so, i finally finished the age of empires sweaterdress i started literally ages ago, back in july, when we were still living in brooklyn. i blogged about it here, actually. to be honest, i actually finished it about a month ago, but it wasn't until today that i got around to taking a photo of it. it still needs to be blocked. i'm a bad girl. *grins sheepishly and then sighs heavily* note the YO (yarn-over) "darts" on the bodice, and the YO's on the sleeve (which are intended to match the ones on the bodice). the back of the sweaterdress looks the same as the front, sans the lace panel (meaning it also has YO darts like the front). it's a tunic-length thing, meant to be worn as a layer over a long, long tank dress or whatever you wish. i wear it over the indian-made acid-green embroidered dress i'm wearing here:
but i have also worn it over a red-orange tank. i also imagine it over a red polka-dot cotton tunic dress...it's been a pairing in my mind since the genesis of the sweaterdress idea, really. something strappy and fitted in the cup area, but that flows out in an a-line shape like the sweaterdress itself, and maybe peeks out at the bottom, revealing itself just a little. i plan on making just such a dress when i have the time (see below as to why i haven't already!).
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i haven't been doing a lot, creatively, in many, many weeks....and i guess i sort of took a break from the blog, but not because i was mad at it! hee! i suppose other things have been dominating my life lately instead, and i have been spending somewhat less time in front of the computer. so, to reiterate:
-the biggest thing: moving to california, then moving from our temporary apartment to our new, permanent apartment (we officially moved in the first weekend of october but got our stuff from NYC several days after that move). we've had more than a little settling in to do: our new place is smaller and has less storage than our place back in new york, so we've had to get rid of lots of furniture and just STUFF. i'm working very hard to pare down to only what i LOVE and NEED, and have a more mature, cohesive home (as i've also discussed recently). that has meant a lot of my extra time has been dominated by careful consideration of my things and what needs to stay, and what needs to go. of course, i've been spending a lot of time waxing nostalgic over my things before i let them go! but the letting go feels good...it's honing my editing skills and making me carefully consider everything i have and would like to have. as a result of all this paring down: i'm getting rid of FIVE rather large boxes of clothing/shoes/accessories. i'm thinking of ebaying a lot of it...lots of vintage stuff (and more). should anyone happen to be interested, of course. :D
-i started an internship at the beginning of october. it's two days a week, for that style bookmarking website i mentioned a while back, http://www.stylehive.com. it's right up my alley. i'm enjoying it so far; it gives me something to do, makes me feel like i'm contributing to *something*, and gets me out of the house two days a week, which is good for me. stylehive had their website launch party this past thursday night, and i worked the door/guest list (along with one of my fellow interns, selena). a photo of selena and i may be found here, in the flickr photostream of natalie zee, of coquette/CRAFTzine fame (she was an attendee at the aforementioned party). i look pale and dead because...
-i was (as mentioned in my previous post) just getting over food poisoning! which i am trying not to think about anymore. but yeah...it was pretty awful. food didn't even look good to me for about three days, which i find incredible...i LOVE food. i lost 5 pounds in about 24 hours (most of which i've already gained back)! insane! i think i'll always look at restaurant food with caution from here on out, especially seafood (i had a bad shrimp burrito. now the mere thought of shrimp LITERALLY makes me gag. *GAG!*)
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anyway, i'm finally getting pretty organized, and mostly unpacked, and the boxes are fewer and fewer...but it still seems like there is so much to do to make this house a home. it never seems to end!
i'm yearning for a day when i can just sit back with some tea from my lovely new bright orange teapot and stare out the window at our gorgeous view or just design or knit or draw or sew. i'm not there quite yet, but will be soon, i hope. my fingers and mind are almost literally itching to get back into such creative pursuits regularly, and of course, also writing about this and that. i've been away from both to a great degree for too long now. the list of things i want to do and talk about is at least hundred miles long...and growing.