Thursday, June 30, 2011

Ten-minute plays


One thing that my grad program is emphasizing is the writing of ten-minute plays. The idea is that a ten-minute play is a strong scene that makes you really focus on the elements of good drama-- a clear arc, strong characters, a definite problem and conflict, high stakes, that sort of thing. I will be expected to write several as part of my school assignment.

I haven't really written that many pieces of theater; my writing has mostly be focused in other media, so I definitely need more practice. And the only way to get practice is to write. I've heard of people who force themselves to write x thing every y period of time as a way to keep themselves writing; maybe what they generate is shit, but at least they're writing. And maybe amid all of it there might be something worth developing, something that has the potential to be made into something good. So maybe I will write a ten minute play a week, or maybe a ten minute play every two weeks, just to see what I come up with. I could post them here as a form of accountability, and you all could tell me what you thought of them-- if they are suitability dramatic, if they define themselves quickly, if there is any potential for more. I don't know, something like that. Might be worth it to get myself writing theater.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Residency so far

So far, residency has been okay. Not great, but okay. The solitary grouch part of my nature will get on much better with the generating work at a distance part of this program than with this spending time with my fellows part right now. Thus far my teachers impress me, but my fellow students do not, and I am kind of resenting both having to listen to them and the pressure to get buddy-buddy. Not going to happen, especially in the mood I've been in. I have been acting as friendly as I can, though, for the sake of not burning bridges. I am enjoying the classes for the most part, but many of them seem a little basic to me. Like, shouldn't we already know this stuff if we've been accepted here? Guess not. :-P Basically I just want to skip ahead to the part where I'm actually writing something.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Doubleheader day of larp-- Dia de los Sobres!

Dia de los sobres flyer

Everybody knows that summertime is the dead season for larp. But it’s tough to go through all those months without a single packet to open. That, friends, is why Alleged Entertainment and Paranoid and Crotchety are teaming up to bring you Dia de los Sobres, or the Day of the Envelopes, a doubleheader production offering you two great packet-packed larps on the same day! Alleged’s RESONANCE and P&C’s STARS OVER ATLANTIS will run one after the other on Saturday, July 23rd in Fitchburg, MA.

If you’d like to sign up for one or both of these great larps, click on over to sign up at:
http://journeysurveys.com/answer/312

RESONANCE
By Nat Budin, Susan Weiner, Vito D’Agosta, and Phoebe Roberts
An amnesia and storytelling larp about tragedy, desperation, and the apocalypse.
11AM to 4PM

STARS OVER ATLANTIS
By Liliya Benderskaya and Tory Root
An amnesia LARP about tragedy, sacrifice, death, guilt, karma, love, sex, gender, and forgiveness.
5PM to 10PM

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Things in my head right now


Lise once described to me the condition she refers to as being "haunted by ideas," her brain filled up ideas for all the cool things she could do and make. I think that's a perfect way to describe it, and upon reflection I think I often feel that way myself. Here are some of the things currently haunting my brain.

I want to restart my Burn Notice campaign. I want to keep it an intermittent thing, maybe around once a month at the most, but it hasn't happened in quite some time now and I miss running it. I like my player group a lot (no surprise given it's made up of some of my favorite roleplayers/people) and since it's the dead season for larps right now, a chance to roleplay would be very welcome right now. Taking steps now to see if I can get things organized.

I have an idea for another larp, this one set in ancient Rome. I've always loved that period, and always thought that my favorite book I, Claudius would provide an excellent setting for a game. I wouldn't actually want to make a Claudius larp, though, as history and the book itself would make it thoroughly spoilered. So I find myself dreaming up original Romans in the style of the characters in the novel with new family drama and politics and conflicts and secrets to populate the story. I think it could be a lot of fun. Not sure if it's what I should be concentrating on right now, but this is definitely an idea I'll pursue at some point. It might be nice to have a new thing to debut at next year's Festival.

And of course, school starts in three days. Excited for that, but also nervous. That means that soon I will have to begin playwrighting in earnest. I have, as I've mentioned, several ideas, and I wonder which to begin with. Maybe I should start setting aside time in my weekly schedule as "play writing time" and get in the habit of making serious progress.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Responsibility is always a two-edged sword

I was just entrusted with the master key to the whole office. That means I can go anywhere I like and get in anytime I want under my own power, so it feels pretty good that they trust me enough to let me be the keeper of it. I like being deemed worthy to handle things.

