A Little Bit of Show and Share

I have been gathering a few bits and blobs of delicious wedding dress fair, and for the first time, I am going to share it with you.  I always have some odd bunch of feelings rise to the top of my mind when I talk wedding goodies like when washing berries and the ugly ones float up to the surface.  Hopefully, if I just keep sharing a little blob here and there, I can successfully collect all those ugly berry feelings and dispose of them properly!  After all, if a girl wants to dream a little about when she'll feel beautiful and happy surrounded by good friends and family, why shouldn't she be allowed that pleasure?

All that and a bag of chips!

Just Ideas Folks

I must admit I have been distracting myself from the stress of being in a long distance relationship with wedding dress ideas.  Why not forget the pining and loneliness with beauty and design???

I have reading sewing books, searching online, sketching, and generally trying to pin point key design elements that would glorify my body lines, provide points of interest, and aesthetic satisfaction.

Many wedding and formal wear sewing books suggest trying on actual gowns to find the best shapes to adorn your figure with, noting sleeve, neckline, bodice, and skirt shapes.

Many wedding magazines encourage to brides to choose their gown keeping in mind body shape and which lines accentuate the positive.  Imploring ladies to access whether they are: slender, athletic, curvy, high waist-ed, short waist-ed, queen sized, petite...

As I take note of what I like from certain gowns, I can't help but feel two things.  One thirty years from now none of this will have any weight on my happiness with my partner or the greater world, and two that there will always be more beautiful gown.

The thinking that there will always be a more beautiful gown scares me.  Not in a bogeyman hiding in my closet in a beautiful Vera Wang dress sort of way, but more that I feel overwhelmed by the possibilities.  Supposedly women find just the right gown all the time.  They try it on and bingo they're sold.  I have some fear arising that I will never have that click in this arena.  Or maybe that I will try on a dress with a $$$$ price tag or even $$$.  These price ranges to me seems like more money than should be reasonable spent on a dress one wears for about a day.  I get the thinking.  It's the one outfit you'll be photographed in more than anything else, and of course one must think of comfort.  More expensive gowns are supposed to be more comfortable having better craftsmanship and fit.  For an outfit that is to be worn ad infinitum on your big day, I can see how that would be an important factor.  What I am trying to say is this since I am making my gown, will I get that same choirs of angels- light shining-forth- click of perfection feeling?  Gosh I hope so.

Small Angry Outburst Turns that Frown Upsidedown

I wasn't really aware of any kind of rage brewing under my skin this morning after I woke up, but somewhere between the mall parking lot and a red mini van, a episode occurred.  I was beeped at as I was backing out of my slot in the huge concrete palace that is the mall parking ramp.  I fully realize she was cruising doing 30 mph in that grey on grey cave, and she had ever right to honk as I was beginning my escape.  Somehow this simple beep, sent me over the edge.  I was mad.  Yelling, cursing, blaspheming, all followed for several blocks.  I hated her, and I wanted her to know it.  Or was I really upset about something else?  I try to keep an eye on my feelings; processing and directing them accordingly.  Not in a repressed, stuffing, this girls gonna blow sort of way.  Nononononono.  More of a hmmm I feel bad, what's this about? what do I need? sort of way.  That lady allowed me to tap into something much deeper than what I had been struggling this week to sort out on the surface.  

Surprisingly, I feel much better than I have all week.  Should I make yelling at the top of my lungs a weekly therapy?

Welcome to Betsy Land!

So here is my revisiting to blogging from a short stint six or so years ago.  Yes, that's right folks a new and improved Betsy is at it again and is here to ramble on about life in Betsyland: recipes, relationships, sewing, natural health, life in the midwest, random ideas, ramblings, and a few dreams to top it off.

I know am growing into a different part of myself, the creative, expressive part I suppose.  With the onset of my bout with mono a few months ago I returned to sewing after many years of dust gathering on my skills.  I never did feel confident sewing, but I'm taking another stab at it, and I think that has also led me here.

I have a secret goal in mind... to sew my wedding dress.  Ok so maybe it's not so secret anymore, but you understand right?  A girls gotta tell somebody.  This whole sewing my future dress (or maybe it'll be a sassy pants suit, who knows!) requires a lot of practice on many projects before I could ever feel confident taking on such a major public display of my work.  

I have to say, I think I can do it.  After reviewing a bunch of books from the library on sewing like a sample maker and custom sewn wedding dresses, I have gotten a little more fluency down with the lingo.  French seam, Hong Kong seam, boning, lining, underlining, facing, interfacing, serge, sew, overlock... woof.