Sew Saturday, Book Review, and Dirndl!

Hi!

I've been kind of obsessing about this Darkly Sweet world and in it the characters have tea parties and dress up ridiculously. Dirndls. So I found this book on Amazon, it's in Japanese. It didn't make the slightest difference because the pictoral instructions were amazing. It went together kind of like a nightmare because the cheap satin I had on hand unraveled and slipped like a lambourghini on the ice (did you see that movie?) and I did about ten yards of ruffles. Of that nightmare slick stuff. But it turned out so cute. So adorable. So fun! We both love it. And I didn't spend a cent on it, just used stuff i had on hand. An invisible zipper would have been better, but I didn't have one. Also if it had been green instead of white... but these are small things, and using up stash, and using a pattern from a new book, and maybe coming up with something that might work for a book cover, these are such good things! Anyway, I highly recommend this book. I think it's "LOLITA DRESS BOOK 6" But it's mostly in Japanese so it's hard to be certain since I do not know ANYTHING in Japanese. Alligato?

One thing on sizing, they didn't have sizes small enough for my daughter, but I'm like, 'japanese pattern, I'm just going to throw this together and tie a ribbon on the back to pull it in if it's too big. She'll grow into it." Um, no. It fits pretty much perfectly, although I took in more seam allowance than they allowed, not that much. My point is that this is small. VERY small. Not a problem for my daughter, but I won't be able to wear any of these outfits without severe pattern grading. I am seriously tempted. :D

This is the first piece of her sudoku wardrobe. Did I mention this? I'll have to do a post next week. It's the coolest thing ever. I have six items all cut out, easy things that I should be able to get all sewn up on a nice rainy day without anything else to do. Then I'll make one for me. Or something.

You can't tell, but in these pictures the rain is pouring down. So stormy this weekend! Good for my peas!!!

Super Springtime dirndl. 

I feel pretty...

Way too many seams in this fabric.

She loves it, the spinny awesomeness of it.

All those teeny tiny ruffles!

Instructions were really great. I have no idea if I did it right, but I don't really care.

This is the book version of the dirndl. Cute, no?

The book had this whole cinderella wardrobe, and of course my daughter is desperately in love with it.

Also this Anne of Green Gables wardrobe. So cute. So, so so cute! I really want to order all the rest of these books at once!

These are the wardrobe pics. 

Anne of Green Gables ones. 

The left is the dirndl. And the right is these weird shorts that are made out of squares. I don't think we're going to do that, but that cape is so cute! Also the polka dot tights...

Dragons and shelves

Hello! This post is mostly for my mother. Hi mom! She's very excited to see my kitchen shelf. I am too. It makes me feel all grown up to have a pretty shelf holding pretty things. Particularly plants. I love plants! And my kitchen. I love my kitchen so much. 

We've been having a good week homeschool-wise, full of science, art, and music, the best kind of education as far as I'm concerned. It's been really fun because we're studying the periodic table, and I've been learning about elements and using them in the book I'm working on. Like magical science. Strontium! Magnesium! Which ones make pink flame and which ones make green. 

Also, we did this Youtube tutorial, how to draw a dragon. I spent three hours on that, just drawing. So nice to do real life art, not just mess with and mangle illustrator and photoshop. 

Right now I have a cold. Yesterday was horrible, but today I'm feeling a little bit better. I hope you're all doing wonderfully well!

We got our shelf up!!!!

Love that lily!

Copper! Plants! 

12 year old's dragon.

10 year old's dragon.

13 year old's dragon.

5 year old's dragon. (Isn't it awesome?)

30 something year old's dragon.

Water Lost is out. And I'm a fiction writer.

Hello!

I was reading about how to be a real writer, and I do about half the things on the list, so I'm only sort-of a writer. Ah well. Maybe next year. One of those things I don't do, is be engaging and interesting on my blog/email, to make my readers super happy. Their examples were as follows: to share about the time I climbed Mt. Everest, the time I trekked across China on foot, and the time I went to India to visit a Hindu temple. Also shaved my head and learned the ninja way, no doubt. Who does this??? I'm a fiction writer. I can write about the last trek I took across China, got kidnapped by Mt. Everest climbers and was rescued by ninjas who taught me the way of the orange foot, but seriously, who wants to hear about that? Not my readers. My readers want too-hot-to-be-human love interests.

The deep dark truth about me is that my life as is, is quite pleasantly boring. Our biggest and most frustrating treks are through the grocery store with five kids in tow. That's enough trauma. ENOUGH. I've had trauma and I don't want any more, thank-you-very-much.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I'd like to announce the arrival of a very special guest, one that some people have been waiting for ages to meet. Without further ado:



Monsters. Magic. Mayhem. Genevieve Castle was always part outcast, part loner, but now she finds herself living with her dad in their tiny two bedroom house with her too-hot-to-be-human boyfriend sleeping on the couch and his deadly dangerous trainer unloading his personal arsenal in the living room while the psychotic monster in the lake now lives in her tub. 

With too many people in her too small house, Genevieve's only escape is to sneak out to her lake and sing out her stress. Unfortunately, Prince Oliver, her obsession, bought her lake and every time she sees him she loses herself a little bit more. With pirates, monsters, drug dealers and social anxiety, what could possibly go wrong?


You can get WATER LOST HERE!!!!! Please leave a review if it won't give you a nervous breakdown. Sometimes these things are hard. Happy reading!!!