Regency Gown Begun...

The Princess and I are sharing a sewing project - the Regency Gown from Sense and Sensibility.  

 The pattern contains multiple sizes, so the first step is to trace off the size closest to The Princess. I traced off size 14. I only traced out the bodice so far as that is the part that will have to be carefully fit to The Princess. The skirt doesn't matter at this point. The pattern is printed on very sturdy paper with nice dark lines for tracing. I just used some leftover tissue paper.

There are a number of things going on in the above photo. After I traced the printed cutting lines for size 14 onto the tissue paper and cut out that traced piece, I used my little adjustable ruler to write in the actual stitching lines. That is the dotted line penciled in exactly 5/8" from the cutting line. I then pinned the tissue to some icky practice fabric that is about the same weight as our actual fashion fabric. This will be our fitting "muslin" - some call it a toile. After pinning the pattern piece to the muslin, it is then cut out with very generous margins as you see above.

The red background you see is not a table - it is a large piece of waxed carbon tracing paper. This is where the magic begins. (This particular carbon paper can only be sourced from Richard the Thread) Before removing the white traced paper, carefully use a tracing wheel to mark all the *stitching lines*. Not the cutting lines - the stitching lines only. Also mark all notches and grain lines - and any other pertinent marks needed. Now remove the white paper and flip the pattern piece over and trace the stitching lines on the reverse side so that both pieces are now marked with stitching lines and other important fitting notations.

The Princess will take over for the next step - - - more to come.

ATI 2009 Choir - A Flute Playing Princess

The Princess is one of the two flute payers at this 2009 Nashville homeschool conference. She is the flutist on the left - her hair in a bun and NO headband. I can watch it over and over!

This morning I had someone request to add a comment here for my entry called "Why I Like ATI and Wisdom Books".
It won't be posted.
For several reasons.

1. It was anonymous and only referenced a website. If you can't say who you are and you can't write what you think - well, that is just not my style, and it won't be on my blog.

2. It is possible they only wanted to "warn" me and get my attention. I know all about the site and the issues involved. I am sorry that there are people who suffer parental abuse - the Lord has warned that he will exact a horrendous punishment to be one of those people that harm a child - but Wisdom Books and ATI don't harm children - people do. And those people would be messed up no matter what curriculum choices they make. As I testified - ATI saved our family - it didn't tear it apart. So should I blame the curricula I had been using for the 10 years before we found ATI as being harmful? Definitely not - it was my own lack of biblical knowledge that was the problem.

3. This is my blog and reflects what I have lived. I won't pass on information I don't believe in.

In conclusion:
I do encourage any individual to do a lot of research before using any school program. I did. You will find positives and negatives for all methods. I would also tell them to cry out to God to find the path that he wants them to follow. And last, I would remind parents that no program can give them a desired "result". To follow a program is to ensure danger and heartache - use the program as a tool the way that God wants you to use it for your individual family. Above all teach Jesus and the Word.

Women or Faith

In October I got to go to the Women of Faith conference in Tampa - along with a long time friend from my college days. I was blessed to be given free event tickets for me and a friend - that would be Diana with me. The stipulation was I had to blog about it. That was in October and I know I should have written the entry then - but I had a bit of trouble processing the event - and truthfully - I still am. But I do not want to go into the New Year with this obligation still weighing me down. Yes, I could have come back and said - "Great time - you should go", but that would not have been fully honest or transparent.

The transparent answer is, I have never been to an event like that. At first I was very uncomfortable. Diana couldn't come until after the first afternoon sessions were over. I was in a large crowd in a big city. It took me awhile to settle down and "Let God." But when I began "Letting God minister to me", it was not the usual expected way.

Diana was wonderful and I so enjoyed getting to spend time with an old friend. There is something to be said for someone who has known you a long time. Even with big gaps in our communicating with each other as we were in separate cities and busy with families - it was just like falling back into the same place we had left off. I was so blessed by that.

Then there was the speakers. I am not sure this will make sense, but they were so different than my expectation - and so transparent. I suddenly knew what has been missing for so long at these types of conferences - - "Realness!" While I did not necessarily agree with all that was said, nor all the music played, I was truly blessed and ministered to. I am afraid I am not such a good writer to be able to express in words what my spirit felt. I only know it has stuck with me and made me different than I was before.

So let me sum it up - Great time - you should go!

"180" An Award-winning Documentary

What changed their minds....
...in seconds?

You can view it by clicking on this link.

Book Review ~ The Help

I just finished reading The Help. I thought it was a wonderful book with a compelling story.

Things I liked:
*The plot.
*The historical significance of the subject matter.
*The way real-life happenings of the time were woven into the fiction.
*The principle characters were full and interesting.
*There was not a "perfect" wrap up (just like life). I want to know if Minny had twins!
*The book-within-the-book style of writing. I loved that.

Things I didn't care for so much:
*Most of the secondary characters were a bit wooden and flat. There was no reason to even include Stuart except to bring a tie in with a powerful political figure. I felt it was clumsily done.
*This book needed about 300 more pages to really make the characters shine.
*While overall the author showed skill in believably diving the plot, there were still some places I had trouble making the leap in plot development. I am still not 100% sure that these domestics would open up to a young, aristocratic, white girl.
*A lot of it was predictable.
*I felt that it was written more in a manor to make it a sell-able movie as opposed to "literature".

None of my "dislikes" were enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book. And several of my "likes" made it amazing. An excellent book of significant value to understanding others.

Women of Faith - 2011 Tampa

I'll be there! October 14 and 15. I am looking for a blessing ~ growth ~ and opportunities to serve. Are you going?