Saturday 31 August 2013

Faaaabric!

The fabric has arrived...
...and I'm working all weekend! Foo. 

Have an old picture of a grumpy Bagpuss. 

Monday 26 August 2013

Progress?

I think I'm going with the cotte and overdress rather than the kimono style. 

And here are some embroidered hedgehogs! 


Sunday 25 August 2013

Lord and Lady Hedgehog

You might remember way back a while ago, I was getting excited by the prospect of,y friend's costume wedding. 

I've actually made some progress since then (gasp!) and have spend a good few hours staring at 14th century fashions with a hope of making some sense out of how they work and what I'm going to make. 

Lord Hedgehog is easy. 
Indigo linen coat, high necked, lots of fullness in the rear, pewter-coloured frog fastenings. 

My theory is he can wear whatever he likes under that and mostly fit in with the theme. I've based the pattern on the cassock pattern I purchased and we're already into preliminary muslin fittings, yay! 

My dress is still undecided. I'm not sure whether to go for the slightly more traditional: 
Chocolate brown, long sleeved underdress with tight fitted sleeves, ornamental buttons, probably back-lacing. ?Red/scarlet overdress with petal sleeves dividing at the elbow, ornamental front fastenings. 

Or for something slightly more original: 
Loosely based on one of Cersei's dresses in Game of Thrones, kimono-style wrap overdress with double wrap scarlet linen belt, red linen underskirt. 

Hmm. I've purchased 5m of a lovely drapey chocolate brown cotton satin, but it's quite a thin fabric. I think it would work much better for the kimono design than the form-fitting dress (and hoorah, that has the advantage of no lacings/hooks and eyes), but I'd have to draft that pattern up from scratch and I'm running out of time! The underskirt wouldn't be a problem. 

The slightly more authentic style dress is easier in that I've got the pattern on the way. It would look appropriate and be less brain power, but I'm planning on wearing my Victorian underwear underneath and am worried about the line of the dress looking wrong. The pattern also features a zipper and unless I'm tragically short of time, I'd like to avoid that. 

Looking at it now. I'm not even sure on the chocolate and scarlet combo! Maybe should go for a blue? Or an orange? Aaaaaargh! 

Sunday 18 August 2013

Saturday 17 August 2013

What's small, green...

...and exceptionally judgemental?

I'm talking about the fitbit, not the Plink. 

Finally got one of these, ironically after watching one of those BBC pseudo-medical documentaries that I normally run screaming from. This one was talking about gadgets and monitoring and how we could improve our general health by keeping an eye on what we do. 

Hmm. Okay. So far, so pedometer. Alright then. But the other part of this little device is it tells you how many calories you've burned. There's an associated mobile app which lets you plug in how many calories you've consumed too, and the online 'dashboard' will figure out if you're in deficit or if that slice of delicious cheesecake was a bit too much for the moving around you've been doing and you need to get off of your fat butt now, mister.

Well, I have to say that my job is pretty active. I'm more or less on my feet all day, except for brief periods of perching on a chair to write in some notes before being inevitably moved on. I've often wondered how far I walk in a day, and I guess now I'm going to find out! My new hospital has some very long corridors and I'm spread over three floors a lot of the time. But I'm not as healthy as I'd like to be. I've got a tendency to come home and snack, then eat late, not go out for exercise at the slightest excuse (it's raining/I'm tired/my nose hurts), my hydration is crap and a rather nasty ankle injury about a month ago got me out of the habit of forcing myself on a run three times a week whether I liked it or not. I'm not putting on loads of weight; all my 'slim days' clothes still fit nicely, but I'm not feeling as good as I have done in the past. 

All in all, I think my judgemental green friend is going to work for me. Firstly, I'm a bit competitive and I respond well to goals. The daily 10,000 steps will be a good thing for me to try and achieve. Secondly, the concept of having to tell the fitbit when I've been a bit naughty and snacky is probably going to be enough incentive for me to put down the chocolate or not reach for a second glass of wine. Thirdly, the irritation of having to plug every mouthful of food into my phone will definitely put me off eating! 