On the downside, however, since I'm to keep it with me at all times, I just know that this means that someday the president of the company is going to call me on a Saturday and ask me to come let him in, and it will be in the middle of a larp where I'm playing a cat or a fairy or a swamp monster or something, and I will have to go down there and he'll see me in my weird-ass costume and I can kiss whatever professional image I've built up goodbye. :-P ;-)

Brad as hippie Lysander


Despite missing Jared, this was a pleasant, low-key weekend. Saturday I went with Bernie to see [info]usernamenumber* in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and that was a lot of fun. The show was set in the sixties, complete with a conflict by ultra-hippie Lysander (brilliantly and hilariously played by Brad) and the square Demetrius and Egeus, and all the fairy magic seemingly boiled down to the effects of various psychedelic drugs. It actually worked quite well, particularly skewing Lysander that way, and made for a really funny setup with lots of fun performances. Brad was amazing as always, taking on his first Shakespeare role with energy and great physical embodiment of the role. I also was pleasantly surprised to see that the director and the portrayer of Theseus and Oberon was Ron Lacey, the gentleman who played Ferdinand in the production of Love's Labor's Lost I was in last summer, an actor I admire and who apparently is quite clever behind the scenes as well. While occasionally I found the blocking a bit frenetic, making it a bit tough for the dialogue to come through clearly and with nuance, I thought they did a great job transplanting the play into their new context and a great job making a fun show of it. I gather this is a new troupe, and if they continue to put on Shakespeare, I would love to audition for them myself. Brad has kindly agreed to keep me informed, so that could be a fun possible theater opportunity in the coming days.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Sewing project progress: Steph's purple toile apron part III

Or, "The point at which Phoebe decides to pretty much throw out the pattern instructions and do what she thinks is best!"

First Shana commented on my last progress report to suggest a double layer of fabric over the top part of the apron to make it stronger and more protective. That was a good suggestion, as I noticed that my apron is made that way as well. Thanks, Shana! I didn't have enough of the purple toile to make that second layer, but I did have a decent-sized scrap of white linen left over from morethings5*'s chitin costume that he wore for hazliya* 's fabulous deer spirit photo shoot. Waste not, want not, right? So, with Bernie's help measuring, cutting, and putting things in place, I cut that to match the trapezoidal top part of my apron piece, unpinned the folded-over edge, slid the linen underneath that edge, and then repinned it all around.


But I have noticed a problem with my pattern piece-- as Bernie pointed out, it's really short. An apron should come about from the chest to just around the knees. This one, despite my double-checking that I got the measurements right, only would hit at about the thighs. So we decided it needed to be extended. We took the largest piece of purple toile I had left, made sure it would match up across the top of that trapezoid, and cut another rectangle to make for a chest piece to go on the top. That we also lined with the linen, tucking it beneath the folded-under edges all around.


This piece plus the main piece makes for a long enough apron. The ties will then go across the place where they meet. I know with the original design the slanted lines of the trapezoid were supposed to be to allow space for the arms, and I was worried that if the piece had extensions of fabric that weren't cinched in by the ties they would flap around while the wearer was trying to work, but I experimented with tying the piece on myself and walking around, and both Bernie and blendedchaitea* agreed that it seemed fine. So that's what I am going to go with.

To further reinforce things, and also to make the back look a little more polished, I took a long strip of the remaining scrap of purple toile, folded it in on itself to make it an inch wide, and laid it across the bottom of the linen. I folded the loose edge of the linen under, then pinned the strip across it. I figure I will sew that down just to the linen so it doesn't show through on the other side, but kind of finishes things up cleanly on the back side.


 

I am pretty much completely out of the purple toile now, so I hope I don't need it for anything else. With all of these changes, I don't know how useful the remaining sewing instructions on the pattern will be. I know I definitely have to move the ties, and since I'll have to attach the newly-improvised chest piece to the larger apron piece, I will want the ties to cover up that seam. So I may have to make up my own way of doing it there. But I think the piece will be better for these changes, and more useful to Steph.

Friday, June 17, 2011

My room at Illyria, now blue

My room is blue at last! Two days ago the wonderful acousticshadow2* came to help me finish painting, and brought the also lovely Josh Marcus along with her. EB is a really capable person, it turns out, when it comes to getting home maintenance chores done, as I learned when she was on the team helping me move as well as today. I'm impressed. She taught me a few things about painting a room that were really helpful, such as starting by painting up along the taped-off areas with a brush so you can follow up with the roller in the larger areas without fear of going outside the appropriate area. Josh was really helpful but going ahead of us as we painted, finishing up taping off all the trim that I hadn't gotten to yet. It took about four hours, but we got the entire room done by the end of the day. I am extremely grateful to both EB and Josh, for being so kind as to do all this work to help me out. Thanks, guys, I owe you one!

As I mentioned, the orange coat from before was not well-applied, so there was lots of orange bleed-over onto the trim, which I will eventually have to touch up with white. But I am pleased with how things look even now, so I think I will take a bit of a break and enjoy my nicer room for a while. Now I finally have the place cleaned up and back in order, which means all of you finally get to see what it looks like!


Here is my bed and nightstand in the corner. I like how the blue walls go with the blue in my bedspread, which is one of the reasons I chose it. It also looks nice against the dark wood of my bedroom set. Note the sloping ceiling, one of the more unfortunate features of the room, but that's to be expected on the top floor of a New England house of a certain age. The skylight is nice in that it provide a lot of light in a room that is otherwise a bit dark, though it also makes things quite hot if left with the shade up too long. (I had to brighten all of these photos to make them acceptably clear.) You can also see the neat low closet on that side with its shuttered accordian doors. It has a shelf and a piece of thick carpet along the bottom, and I actually haven't used much of it yet, but I expect I will as time goes on. My moose Romeo, more often called Moosey, who was a gift from Jared can be seen sitting in the place of honor on the bed.

