Haiku Time!

Recently, I've been sharing a shower booth with a massively stubborn harvestman that stays in the dangerous zone for such a tiny "spider".
In its honour, I give you:

住   愚   浴

ん   か   槽

で   な   に

い   ク  

た   モ  

は  

.

.

.

The silly spider

in the tub…

It survived.

©Drusilla de Lanor [August, 29^th, 2014]

Music, Please!

Rather recently, I discovered (late to the party again, I know) 妻は、くノ一 (Tsuma wa, kunoichi / My Wife, a Ninja).

I'm honestly wondering why that mini-series hasn't been bought by TV channels out of Japan. It's absolutely lovely (note to self: buy the books!).

Incidentally, the song used when the end credits roll is an efficient and good ear worm.

It's been stuck in my head for quite a few days, it took me a bit of time to locate a video with the singer (山崎まさよし / Yamazaki Masayoshi), so I'm sharing アルタイルの涙 (Altair no Namida / Tears of Altair) with you.

Enjoy!

Sewing a Regency (Day) Dress [Chapter 6: Modelling the Dress]

The photos are not really that good (sorry!), but they're the best I could get (and it took four tries in four days, and it was extremely weird since the camera did things I didn't even know were possible, but that's another story).

It's mainly just to give you an idea of the finished product...

Front view (with a completely unauthentic shawl - in my defence, it was rather nippy that day):

Another view of the front (sans shawl):

And finally, a view of the back:

I hope you'll like my version of a Regency day dress.
It took me much longer than I thought to be able to post all this, but many things conspired against me...
Well, it's there... Enjoy!

PS: I'd like a word with whoever invented the corset! That thing was devised in hell.

Sewing a Regency (Day) Dress [Chapter 5: Cutting the Pieces & Assembling the Dress]

All right, now that you've got the pattern and that you've printed only the small "bits", here's the battle plan:

* you'll need one piece for:

- the front

- the back

- the belt

- the skirt

* you'll need two for:

- the sides

- the sleeves

The pattern doesn't take into account the seam allowance, so you'll have to keep in mind to not cut the material right against the pattern (about 1 cm/0.5" should be enough - check how your material reacts).

I'm 5'2", and the skirt could fit someone who's 5'6" (if you're taller, you'll need more material).

The dress is size 12 (UK variety). I guess that a size 10 would have to be cut right on the pattern, and add about 2.5 cm/1" for each extra size.

Here's how I proceeded with my 3mx1.5m (9'9"x5'1") remnant.
I folded the length in two, and I pinned the pattern for the sleeve on a corner (1cm/0.5" from the end of the material); then, I cut both sleeves at the same time:

Since my material is striped, it was quite easy to cut off the whole length of material where there was what I needed for the sleeves, and incidentally, I ended up with a nice square of material that can be used for something else (small scarf, reticule,... That's up to you).

Next, I folded the pattern of the front part in two (that's piece #1 in the drawing below). I folded the width of the remnant just enough to cover the folded pattern, and I pinned it. However, I cut the whole length: the huge rectangle that this forms is the skirt, and you can put it away for the moment (and by cutting off the rectangle for the sleeves and the one for the top and the belt, you don't have to actually measure the skirt).
You should be able to pin the sides' pattern (#2 below) on the same piece as the folded front. If your material isn't plain, mind the stripes or pattern when you pin that part.

The stripes don't align perfectly with the front part, but one has to inspect the dress closely to see it.

You're left with one big-ish, rectangle length of material.
Pin the back, and cut it:

In what's left of that length, cut the belt: 10cm/3.9"x1 m/39.4" (that'll work for the front belt and you'll have material for the four loops in the back.

I'll refer to the different pieces according to the numbers on this drawing:

Once you've sewn two parts together, always iron the seam open.

1- Sew the two sides (#2) to the back (#3):

2- Sew the front (#1) to the sides.

3- Sew the shoulders, joining the front and the back parts.

4- Place a pin in the top and bottom part of the front right in the middle (they'll be your guides until the very end; you could even use safety pins).

5- Hem the top part by hand, starting with the front; sew the extremity of the nylon cord thread where the shoulder parts meet and make sure that the thread will stay in place. As you go, make sure that you haven't caught the thread in the hem.
That hem can be pretty small (I had just a couple of millimetres of seam allowance).
When you reach the centre top pin, leave a small opening through which you can pull the thread (that you'll hide inside) to gather the top.

Then, hem the back to match the length of the hem in the front.

