Testing Times...

Hello Dhaaarlings...

The research continues... 

I'm a little confused....

Hello Dhaaarlings...

Suddenly Princesses comfortable little blogging exploits seem to have gone all "skew-if" Darlings and I find myself in a sea of confuddlement!

As if I wasn't confuddled enough....

 There I was sitting quietly minding my own business reading about all your marvellous exploits while doing my regular rounds of your blogs... I turned my back on the computer screen for 10 minutes and  bang!

 When I come back and re visit my dashboard everything is different! 

With out so much as a bye your leave. But is was certainly a Bye Bye to your old dashboard Prinny

Suddenly I cant find a thing and I'm struggling to create a post without clickerating on the wrong button because it's just not where it used to be!

I guess I just hate imposed change!!!

I was  quite happy with the old format and even though I had decided not to change to the new one despite all the constant nagging.... It would seem that it is not really a valid choice or option!

 Blogger will change it to suit themselves anyway while your not looking.

Don't!  I repeat... Don't... go and make yourself a coffee! If however the urge does take you... At least keep your eyes glued to your computer screen and do not look away...

Here's something or some thong to help you in your endeavours 

Dhaaarlings....

Talk about celebrating the year of the arse?

Celebrating?.... My Arse! 

Perhaps "Someone" should change their name...

And as Princess always tries to be helpful....

Might I suggest.... 

"Bugger You!"

Crows....

Hello Dhaaarlings....

I have Eight Crow Costumes to make...

If only it was this easy...


 I'd love to have Mothers Jones level of skill and ingenuity....




So far all I've got to show is a pile of various black fabrics some hat bases and some sheets of yellow "foam" card and some feather boas with gold sparkles 
But all this is soon going to change...

I'm hoping that soon the above pile of black, yellow and sparkly oddments will transform into something like these....

Wish me luck Darlings.... I think I'm going to need it!

Kirk Cameron has a fan club????

CCOKC - Child Celebrities Opposing Kirk Cameron - watch more funny videos

This one's for "Bob"

Haiku Monday...

Hello Dhaaarlings...

I haven't played Haiku Monday's for what seems like a life time so I thought I'd throw my hat back in the ring again this week...

Our host is the lovely Boxer while others are busy sorting stuff...

Thanks Boxer!

The Theme for this week is "Smoke"

Head on over to Boxers and check out all of the very talented "haikuists" that usually leave my little attempts standing in a loud of smoke....

Anyway.... Here's my lot! 

Cough Cough Hack Hack Cough

It's Emphysema calling...

Light me another ....?

Corporate Fun!

Bring out the smoke and mirrors;

Let's screw the masses...

Have a great week folks!

Not sure when I'll be back, as things are hotting up in the costume department

Only 150 individual costumes to make and fit ready for opening night in August

We are off to see the Wizard after all..... Dorothy

Fascinating Feathery Fascinators Toto!....

Hello Dhaaarlings....

Now that the Witches Gown has been put to bed...

 Princess can get on with pondering and mulling over ideas for costumes for the Wizard of Oz.

The colour Green has been on my mind of late.... Emerald Green

While out and about over recent weeks I have stumbled across some wonderful finds in opportunity and thrift shops.

A beautiful vintage jacket in emerald green shantung and a roll of satin that is the perfect matching colour.

I have costumes to make for several groups of differing characters in Emerald City

The plan is to have the three kids in each group wearing matching costumes.

I'll run off a pattern from the jacket I found and make two more to match.
Then I plan to team them with knee length flared skirts from the roll of matching green satin....


Sounds like a plan Huh?


In the meantime... whilst pondering the above...

I've made three matching fascinators to finish off the outfits! (Nothing like putting the cart before the horse given that all i have is a jacket!)

The jacket has beautiful antique buttons with little pearl insets which might be a bit of a challenge to match.... but I'm sure I'll find something similarly suitable

The head costumier also had a wonderful find.


A vintage ensemble in dark green crepe....

A long sleeved hip length jacket with a Chinese style collar and single frog closure and long split pencil skirt to match.


Again... I'll draft a pattern from it and make two more to match the original.

Finished off with three more fabulous hats that I'll make. (I have the bases already to go)

I'll show you the original and my progress on this plan in a later post... but believe me they will be fabulous! 

In the meantime.... between pattern drafts...

It looks like I'll be doing a lot of Creme de Menthe all weekend  Darlings....

You know you are welcome to join me!

Ding Dong The Witch Is Done.......

Hello Dhaaarlings...

The Witch costume is complete...

During the fitting last week... after  pinning my customer into her gown... 

She turned around to look at herself in the full length mirror and to my horror....