Here is the view more or less from the door on the right side of the bed. Across from it is the smaller of the room's two full-sized closets, which I love because I have many, many clothes. That corner next to the closet was a perfect size to fit my small bookshelf, packed to the gills with show programs, English-major literature, cookbooks, and old notebooks. of mine. Horatio the beanbag mallard, affectionately known as Ducky (notice a pattern with me?), sits atop several decorative cigar boxes. I have decided to keep them there, though in general I have a preference to keeping my surfaces clear. I'm not sure the rug is necessary now that my room has a carpet, but it was in my old room and keeps with the theme of blue. You will also notice my mirror on the floor against the wall there. Now that I've painted I want to hang it there, but it is a very nice, heavy mirror that I don't want to risk breaking, so I may enlist the expertise of someone who knows more about wall hanging than I do. I am amused to notice that you can see Moosey's reflection in it from this angle.

This is what the side across from the bed looks like. This is what I mean about how the room has lots of bites and chunks taken out of it by the weird shape of the walls and ceiling. Now you can see both closets, including the larger one off in nook back there. That is also the room's only window other than the skylight, currently occupied by an air conditioner I almost never run due to the expense. You can also see the room's only real light, a tall lamp that used to be in the similarly fixture-less living room at Elsinore. It works well enough but is not bright enough for my tastes, and I am not fond of having to walk across the dark room to turn it on at night. I suppose I could move it next to the bed, but the door opens into that space and I'm worried about whacking it every time I come in. The wreath on the smaller closet's knob I idly made out of odds and ends of morethings5*'s costume while the talented hazliya* made him up a deer spirit in my kitchen for a photo shoot in the local woods. (I love how much art is in my life.)

On the only side we haven't looked at yet is probably my favorite feature of the place, the little adjoining room I have turned into an office. Here we look through the door to see the far wall and a little of how I have the place set up. Also notice that between the door to the office and the bedroom entrance is a weird little corner with a low-sloping ceiling that comes to a sharp little point. I am currently at a loss at what to do with this seemingly useless wasted space, so if anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. Maybe a little end table? One of those corner-shaped bookshelves? I wish it had an electrical outlet back there at least, to give me more options for what I could use it for.

Now we go into the office. On the far wall is this room's window, under which I have my computer desk. My primary computer is a desktop, all containing within the frame of that screen. I also dock my iPad on this desk, which also holds a box of odds and ends, my personal cable box, an external hard drive, the land line my dad insisted I have just in case, and Jared's high school senior photo (which incidentally I hate.) To the left of the desk is a table that holds my printer, with paper and important documents kept on the bottom shelf and various office supplies in the drawer. The chair doesn't roll very well on the carpet, so I am considering getting one of those plastic mats to put under it. I like working here, as the light and breeze from the window is very pleasant.

To the right of the desk is the old white leather armchair that used to be in the living room at Elsinore. When it didn't fit in the living room here, several people suggested I move it and the matching ottoman into my room. I am finding I quite enjoy having it to lounge in, so I am grateful for the suggestion. Next to it you will see another low closet with accordian shutters; this one is much fuller than the other one, as I use it to store my shoes and boxes of things I want to hang on to but don't necessarily use all the time. Again note the sloping ceiling, which can be a pain even for a short person like me. You can also see here the dark teal color of this room, which I can't say I love, but I don't really mind, so I am saving myself the work and not bothering to paint in here.


Here is the corner between the office door and the accordian-shuttered closet. It's a bit of a random mess right now. I decided to stick my mini-fridge right here, with its crate of random personal snack or kitchen items on top of it. You can also see that I've turned this into my "sewing corner" with my mini-ironing board, iron, sewing kit, fabric basket, and katiescarlett29*'s apron draped over my self-healing cutting mat. I'd like to have a little work table here on which to do projects like sewing or packing larps. Just need to find one I like that fits here. Maybe it would have its own chair too; I wouldn't mind having another little chair in here in case a guest needs to sit at the desk or table.

The last thing I want to show you is the space on the other side of the office door. This is my long dresser, where I keep the clothes that I don't want to hang up. Ideally this would be in the bedroom area rather than the office, but it's so long and the walls are so oddly shaped that this is the only place it would fit. I don't love having it partially under that really low part of the sloped ceiling, but again, I didn't really have a choice for where it was going to go. It just makes it a wee bit tough to use without kneeling, and the mirror in the other room used to live on top of it but now it won't fit. It's a shame, I liked it there. On top of it you will see my jewelry box, my perfume box made out of neat old cigar box that has little drawers in it, the beautiful bone china teaset Jared gave me as a housewarming present when I moved into Elsinore, and a silver tray with some frequently used beauty products on it. Again, I tend to prefer my surfaces clear, but I like having that stuff out because it's either pretty or I like the convenient access. Next to the dresser is another large lamp that used to be in the living room-- it's not great, worse than the other one in fact, but in the meantime I'm just glad for a little extra light.

