anxiety?"
I was kind of shocked. Actually, not kind of. I was dumbstruck.

The tone of the question was accusing, disappointed, angry. As if she felt I didn't have the right to speak up about the issues. As if the only reason I was speaking up was to get attention for myself. As if I'd made her uncomfortable, and she wanted an apology.

Well, no.


Why do we have to approach mental health as an abstract and impersonal issue, when that is exactly what it isn't? Why do people assume that when I say I struggle with anxiety and depression, I am about to fall apart and run off the nearest roof?

And why do I speak so openly about it? Because it is normal. It's everyday. Tackling it is just another thing I do, like buying milk and cleaning my teeth. Because everyone should be able to say how they are feeling honestly, without thinking they will get fired, or feeling second-rate. Because having these conversations behind closed doors is what makes depression so hard to detect in the first place. Because believe it or not, I am seriously not the only one in the whole universe who has to deal with it, you probably will too at some point in your life.

When I first really started to feel myself go under, in high school, no-one was talking about mental health as a wide spectrum. If you weren't suicidal, you were happy. I knew that I didn't feel as bad as the really sad kids; those Upwey girls who hung themselves. I also knew I was not as happy as my friends. I assumed that I was either crazy, or subconsciously trying to attract attention, and that I should just keep quiet.

Those feelings delayed me being able to get help by about 5 years. For some people I know, that's more like 10, or 20. What happens if you delay cancer treatment? It develops- the stages change, it gets more serious. This is the same with depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues. The longer the delay, the harder it is to get back on track.

Last year, a friend turned up to work, distraught. That week one of his best mates had been found in the backyard, swinging from a rope. Nobody knew that anything had been wrong- he was married, they had fights like any other couple, but outwardly he was happy. Thankfully this guy survived, after being in a coma for a few days. Those Upwey girls weren't so lucky. Suicide kills more teenagers every year than car accidents. Isn't that worth talking about?


So no, girl in my uni class. I am not an attention seeking brat, or an emo kid crying in the corner. Most days I'm actually incessantly and annoyingly cheerful. Occasionally I am angry, and sometimes I am in between. These are called moods, and regardless of your state of mental health, they are normal. It's a spectrum, and you're on there somewhere too.

Here's a video that sums it all up;

If you need help, call someone:
- beyondblue info line: 1300 22 4636
-Lifeline: 13 11 14
-SuicideLine (VIC): 1300 651 251
Or check out the beyondblue website.

helenxx

The past couple of weeks have been filled with interesting happenings.

 Most importantly, I rediscovered the news - through the MamaMia website. Mia Freedman has long been my number one idol (and this is a pretty big feat, if you could see the list...). I could give you the massive list of reasons why, but I would prefer if you read her memoirs, also called "Mama Mia". I will even lend it to you!

Here are the three news issues which impacted me most this fortnight, and what I think of them. They are only my own views. Therefore, as a disclaimer: I don't claim to be infallible or to be an expert on any of the issues below, so don't read them as such. I am open to changing my views on any topic, if I am provided with reason to, and I will listen to your reasons. In order to be as short and sweet as possible, I have neglected to reference my information, if you would like some links, comment below and I will add them.

1. KONY 2012. Yes, this has been over-publicized and we are exhausted- give me four sentences and I will stop. My main problem is that the Invisible Children are a shady organisation who have produced a video which is basically a piece of propoganda and an advertising tool for their online store. It over-simplifies the issues in Uganda, (and the whole of Africa, and every third-world country) encouraging a violent man hunt which, even if it is successful, will achieve nothing in the long-term for the people of Uganda. In the video Jacob consistently and passionately talks about wanting to go to school. I believe the real way to overturn Kony and every other "bad man" in Africa and Uganda is to provide the resources and teachers to educate as many children as possible, creating an environment of hope and understanding in the community which can lead to change - supporting a violent man hunt only supports violence, and they have seen enough of that already.

