Note to Self- Progress is Progress

I have to admit that I've been a bit uninspired lately. Not about my Star Wars projects (I'm super excited to get those done) but about what comes next. I have lots of ideas but not alway the follow through needed to turn them into reality and that can be frustrating. So I'm taking a moment to remind myself that sometimes the attempt can be just as valuable as success. That the process of creating can be meaningful even if the finished product doesn't turn out exactly as planned. The simple act of trying means you can learn from your mistakes and create something better next time. Hopefully I can refocus and keep creating. As I was driving home from work I was thinking about my lack of inspiration and the fact that it's been awhile since I shared a cloud photo so I took this one before I walked inside. I'm trying to see inspiration in the everyday.

However I do finally have a finished product to show. My dress is done and ready to go.

Closeup of Bodice

I am still working on a tulle underskirt to help give the dress more shape but right now its still just a pile of tulle.

I also started working on the facinator but I'm not entirely sure I'll have time to finish it for the premiere. If not I'll still try to get it done and post pictures after the fact. At the moment all I have is a styrofoam ball that I covered with several layers of gesso. It will be painted to make a Death Star and I hope the gesso will help keep the paint even.

Going forward we have a pretty busy weekend ahead of us. I need to finish the petticoat and hat for Star Wars. We plan to re-watch the original Star Wars trilogy and get the rest of our Christmas decorations up. So far we haven't had any trouble with Curry and the tree but I'm sure that will change when it has shiny bits. At the moment he mostly sees it as a good spot to launch sneak attacks.

Prepared to Pounce

Merry Sithmas

I had fully intended to have my Star Wars dress finished and ready to show off. However, I came to a point where I needed to thread the straps through a gap left open in a previous step only to realize that I had accidently sewn the space shut. . .  For about the fourth time. That particular portion of the dress has several layers and its seems like every time I added on I had to go back and redo it because of that gap accidently getting closed. They have been reopened and all I need to do is stitch the straps in place and hem the skirt. It will take me a bit because they are supposed to be hand sewn, to help hide the stitching, and I'm not great at that kind of work.

I've been so wrapped up in trying to finish all the things I want to have for the Force Awakens that I've spaced out on Christmas. I don't mean to say I forgot about it. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I was disappointed that we couldn't get our tree last weekend. But I haven't given any thought to what I might be giving as gifts or when I'm going to find time to shop for said gifts. I suddenly realized that I have just three weeks to do everything . . . make the tulle skirt and hat I wanted to go with my dress, decorate for Christmas, shop and wrap all our gifts, and also read the next Star Wars novel that I have from the library. We are also rewatching the Star Wars movies, prequels this weekend and the original trilogy next.

We did get our tree up yesterday but no decorations yet. We had a bit of a problem when we brought it in because we realized that part of our stand was broken so we had to go back out and purchase a new one. Our tree last year was absolutely beautiful, very full and tall. This year we decided to get something smaller because we aren't sure how Curry will react. We've had wonderful luck with our cats so far in that mostly they just want to sit under the tree and look up at the branches and lights. Curry is much more rambunctious and we hope to minimize the damage in case he decides to climb it and topple everything. It's still a good looking tree, just tall enough for our ceilings and nice and full, just not as wide as last years.

Star Wars Shirt DIY

This week I took a break from working on my dress to make my husband's shirt for the Force Awakens opening. I should be able to finish up my dress over the weekend, leaving about a week and a half to make a tulle underskirt and hat.

Materials:

Store bought shirt for base
Fabric the length of your shirt
Piping in a matching color
Paper for making a template

This is the shirt I started with. He would have prefered a short sleeved but we couldn't find one and were running out of time. I also looked for one without a pocket but that was even harder to find. So

So the first step was to iron the shirt and also remove the pocket. It came off fairly easily but you can still see where the stitching was.

The next thing I did was make a template for the panels I wanted to add. I started by making a copy of one side of the shirt. I folded the paper to mark the curves along the neck and sleeve.

Then I used a ruler to mark the area I wanted to cover with the fabric. The stripe I made was 6 inches wide. I decided on that measurement in part because it let me avoid all the curves while still covering the pocket marks.