And that is my room! I love having the space for living and doing things. I am really happy with the color of the blue paint. It's still technically unfinished, as things will need touched up. But now I can start putting things in their permament homes, and hanging my pictures on the walls. I will be very happy when I'm totally settled in, and I think I've made a good chunk of progress with the help of some lovely friends.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Rubber... dalek?

What in the hell do you think this thing is?
I found this near the printer in my office today. It's a little hollow, cup-like thing made of rubber and covered with little nubbly bumps all over it. It fits over your finger. It's like a big rubber thimble, or a tiny rubber... dalek.

What the hell?

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Current status of Illyria

I have begun painting my bedroom. I have taped up most of the white trim, covered my workspace with tarps and dropcloths, and cracked open my gallon of 100 Acre Morning blue. It was harder work than I remembered it being, as it's been a while since I actually painted a room. The paint goes on well with both a roller and a brush, though during the initial coat a second stroke tends to slightly displace the paint laid by the first stroke, exposing little patches of orange beneath the nice new blue. I have found that if I wait for the first coat to dry and then touch up the imperfect places, I get nice solid coverage and probably won't have to go so far as putting on a second coat. Given the very weird shape of the room, with all its odd angles and bites taken out of the shape, it's hard to estimate how much I have finished, but I'll say I've gotten about one quarter of the way around the room. Not bad progress for one evening's work alone. If I can get that much done each day I should be finished by the end of the week. I'm thinking I'll have to touch up the white trim too, though. The orange paint looks nicely done on the walls but must not have been applied with well-placed painter's tape, as the trim often has orange bleed-over on it. I'd like to fix that up as well. I plan on staying here for at least the two years of graduate school, so I want it to look nice.

In regards to other aspects of settling into Illyria, thing seem to have worked out. I have been cooking quite a bit in the kitchen, and it's just as nice as I hoped it would be. There is a ton of counterspace, a luxury I haven't had in years. The appliances are lovely-- having a dishwasher makes cleanup so much easier, and I love the gas range. Not as big a fan of the gas broiler, I've discovered, as compared to electric, but that's a small thing. I also was happy to discover that there was enough room in the spacious kitchen to keep my baker's rack, which though now a bit barer than it used to be I really like having around to hang certain tools and produce on. Here is how it looked this morning before I left for work.


I really really like it. Unfortunately I like the living room a lot less. It's tough to condense from a larger space into a smaller one, so in an effort to maintain a certain amount of seating the room ended up a bit cramped. I'm also not a fan of how the washer and dryer are in a closet in the wall, meaning nothing can be put up against that side. But we've sort of worked out a compromise, and I suppose it's comfortable enough.


I will post pictures of my room once the painting is done, and I've finally got the place the way I want it.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Sewing project progress: Steph's purple toile apron part II

So last week my mother made a little package for me-- not the sewing machine, unfortunately, she hadn't yet figured out what was the best way to get it and all its little pieces to me, but another really cool set of sewing tools, a rotary cutter and a mat. These are fabulous tools; the rotary cutter is an incredibly sharp bladed wheel that makes cutting fabric, especially at tricky angles, fast and easy. The mat is "self-healing," which makes it an excellent work surface that won't allow anything to be damaged by the cutter. The ease of motion does make the lines a little bit wiggly, but I will just have to work on steadying my hand.


I used these tools to cut out the pieces for katiescarlett29*'s purple toile apron. The fabric also arrived in the mail last week, and not only is it beautiful, the piece actually is big enough to make the entire project, so no need to make anything in another material. I pinned the pattern pieces I made out of paper to the fabric, laid it out on the mat, and, holding the blade as close to the edge of the paper as I could, saw just what a fun and effective tool this rotary cutter is. I cut out pieces for the main body, the straps, and the pockets all like this.

I want to do the actual sewing with a machine, so I'm waiting on that, but I did prepare the pieces. I folded the edge of the main body of the apron in one half-inch, ironed it, and then one more half-inch, ironed it again, and finally pinned that edge down with straight pins. I am pleased that the piece maintained its symmetry even after having the edges folded under like that. Here is how it looked after all that.


Reading through the instructions, I am having a bit of difficulty understanding how the pockets are supposed to attach. I might make a paper version, or maybe a miniature out of scraps like my mom suggested, to see if I can grasp the theory. I was tempted to just try to use logic to figure out how they're supposed to go on, but I think I should at least try to parse the instructions and do it the right way before I start doing stuff my own way.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Things to do this week


Looking at my calendar, for the first time in quite a while I see a free and clear week with no commitments on the schedule. This will be nice, as I have a number of things I'd like to accomplish this week.

First of all I intend to spend quality time with Jared, who after a long week where we barely saw each other due to his work schedule then spent the weekend in New York visiting kamianya*, so we haven't seen enough of each other lately.