2. THE BLACK DOG INSTITUTE. As the Kony 2012 campaign exploded into Facebook, a lot of people forgot about issues much closer to home, and this one was left for dead.  In a nutshell; the institute has been training teachers to educate children on mental health issues, as part of the P.E curriculum. The program will begin in NSW, and then be rolled out across the rest of Australia. It's focused on teaching teenagers about mood disorders, recognising symptoms, understanding at-risk personality types, knowing where to get help and building resilience. Click on the link above to read the news release from Black Dog.

While there have been many attempts to educate teenagers about depression in schools, the current teenage suicide rates suggest these have been unsuccessful.  I believe that the main reasons for this are; a) the programs are not taken seriously by students, b) there is not enough content covered by such programs because of limited time and resources, and c) these programs are run on the side, rather than as part of normal classes. The incusion of such education in the curriculum should make a massive impact. As I understand it, the program will be run through P.E classes, and be taught by the regular class teacher. It will therefore be graded, and I hope that this will mean students take it more seriously. Also, as it is part of the curriculum, it will probably be covered more in-depth, and the range of topics mentioned in the news release allude to this. That means kids will be getting a better education, which will talk about a range of issues rather than the simplification of mental health issues being only depression.

It is my hope that educating young people in a formal classroom education will reduce the stigma of mental health in our society. In a decade's time, it could mean that the mental health system is finally properly integrated with the health system, providing a much more accessible and affordable support to the public. The education of high school teachers could also lead to a drop in teenage suicide rates (which cause more deaths in this age group annually than car accidents) as the at-risk children are picked up on sooner. Educating teenagers also means that the friendship groups so important at this time are better equipped to support each other. Finally, it might make a real difference to the child welfare system- as mental health issues are better understood by society as a whole, we are more able to provide lasting support structures to the parents and families who need it most. Such great news. Kudos to Black Dog and the nib foundation!



3. 40 DAYS OF TREATS. Another issue overshadowed by the Kony 2012 debate is that of protesters who are silently praying outside abortion clinics in Austalia until April. All day, every day they will be standing outside specific clinics, preforming a silent vigil. Personally, I am strongly pro-choice. Regardless of your own views, though, this campaign is designed at heart to traumatise women and instill guilt in them. Simply put, it is mean-spirited.

When the same protest was happening in the UK, Carmen D’Cruz and Liz Lutgendorff decided to combat the negativity with baked goods and happiness. Basically, they turned up to the clinics with hampers of yummy food for the staff and patrons, spreading happiness and jam in equal measures. What I love about their idea is that it is so simple. It is what we would do for our sister, mother, neighbour in a hard time. Why not do it for a stranger if it is going to make a difference in their life? Such pure kindness.

As reported in this article from MamaMia, during the protests in Australia people are being encouraged to show the same support for the clinics. You can find a list of the effected clinics in the article, as well as more information about what is happening and how to help. I strongly encourage everyone to try and get to a clinic- it will only take a few hours, and you have until the end of April to do it. You will be making a difference to someone's day.

Well, that is the end of me for a day! Please comment below; the great thing about the internet is that we can all be part of the discussion, and I would love to hear your own views on all of these issues. Debate and discussion creates a better future for all of us. Promote change in your own views, and other people's. Comment!

The Second Week...

Yesterday I decided I wasn't going to write a blog entry this time- I felt as though I had done nothing that was worthy of a place on any type of bucket list. Then it was pointed out to me that I had - that the past week, making it through every day has been an achievement.

That got me thinking about the things, and the people, who made it a little easier. So on my bucket list this week, is discovering that break-ups don't have to be an end, they can be just a little bit of a wiggle, before everything goes on again (just in a very different route to before the wiggle). Thankyou James.

So this is a bit of a shit blog, but I promise whole - heartedly that by next week I will have done something more interesting that you might actually want to hear about! :)

xxh

Evolution of a Blog....

