A different kind of craft...

I haven't been doing a great deal of crafting for the past couple of weeks because I've been rather busy preparing for something completely different.

See, eight years ago, in the spring of 2001 my music-majoring-ass was supposed to give a Senior Recital as the final requirement for attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music.  But I didn't do it.

Eight.  Long.  Years.  Ago.  Dude.

I can't even tell you what a burden it has been to have this hanging over my head for the better part of a decade.  The feelings of failure, embarrassment, shame...it fucking sucked is what it did.

But then this past January something (don't know what) lit a fire under my ass and I decided I was tired of screwing around and I was just going to do it.  Despite the fact that I hadn't had a lesson in 7.5 years.  Despite the fact that I didn't have a regular teacher.  Despite the fact that I didn't even know if I could DO that shit anymore, I was going to do it.

Well, long story short...I did it.  This past Saturday, August 22 at 2 p.m. I gave my Senior Recital.  Approximately 50 minutes of music in 5 languages, from memory.  Prepared in 8 months, with no regular voice instruction.  It didn't turn out too badly, all things considered.


This is me, singing 'Come Scoglio' from Mozart's 'Cosi Fan Tutte'.  This is probably my favorite...definitely in my Top 2 for the day.

Ya'll, there were about 45 people at my recital.  FORTY-FIVE PEOPLE.  I figure around 3/4 of them drove an hour or more to get there.  Five dear friends from college drove up from their various homes for it.  A bunch of my theater people were there.  My grandmother came from Michigan.  Several people from my chorus were there, some of whom I didn't expect, which was wonderful.  My sister and my mom and my dad...it was AMAZING.  I am so fortunate in my family and friends. 

It's taken this long for me to just decompress and be able to wrap my head around what it is I have accomplished here.  Among the positive outcomes: the video camera we bought specifically for the event is fantastic.  As you can see, the video and sound quality is quite good for a $180 camera.  I also hired a local company to professionally record it for me...you can download all the tracks here, for free.  Not that I'm operating under the delusion that anybody'd want them, but several of my friends have requested copies of the performance and I figured it wouldn't hurt to post the link in a couple different places.

Another positive: I seem to have acquired myself a voice teacher.  I'm excited to start taking regular lessons again.

But I think the best part is...I am FREE FREE FREE to do whatever the hell I want to now when I get home from work!  Which means that soon the sewing machine will get dusted off to hem kilts and arisaids, and to make linen shirts, and HOPEFULLY a damn kirtle if that freaking Tudor pattern ever ships.  If it doesn't get here in another week or two, I think I'm going to have to execute Plan B.  I have yet to determine that that is, but I guess I better get thinking. 

In other crafting news, my friend Andrea (aka SpaceOddities) has convinced me to open an Etsy shop to sell some of the awesome stuff I make.  I'm still working on a concept, but it will involve crocheted things.  I love crocheting things.  In the meantime, you should go buy some of Andrea's stuff and read her blog because she's awesome and is also giving away free t-shirts with robots and screwed up engrish-french on them.  They are full of win. 

I'm a crafty bitch...

...but it never occurred to me to blog about it until this weekend.  Seriously.  Which is kind of dumb because I seriously could talk about this stuff all day, but I'm pretty sure no one around me gives a shit.

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 10 or 12.  I built upon the things she taught me and ultimately ended up making this:



This is a little dress, jacket, bonnet and booties that I made for my niece's baby dedication back in 2005.  There's also a matching blanket.  I actually had to make a second blanket to put into rotation, because it ended up being my niece's favorite.  I think she was not quite 2 years old when my sister-in-law asked me to make the spare, and I gave it to her when they came down to our house for Easter.  My niece's face lit up like a Christmas tree when she saw it.  That was a pretty incredible feeling.

I also really like to do needlepoint, but with those I have a tendency not to finish them.  I have at least two unfinished needlepoint projects laying around right now.  One is a Christmas sampler.  I might get back to that eventually.  The other is the birth announcement needlepoint I was making for when my niece was born.  In August of 2005.  Soooooo yeah, that one's probably not going to get done.  It seems a little silly at this point.  I'm sure there are others, but it's been long enough that I don't actually remember them anymore.

Not too long ago I decided to add sewing to my skillset, to make the trifecta of crafting awesomeness.  I had been wanting to make myself, my husband and our friends some new garb to wear to the Renaissance Faire for a long time, but I didn't have a machine let alone know how to use it.  Then one day this past spring my friend Elyssa announced that she was selling her sewing machine because she'd gotten a fancy new one for Christmas.  A price was negotiated and delivery date set, and I was the proud owner of a slightly old but well-cared for sewing machine.

My husband taught me how to use it, because evidently the Milwaukee Public School System rocked back in the day.  They actually had Home Ec, and that's where my husband learned to sew.  I'm like, "The fuck, dude."  But he made me little sheets of paper with different shapes on them so I could practice using the machine before I started working with actual fabric.  He showed me how to wind a bobbin, and thread my machine, and was generally helpful and a very good husband.  I think I will keep him for now.

So once I had that under my belt, I hemmed a pair of dress pants for my husband.  I sing with the Philharmonic Chorus of Madison, and I hemmed my concert dress for that.  At that point, I decided I was ready to leap into the world of historical costuming.

It is my intention to use this space to chronicle my experiences as I learn and gain skill.  I have already completed several projects, which I will share here as time goes on.  I hope you enjoy reading about this stuff as much as I enjoy making it.