Yesterday I went to my favorite local, independent bookseller: Pandemonium. Pandemonium was having a sale for their 18th anniversary.
In more recent years they have branched out from selling the mainstays of gaming and sci-fi, and they now sell appropriately themed books and magazines in other genres (including some fantasy-styled romance novels, children's books, board games) including Craft. I bought my first issue of Craft earlier this year when it was Japan-themed, because I am nothing if not predictable. This time I picked it up because between my gift certificate and the sale, I could afford it. Craft is a great magazine, but cheap it is not.
The latest issue is about paper, which is something I love. Some of the crafts I've done. Making paper beads (slightly differently) and making paper. I learned to make the beads at Beadworks, but making paper was something I learned in an extra curricular activity in junior high a really long time ago.
Of course, as much as I love paper, I didn't buy it for the paper crafts. I bought it because I want to make a dress, ideally without buying another pattern. I hate pattern paper. It is tissue paper thin, and I feel like I'm always tearing it. I'm never sure that I've gotten all of the little pieces cut out correctly. I used to be in the SCA. While in the SCA I was not a champion seamstress, but I was adventuresome. I bought fabric (lots of fabric), a lot of which I still have. Most notably I made a houppelande before the Gods and Godesses Ball, which I worked on a with a friend. No pattern. No tailors chalk. Just a penny, a couple pieces of fuzz and a thankfully stretchy fabric to make up for the depth issues. But it worked.
Nowadays I love fabric no less, but I'm a lot more skittish about getting down to business. I don't just cut the fabric with abandon. I don't sew on a regular basis. I have a skirt that is waiting for the waist band and the hem. A skirt I've actually sewn the zipper into. What am I waiting for?
So, I have a dress I made about 30 pounds and at least 5 years ago. I am going to reclaim it for a skirt one way or the other. The fabric is nice even if my finishing isn't, and I will use the inspiration from Craft to help show me the way.
