The Stitch

I've begun to list my antique gown collection in online auctions. If you would like a link to them, send me an email and I will send you a link to them. The first gown I have listed is an antique Lord and Taylor Victorian bustle silk taffeta gown with extremely heavy beading and silver bullion purl embroidery all over the bodice. It is the nicest gown in my collection.

The colors are green, purple and black, with extensive silver beads. It's a tiny, tiny dress. In the pictures below, it's shown on a small dress form with the bust set at 32". I didn't want to close the bodice, for fear of damaging the delicate fabrics, so it's safe to assume the bust is smaller than 32".

It looks *very* similar to Elphaba's gown from the musical 'Wicked,' so if you're a 'Wicked' fan, this would make an incredible addition to your collection. It's in extremely good shape considering the age. The silk is shattering at the bodice neckline, but apart from that it's in very good condition.

The auction ends in a few days, so you'll want to bid early and often!

Here are a few pictures of it:

When I was a little girl, my mother told me that if I played with my belly button too much it would come unscrewed and my butt would fall off.

Except, I wasn't allowed to say 'butt.' I had to call it 'fanny.'

"Heather Lea! If you don't stop playing with your belly button it will come unscrewed and your fanny will fall off!"

I wasn't allowed to say 'fart' either. I had to say 'fluffy.' Yes, it made for a pretty rough childhood once I hit middle school. No, I never recovered from it.

About ten years ago I got my navel pierced. I have no idea why I did it. It hurt like a sonofagun, and it was sore for weeks. But it was moderately cool at the time (until EVERYONE started getting their navels pierced, and then I was just a regular geek again.) and I proudly showed mom. She almost threw up on me when she saw it.

"What possessed you to do such a thing?" she asked.
"Mom, I did it because I thought YOU WOULD LOVE IT," I answered sarcastically. "You're breaking my heart."
"Nobody likes a smartypants, missy."
"Check it out, Mom, isn't it cool?" I asked, twisting it so she could see it from all perspectives.
"Oh, Gawd, Heather, stop touching it or I'm going to vomit."

When I decided to have children, I figured I should remove the piercing because I feared that the hole would expand along with my belly, and that quite likely, once I gave birth and my belly went back to its normal size, I'd be able to fit my arm through the piercing hole from it being stretched so much/ And I'm pretty sure that "saggy wrinkled skin armhole on the belly button" is NOT the look I'm after.

Then Adam came along, and until two days ago I completely forgot that I'd ever had a navel piercing.

And then the freaking thing got infected.

I looked in the mirror after my shower and noticed that my navel was really red. It hurt, too. "Why the hell does my navel hur- OH MY GOURD! BRIAN! LOOK AT MY BELLY BUTTON!"

Brian poked his head around the corner and looked.

"Ewwww-boy. That's relatively unpleasant. Might want to get some Neosporin on that. Quickly."

So I rifled through the cupboards in search of Neosporin and a band-aid. Of course, the only bleepin' band-aids we have in this house are non-Barbie Barbie band-aids, and every time Elizabeth sees me wearing one, she is instantly afflicted with a rainbow of ailments, all requiring non-Barbie Barbie band-aids.

Not to change the subject, but I want to know what the hell these marketing people are thinking when they make Barbie band-aids. If you're going to label them as BARBIE, then make ALL of them BARBIE band-aids. Because if you open 14 of them, only ONE will have a picture of Barbie on it. (This I know from experience.) The rest of them have lame flowers and ponies. And trust me, three-year olds WILL NOT TOLERATE lame flowers and ponies.

The box says BARBIE BAND-AIDS, dammit. MAKE THEM ALL BARBIE BAND-AIDS, for the love of Crackerjax, already.

So, back to my infected navel: I have no idea why it's infected. I slathered it with Neosporin for two days and slapped a fresh non-Barbie Barbie band-aid over twice a day for the last two days. It's getting better, but I'm hoping, oh sweet Big Macs in McDonaldland, I'm hoping that perhaps this one time my mother was right: If I keep playing with my belly button, Maybe, JUST MAYBE my ass WILL fall off. It'd be the quickest damn weight loss program I ever tried.