So as you might have noticed I haven't posted on this blog for about seven months. I'm not sure why that is, but this kind of thing often happens. Here is a good way to describe me; when I was a child, I went on a school excursion to Scienceworks and one of the things I brought back was a little bouncy ball. It wasn't just round, it was actually a group of smaller balls stuck together. That meant, when you bounced it, you could never be sure which combination of smaller balls were going to strike the concrete, and therefore which way the ball would bounce. That's me- you won't be sure where I will be off next, but it is likely to be a quick up and down, and then I will be bouncing excitedly to the next random thing. In the wake of one of these bounces, this blog got left for dead.

However! I am repenting! Inspired by this article on the MamaMia website, (created by my number-one idol Mia Freedman), I have decided to create a Monday Blog. I will endeavour to do something each week which is amazing, wonderful, crazy, possibly life-changing. Then, each Monday I will blog about my little adventure, and this blog will become my reverse bucket-list, (as described in the article). Well, that's the plan. We'll see how long it is before I bounce on to something else.

My Reverse Bucket-List as it stands today:
- Being born! Haha, yes this is a cop-out. But it kind of has to be on there I think.
- Building a cubby house in the hedge at my Nanna's when I was a kid, with my brother and my sort-of Grandad Bob. I was always very proud that I was at least as good as my brother at building.
- Riding a horse with my best friend at the time, Sarah, at her Auntie's farm. I was so excited to be on a horse, it's name was Velvet and it was stunning.
- Having a relationship with a girl when I was 12 and 13. This is a tough one to include, really, because it did tear my world apart at the time. However, the experience taught me a lot about who I am/was, and what I wanted to be at that time. It showed me what to aspire to and not to put up with being hurt, repeatedly and quite brutally at the time.
- Asking out my ex-boyfriend, James. We dated for just over five years, and they were wonderful years. We grew up together definitely, pulled each other through the worst of years and were basically inseparable. He will always be on this list, without a doubt. I am sorry that the love died but it can't be helped, I will always be grateful for the time we had and for how much he did for me.
- Committing myself to fight the daily fight of depression and anxiety. I am in no way the worst case, and I hate saying that. I hate that there is a competitive aspect of depression as it is seen by both other sufferers and people who (at least claim) to not suffer from it. It cheapens the efforts people make to be happy and get past it, or through it. However, I am not the worst case, but it has been a long, hard slog. I will probably always have to fight through it, to keep the foundations of good mental health in my mind and in the structures of my day, to even have structures of my day. Committing myself to it and taking responsibility for my own mental health has saved my life though, it is definitely on my reverse bucket-list. As is one of my best friends for opening up on her own blog, back in the day, and helping me to begin the process of going to see a Psychologist. Thankyou.
- Moving in with my Nanna. She is one cool home-girl. 'Nuff said.
- Staying back one night as the guys at Oscars cleaned up the bar. My mum once said that some people restore your faith in humanity, and watching these guys and their comradery always restores mine. They are lovely, funny people. Go to Oscars Ale House!
- Spending a day with my good friend Alistair. Second-hand bookshops, Kallista tea-rooms, Oscars again, Kelly's, ... it was just easy fun. I don't think I stopped smiling all day.
- Becoming part of my mother's street gang. I love her ladie's group, they are fantastic. Sharon, Claudia, Laura, Verity, Kay- you guys make me smile.
- Becoming a swimming teacher. Watching some of my kids, (especially those with special needs or who were terrified of water at the beginning) progress so far in a year and become excellent swimmers and safe little water-babies has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. They will probably never know how their little brains became my rock last year. I remember one funny kid said, after being asked "What do you need to check before you go to the beach or pool?", "That you've packed your lunch!". Yes darling, that is the most important thing.
- Meeting everyone at Monbulk Pool. My family of sorts for a year.
- Gaining a step family! I love my sisters and Keith. Rosie is my best friend, Belinda is the most fun. I adore you guys so much.