Burst into Tears! 

 "Oh Fuck" I thought.... "She Hates It"

But....

Fortunately.....

 They turned out to be tears of utter joy...

"Not even my wedding dress was this beautiful Princess" she cried while giving me a huge hug..... "Thank you so much" she blubbered wiping the tears from her eyes....

On regaining some of her composure and as I began to breathe a little more easily again... she went on....

"I just love the little Spider detail.... and the web net inlay.... and the flowing cuffs... and oh it's just gorgeous....It's even better than I could have ever imagined"....

I think she's one happy customer!

Darlings....

Easter's End....

Hello Dhaaarlings....

Does this Egg make my arse look big?

Easter Is A Mixed Bag Here......

Hello Dhaaarlings...

The Easter Period at the Palais always finds Princess carrying a mixed bag of emotions. It has nothing to do with the Christian Calendar. I am not conflicted by my faith... It has nothing to do with the whole commercialisation of Easter and the sugar and chocolate overload that seems to accompany it. Along with the endless cry’s of “Oh I’ve put on so much weight after all that chocolate!” Well here’s a hint... “Don’t eat so much of it stupid!”

It has nothing to do with the continued perpetration of propaganda regarding a big white chocolate egg laying rabbit. Think about it people! Really?

It is not the fact that people get to take a well earned... or otherwise... break from their regular daily lives to often drive long distances for just a few days of mini madness that we know as “The Easter Holiday”. Nor is it the fact that Easter and its celebrations occur at different dates annually due to it being aligned with the lunar calendar cycle. No... It is none of that.

It is because despite whenever Easter occurs on the calendar every Easter for the past twenty-four years, I remember quite vividly what it was like for a family spending an Easter waiting for what seemed like an eternity to bury a Husband, Son, Brother, Cousin, Nephew, Uncle, Life long Friend, Neighbour, Workmate and Father.

My Father...

From about the time that I turned 9 years of age my Father had battled on and off with episodes of major depression. Several times over the years he required hospitalisation. When he first got ill, he and mum already had the three of us kids. There was myself, my younger brother and an even younger sister. Our little brother arrived some years later. And there was the Empress, one day being the dutiful housewife and mother with three children to rear then suddenly having a husband with a debilitating illness, off work and hospitalised almost overnight.

Some might have walked away from the situation but not the Empress. After all, this was in the sixties and women once married were expected to give up their career and stay at home and raise a family.

My mother has always been a very capable woman. Prior to her marriage to my father, she owned and operated two hairdressing salons which employed several staff between them. But when faced with the sudden adversity of a very ill husband and no immediate prospects of him returning to work what did she do? She opened another hairdressing salon and returned to the workforce as a means of survival.

My father eventually got well enough to return to a new job, but his depression continued to grumble along... even then Mum continued in the salon. There were many ups and downs in the years in between. Changes in location, small business enterprises that flew then over time failed resulting in changes in careers for both Dad and Mum. There would be the occasional bouts of depression that would return requiring another stay in hospital but then Dad would improve and get back into life again, coaching the local junior football team, getting involved with my brother and I in our scouting exploits, renovating houses, fixing up cars all manner of projects would get back underway as he improved.

When he was well he was great fun to be around. He had a terrific sense of humour and was always the life of the party... And believe me growing up we had many, many parties. It was during the six years prior to my father’s sudden death that we all really got to see him as the fun loving, genuine caring and practical man that he was. He was very proud of his kids and their achievements... and a man that was very deeply in love with the Empress.

For several weeks prior to Easter my father seemed to become more withdrawn. He would come home from work and just sit chain smoking in the corner of the lounge room. He was like the “old dad” from my childhood when he had been depressed.

The Empress was concerned enough about the changes in him to encourage him to re book an appointment with his doctor.

The night prior to his death, my father, never one to often speak his emotions openly, sat us down as a family and told us all how much he loved us. How he felt that his depression was getting a hold of him again and that he feared that he would end up back in hospital and didn’t want to put any of us through that experience again.

In hindsight he was saying his goodbyes.

Early the next morning, while the Empress and my youngest brother were still in the house readying themselves for work and school, my father went to the wardrobe in the bedroom removed the .22 rifle that had always been kept there for years without further thought,  loaded it and shot himself.

My Fathers suicide shocked us all. And we all still bear the impact of it in our lives today. At the time our worlds spiralled into chaos. The experience was for me initially numbing and caused me to question my own career choice as at the time as I was about to graduate as a psychiatric nurse.

I can’t speak to the personal emotions experienced by my siblings or for that matter the Empress as our reactions were all very different other than our outward expressions of shock, grief and profound loss. Our relationships with each other changed in subtle and intangible ways from that moment on. It was the Wednesday before Easter and as a consequence Easter has never been quite the same for any of us since... 