Next I would like to get going on the painting of my bedroom. As I mentioned, the place is a pretty brain-gnawing bright orange color, way too intense for the room I spend most of time my at home in, so I decided to paint. I bought a gallon of a nice light blue shade, a color Disney's paint line calls 100 Acre Morning, which I chose because it has a primer already built in. I'm hoping that will completely cover the orange without requiring a dozen coats. My dad put a package of paint supplies in the mail this morning with the intent of my receiving them tomorrow, which means I can spend the week working on it. Anyone who'd like to drop by to lend a hand, your company would be much appreciated, and I will of course repay your efforts with home cooking.

Thirdly, I must prepare for my upcoming residency period for starting grad school. I have only one week of classes to attend, but it will be intense. The residency schedule looks to be grueling, a solid block of classes from 9AM (or 8:30, in some cases) to 6PM for nine days. It's been two years since I was last in school, and certainly even longer since I had to pay that kind of attention for that extended a period. Hope I'm up to it. I also need to make sure I've done all the preparation and signed up for all the things I should have this week. I'm a little nervous, as I'm seeing things that I don't know how to take care of right now, but I guess I can send e-mails to faculty and ask for direction.

Those are my priorities. I am not totally ruling out any other sort of activity, but it will have to be fitted in around these.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Being the Batman

 

So obsessed with Batman Beyond right now, and I have a ton of things to say about it, but for now, I find myself struck with one thought in particular. I am experiencing quite the little-kid rush of envy for the main character Terry getting to be Batman's protege. I know, I know, there's violence and danger and sacrifice, but rightly now I'm really caught up in the coolness of it. I would want a suit just like Terry's, the very simple, sleek, streamlined design with the ever-so-slightly creepy profile. The suit increases your strength and reflexes to make you a more effective crimefighter, and to negate the need to be an Olympic-level everything the way Bruce was. But I wouldn't want it to look like me. I would want a suit that hid my real shape and made me bigger and taller and was built out around me so that my profile made me look like a man. I like how that would further obfuscate my secret identity, and I think it would make me scarier than if I looked like the little girl I actually am. And perhaps more than anything else, I don't really want to be Batgirl or Batwoman-- I would want to be Batman. I would want the power of that name and that persona. I would love the notion of going around my daily life, pretty little girl, looks so harmless, but actually being the Batman.

I know, I'm a little kid with hero fantasies right now. But damn it, they're fun!

Friday, June 10, 2011

FINISHED: full gathered skirt in red dupioni

I have finished my very first handmade garment!


After finishing the hem yesterday, my red silk dupioni skirt is done. I confess I'm not a hundred percent confident in my work there. Though it was possible to do the blind stitch on the silk, it was very tough to just pick up one thread of the material at a time, and there are many needlemarks from my false starts. They pressed out to a certain degree, and they're not screamingly obvious, so I guess it's all right. I'm nervous that it won't hold; the single threads of dupioni are very thin. And I think I made a mistake in only folding the hem up once rather than twice. It occurred to me that I could use double-sided hemming tape to hold it in place, at least until I sewed it properly, but since the tape isn't permament anyway I decided I'd just stick with keeping it pinned until the stitches were in. We'll see if it holds. One thing I learned is to use a very fine needle when blind stitching something like this, as it makes it easier to just pick up the single thread of the fabric. In general I prefer a larger needle because it's easier to handle, but I switched my favored size out to do this job right.


I wore it to work today. This is what it looks like on me, more or less; the photograph doesn't really convey the fullness or the slightly flared silhouette. I don't think I've ever worn a full skirt before, so the shape is new and interesting to me. I think I am satisfied. The fit is good when worn around my hips, and though it may be a wee longer than what I was hoping for but I can always shorten it later if I want. (Though when would a silk skirt ever be appropriate in a situation where it would be all right for it to come much above my knees? Heehee.) I am kind of hoping somebody compliments me on it or something, so I can say, "Thanks, I made it!' :-)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Sewing project progress: Steph's purple toile apron

Yesterday I made some progress on the sewing assignments I gave myself yesterday. I made a little bit of progress hemming my skirt, though it's not finished yet. And I also began planning the apron I am going to make for katiescarlett29*.

I am a big fan of aprons made out of toile, I think they're pretty and classic; I have one in a blue print myself. So, forcing my aesthetic on others the way I often do, I began scouring the Internet to find a nice toile in purple. which for those of you who don't know is Steph's favorite, favorite color. I settled on this one I found on eBay:


Very pretty, no? I think it's perfect; Steph, I really hope you like it. (Probably should have consulted you first! My bad.) The only problem is that there was only one yard of it, which isn't quite enough fabric for the whole project. So what I am thinking is that I will make the body of the apron from this and make the straps and maybe the pockets too in a complementary fabric-- perhaps something in violet or lavender that matches the color grading in the print.