Now you have a template to use to cut your fabric. I marked the center at the top and bottom so I could use it to make sure I had the pattern centered. I lined the template center with the center of Vader's helmet.

Trace around the template about a half inch out so that you have extra for seam allowance.

Then flip the template over to cut fabric for the other side. Be sure place the top at the same point so both sides match.

Iron the seam allowance to the back of each piece.

Pin it in place on the front of the shirt making sure it lines up evenly with the center edge. I used a ruler to be sure I have the same amount of space all the way down. Pin the piping in under the center edge, carefully tucking the  top end under the seam.

Sew around the top and sides keeping the needle as close to the edge as possible.

The final step is to finish the bottom hem. Trim off most of the excess fabric. Fold the end over twice, hiding the unfinished edge inside the fold and iron. Again be sure to tuck in the end of the piping.

 Sew the hem in place and you are done. Enjoy your shirt!

Thanksgiving and Books

We had a pretty nice Thanksgiving all things considered. We slept in a bit, spent most of the day alternating between cleaning up, cooking, and just hanging around the house. A handful of friends joined us for dinner, along with my husband's brother and his wife who ended up having to cancel travel plans due to a combo of car problems and bad weather.

We tried some new recipes and everything turned out great. Around 4pm we started Firefly on Netflix and just let it run all evening in the background for party entertainment. The cats stayed out and cuddled until we took the turkey out of the oven. After that they were in the office until after dinner. For the most part they did great with a crowd in the house. We haven't really had big groups of guests since we adopted Curry, but snuggles were enjoyed by all.

I survived all four days of Black Friday sales at work with minimum damage. My feet are still sore and I mostly just want to stay in bed with a book for like a week . . .  Speaking of which, its time for book reviews and I will admit that I haven't been able to finish much this month. But reading is one of the ways I relax so it's been important for me to make at least some time for it.

No-Churn Ice Cream: Over 100 Simply Delicious No-Machine Frozen Treats by Leslie Bilderback

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This seems like an unusual choice for November but for some reason my husband always craves ice cream when it's cold outside. This book has a large variety of recipes using a small set of no churn methods. All of the instructions seem easy to follow and flavors range from traditional to kind of bizarre. Traditional flavors include basic vanilla and chocolate as well as a variety of fruit flavors. On the more unusual end there is berry with blue cheese and lobster vanilla. We haven't tried any of these yet but the weather actually just turned cold this week so I'm sure Bear will want to make some any day now.

Crochet One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Crochet is one of my crafting skills that I'd like to improve but the idea of taking on a big project like an afghan is just a bit overwhelming. I checked this out from the library thinking it might have some good practice projects. There are really a lot of good projects here but I rated it slightly lower because so many of them fall into the same categories such as scarves or gloves and I don't know that I want to make multiple scarves for myself. I know that I could give items as gifts as well so that would make it better but it still feels somewhat limiting. We also don't have kids or many friends with kids so those projects aren't of much use to me personal either. Overall though I like the projects and the instructions are good so I still would consider this book a valuable resource.

All of the rain and ice this weekend prevented us from getting out to pick up a Christmas tree. I would like to get one before next weekend but with our work schedules that may or may not work out. We haven't decided what kind of color combo we want to go with this year so I've set up a poll where you can weigh in over on the Facebook page. I hope to finish up both my dress and husband's shirt for when we see the Force Awakens by the end of the week. I can get them done soon I'll make a tulle petticoat for under the dress as well.

Thanksgiving Week

Due to increased work hours for the holiday Eclectic Otter will not be posting today.

Thanksgiving Week

Due to increased work hours for the holiday there will no posts this week.

Think Before You Shop

I have been trying to put my feelings about working Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving weekend into words for some time now. It is a source of stress that comes around every year and is one of the main reasons that I am continuously looking for other jobs to apply for. But before I get into all that I want to let you know that I will not be making my regular posts this upcoming week.

This is just a sample of the things I have to do before next Friday.
1. Work 9 hours days every day except Thanksgiving day, starting as early as 5 am and going as late as 11pm
2. Help my husband make Thanksgiving dinner for a group of friends
3. Get the house cleaned for that dinner
4. Make food for two separate work potlucks
5. Attempt to get some Christmas gifts wrapped and ready to send with other family when they visit for Thanksgiving
6. Buy new shoes so my feet don't hate me after those long work days

 I hope to be able to squeeze in some time to work on my sewing for the Force Awakens and I will update you on my progress after the holiday.