Incidentally and completely by coincidence, the Long-Suffering Boyfriend ordered a copy of the Hairy Biker's second diet book, which arrived today. I am completely in love with all the recipes we've tried from the first one, (the 'fakeaways' section is SUPERB. Best curry I've ever tasted) so am looking forward to trying some more of their low calorie recipes. 

No panic. I'm not going to get all preachy. I'm a big fan of enjoying life and enjoy it I will, regardless of trying to be a slightly slimmer monster. I've set a goal of losing 8kg on the 'medium' setting (as opposed to the 'bloody hard' setting). Fitbit reckons we'll be there by the start of December. I'll let you know! Better get the trainers out... 

Friday 16 August 2013

Meet Wingnut!

Then there were three.



She's far less sinister-looking in the flesh, honest.

She's currently named for her ears in reference to one of my favourite Terry Pratchett phrases, where he describes an imp as looking rather like a 'small malevolent wingnut'. Fans of the novels will agree that she looks a bit elvish, which is not necessarily a good thing (even if she does work down the chip shop).

The new joints are a dream. They look much tidier than the old-style hinges and add to the feeling that since the first generation of Makies, the overall quality of the product is much higher. Everything feels more polished and put together. I think (and someone from the lab correct me if I'm wrong) that the print resolution has changed too, so the body feels smoother. This is going to have a great effect on the joint durability over time. Only downside so far is that she's got rather obvious facial print lines, so I'm going to have do go a bit careful when applying any pigments. I think a gentle sanding will probably help here and I might go for an initial dye bath to even things out... but I can't decide on the colour at the moment!

Continuing plotting on what her final look is going to be.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Awkward.

Batson has a new buddy, Angus. 


So far they've just kind of been staring at one another and giggling a little bit, but I reckon they'll get to finally talking at some point in the next week or two. 

Tuesday 13 August 2013

What looks for the Wingnut?

Good grief. No. 
AAAARGH!!!!!

YOU NO TAKE CANDLE

I rather think not.
Hrum. Green...? We'll have a think on it. 

Sunday 11 August 2013

Whooooo?

Hey hey hey all. 

Well, it's been a thoroughly hectic week. The long-suffering boyfriend started a new job on Monday, I started a new job on Wednesday (although technically it's back to one of my old jobs) and I was very glad for Friday evening when it appeared! 

Took a new bow out yesterday. It's about a 6 to 8 pound step up in draw from where I was before so was pretty hard work; had my worst round in weeks and hardly hit a thing... 

EXCEPT THE ELUSIVE OWL. 

Oh yes. No wonder he looks surprised :D 

Not sure how regularly I'll be posting for the next couple of weeks. I've got some on-call coming up and breaking in the new doctors tends to leave me a bit dead in the evenings. Still. Wingnut the Makie is on the way and oh, I've got plans for this one. 


The plans. They involve face ups. Ooooh. 

AAAAND finally... anyone seen Despicable Me? 

Ba-na-na, ba-ba-na-na! 


Thursday 8 August 2013

Cliffhanger!

After overpowering the deadly DALEK MOUSE using her wit and cunning, the Doctor and Melchie make their escape... but the lair is dark and winding, and the paths are many... and... and... the CLIFF IS HIGH!



WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

...you'll have to wait for next season to find out! ;)

Tuesday 6 August 2013

The FOE revealed!

Egads! It is none other than the Doctor's enemy, DALEK MOUSE!



*Dalek Mouse by the House of Mouse.

Monday 5 August 2013

Mortal PERIL

The Doctor's companion is in danger... but who is the DEADLY FOE?!



Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Saturday 3 August 2013

Parcel parcel parcel

Amazing care package from the Sioux today with a Duckie and Mushroom sticker combo! 

There are ribbons and threads and Capri pants and a big hand and some Blythe shoes and a glittery pink anchor and yaay, awesome things! 
(Bagpuss has already attacked the envelope three times, no idea what you've put on it)

Speaking of bad cats, here's a little scribble I made this afternoon whilst watching on England batting collapse... 


Yes, it's a mysteriously levitating cat. 

Awesome