Below are the 2 most recent journal entries recorded in delbelcoure's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
2:09 pm	Still slogging my way through the Cecelia Dart-Thornton book. I'm on book three now "The Battle for Evernight". The first half is a bit too much like a road movie for me; lots of scenery, not much plot. Things are picking up again though. I haven't had too much time to read as I'm sewing a lot. I listen to books on tape to help my sewing speed along. I've been listening to Mansfield Park by Jane Austin and now Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. I certainly needed a tonic to the heavy morality of Mansfield Park. I love Jane Austin and I have several more of her books on tape to listen to next. I've been busy with my gamurra and DH's farsetto. My dress is down to hand work, about 20 more lacing loops to sew on, the hem to put in and the sleeve heads to ladder stitch. I've been learning to sew with a thimble on my thumb and pointer finger as well as a needle gripper. Getting the needle through the brocade and duck, especially at the edges, where there are four layers has been a challenge. I have high hopes of being able to wear it Wednesday night, even if it is without sleeves. Last Wednesday, I ended up wearing a modern stage Romany outfit, flashy, but inaccurate. I have enough fabric for 8 dresses. I'm hoping to get them all sewn up. That will give me a large start on a wardrobe and clear a lot of space in my sewing room. I spent a large part of the weekend purging more from my sewing room - old dolls, doll clothes and accessories that my girls don't use anymore as well as a bag of fabric pieces to small for children's clothes, but to big for scraps. I also caved and bought a bag of scraps at the thrift store ( I was in there for a legitimate reason - honest!, buying a belt to use as a quiver strap). There were some beautiful batiks in the bag. The real kicker is that some of my other scraps that I had gotten rid of last month were in there too! Yes, I bought back my own fabric :-D. My eldest made off with it for doll clothes, so no harm done (at least, that's what I tell myself!) There was also a cute scrap of Halloween fabric with candy corn on it. I had to make a dress for my naked Obitsu out of it (Honest - she told me she was tired of being naked - she was very insistent!) On the plus side, it's done and not a lingering project. Off to sew again. Current Mood: produc (Comment on this)
Saturday, September 15th, 2007
1:43 pm	First post Books I'm reading: "The Lady of The Sorrows - The Bitterbynde Book II" by Cecilia Dart-Thornton. What a big book. I love to bite into a well written weighty tome. The story continues from "The Ill-Made Mute - The Bitterbynde Book I". My synopsis skills leave a lot to be desired so you can look at it on Amazon, if you wish http://www.amazon.com/Ill-Made-Mute-Bitterbynde-Book/dp/0446610801/ref=sr_1_2/102-6176126-4596904?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189878816&sr=1-2 It is well written with a good plot. The real bonus is the size, Lady of The Sorrows is 461 pages, and the language. Every page has a word that's not in my collegiate dictionary, makes me want to get an unabridged dictionary to look up the words. This is my second time through this trilogy, I'm enjoying it even more this rereading. "It's All Too Much" by Peter Walsh. This is the best book on organizing I have ever read. Here's the concept that his book revolves around. Imagine your ideal life. Now think about the life you are actually living. Does the stuff you own contribute to the life you are hoping to achieve, or is it getting in the way of that vision? This is the bottom line: if your stuff and the way it is organized is getting you to your goals... fantastic. But if it is impeding your vision for the life you want, then why is it in your home? ( excerpted from page 12). As a family, we've been purging out our unloved belongings. You know, all the things one has to move aside to find what one has been 'really' looking for. We're doing it a in reasonable mouthfuls and making good progress. Projects I'm working on. Currently, I am switching between a purple Italian Renaissance gamurra for myself, a matching farsetto for my husband and a knitted sweater for me (purple again :-). I usually have several more projects going, but I am trying to focus. I was recently at a thrift store and saw an unfinished afghan for sale there. I couldn't help but wonder who would buy an unfinished project. I got to thinking about my dozens, perhaps scores of half done projects. I am now focusing on finishing the projects I have started before starting new ones. I've also put a moratorium on buying new supplies (unless they are needed to finish a work in progress, like a new spool of thread). When I see tempting items, I ask myself : How is this different/ better than what I have at home? What am I willing to get rid of to make room for this in my home? Do I just think it's pretty or does the item actually have a use in my life? What project am I willing to put off/ permanently discard to make room for this new project? These question have really helped me stop buying so I can focus on actually making. Speaking of, off i go to get something else done... Susan Current Mood: ennervated (Comment on this)