There is a few more that should be on there, but self-censoring is a brilliant tool. Maybe in ten years time when everyone and everything has moved on, I will share them with you Mr. World Wide Web. For now, you will have to be left wanting until my next blog post! And Facebookians, if you are reading this, please remind me next Monday if I haven't posted!

xoox

Black and White and Pink and Striped...

I've been busy sewing again! And also cleaning. This week has seen me become obsessed with the offendingly named "Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" documentary series, (aside from the 'big' and 'fat' parts of the title, 'gypsy' is a derogatory term and isn't consistent with the cameraman's use of the correct terms, of Irish Traveller or Romanie). Therefore I have become as much of a housewife as I imagine I will ever be. I cleaned the bathroom, my wardrobe, my and my partner's room, did the dishes, and sorted out our study. Most importantly, I created a mini-wardrobe-studio in the study, where I can take photos of my sewing exploits. It's conveniently right next door to our bedroom and my wardrobe, and to my computer. So I can check the photos on a big screen as I go! Brilliant!

Which brings me to the newest projects. The first is my latest pair of leggings. I purchased fabric off Charlee Fabrics for this pair, which I'm sure not many people over the age of 10 will appreciate, (though I am sure the little students in the fluorescent pink goggles and stripey dotty flowery swimsuits whom I teach swimming would!) but the most important change was the pattern. My dad pointed out that the last two pairs I've made didn't really seem to fit properly, especially around the knees. He was very right- they were loose enough to be trousers but not the right shape to be. So, I simply cut from the top of the thigh down as a small size, and left from the crotch up as a medium size.  Here are some pictures;

I also recently bought some stripey satin jersey from Spotlight to create an infinity dress from. Infinity dresses are all over BurdaStyle. They are basically a skirt, of whatever length you want, with two long straps that you can use in any way you want. I fell in love with this maxi infinity on BurdaStyle, after seeing it linked on Karin's blog. There are a lot of tutorials, but basically what I did was cut a length of fabric (I think) on the grain, make this into an elastic waisted maxi skirt, (1 seam), and then cut 2 straps as wide as half my front bust and as long as my height almost twice, sew the straps to the skirt with a slight overlay, and you're done. If that's a little confusing, feel free to comment me or check out Karin's blog and have a look through her links for a little more help. Anyway, here is the dress;

 If you are planning to make one yourself I would definitely suggest having a very well fitting strapless bra, preferably with a decorative back and a nice shaped cup. In the strapless variations I usually tuck a little bit of fabric over the bra, to give it a little more support as the jersey is very flexible. Also, I've noticed some people are making little shawl pin type things with leftover fabric, which could definitely be useful if you wanted to make lots of different designs with your dress. Most people do bows, but I think knot type pins could be handy as well, as they would fit in better with Grecian styles. Anyway, at the end of the dress I had some leftover fabric, which made this top (also shown in the leggings pictures) from the chickadee pattern off BurdaStyle, (it's free! check it out!);

And here is a new project I am working on...

Hope you enjoyed!
helenxx

Cowl Dress and Inspiration...

Anybody remember this fabric...

 

 

?

Well, I've finally done something with it! Recently I discovered this wonderful sewing patterns website, where the patterns are available in download form and everything is really, really cheap. I wouldn't buy patterns from anywhere else really- the service is quick and reliable, all of your downloads remain on a kind of "user" page, where you can print them again and again, and they have quite a wide variety of brands and styles. When I had one complaint about what I thought was an unfinished pattern, they were very quick to respond and point me in the right direction- I continued sewing the very next morning. Well, anyway, a while ago I downloaded this pattern;

McCalls 6161, here it is on sewingpatterns.com

and when I went fabric shopping I kept it in mind and bought the khaki fabric. I ended up buying about 3 meters of it, because I thought, as dress D (bottom right) is cut on the crosswise grain, that it would take up a lot more fabric. I was totally wrong, and I now have heaps of fabric left over. More on that later. The only struggles I had with this pattern were;
a) If you download, the pattern pieces come on two different PDF files, so you need to look for pattern 2 and print that as well, which I didn't realise, and then sent an almost rude email to the service people, (sorry!).
b) The cowl neck is actually separate, but I am going to sew mine on because as a separate piece I can see the neckline underneath it, which looks a bit tacky I think.
c) I used black thread in my machine when I should have used khaki so that it wouldn't have shown. Next time I will take the time to go out and find some matching thread.
d) Make sure you have tailors chalk for when you are cutting the pattern pieces out- because you need to lay down, cut one half, and then flip the pieces over and cut out the second half so it is one big piece. The tailors chalk will mean you can draw outlines to help you flip it over accurately.

Here's how it turned out...

I really love how it fits- although this picture isn't the best for showing it- it is nice and tight at the bottom which accentuates my curves, and then the top drapes loosely hiding my tummy. Because it is loose, it doesn't get hot under there- really it is perfect as an autumn dress. Looks great with tights and gumboots :)

While I am on a blog about the fantastic sewing patterns website, here is a wishlist in photo form...

This dress reminds me of the stunning green evening gown worn by Keira Knightley in the film Atonement, my favorite film and book. If you have a copy or can rent a DVD, do, and watch it a second time with the directors commentary on. It is very, very interesting- it made me want to marry the director! Here is her dress;

Just stunning. The movement of the fabric as she walks, to me, evokes fluttering trees and the way long grass sways in the wind like an ocean. When I was little, I had a picture book of Robin Hood and Maid Marian, and this dress reminds me so much of that book.

Just one last photo of the lovely sunny before I go...

 

helenxx

Modelling the Presents...

Just a quick blog to show you how the presents looked on my little sister...

Hope the quality is good enough.
helenxx

Scrapbooking and Skirting Around the Details...

I spend quite a lot of time on the internet, surfing through other people's blogs, on Burdastyle, online shopping stores and ebay, fashion house websites which show their collection, and also on magazine websites. I probably bookmark about 10 items of clothing a day. The trouble is, although bookmarks seem like a perfect and sensible way to keep inspiration on hand, they simply aren't for me. I forget that they are there, I forget what they show, or I might be downstairs in my sewing room, and can't be bothered to walk up the stairs, turn the computer on, find the bookmark and follow it up. So, this week, I found a solution! I've gone back to scrapbooking!
I purchased a $1 scrapbook from the newsagents, some glue and some scissors from Safeway, (sorry, Woolworths) and spent an hour cutting and pasting. It was really fun to go back to something that was such a pleasure as a child- I was even doing my cutting and pasting on an old school desk I found on hard rubbish, complete with holes for the ink wells. It also reminded me of the hundreds of hours I spent on creating folios for the last three years of high school, and how glad and sorry I am that that aspect of education is over for me. Well, temporarily over for me, as I am thinking about going to TAFE next year to do Fashion Technology. Anyway, here are some pictures;

I loved this skirt from the moment I saw it because it is so dramatic- you can't not turn your head, whether you like it or dislike it. The photography is stunning as well, I'm not sure how well you can tell in this picture, especially as it was cut out, but the model is posing on a flight of stairs, which create a leading line in the picture that mimics the line of the dress and accentuates it's length and size. It is such a glamorous photograph, the angle of the photographer as well- looking up at this larger than life model, like we look up to celebrity and fashion. I can only describe the photographer's prowess as intuitive- that is the word which constantly comes to mind.

I adore back details on dresses! The dress on the right should be familiar for regular readers. The others are all off the Urban Outfitters website. I am determined to sew each of these into a dress, but I will have to learn to actually sew a basic dress first.

