No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on April 9, 2016

There are times that I feel like my life is in pause mode. Things are static and I am waiting for the play button to be hit again and life moves forward for good or ill.

There is the project pause button where we are waiting to see if something that is started and stalled out will start up again or if we have to hit the big ol’ reset button and try again. We have a couple of those going on.

There is the puppet pause button that happens after I finish a puppet and before it serves its purpose. That can be long or short depending on the puppet and how long it takes for it to get to that place where it is suppose to be. I am waiting to see if I can post Tuesday about my latest work.

There is the writing pause button when I write but I don’t like what I am writing. Best thing for me to do is step away until I have figured out where I am going with a piece and then pick it up again. I do put on time limitations to this so I don’t stop writing.

There is the house pause button where we need something, like a grocery run or laundry, and the rest of the week can’t really be planned out until the task is done.

There is the exercise pause button that I really try to avoid but when I am sicker than sick, not a good time to go lift weights. Also when body parts are not up to snuff, I have to figure out something else I can do to exercise a group of muscles without further injuring whatever.

Right now I need to tap some of those back to play and hope that some other people do the same real soon now.

I am grateful for the play button.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 8, 2016

From now on will be JSICATIWS like RTBTCKI but a little longer being the title not the entry.

My mind is a blank this morning. Well that’s not entirely true. I am working through Nemo in my head and sorting out the day since I have a friend coming over to go to lunch together and probably some fabric shopping in there too.

So my writing mind is working on a novel and the rest of the brain is making various lists.

I am hoping the puppet I made yesterday will reach its new owner by Tuesday so I can post pictures. But I live in the Twilight Zone of the Post Office so things take a variety of times to get anywhere including the city. I do know that they probably won’t get to it by Monday since they have an activity this weekend that takes them out of town. I am just hoping someone is taking care of the cat and getting the mail because I don’t want that package to get lost.

Off to my first physical task for the day.

I am grateful for things that make Caroline’s life easier.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 7, 2016

I got a project done last night with a few stitches this morning. I have recorded it for my records and it will be shipped off today.

So today is about reclaiming the living room from the last couple of days work and finding the materials for the next project. I also have other things that need to be done to keep the harmony of the home.

I also have to go to the post office and send some stuff out.

So there is my day. This is one of the few days that Caroline doesn’t have something after school and we don’t have bowling so everyone is home at the same time. Gives me some flexibility with dinner, which is nice.

After I get done with a project and am not frantically trying to get something done for a convention, I have to take a pause before starting the next thing. My brain needs some time to reset before I start working through the next. This time around I have to convince my brain that it has 24 hours to reset before I start up on the next project. I don’t have the usual 3 to 4 days to get back on the horse like when we go to a convention.

Last night was a challenge because my hands decided to not cooperate. Trying the thread a needle was more of an adventure than I needed. I might need to get my eyes checked again too. But I pushed through and got the buttons and snaps in place.

I am grateful that I can give myself some time to get my brain back to one.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 6, 2016

I have found that I can either write or read but doing both just mixes things up in my head.

I have also found that when I am in the middle of creating a puppet or working through how I am going to create a puppet, writing is hard. Almost like it is two different muscle groups and I can only use one at a time.

For what it is worth, Knight Life is back in print. We got the author copies yesterday.

Dealing with a slowly dying cat is hard. He’s not in any pain and still being is grumpy cat self but we can all see the writing on the wall. Inky has been keeping close to him and grooming him. Fig’s been hissing a lot.

I am at that tipping point on one of my secret projects that I can talk about after it has gone to its owner. Almost done and yet there is work to be done. I might have him all done by end of business today. Then onto Aquaman which is about half done but the second half is going to be a bit of a challenge.

UConn women’s basketball won a 4th title in a row. And, considering the composition of the team, they might just want to hand over the 5th one now to save some time.

Villanova won the men’s tourney in a way that will be talked about at least until the end of the next tourney. The sports pundits are analyzing it to death. Kid made a good shot, other team didn’t defend correctly and Villanova won.

Mets are at 500. Let’s see if they can keep it there or do better.

I need more coffee.

Clean clothes in the laundry room does nobody any good.

Need to work through the next thing on my list of must be done around the house just waiting for it to warm up a bit.

Puppet neck ties are a pain to make and tie.

I am grateful that my father taught me how to tie a tie.

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Posted By Kathleen David on April 5, 2016

This past weekend principle filming finished up on the Doctor Strange movie in New York City. I finally have the photos, probably too many photos, to be able to recreate the costume in puppet form. I also plan to make a Baron Mordo puppet based on the movie version as well. I’d do an Ancient One but there have been no photos of that at all and probably won’t be until SDCC if then.

The people milling around and taking photos has made my life easier as I have front, back and side views of the costume with and without the cape. Same deal with Mordo.

So now what?

Well fabric is next. Now that I know what the actual costume looks like, I have to figure out how to recreate the clothing. Fortunately for me, it looks like mostly cotton which I can do several ways and it is not that expensive.

Then figuring out the patterns of the tunics and the like. I have counted four layers on Strange and at least three on Mordo.

Challenges? Well the belts are woven not leather. The cape is a nightmare of pieces and the interior of the cape is going to be a challenge to find. But it is all things I can do. They just take time. Also I don’t have a picture of the back without the cape however I think I can extrapolate what that might be. Or I might luck out on a photo that someone took.

So here it is, the beginning of a project. I’ll keep updating until I have it done.

I am grateful for the photos I have found which makes my process easier and harder at the sametime.

Behind the cut are some useful photos I have found and, for some, it might be considered spoilery.

(more…)

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