It gets easier with time as it passes.... But it's just not the same... 

Ding Dong the Witch is................. Almost Done!

Hello Dhaaarlings....

Princess has been beavering away at the sewing machine for much of the day

Here's an update on my customers Witch Costume!

There is still a bit of work to be done on it... Like the sleeves still needing to be attached to it.... but it will be rip roaring and ready to go for a fitting tomorrow afternoon...

Here it is from the rear....

Neckline Detail...

My customer decided that as her party is part Birthday and part Celebration of surviving a recent battle with breast cancer she wanted a plunging neckline with a lacy inset... "I've still got some cleavage you know!"....

I've used the same net on the cuffs of the sleeves and may even add a draped cape/ hood to the shoulders with the fabric remaining...

Sleeve/Cuff detail...

I'll let you know what she thinks after tomorrows fitting Darlings...

Now it's time for a little drink

I think I've earned it today!

Ps.... You may not have noticed but "Maude" my (ancient dressmakers dummy) now has new legs!

They are a result of cutting down an old card stand that my brother was throwing out of his shop. 

Maude doesn't know herself.... But.... The Cooking Sherry is 

still under lock and key!

Coming Soon to a Store Near You....

Hello Dhaaarlings....

I've spent much of the weekend  making marvellous lists!

Matching kids and their measurements to the costumes they need to have made!

Thank goodness for Spreadsheet programs!

With 9 separate costume groups to match up with individual kids it has been a long and laborious task, ranging in numbers from 6 (Flying Monkeys) to 30 (Poppies) but I am pleased to tell you that the listings are now sorted!

With something like 150 individual costumes to make Princess is going to be a busy boy... and as if that isn't enough... My customer that is having a Witches costume made for her 70th Birthday came around for her first fitting today!

I think that she was pretty impressed and... I might add with just a few minor tweakings to the original pattern I will be able to start putting together the gown in the real fabric tomorrow. (today's trial was made up in calico)

The fabric I'll be using is a heavy Back Satin with Mauve Panels of fabric set into the Floor length skirt. It has sleeves to the elbow with long fall away flowing cuffs of black net embossed with spiders and spider web pattern in a metallic-sheen purple.

I'll use the same net fabric as a panel set into the front bodice.

Today She also asked me if I would mind printing up some thank you's to match the invitation cards that I made for her some weeks ago.

I suggested printing them up with a Photo of her in her costume...

She jumped at this idea!

As  a result I have another paying job!

As an aside I met with the Head costumiere last week to discuss various aspects of costume requirements, fabrics, colours styles etc..

Compared to discussions we have had in the past things were quite congenial really which took me aback a little....

We were greeted like an old friend and lots of pleasant banter ensued including a tour of the store room to look at some of the costumes procured from local op shops and then suddenly in the course of conversation...

The bombshell was dropped!

You see... The kid they have cast in the role of the Wicked Witch... it turns out... 

 Is too large to fit into the commercially made costume that they have bought for the role!

And... as the Head Costumiere is responsible for the Main Characters

she is in quite a panic at thought of having to make a whole new costume that will fit the kid!

 For once didn't say.... "I'll do it if you like?"

which I think was the response being fished for... but which did not eventuate... as I managed to do everything n my power to hold my tongue and just sit and listen... She went on about how busy she is and doesn't know how she will find the time with everything else she is busy doing in her life.... Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah.....

Oh... and did I tell you that while I sat quietly listening to this sad tale of woe...

I failed to mention that I was in the middle of making a very similar costume in a very similar shape and size to the one required?...

No?

Well I have now Darlings....

I suddenly realised why up to this point the visit had been so pleasant!

(My "spidey senses" had been tingling for a little while)

If I had been asked directly to help out in some way I would have mentioned that I coincidently happened to be making a similar costume and offered to lend her the pattern once I've finished with it... But I wasn't asked directly... but met with a rather feeble attempt to cajole me into doing her job for her!

I'll still make the offer once my customers dress is finished but... for the moment I'll just play things by ear... and see how things progress...

It will be most interesting to see how this little episode pans out...

A little time spent stewing in ones own juices never hurt anyone...

I must admit that I did come away from the meeting with just a hint of a smile on my face....

Is that Wrong Darlings???

Another Monthly...... April....

[via]


Hello Dhaaarlings....


Where the hell did March go to? It seems like only yesterday that that I was heralding the start of Another Month of celebrating "The Year Of The Arse" and now here we are at April!

Oh well... Lets have some celebratory cards shall we?

Happy Fish Day Darlings!