A fantastic way to wear leggings. So elegant and understated. Now that I have learned to sew leggings, I am determined to find some fabric from which I can make soft ones like these to roll up. Pity she has such skinny ankles though. Possibly needs to eat some avacado on toast.

I love my new scrapbook already. It is so handy to have something sitting next to you all the time, that you can refer to while sewing for ideas. I am also going to print out tutorials from people's blogs, so I can have them on hand as well. Another useful tool I have found recently is an ereader. My mother bought me an Adobe Kobo ereader recently as a very early birthday present. There are some at Borders that are selling at the greatly reduced price of $111, go out and get one now! For print at home patterns they are very useful- rather than printing all the instructions and using up more precious paper and ink, you can download the PDF files onto your ereader and take that into your sewing spot instead. Hopefully soon bloggers and websites will begin to make more things into PDF format- such as the "make it" option on Burdastyle, which would be fantastic as a downloadable PDF file. Knitting patterns also can be downloaded onto your ereader, I know my mum often uses it for that purpose.
Onto my next project- a skirt! I had originally decided I would use the fabric below to make a mini skirt, until I realised I could make both a mini skirt and a maxi skirt from it. It was in part inspired by the leopard print maxi skirt pictured in the scrapbooking photos. I realised recently that when I was a bit younger, I wore a lot of clothing that was really bright, vivacious, and just fun to wear. But the last few years, probably in part because of high school peer pressure, I lost sight of that and stopped having heaps of fun with what I was wearing. So, this skirt was part of a mission to rekindle that fire! Oh, and also, the photos below are a mini-tutorial. If you have any questions, comment me and I'll be happy to answer them. In the making of this skirt I made a mistake in that I sewed the elastic casing before the seam, without putting the elastic in, so I had to unpick it to put the elastic in and then resew it up. Sooo, if you decide to make this skirt, either sew the side seam, and then the elastic casing, (that's the way I've suggested below), or sew the casing, put the elastic through, and then the side seam.

You'll need a very stretchy fabric for this- I think mine was a stretch jersey but I am really not good with fabric types. Step 1: Cut a rectangle of fabric. The width should be 1" wider than the measurement of your hips or waist, (wherever you want the top of the skirt to fit). If you make it any wider than 1", you run the danger of the elastic bunching it too much, so that the top won't lie flat. The length of the rectangle is whatever length you want the skirt to be, plus the width of the elastic you'll be using, and an extra 1" or so for the bottom hem and to allow for the stitching of the elastic casing. I used the width of the fabric as it came off the bolt as my length. (I'm really not sure what that was though!). This photograph shows the type of stitch you'll be using. On my machine this is called a stretch overedge stitch. I'm not entirely sure what it does, but the machine manual said that it finished edges, as well as being suitable for seams on stretch fabrics which will need to be flexible. Make sure also that you have changed your machine needle to a ballpoint needle- I think that the theory goes that if you sew with a normal needle you'll break the threads of the fabric, whereas if you use a ballpoint needle, you will push them out of the way of the sewing thread. Your machine manual is the best bet for information on how to change needles and also what stitch to use.

Step 2: Sew the side seam, by folding the right side of the fabric together and stitching in a straight line as close to the edge of the fabric as possible. This will create a tube.

Step 3: On one of the width ends, use your elastic to measure how wide the elastic casing needs to be. This is basically another tube you are creating along the top of the skirt, which becomes an elastic waist band. Once you have the width, all you need to do is fold the right side of the fabric over onto the wrong side, and pin and then sew along this edge. Make sure you have just enough room to wiggle the elastic around. Oh, before this step you should have measured the elastic- do this simply by wrapping a piece around your waist or hips, (wherever you want the skirt to fit), pulling it tight and then cutting this length off. When you sew up the casing, make sure to leave a gap unsewn, so that you can slide the elastic into the casing. Use a safety pin attached to one end of the elastic to pull it through the length of the casing and back out the gap. Sew these ends together, and then finish sewing up the gap. You'll want to make sure that the elastic is sewn together very well, as it will stretch to pull on and off.