I'll let you know if it works.

I've had several people over the last few weeks email me with interest in some of my antique gowns. None have emailed me back with follow-ups, so I'm going to list them through an online auction and sell them. It seems a waste to keep them in storage. My original plan was to pattern them, but between the kids and work, I just don't have the time. Hopefully someone else out there can enjoy them.

One of the gowns is an original Lord and Taylor Victorian Bustle gown in incredible condition. It's probably the nicest gown in the collection, however, there are some real beauties in there.

If you would like a link to the auctions, send me an email and I will notify you when the auctions are online.

If you're one of the people who previously emailed me about the Edwardian gown, please email me before I list the gown if you would like to purchase it. Once it's listed for auction I won't be able to sell it to you any other way than through the auction process.

We just returned from a relaxing mini-vacation on the shores of Lake Ontario. We stayed at a place called Brennan's Beach, and I highly recommend their park to anyone who is looking for a family-friendly campground on the sandy beach portion of the lake. This place has it all: camp rentals, tent camping, RV camping, year-round RV parking sites, etc. They offer daily activities for the kidlets, live music on Saturday nights, they have a large arcade, indoor putt-putt, basketball courts, three pools (wading, 5' and full size/depth), volleyball, enclosed playground, biking/hiking trails and of course, THE BEACH.

My family took me out to dinner on my birthday at the Irish Wigwam. I've never had a bad meal at this place, and this occasion was no exception. The food was delicious, the service was impeccable and the view was spectacular.

On the drive home, we noted that all of us had properly skinned knees from falling down at the beach. Elizabeth was picking at one of the scabs and I asked her to stop.

"But Mom, it looks kind of like bacon."

(I can hear you saying "ewwww," and that was my initial reaction, but think about it. She has a point. Scabs kind of DO look like bacon . . . )

I'm home with the kids today, taking it easy and will be back to work tomorrow afternoon after I put in a few hours at Wild Wings.

I've just finished uploading some of the pictures from the weekend and wanted to share. Enjoy!

This is what happens when you throw sand at your brother and karma bites you in the face. Specifically, in the runny nose section of your face.

boy + seeing waves for the first time = this expression

The face of exhaustion after a full day at the beach

The backside of the next generation of rock-climbing Pipers

The boy who lives in clouds

The faces of relaxation

Stealing the flowers of my birthday cake

Hey, we're off for a birthday retreat at the beach and I won't have internet access all weekend long!

Have a happy weekend!

I've been painting a sign for the folks at Wild Wings, and today the kids and I delivered it to the director of the organization, Terry. I introduced Elizabeth and Adam, and Terry kindly gave them a tour of the facility. She was able to make the eagle screech, and showed the kids four owls. The kids had a great time and at the end of the tour, Terry gave them each a book of stickers to take home.

Tonight, as I was getting Elizabeth ready for bed she asked, "Who was that lady at Wild Wings?"

"That was Terry. She's very nice, isn't she?"

"Her name is Terry? Why is her name Terry? Does she tear things?"

Hey, everyone!

We're taking this week to catch up on a few things (mostly family time), so email response time may be a bit slower than normal. Our kids' babysitter is taking some well-deserved time off, so we're spending the week playing with the kiddos, which means we can only get to the computer while the kids are sleeping.

Thanks for understanding!

Today Brian and I have been married for 4 years (been together for 7+ years). This is the longest I've ever been in a relationship, which either says lots of good things about my marriage to Brian, or lots of bad things about my (probably unnatural) fear of what I refer to as 'relationship-ownership!'

As Brian walked out the door this morning to leave for work, he was telling me about a couple who had completely eliminated the possibility of divorce from their relationship. He told me of a comment someone made in response to their decision:

"That's kind of scary! When you rule out the option of divorce, you're left only with the option of murder!"