Yesterday I also drew up the pattern for the apron. Normally pattern-making is a pretty tough job requiring lots of special knowledge, but I used a tutorial that basically involved making a big rectangle and cutting off the top two corners, so it was easy enough. I taped together several sheets of printer paper and then marked off the pattern according to the specified dimensions. I then elected to fold under the excess paper rather than cutting it; one side needed a half-inch taken off, and then for the places that are supposed to allow for the arms, I drew marks along either side of the corner, and then folded under on the line that connected them. Not the most polished pattern ever made, but when I folded the whole thing in half it came out very symmetrical, which pleased me, and when I held it up to my body it seemed to be the right dimensions for an apron. Here it is on the floor of my office, where I drafted it:


The next step will be when I receive the fabric. I will cut out the pieces using my pattern, and I will go to a fabric store and see what I can find in the an appropriate material that will go with the toile to make the straps and pockets. It's already shipped, so I'm hoping I'll get a hold of it soon.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Sewing plans


Now that the house is more or less in order (except for the room painting, soon to come) I can turn my thoughts back to the projects I have been wanting to work on. I want to go back to sewing now that those pressing matters are taken care of, and here are some things currently on my mind.

1. Finish my red silk skirt.

My skirt is very close to completion at this point, lacking only a finished hem to make it accomplished. That shouldn't be too hard, as I enjoyed trying out the blind stitch, but I am concerned that the material is too thin to genuinely hide the sitches even if the blind hem is done properly. I look forward to wearing it somewhere, as it fits nicely and is actually kind of pretty.

2. Make a gift for katiescarlett29*

I want to take on another easy sewing project to practice my skills, and I also want to give a gift to Steph when she comes back. Since we like cooking together so much, I thought I would make her an apron out of some interesting fabric (in purple, of course), as that is both simple to construct and something she might like and use. Though I might buy the fabric sooner rather than later, I am planning on waiting till I have my sewing machine before I start on it.

3. Study up to make the two dress patterns I bought

Due to a large sale, I purchased two dress patterns, Butterick 5559 and Vogue 1117 by Michael Kors. I got them in the mail last week, and upon looking at them I think they are massively too hard for me right now. I don't even understand what all the words they use mean. I am going to have to study up on the terms so I understand the directions. That may require the obtaining of a good beginner's sewing text. I am open to recommendations if anyone knows a good one.

Propeller troupe's Richard III at the Huntington Theater


I went and saw Richard III last night at the Huntingdon Theater in a lovely trip organized by captainecchi*-- so glad she suggested it! In fact, you can read her impressions of the show here, which match up very much with mine, so much so I was tempted to just let her speak for me and agree with everything she wrote! But for posterity I am recording my own thoughts, given this show impressed me as much as any show I've ever seen.

The show was given the aesthetic of a Victorian insane asylum, and I don't need to tell you how creepy that can be, with the men in white masks, the primitive steel medial instruments, and the constant presence of sterile plastic and black body bags. It even seemed that at the imprisonment of Clarence he was given a partial lobotomy! There are many gorey murders in this play, with tons of stage blood and every onstage death committed in the most gruesome way possible-- drilling into a man's eyes, guts torn out with a hook, and a chainsaw dismemberment behind a plastic curtain that was sprayed with blood. Despite the potential over-the-topness of it, I actually liked it and thought it worked with the stark brutality and sociopathy of their Richard III.

The cut of the script was excellent, keeping the length and frequent dryness of a Shakespearean history down to a minimum and maintaining an engaging pace. The storyline was easy enough to follow, though I had read it before, and despite a handful of confusion regarding people's relationships, it kept remarkable clarity. If I ever were to put on Richard III, I would try to emulate this cut.

Interestingly, this was an all-male Shakespeare troupe. The acting was phenomenal across the board-- Richard Clothier as Richard III in particular with his powerful voice. But as one fequently cross-cast myself, I am always interested in how it's done. I thought it was notable that while the men playing women were dressed in period female costume and affected feminine carriage, they did not much attempt feminine voice, and they all had their normal masculine hair. That disconnect was a little jarring, but their acting was excellent, if representative rather than emulative. It also pleases me to see men effectively to play women, when I am so much more used to the other way around.

The tech was excellent, particularly the sound design; the effects were organic and expertly timed, plus the singing! The entire troupe sang to punctuate the drama and over the transitions, usually psalms or Victorian-sounding caroles and folk tunes. Their voices were exquisite, and it was incredibly atmospheric. I particularly enjoyed when they sang something in contrast to what was happening, like a merry folk song over somebody's brutal murder. There was even a minute when they rendered "Bloody, bloody England" as a kind of rap set to an electric guitar! Out of left field, certainly, but I kind of liked it anyway. :-)

This may have been the best Shakespearean production I've ever seen. I enjoyed it immensely, and now I want to see the Comedy of Errors this troupe is also putting on. Alas, it may be out of my price range, but I will look into it anyway.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Why I want to watch Batman Beyond


I really want to watch Batman Beyond right now. I wonder if there's a way to get it off the Internet. It has been lurking in my brain for several months now, but since watching other comic book shows that don't quite satisfy what I'd like to get out of them, the desire for Batman Beyond has sharpened. Sadly I was not super-into this show when it was actually airing, but after it ended I realized its genius.

The idea of a "next generation of a popular property" is not a new one, and they often play like attempts to squeeze more money out of a concept based around the theory that kids only are interested in watching kids, so let's make a version of this thing they already like but because it's about a kid they will like even more! Bah. I was always more interested in the adults on the shows I watched as a child as opposed to the kids (wanted stories about Baloo as opposed to Kit on TaleSpin, for example). So Batman Beyond could have been nothing more than one more of those. But in fact, it addressed and explored something that is, at least to me, an incredibly fascinating aspect of the Batman arc.

