Day 451, And I'm Almost Done!

Hello Friends!

Well I didn't take any pictures today, but I did get a lot accomplished on that dress. Well, I got the apron done, and I'll put up pictures of the finished products tomorrow. I must say I'm proud of that apron, since I made it totally without a pattern. Oh and THANK YOU ELISABETH for giving me the idea to use bias tape instead of making a real hem! So much quicker and more convenient!

My client came over today, after I'd put together the "experiment" bodice, and I tried it on her and GUESS WHAT!?
IT FIT!!
Praise the Lord!!!
I was so worried that I'd done something wrong!
But all that painstaking shrinking paid off. I have now put together the pieces of the actual bodice, minus the sleeves, and the rest will come together easily tomorrow after work.
I must say this has so far been the easiest project I've ever done. What Grace that I'm so very familiar with the pattern!
Right now I must go to bed! My eyes and fingertips are sore from delicate trace-work, and vicious pins. (But I haven't broken a single sewing machine needle yet!)
Work at 6:30am calls me to my bed right now before another minute is lost!
I am so exhausted!
:P How? I have done nothing but sit in front of a sewing machine, and trace things.
Well, such is life. It seems to be inevitable. I think deadlines cause stress, and that, in turn, causes tiredness.
Goodnight my beautiful friends!

By the way, I did not end up going with Jeremy to look at churches, though he did go hang out with Hannah, and started teaching her how to drive. Eesh. Stay off the road everybody!! ;P So kidding.
Ok I'm tired.

xoxo-me

Day 452, and Dress Making.

Hello my friends!

So very sorry I haven't been writing lately, but there hasn't been much happening. I have been working, and babysitting, and working, and babysitting.
Now, however, more is happening.
Jeremy and I went on Thursday to interview another photographer, who turned out to be about $2000 less than the first one we talked to, and we both liked him better in general. He'd been at it for about 19 years, whereas the first was young and had only been doing photography for about 6. He was certainly nice enough, but I think he thought he was too good for his own...good... :P Not that I wouldn't recommend him for others, but for us...well.

"He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man: and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man; I am not for him."

And a random quotation from our good Lady Beatrice thrown in there for good measure.

The "Dress Making" part of my title for today is not, I assure you, my wedding dress. I have, in fact, taken it upon myself to make a dress for the oldest of the children I babysit these days. She has a school presentation of some sort, and being home schooled, these presentations are actually *cool* !! She is posing as Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor.
This girl, Eve by name, loves pink, so...Christy (Eve's mother) and I both decided that having an authentic dress design would be enough, and we can fudge it on the colour.

This is the fabric I lighted on, and the white will be the lining and the apron:

So my task is to create a dress for a 9-year-old girl, without having a 9-year-old-girl-sized, 1850's dress pattern. My dear friend Elisabeth Cook was gracious enough to loan me an 1850's dress pattern for women, (THANK YOU ELISABETH!!) sizes 12-16. The first thing to do now, is to SHRINK this pattern at least 4 sizes. I figure, at that point I can work with it and with my client, a nine year old size 0 girl, (in women's sizes at least) and it might not look like the dress was made for an elephant, and a mouse is wearing it.

This would be me...taking on this task

This would be how I look at Mama when I'm trying to figure things out...

 This is my face when I think I've hit on something.........

maybe...

 Well that was annoying, so we'll try taping the original pattern to the table, and the tracing paper over that...

 Keeps things from moving around so much.

 I only have so many fingers, after all.

 At this point, my neck hurts.

 This is my "I'm-focusing-and-you-randomly-caught-me-looking-up face"

 For good measure, a picture of me actually doing something. ;)

So yes...this is my life until Wednesday...around work that is, and everything else that I'm doing. Thankfully I don't have to work tomorrow. However, Jeremy and I are going to do something with my friend Hannah, who is getting married in about 8 months, and then we are going to look at a couple of churches to help us decide where our wedding will be held.

SO! That being said, my break is over, and I need to go get back to work on that little bitty dress.

Cheers to all of you!

xoxo-me!

Day 475, "The world is Trouble...and Grace, that's all there is." And music...

Dear me I don't even remember what I last posted!
*goes back to read*

Ok. So. Jeremy and I met with Daniel the Photographer. We both liked him a lot, but he would probably end up being much more expensive that either of us had planned. Still. The Lord provides. We're not writing him off.

I have been babysitting a bit this week, some of the most wonderful children in the world! I love them.

I'm looking for a second job! :P Mine is very slow this month, and will be for a while.
Jeremy's job won't give him a start date. He was hired at a car dealership over two weeks ago and they still don't have him working! Please pray for him, my readers. His last phone call to them resulted in them saying they'd have him working by the beginning of this next week. Please pray they follow through and get him working asap!

There is a lot of trouble going about in my family. It's very depressing. It involves my older brother, and my father, and I'd divulge if I had liberty, and brain power this horrible late night.
I'm very tired and frankly all of everything that's been piling up has been making me cry. I'm at the feet of Christ begging him for Mercy and Grace, especially when much of this is completely unjust and I often have the feeling of  "What did I do to deserve this??" But then I think and I remember that Christ had to die for me to purify me, and he did nothing to deserve that, so my Lord calms me. I know I am not alone, here, at the foot of the Cross. I am thankful for His Endless Mercy and Amazing Grace.

Today, however, on a more joyful note, we - my youner brother, my mother, and my beloved - went to a our church pianist's house to talk about wedding music arrangement. I have definitely decided that I am going to use a string ensemble for Pachelbel's Canon. Exactly how it's going to be arranged, or what will precede it, since I have 6 bridesmaids, one Canon will not be enough time for all of them and me to get to the front without trotting most ungracefully down the isle, is not yet determined, but I have to keep reminding myself that I have TONS of time!
I'm now kind of thinking of recessional options.
Some I've thought of are:

Josh Turner - Would You Go With Me

Scotty McCreery - I Love You This Big

Lady Antebellum - Love I've Found In You

 

So far the first is my favourite.
What do you think?
Any ideas?
Please share! :)

Love you all!
-me