Slap Me I'm Full of Self Pity

I am sitting surrounded by piles of fabric and scraps of offcuts which I cannot be bothered to sort and pack away. It is Antarctic weather here atm and the gas heater is now misbehaving (although I must say it has the most complete and comprehensible set of instructions inside the metal cover, of any gas heater I have ever encountered! well done Vulcan. Gas heater now operating again although, what is a safety valve and why did it cut in?????)....

So, The Musical is over; my house looks like I'm about to move or I've been burgled; I am full of cold; the BA broke our microwave; my salvageable tooth now has another crack and someone stole my phone. Add to that the upcoming kitchen reno and and you will see why I just want to curl up in a ball.

It is maddening how reliant we are on technology really. So many things which make our lives roll on smoothly and add to our serenity, streak out the window like a newly released budgie when the technology goes missing. So many passwords to remember and account names........what is my apple ID, google ID, INME number on my phone (for return purposes, if it's ever handed in).....? Send me your contact numbers folks so I can build up my bank of phone numbers again! I didn't even know my own daughter's mobile number as I rely on it being in my phone. Then of course you are stuck with a new, low grade non-Apple phone which is almost like having to learn a new language. In fact, it actually gives some insight into Autism. Nothing is intuitive; nothing is where it should be; it asks me questions I do not understand.
"Why is my phone looking at me like that?"

There has been no progress on the house front and will not be until after some minor kitchen renovations and a big garden tidy up. I have let the pool go green, much to Himself's disgust when he comes past, which is not often. Interestingly, the water level went down to below the skimmer box and stopped, which means, as I initially suspected, that the leak is in the filter system rather than structural (whew). It does however mean that I have to get the poolman back and that will mean more expense. Honestly it never ends!!!!

 Right now I can feel the germs making their way down towards my chest so I shall dose up on Vit C and retire to the sofa where I can take solace in knitting. Two pairs of boot cuffs so far and I've started on a cowl.

Speak to you again when I am in a better state.

My House Looks Like An Explosion In A Yorkshire Cotton Mill

Since we have taken the house off the market for the winter, I have been spreading out and utitlising the available space to create costumes for the School Musical.  The usual 'sweatshop' has taken on new proportions since we have less furniture and are basically camping out here. Everywhere you try to sit or stand there seems to be fabric or some kind of costume. Many essential items such as desks, sewing machine cabinets and sideboards full of sewing gear are packed up and stored in The Pit downstairs. As a result, the dining table is doubling as a cutting and pinning surface and the coffee table as sewing machine base, The Baby Angel has had to pile her Uni books in between pincushions and piles of offcuts and we haven't eaten at a sit down table for weeks. It's getting out of control....






This year's offering is The Jungle Book.
As I mentioned once before, we are using the Indian setting of the play to inform the costume design. I am borrowing heavily and unashamedly from an American production by the Goodman Theatre, whose costume designer is a genius.

Each costume is based on Indian  traditional garb, such as the churidar and sherwani, the salwar kameez and the kurta. For the bear I am venturing into Tibetan styles such as the chuba, but to be honest, the finished products are often looking anything but Indian :-)



This is my Chief Monkey. He is based on a rastafarian orangutan, which of course is geographically completely incorrect, but I loved the fabric so much I decided to overlook the anomaly.

This is Akela, the alpha wolf. I am struggling with his collar and have actually unravelled this and started again with more shaping....

Mother wolf : She also has light grey harem pants. I'm still trying to decide whether she gets a shaggy collar.

This is for the tiger, Shere Khan. He is the maharajah of the jungle.

There are also assorted monkeys and wolves and I'm working on the fat suit for the bear at the moment. There are two and a half weeks to go, so no pressure hahahahaha.

Meanwhile, I am painting sets for The Mikado. This is my cherry blossom, although I think from a distance, I'm going to need more blossom!