I looked at him curiously, and asked, "Should I be worried?"

"Good grief, woman. We both have full-time jobs, two toddlers, a bullemic cat and SKYE. I don't know about you, but I don't have the time or the energy to be bothered with divorce or murder!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, because there is not another man on Earth who looks this sexy in plaid and Tevas. Mine. All Mine. And I'm loving every minute of it. ;-) Happy Anniversary, to my Briguy! xoxo

Ever.

Incidentally, also my favorite Saturday morning show as a kid.

I've never been a rabid fan of Coldplay, but after watching this video ad for iTunes featuring their song Viva la Vida, I have been converted.

Wow.

I like the part where the guitar player sings "whohhhh-aaaaaa-ohhhhh-ahhh-ohhhhhh!" while the lead singer sings

"I hear Jerusalem bells a ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing"

and passionately thrusts his hands in the air. Dude, that move takes serious coordination and I love it very much.

In fact, I love that part so much that I enthusiastically (and moderately spastically) performed it for Brian while he was trying to work on plumbing the upstairs bathroom. He was so impressed that I rendered him utterly speechless. He said not a word as he shifted his attention from my noisily flailing body, back to the pipes hidden in the floorboards.

I heard him whisper, "Ahhh, quiet, quiet pipes."

Pshhhh, I am so much better than pipes. Whatev.

"I love your ring, Elizabeth! It's lovely. I wish I had one as pretty!"

"Does that mean you are jello-ish?"

Elizabeth crams half a hot dog in her mouth, chews twice, looks at Brian and with spit and dog chunks flying out of her mouth, she tries to say, "Daddy, mime bein' good gool and waiting to I'm done chewin to tell you somethin'."

While at Sea Breeze amusement park yesterday, Elizabeth was wading back and forth in the pool, pretending to be a walking Ariel, muttering under her breath. I asked what she was saying and she looked up at me, fists clenched, anger flashing in her eyes, "I'm just so ANGRY about Ursula's powers!"

Is it possible to purchase discount tickets to Disney without sitting through a high-pressure timeshare sales pitch? We're thinking about taking the kids to the Magic Kingdom, but tickets to the park are more expensive than air fare and hotel costs combined. How to save $? All tips will be GREATLY appreciated!

Post comments here, please! I'm swamped with emails, so emailed responses will be stuck in the 'low priority' folder for weeks while I continue to keep up with estimate requests and incoming orders! Besides, other readers will benefit from your public-comment wisdom!

Geoff emailed today to let me know that he has a new address for the Company A blog. You can find it here.

Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite authors. I have several of his books in my collection, and one of my absolute, very-most favorite Shel Silverstein stories EVER is from his collection, A Light in the Attic, the nonsensical poem "Little Abigail and the Beautiful Pony."

I'll give you a few minutes to read it and chuckle.

The first time I read it, I thought, "Damn. Why didn't I think of that when I was a kid?" I could have had ponies and fairies and just about anything I wanted, if only I could have figured out how to die for dramatic effect and then come back to life so I could tell everyone, "I TOLD YOU! I REALLY NEEDED THAT!!"

But I kept running into problems with that whole 'spontaneous resurrection' thing. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to do either task. It was simply too much work for a kid who frequently had a hard time working up the energy to speak, let alone tackle something as exhausting as faux death and re-animation.

As I type this, Elizabeth is in her room, screaming at the top of her lungs, telling me in that rattling cry-screech voice (you know the sound - it's the gravelly sound your voice makes when a steamroller drives over your esophagus): I DO NOT LOVE YOU AND WALLABALFAAAAAHHHHMAGA DO NOT LOVE YOU HURT MY FEELINGS AND DO NOT DO NOT LOVE YOU WAHHHHHHHHHH I WANT MY ETCHYSKETCHY BACK NOWWWWWWWWWWW!

"Why is she in her bedroom?" you ask.