As time goes on, Bruce Wayne identifies himself more and more deeply with Batman and less and less with the public persona he's built up around his real name. One of my favorite things about him is that while for most superheroes, the temptation is to lay down the burden of having to be the hero, but for Batman, the temptation is to shed having to pretend that Bruce Wayne is who he is, and to instead lose himself in being Batman. He was so wounded by being helpless to protect his parents when they were murdered, that more and more all he can see is the ways people hurt each other and render each other helpless, and his compulsion to be Batman is so that he will never have to feel that helpless again. That is so much more important, that Batman is so much more real to him, that being Bruce Wayne increasingly means nothing to him.

But Batman is so broken that he is not good at forming relationships. He has so firmly placed himself in the protector, the burden-bearer, role that he can't trust anyone enough to let them help him. If he's not protecting them, then they're in danger, and he can't allow anyone to be in danger on his behalf. Anyone who wants too much to be there for him (Dick Grayson, for example) he eventually pushes away. So the natural consequence is that he is going to end up an embittered old man who is utterly alone because he has driven everyone else off-- exactly as he is depicted in Batman Beyond. The only thing he really has at that point is Batman.

But everyone gets older. Everyone's body eventually weakens and fails. In time, even Bruce's meticulously trained and honed perfect crime fighting body is going to fail him, and he can't be Batman without it. The first episode of Batman Beyond shows this-- he has aged and his health has deteriorated to the point where he can't physically do it anymore.

But Bruce needs Batman. He can't BE without Batman, because Batman is who he is. So he can't just let Batman go. But if he can't physically do the things that Batman must do... what is he going to do?

He's going to have to find someone else to be the body of Batman. Somebody young and strong who can perform the feats required who will still need guidance in how to be the Dark Knight. Someone who can do what he can't, but still NEEDS him to continue being the only thing that's real to him. It is so fascinating to me, and in my opinion makes for a powerful continuation of the Batman arc.

So that's why I love it. That it extends the Batman arc to its next logical consequence and explores it so well. And that's why I want so, so badly to watch through it again.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes


Jared and I have been watching the new Avengers animated series, Earth's Mightiest Heroes. I enjoy it more than I expected I would, not being a huge fan of the Marvel characters. The representations of all the characters feel reasonably authentic, and they are doing a good job of balancing how things worked and went in the comics with the restrictions inherent in translating it all to a half-hour kids' television show. The art is in general very good, especially on the men. They have managed to accurately represent the characters and keep their physical dimensions imposing and powerful without verging into Liefeld territory. Tony's design is excellent, and I really like how they've depicted Steve, Hank, and Nick Fury as well. (I think the rarely-seen Bruce Banner looks like a cancer patient with a mullet, but I'm okay with that.) The women look good too, I guess, but I'm slightly irked by how they all look alike to me, lots of tall thin modelesque creatures with different hair and color palettes. At least Wasp, the most prominent female character in the series, is a little distinctive. The animation quality is high, and even the most complicated fight scenes are well-choreographed and visually well-expressed. The voice acting is solid if not necessarily fantastic; I don't like the guy they have playing Iron Man though not for really any good reason, and I'm not sure if they mean Thor's guy to be as hilarious as I find him, but Cap's guy sounds exactly like I always imagined Cap sounding in my head. So all in all, a well-put-together piece of television that I am enjoying watching.

The only real problem I have with the show is that while they've got all this high-quality production stuff going on, the show is about ninety percent fight scene and only ten percent character anything. I guess that's to be expected in a modern kids' action show about superheroes (read: aimed at little boys), and don't me wrong, I enjoy battle scenes too, particularly ones as well done as they have... but frankly I find that stuff less interesting than character development and there's precious little of it happening there. I wanted to see Tony's cavalier, self-centered confidence get him into trouble with the people who care about him, and watch Steve struggle to adapt to a society with completely different social mores than the 40's had. I know, I know, I'm such a woman. ;-) But I feel other superhero shows, like our favorites from the nineties, were better at striking the balance between cool action and real character. I guess modern sensibilities don't expect kids to want that stuff, which makes me sad. My favorite shows from when I was a kid (like Gargoyles, TaleSpin, and Batman: The Animated Series) still hold up for me to enjoy as a twenty-four-year-old, with genuine investment and not just nostalgia, because they nail that stuff. So it makes me a little sad that a show that seems capable of delivering good storytelling can't quite hit the most important part for me.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Illyria progress



Here follows a somewhat disorganized brain dump regarding the current state of the move-in.

Things seem to be evening out at my new house. There is still plenty of unpacking to do, but there is now new carpet in my room, and my bed, with its cut-up-then-rebuilt box spring, is set on its frame and made. I'm a wee bit afraid of putting too much stress on the box spring by taking it off the floor and onto the frame, but it seems stable, at least for now, and I desire to have the under-bed storage space.

The order of today will be to go home after work and lunch and continue unpacking. I have brought all of my personal boxes up to my room by this point, and the kitchen table is rebuilt. Now things must be put in their proper places; I won't be really comfortable until that's done. My landlord said I can store unused things in the basement (a typical unfinished, slightly musty New England basement) which is nice at least for the stuff I'm not concerned will mold or get damaged by damp, so I won't have to be crowded by my old microwave or my baker's rack until I figure out what to do with them. The living room will have to be thinned out, as it's currently holding more furniture than it comfortably fits, but that means I have to decide whether I'm tossing out my old white leather arm chair, or I have space for it in my bedroom, or if I just want to wrap it in a tarp and put in down in the basement.

Appointments also happen today. Cable and internet set up was scheduled to happen this morning, though due to work I couldn't be around for it. Hope everything goes smoothly for the roommates in my absence. I also have to get to Elsinore to let in the rescheduled cleaning crew at 6PM. Not looking forward to that, as someone will have to stay with them while they clean, which could take a long time. I'll have to bring my iPad or something to work on while I wait.

My room will be very nice when I am finished setting it up. After remeasuring, I realized my stuff would fit better in the divided upstairs bedroom after all, and blendedchaitea* was wonderful enough to switch back with me. Which I am happy about, as that was the room I really wanted all along. I have decided to use the larger part as my bedroom and the smaller compartment as my little office, where I will have my computer desk and I think a little table to do other project work, like sewing and larp packing and stuff like that. I've always wanted to be able to say "If you need me, I'll be in my office." I have two closets for clothes, and two other low ones in the wall, one I plan to use as a cubby for my books, and the other for shoes and whatever else.

The room has only two problems. One, it has no light fixtures. I will have to invest in some serious lighting, as I strongly dislike rooms that are too dark. Not sure what the best kind would be, so I'll be doing some research, and taking recommendations if anyone has them. And two, the main room is painted an intense, Home Depot orange. Not an ugly color, I guess, but not one I want all over my walls. So I have secured permission from the landlord to paint. I am thinking I'll go with a nice light blue, which would work with my wood and my bedding. In the next week or so I plan to look at paint chips and choose something, then lay down tarps, break out the painter's tape, and maybe have a little painting party. As always, anyone who would be interested in helping is welcome, and will be compensated with home-cooked food.

That's all for now. I am eager to get home so I can continue getting the place into a liveable state.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sewing project progress: full gathered skirt in red dupioni part V

So, because I can't bear to think about moving stuff right this second, I will post the next installment of my skirt project-- inserting the zipper!

I thought this part would be tough, and it sort of was, but the parts that were hard weren't the ones I expected to be hard. I was putting in an "invisible zipper," as they call it, designed so that when the zipper is closed the edges of the fabric will meet over it and block it from view. I had to look up how this is done, and it was tough finding a tutorial for hand stitching one in rather than one meant for using a zipper foot on a sewing machine. Still, I managed to cobble it together.

First I pinned in the zipper on one side, trying to get as much of the teeth covered by the edge of the fabric as I could without risking it getting caught every time the zipper opened and closed. To make a smooth edge, I folded over the fabric once before I pinned it to the zipper.


Then I sewed that in, taking care that the stitches only went through the zipper and the folded-under edge of the skirt and did not show through on the outer side. My stitches were huge and messy, as it was tough piercing through all those layers. I found myself wishing I had a thimble with which to push the needle through. I repeated this same process on the other side, keeping the zipper zipped so it would stay matched up. When I was finished it looked all right, but it didn't seem very securely anchored in there, so I made a few more rows of huge ugly stitches to make sure it would not pull apart from the fabric with use. Again I made sure that none of these stitches pierced through to the outer side. This is what it finally looked like.


Hmm. Not exactly invisible. Probably means I should have pinned the skirt edges farther over the teeth of the zipper, but I was worried about it catching. At least it looks neat, and when I tried it on, not only did the zipper work smoothly, it seemed securely attached, which is what concerned me most. The skirt even fit pretty darn well, and looked like a skirt! Heh, I won't show you the inside, given what a mess of ugly stitches it is. But all that remains now is the hem. It may be a while before I get to that, given how much of my house I need to get in order.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Move accomplished

Well, the move is concluded. It took hours and hours, and had many more wrenches in the works than my careful planning aimed for, but thanks to the efforts of many lovely, hardworking people, my stuff is in my new place. I have a ton more to do to get things in order (thrown off by having to wait for things out of my control, like new carpets getting laid AFTER I had to move in, and the cleaning service for the old place losing my reservation, grumble, grumble) but I am determined to get through them. I don't want to get into any more detail of the struggle, as just thinking about it all stresses me out, but I am determined to move forward productively from here. I would just love to call attention to my wonderful, generous friends-- Bernie, bronzite*, laurion*, lightgamer* , acousticshadow2*, ninja_report*, marigumi*, john_in_boston*, niobien*, Prentice, Emily, Michael, and jh1230* --who gave their time and effort, and I will be making them all an excellent dinner in thanks.


Now I have to go collapse.
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