Step 4: To sew the bottom hem, you simply fold over the right side onto the wrong, and stitch this down. make sure you align the folded edge with one of the little ruler markers next to the machine's foot, so that you sew in a straight line which will be parallel to the edge on the outside of the garment. It just looks a lot neater. This is what your skirt should look like at the end if it is a maxi skirt.

You could also make a mini skirt or pencil skirt using the same method. I am going to make a black one to wear with everything, and under floaty dresses.

Well, I hope you understood all that, and happy sewing!!
helenxx

My First Pair of Leggings and My Helpful Assistant...

Before I blog on those, however, a short note about my little step-sister. She is model material without a doubt, and seems to finally be getting into fashion and clothes. So for her 16th birthday which was on the 4th, I decided to make her some clothes. The first trial was choosing fabric- she is at one of those impressionable stages of life where you just never know what she is going to like. I eventually decided to just go for it, getting her a beachy print for a skirt and a light white fabric, (it said cotton but it is really light and flimsy) for a top. The second trial came shortly after, when I started sewing the top and discovered my sewing machine had an appetite for the material. I could sew for only a few stitches before the fabric would be swallowed under the foot towards the bobbin. I couldn't be bothered hand-sewing at that point, so I turned to the skirt. Third trial; I thought all was going well and I only needed to do the elastic, and then I realised - the entire print was upside down. palm trees, words, boats, everything. There is no way little sis would wear an upside down skirt. Eventually I stopped crying and fixed the problems, and here is the end result;

So, onto the next sewing project! I have been wanting to make a pair of leggings for ages! Some critics have ranted about the "skankiness" of leggings, how they should be underwear or their unflattering nature. I am not of this opinion. I think semi-transparent black leggings that show the lines of their weave over fleshy shadows are gross. They are definitely unflattering. But matt black leggings can make your legs disappear, and patterned leggings, I believe, look just as good as trousers in most outfits, if a little less conservative. I have 2 pairs of leggings at the moment- a pair of dark gray woolen ones which are more darn than fabric, and a pair of ruched black ones which are unraveling from the bottom up. It is time for something new. Cue my mother, who bought me this cute print knit from Spotlight;

I used the McCalls 6173 pattern to make my leggings, choosing style B. I think these leggings could have taken me only 2 hours, if there hadn't been so many firsts. It was my first time changing my machine needle, (as I would recommend using only a ballpoint needle for knits...I think that is right), it was my first time printing and using a downloaded pattern, it was my first time sewing the crotch of something, it was my first time sewing using an over edge stretch stitch, it was really my first time sewing something other than a skirt. In the end it took me about 5 hours all up, and a lot more if you count all the times I reprinted the pattern because my boyfriend's printer is useless. I love the new leggings though- the skills I learned and how good they look absolutely justify the time they took and the distraction form household chores. Here's some pictures...

Introducing Sunshine Bayard- my boyfriend and his brother's joint-custody dog...

looking rather sheepish because she just did this, and...

this and...

this. Actually this one was a sneeze but it looked so cute and like she was trying to eat the pattern for dinner that I had to put it up. A note about Sunny- she is the most neurotic dog I have ever met; she is terrified of new people, cars, my dad, my family's tiny border terrier, vacuum cleaners, my sewing machine, basketballs, cats, dogs, the wind, rain, etc etc etc. But sometimes she gets it into her head that she is Boss, and that I am her loyal servant who must give her pats on demand. It is so damn cute :)

The crazy boy and crazy dog.

The first step...

And finished product! The fabric's pattern actually went perfectly with the top I was wearing! Fantastic.

Well that's all from me for now. Hopefully I will put up some photos of the presents being modeled soon, and hopefully the finished crocheted skirt from the last post. Comment me if you know how to crochet a waistband onto an existing skirt!
helenxx