"Because the Etch-a-sketch is NOT a weapon," I explain to you. Just as I explained to Elizabeth, through clenched teeth, as I carried her angry, flailing body up the stairs to her bedroom.

You see, a few moments ago, as I turned the corner from the kitchen to the living room, I saw her as she picked up the Etch-a-sketch, held it with both hands like a platter, raised it to a level just above Adam's pasty little forehead and -BONK- knocked him square between his eyeballs.

*waves hands in big circles*

WHAT KID DOES THIS?

Adam, of course, laughed because EVERYTHING Elizabeth does is funny and cool as far as he's concerned.

I, on the other hand, did not see any humor in this event, so I locked her away in her bedroom as a lesson that the Etch-a-sketch is not a freakin' forehead-clubbin' instrument of torture.

It's a fine arts tool.

And as I stood in the middle of the living room, wringing my hands with self-disgust over having to discipline my child so harshly, that awful (but so-very-loved) Shel Silverstein poem came rocketing back into my brain and I knew that when the time came to release her from her bedroom prison, she would collapse on the floor in a dramatic heap of princess-dress chiffon and sparkles, delicately toss her frail hand to her forehead and whisper to me, "Mommy, it's all your fault: because you sent me to my room."

Alas, when I tiptoed up to her room, she was, in fact, quite well. She had plucked every damn piece of red fluffy-fur off her (one of nine-thousand pairs of) Princess Slippers in protest, let out a final grunt of disgust in my direction, and QUITE INDIGNANTLY apologized to her brother for knocking him on the head with her Etch-a-sketch.

And as a final note, to show that my kids are not monsters ALL the time (nosirree, they save it up special, just for quiet moments with me), take a peek at this picture I took while taking them on the nature trails at Wild Wings.

We simply cannot resist peeking through holes in trees.

So, we've been busy little beavers around the Ver Merry Seamstress sweatshop. We have, we have.

Number one on the list, is a very-much-in-demand film-accurate replica of the "Just Breathe" dress from Ever After. We've got the gown almost finished. We've had custom-made appliqués made, and custom-made trim for anyone who wishes to order this gown. It's made entirely from silk, special metal-crinkle silk, bullion purl embroidery and beaded trim, freshwater pearls and delicate lace. It's *AMAZING* and we hope to have the prototype finished in just two weeks.

Number two is another Tudor replica of Mary I. Here is the portrait:

Our client requested burgundy cotton velvet instead of black silk velvet. We used freshwater pearls, gold trimmings and gold clasps up the front of the bodice. We have an underskirt with gold damask forepart, gored, trained, split-front overskirt, front-clasping bodice with damask undersleeves, velvet and fur oversleeves. The bodice is topped with a burgundy, gold-trimmed partlet with box pleat ruffles at the collar. A basic white partlet peeks from under the bodice at the neckline.

Here are some pictures:

We offer this gown on our website, right here. If you're interested in having one made for yourself, just drop me a line and we can discuss the details.

We're also working with another wonderful seamstress who will be offering a line of children's attire. Look for her designs on the website over the summer.

We'll be adding new designs from our Civil War era seamstress too, so be sure to check out our "what's new" page! We'll keep it updated as we add new things.

Don't forget that we have a brand new Husqvarna embroidery machine, and by the end of the summer, we'll have a whole line of custom-embroidered wedding gowns and corsets available for you. If you have something special in mind, fill out our custom estimate request form, and we'll be happy to do an estimate for you!

And finally, after almost ten years of wishing we could figure out a way to help folks who need clothing in a big hurry, we have decided to offer a line of ready-to-wear clothing, which will be available for immediate shipping. These garments won't be custom-made to your measurements (they'll be sized - S, M, L, XL), and colors/fabrics will be limited to only what's in stock, but it will at least offer a nice option for those who need a rush order filled. We'll be posting pictures over the next few weeks as we expand the line, and will include clothing for men and women.