Boycott Black Thursday is a movement online where people are pushing for stores to remain closed on Thanksgiving Day. I hearty approve of this idea. Everyone deserves to have a day off to spend time with their families and be thankful for the things they have.  However I want to say that it's not enough.

Shopping on Black Friday also prevents people from spending time with family.

I have personal experience on this point. We have spent the last several Thanksgivings with my husband's family who recently moved to Colorado. Even though my parents live just a few houses down the street from us we rarely have dinner with them because they spend the holiday weekend in Wichita visiting my brother and niece. He works in food service and also only has Thanksgiving day itself off. So this year we have no family to spend time. Everyone will be together for the holidays except us. We got a phone call from my mother-in-law a while back asking my husband if he would be coming out to Colorado and we'd really like to but one day isn't enough time to drive a state and a half away, spend any time relaxing with family, and get home again in time to be rested for a long hard work day in the morning.

We have made a similar trip before. The year my sister-in-law passed away we made a point of spending the holiday with my brother. I was scheduled to close Wednesday before and didn't get off of work until almost 11pm. My husband drove and I snoozed. All that sitting after the long work day made me super stiff and achy. Thanksgiving itself was pretty good. We all helped cook and had a nice time catching up over dinner... But we had to leave right after dinner so that we could get home and put me to bed because I have to be at work at 5:30 am on Friday, meaning I had to be out of bed by 4:30 am.

This last example is not from my own experience but a former co-worker left her job because she choose to return home and spend one last Thanksgiving with a dying family member. I don't really know if she was fired because she refused to work or if she quit when they tried to force her to come in but either way it wasn't a fair way to treat a person.

Celebrate on another Day

People who want to shop on Black Friday always make the argument that retail workers can/ should simply celebrate with their families on an alternate weekend. That's a fairly valid argument if everyone involved is able. I don't feel like the spirit of the holiday or family time should be constrained to that one day.

The problem comes when there is no other time available. Celebrating on another weekend hasn't really ever worked out for our family. Retail schedules are erratic and my 'weekend' days don't tend to match up with the 'weekend' that my brother gets. Add in black outs for using vacation time between Halloween and New Years and it becomes nearly impossible to celebrate Thanksgiving together at anywhere close to a relevant time.

Holiday Pay

A common argument for people working the holiday is extra pay. Unfortunately a lot of retail employees don't get holiday pay for Black Friday. My husband didn't at any of the retail jobs he worked and I don't get it now. It actually surprised some of my husband's coworkers to learn that I don't get time and a half. It's something that most people make incorrect assumptions about.

Volunteer Workers Only

Another thing that people make assumptions about are companies using only volunteers to work on these day. While I believe it could be possible I don't think it's true. The facebook page for the Boycott Black Thursday movement is filled with testimonials from people who work for companies that claim to use only volunteers but are threatening to fire people if they try to take the day off.

Hospital/ Police/ Armed Forces Don't Get the Time Off

This is the final argument that people give for not wanting stores to close on Black Friday, why should retail workers get the day off when police officers, doctors and nurses, and soldiers don't? I don't have an answer to this one except to say that I agree it's not fair. Those professions require someone constantly on call in case of emergency, they are necessary to keep society functioning. Retail workers are not, they could get a weekend off without people dying as a result. Banks are closed for the weekend, does that mean they deserve it more than soldiers? I feel like everyone deserves to get the weekend off and that we should work toward making it possible for as many people as possible.

I understand that this post isn't likely to change a lot of minds on this issue. All I ask is that you stop to think a moment about how your actions may affect other people. Hopefully in years to come there will better solutions and everyone will be able to make time for their families without having to risk losing their livelihood to do so. The company R.E.I. is a great example, all of their stores will be closed both Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. Their employees have a paid holiday and they are backing up their company values by encouraging people to spend their holiday outside with family. Learn more about the Opt Outside campaign here. I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving, take time to appreciate the people and things in your life that you can be grateful for and I'll see you next week.