6- Sew the skirt (#5) into a tube, and place the seam in the middle of the back.
Just like for the top, use pins to help locate the two sides and the middle of the front.
Measure your ribcage right under your breasts and add 3 to 4 centimetres (1.2" to 1.6"); divide by 2 to know how much you've got to reduce the front and the back of the skirt where it connects with the top.
You'll have to pin the front in regular pleats:

You'll gather the back:

7- Pin the bottom of the front of the top part in pleats to match the top of the front of the skirt. The final diameter should match the diameter of the top of the skirt - of course.
There are no pleats in the back of the top. My ribcage is 78 cm (30.7"), and I pinned/hemmed everything at 82 cm (32.3") [because that's not much, and I need to be able to manoeuvre into the dress since there is no buttoned opening]; the pleats in the front part of the top just reached the side pieces (#2).

8- The sleeves (#6)... (that was the "entertaining" part of this dress).
First, a confession: the shoulder had a tad too much material, and the next time I make this dress, I'll cut the top right on the pattern.
Sew the length of the sleeve.
Try the top on and locate the middle of your shoulder; you know the drill: place a pin.
Fold a first sleeve along the seam, and pin the middle of the top of the sleeve to the shoulder. You should need to make 3 or 4 pleats between the top of the shoulder and the underarm on the front.
When everything is pinned (I'd recommend one careful try on the inside to make sure that everything will fit), you can sew the top and the first sleeve.
Repeat the operation on the second sleeve.

9- Iron the belt (#4). Measure the top of the skirt so that the belt will cover the front of the dress and reaches just a few centimetres beyond the middle of the side. Hem both sides of the belt. With the rest of the belt piece, make 2 or 4 loops for the back.
Pin the ribbon at the bottom of the belt so it doesn't move when you're going to sew the skirt to the top.
Pin the loops to the back (and be very careful to pin them straight!).

10- Pin the top to the skirt+belt and loops (this is when the "middle" pins will help you place everything where it should be; the pins in the front are particularly useful). Sew the pieces together.
You're going to have to take care of many threads.

11- Hem the bottom of the skirt.

12- Hem the sleeves.

13- Eventually add buttons to the sleeves, near the wrists.

14- Have fun in your pretty dress!

Sewing a Regency (Day) Dress [Chapter 4: Pattern]

So... It took me a long time, but I hope you'll like the result.

To make this dress, I used a remnant that was 3mx1.5m (9'9"x5'1").

Here's an image of the pieces you'll need (more details in the next post):

You'll also need about 2m (6'5") of ribbon matching your material, some nylon cord thread, and (eventually) six metal self-cover buttons.

And now, the big part of this post: a PDF file of my pattern. If there's any problem with it, leave me a message, and I'll find a way to send you the file.

Once you've got that file, you only need to print the top part (front, side, back, belt, sleeve); there's no point in printing the skirt.

Next post... Let's start the actual fun!

Instinctive Strategy

I hope I'm wrong, but... I think it's not a bad thing to put my feelings in writing here. If it turns out I was being paranoid and nothing happens, this post will look silly. If my instinct was spot on, it'll be a testimony about the consequences of what I wrote about here and here.

It turns out that I'm fighting depression (that's not something new, and I'm lucky to be seeing more light than shadows these days), and I have PTSD, which is why the May bullying incident hurt me so much.

My bosses and administrative colleagues have been given a summary of the situation, but since they know that a few lazy idiots will sometimes try their luck, they weren't bothered about the liar I had to deal with (I've got a printed file of proof showing I'm fully innocent and I've been nastily accused by someone to whom I gave a second chance, and no one wanted to even read that file at work).

The one colleague to whom the "affair" was handed even told me that perhaps my accuser was stressed (someone else mentioned a possible "cry for help").

Now... I know that the configuration is possible, but... when I'm stressed, I have gastritis, I don't spew nasty lies about people I barely know.

Let's imagine that it was a cry for help. I said that something had to be done, and nothing was done. More problems can be expected, then.

That being said, with the amount of lies, twists and silliness from that person, I do believe that this biped was trying his luck, hoping I'd be a fool... or I'd cave because of the false allegations. Wrong gal for that.

Those lies may have unsettled me and pushed me into a short episode of PTSD, but I keep growling, even when I can't sleep well because I'm unfairly accused by a plonker.

If it turns out that the culprit has a brain issue, I'll visit him in Bedlam (or wherever), with treats, and I'll be kind.

If, as I fear, that nightmare-on-legs is trying to be the clumsiest manipulator in the History of bullying, I'll see him again. Sadly, I do believe that it's the kind of biped who could become violent...

I often have rather good instinct.

I'm not too bad in strategy.

I think the issue is far from being over... but Merlin! Do I hope that I end up being wrong!!! [Update in December]

Conspiracy Theory (May Contain a Dose of Common Plonker)

Allow me to start this with banking woes (you'll see it's convoluted, but it weirdly makes sense). 

Once more, I'm dealing with banking plonkers who are abusing the Law because they think no one is going to pay attention or check what they say.

I do understand that the UE is trying to take collective measures in order to prevent funds to be sent to terrorists and to avoid the average money laundering, but... there is a sub-part to that law that says that they're allowed to work case by case and decide who is potentially a threat.

Just today, I've seen a banker refuse a retiree to open a new account (well, it took them a frigging month to react and notice that there was a "problem") for a stupid (oh... and incidentally just plain illegal) reason.
In my book, it's just that the bank manager doesn't have the guts to allow the opening of the account because that biped had decided to follow the main rule (which is incidentally wrong on that head here, according to two official sources - but never mind that detail).

It's utterly stupid. With exactly the same "legal" situation, the same kind of account was opened in another bank a few months ago.

That retiree isn't planning to start a live remake of Saving Grace or to do anything illegal; it's just about not having all the eggs in the same basket...

Well, that bank has lost one client - and me. And once I've moved, I'm going to send an icy letter to the highest plonker I can find in that bank to tell it that its subordinates are robots who can't think by themselves (all the more since there is a bloody loophole!!!).

I'm about to make a sexist remark, but the banker who accepted to use the loophole was a man; the one who didn't is a woman (and Merlin! Was she limited and patronizing! Coming from someone sending a retiree packing, that was a bit rich!). 

Just because that girl has made me waste time, as I worked to prove that I was right, and she was wrong... and because moving my account is going to make me waste more time, this is war.

Our contact in the stupid branch pointed out that the manager wasn't there to give the green light.

*fake gasp* 

Do you mean that the rest of that branch is on hold when the boss isn't there? Crikey! The manager must be quite something!

Apparently, they've never heard of delegating duties (or using their brains, mind you). Idiotic sheeple.

It's strangely things like that that make me want to believe in most conspiracy theories. Yes, I did write 'want to'. Because I'd rather have the people at the helm be cold-hearted manipulators, who plan wars years ahead, make deals with the enemy in secret and take us all for slaves that they can use as they please because... Well, the alternative is that they're as limited, stupid, idiotic as the gal at the bank, and they muddle along as clumsily as they could.

It may be silly, but I prefer dealing with heartless people with excellent brains than with the average plonker elected by chance and vaguely coping with everything.

Then again, if most sheeple are representative of the selection of bipeds on earth, perhaps there are only lucky plonkers. Perhaps there are no conspiracy theories, just dire situations created by the empty skulls of inadequate idiots who associate with other idiots who are incapable of doing anything correctly...

Dear Universe, I really do hope we're being manipulated. If so, that's awful, but the alternative is just too scary!

Haiku Time!

Look what the rain just gave me:

夏        雨        陽

の        の        気

午        香        な

後        り        葉

       で            

     

 

Festive foliage

With the smell of rain.

Summer afternoon.

Festif feuillage

avec l'odeur de la pluie.

Après-midi d'été.

©Drusilla de Lanor [August, 2^nd, 2014]

Haiku Time!

Inspired by the memory of a wave of fog rolling downhill near Hakone, I give you:

急        彼        霧

増        は        の

！        斜        馬

面        ！

    を        

The fog horse!

He surged

down the slope!

©Drusilla de Lanor [June, 20^th, 2014]

PS: yes, I'd completely forgotten to post it. ごめん.

Tyger!

There's a tiger in my flat.

[Pause]

The painting of a tiger.

Tonight, I searched my wardrobe as I was looking for my Georgian sunshade, and I found the Japanese scroll painting I got for Christmas a few years ago right under it.

Right now, my kitten isn't home (he stayed with his nan out of town), so I decided to hang it. Apart from the fact that the kitten would probably try to play with it [I love that kitten, but I won't let him destroy a piece of art!], that I've put the painting over the one big mirror there's in my flat [so I badly need that spot painting-free], and that there are a certain number of spiders that would try to move behind or onto it [even if I were a spider killer, which I'm not, they're too quick and cunning for me to try to stop them; I vacuum the abandoned cobwebs once they're gone, and that's it], I really, really, really need to make a kind of protective case for it (that's going to be funny since it's over six feet!).

Well, I'll roll it again tomorrow morning (it's safer in my wardrobe for the moment), but meet the "rest" of the tiger whose eyes I use on Twitter: