Sew Dance

I started this blog one year ago today. I figure I might as well sum up the past year. While I feel 2012 was a bad year for me in general, it was a good year for my crafting. These were my resolutions for last year: 1. Lose another 10 lbs. 2. Finish at least one cross-stitch project that I have in my stash. 3. Organize my craft closet. While I didn't complete #1, I did lose a few pounds. They all came off the first two weeks in December while I did nothing but work on my crafts in my bed while watching Murder She Wrote via Netflix. Go figure. As for #2, I exceeded this goal by finishing five cross-stitch pieces. Granted three of them were acquired after I made that resolution and weren't in my stash... I really outdid myself if you count all the scarves I made. I did complete #3, everything was nicely organized and put away. Then I got more yarn and it got messy again. Oh well. As for my blog, I got over 7,500 views. My most popular posts were my opinions on Dancin...

I was going to post this on Saturday, but it got too late. Sunday I just forgot about it. Then it was Christmas Eve so I decided to delay the posting just in case I got something crafty for Christmas. I didn't, but I did get a donut maker. Maybe I'll get something for my birthday next week. Anyway, onto the craft updates. I was working on this felt stocking for the beginning of the week until I got another order of scarves that needed to be done for Christmas presents. Its close to being finished. I'm planning on selling it on Etsy for next Christmas. So the name at the top and the back will be on hold until then. I had to pick up a few colors for the scarves I didn't have so I decided to get the yarn to make an afghan. I had seen a pattern for on the back of of homespun label. A preview of it is below in the colors I chose. I ran out of yarn and will have to buy some tomorrow. It's a simple circular afghan in four colors. I then pulled this counted nee...

Well, actually I have two. I finished Leopard Shoe Kitty. Then I managed to start and finish Queenie. Today I also made two Christmas stockings. Here's one before I added the name in silver glitter glue. Please ignore the crazy background of the couch it's sitting on. I also added a bunch of items to my etsy shop. Lots of different scarves and a few other items. Amazing what I can get done when I have lots of time on my hands. I may not have found another job, but I am going to go back to school for a Masters degree and a career change. So I will be looking for part-time work in January so I have some sort of income. I also need to think of other items to make as soon it won't be scarf season for a while.

Well, I finally got back to my cross-stitching. After selling my scarves at my mom's work, and finishing up some special orders (I still have a few that I need to start), I decided to take the past two days to work on my leopard shoe kitty. I got pretty far on her. I had finished this guy up on Thursday. Isn't he cute? Also put my tree up today.   I haven't danced since the competition but I do have some leeway and have scheduled another lesson this week. By my next blog update, I hope to have more items in my etsy shop. I just haven't taken the time to photograph most of the other scarves I've made.

First the good news. I danced in the (delayed) Fall Classic this weekend. I swept my smooth categories. Final medal count was 12 first in smooth single dances, first places in smooth scholarship and 3-dance, 13 firsts and 2 seconds in latin single dances, and third places in latin scholarship and 3-dance. I've linked my videos below. Smooth: Latin: I also got a picture with Tony and his mirrorball. Not the best picture of me, but oh well. I had been dancing for a while. My hair for latin. I think there were 30 bobby pins to hold it all in place. Now the bad news. I was let go from my job on Monday. I was planning on leaving there anyway but I had been hoping to do it on my own terms. So my dancing will be put on hold sooner than I had thought. This is an expensive hobby and with no income (my etsy shop hasn't really taken off yet) I can't pay for my private lessons. It also cuts down on adding to my stash on whims as I've taken to doing lately...

I'm kind of sad. It's the last episode off the season. What am I going to do until March/April? At least during the summer I have SYTYCD as a replacement. Guess I'll have more time to work on items for my etsy shop. Yay! Everyone's back in the ballroom! Hey. Derek copped out on the flips at the end. Bad Derek. The outfits on dance center keep getting odder each season. Bristol. I still don't think the choreography matched the song. Pamela. Weird outfit. I like the song but I'd do a different routine. (hi Serge) Helio. The quickstep was better then the salsa. Drew. Cute kid. Drew looked a bit rusty at times. The confessionals were funny. He he. Gangnam style. Still hilariously bad. Joey. I figured he'd do something funny like that. The kids are pretty good, but apparently past him didn't take the advice. Sabrina. She danced like she usually does but I think she managed to be softer despite the choreography. Call me maybe. Still a ...

It's the finals! Just two more nights until my commentary ends until season 16. I may have some post relating to Maks, Val, and/or Tony during the off season. Most likely I will see them this weekend. So follow me on twitter if you're not already doing so @khascat , or subscribe to my blog for updates. On with the show! Favorite dance round. Kelly. They lost the handhold but it could happen to anyone. I think she was better in control of it this time. Maybe a little high but I'm sure the judges are going to make themselves irrelevant tonight. As usual. Melissa. The samba rolls were better but the footwork could have been a bit better during that step. Ok. I'll give them the scores. Shawn. Can I really say anything new about this routine? Hmmm. They docked them, interesting. Possibly inciting the fans to vote for them more? Freestyle! Kelly. As it's own piece it was good. The problem is, everyone will compare it to the movie. I felt it was missing someth...

First off, I hit 50,000 words today on my story and have officially won NaNoWriMo 2012. Yay! It was hard the last several days as I had finished the story and was writing fillers and trying to flesh out scenes. I wrote my last 800 about a riding lesson. Boring and most likely will be taken out completely upon editing. But it got me my word count. So while writing, I also managed to finish my first order of scarves. As a treat to myself, and also a small break, I made some of the ornaments I bought last week. So I have three finishes too.   I then started to crochet some of my newer yarns just to see how they worked up. This one is really pretty although it takes a lot longer than the others since I'm working with thin thread that can get lost within all the folds the yarn creates. I included a close up. This one took me less than a minute and I used my hand. Quick and funky. This would be Onyx in a very strange position, even for her.

Semi finals are here! I like pro numbers, have I mentioned that before? Themed dances Melissa. What was that song? Odd. It was a fun routine. turning in bare feet is not easy. I'll agree with the scores, but may be a little high depending on the rest of the performances. Shawn. I may have to agree that the producers were on something when picking these. Didn't quite get why the theme went with that song... Much better than Gilles Bollywood. Some positions looked weird on Derek, probably because of the skinny pants. I guess I'll give them the scores. Apolo. The lofts were impressive, but that was just an odd dance. Didn't quite get it. Eh, I'll give it to them. Emmitt. He moved more then he had been. But he seemed to land flat footed and heavy a lot. Lindy hip is light. High. Kelly. I can't help but laugh at the last part. Val is brave for dancing in just a speedo. At least it looked like a dance, but Kelly did look a little odd. I'll give them t...

My cross-stitching will have to be put on hold a little bit, but you can see what I was able to do this week. A friend of my mom's order 17 scarves as Christmas present for her co-workers so I'll be busy making those this week. I had three of the colors she wanted done already. I managed to make two more so far. I spent most of today making a scarf, and taking pictures for my etsy shop. It's still a work in progress but it's open. The one type of scarf not listed is the fun fur because I haven't managed to figure out a good standard for them. http://www.etsy.com/shop/KhascatCreations The dress I finished last weekend.It looks a little funny because it's meant to be off the shoulder and my dress form doesn't have arms to hold it up. I nicknamed this the puzzle dress. The pictures also don't capture the color right. It's a jade. I went yarn shopping yesterday to pick up more yarn for my crocheting business since there were some good sal...

3 more weeks left. Double elimination for the next two weeks. I think someone's getting fired from production. I had a countdown clock and audio levels showing in my screen. Then the wide shot with no audio or close up of tom. Can I have their job for next season? Ballroom round. Shawn. That was a short song even by DWTS standards. Very pretty, a little too much standing in one place though. In competition, you don't ever stop moving. A little high. She danced it well but there wasn't much of the song to dance to. Apolo. Fast and furious. I prefer paso to that song rather then tango. I think he could have had his hope under him a little more. I'll give them the scores. Kirstie. Simple, basic, perfect. She can still work on her arms a bit. She could perform that routine in a competition. Good scores for the routine. Kelly. Interesting choreography. But never put floats on a dress that will be used in a smooth routine. It does remind me of belle's from bea...

This has been a horrible week for my cross-stitching. The picture below was the progress I made on Sunday. I didn't have time for anything else. I spent most of Monday working on a dress rather than stitching. I'll have a separate post on that later. I have to snip a few threads and check the fit, but it looked good on my dress form while I was checking placement of the straps. I used my emerald fabric I picked up in September. Wednesday was horrible. Work decided not to turn the heat on or something because it was cold enough that I had gloves on all day. The snow storm here screwed up my plans for the day. I was hoping to get back to dancing as after Sandy the studio didn't have any power. They were teaching at another location but given the gas situation, I didn't want to drive if I didn't have to. Needless to say, I had to cancel my lessons as I was just going to head home due to the snow. I stopped for gas, at a station I try not to go to as they're bus...

I love pro numbers. Fusion. Interesting little twist. Nothing I haven't done before. Apolo. Cha cha/paso doble. Not bad. More split then fusion. I'm not fond of Karina's dress. It may have been the jacket but his arm position in the beginning of the paso looked odd. His foot work was pretty good. I little too much Karina dancing around him considering how well he can dance. I'll age with the scores Emmitt. Samba/rumba. Interesting choreography, but it felt a bit one level. Other than the steps, I couldn't tell them apart too much, upper body didn't change. Too much pink. Too high. What the heck was that teaser with Kirstie and Maks? Kirstie. Quickstep/samba. I think she did the quickstep better than the samba. Not enough bounce and I think she messed up a few times in the samba. I'll give them the scores. Kelly. Foxtrot/cha cha. The song fit better with the foxtrot than the cha cha. She did well. I'll agree with the scores. Melissa. Tango/c...

I can't believe it's November. As seen below I have finished page 2 of In the Garden and started on page 3. Although due to this coming during Hurricane Sandy (which I got through remarkably well although I feel like I'm living on small well lit island at times), I just couldn't take stitching in purely greys and black. So I switched projects. I failed to mention picking this one up a few weeks ago and it's one of the few I have that the only black, is in the back-stitching. Mostly beige/white. Care to take a guess at the final result?   It's also the 3rd day of NaNoWriMo. As of this post I have written 6116 words, leaving me with 340 more for the day (below is a graph showing my current progress). I am also nearing the end of my plotted scenes. They need a lot of work and I may spend tomorrow filling in details. I realize the point of NaNoWriMo is to turn off your inner editor and just write, but I'm not deleting anything and this method has worked fo...

Despite my being in the middle of sandy, I still have power. Let's hope it lasts through the rest of the show. Gilles. Hardest cha cha ever? Far from it. His feet were sloppy and his solo was nothing to talk about. Was not a hard routine. Too high. Sabrina. It was pretty good but the steps seemed like she was running too much. I didn't see much hip movement and the footwork in her solo was unclear. Too high. Kelly. A few places she seemed a little unclear on the steps. I could have done without the feathers on the bodice of the dress. Maybe a little high but I think this routine deserved it better them the others. Melissa. Pretty, simple, elegant. I'll agree with the scores. Shawn. Cute routine but there was no cha cha in her solo. I'll give them the scores. Kirstie. Not as much hip action as I thought she was going to do, at least in the actual steps. Bonus points for not having Maks' thigh giving out this time. Some of her arm positions looked awkward...

OK. So it's not the end of October until Wednesday, but it's close enough. Plus I have Hurricane Sandy approaching which could possibly mess up Halloween and other events. I got more done on In the Garden this week. I did most of my scarf making at work. Oops. I'm almost done with page 2. I have started stoning my rose dress, I have 3 of the roses 2/3 done. I'll have a picture next update. Just a few more days until the beginning of November which means NaNoWriMo starts. Yay! Or should it be Eek? As much as I have the beginning scenes and the general plot and arc, the middle/end is still really foggy in terms of action. I hope this won't hinder me too much. My main concern is Sunday. I have a competition that day which doesn't lend itself well to writing 1667 words. I'll try, but I'm most likely going to try and boost my word count on other days. I've also been mulling over giving the story I wrote my first year, Lost Princess, a good edit ...

Hello second half of the performances. Let's see who's over scored tonight. Melissa. She looked a little unsure of some of the steps. I could see some were taken just to keep up with Tony's lead. Her frame was pretty good. Better than most. Heel leads may have been missing. Maybe a little high. Shawn. Turns, tricks, and something that looked partially bolero-ish. But no rumba steps other than a few of the spins. No hips. No chance to use her hips, there were no steps. Kinda of like Emmitt's bolero. Where was it? Highly over scored. Apolo. Lots of content but there was something off about the technique. Maybe the white pants accentuated the lack of hip movement other then the thrusting. Tad over scored? I would have given 8.5. I like her dress. Sabrina. It reminded me of a viennese waltz rather then a waltz. I blame the choreography. I like the fact that she couldn't be hard and fast but I think they still didn't go as far as they could given the style. ...

Two nights of performances. Tomorrow's may be a little late as I'm dancing myself tomorrow night. Kelly. Really odd song for a samba. Ignoring that, it was a lot of fluff but what I did see wasn't that bad. It was really slow tempo wise. Her feet weren't too bad on the rolls. Weight was a little too back during the runs. Bounce wasn't really there. I'll give them the scores. We'll see how much other people are over scored our under scored tonight. Gilles. Could have used more hip movement and it was a lot of Peta dancing around him. But the emotion and performance was there. The a capella at the beginning was risky given lack of a beat. Her dress gives me an idea of how to drape that blue/silver sequin material I have. Over scored. Kirstie. Frame needs work. She shouldn't be that perpendicular. She did keep up with the steps and there were a lot of them. I'll give them the scores. Emmitt. The hips weren't there when they should have been...

I've made some more progress on In the Garden. I've completed one of the 'magic wisps' that are floating around. I also completed a few more scarves, including this one. It's really soft. I also have a fuzzy red one. Why do I come home to find my cat sleeping on my pillows? I'm jealous. Silly kitty. While fleshing out my story for NaNoWriMo, I've come across a problem. One of my characters, seems to be lacking a motive. He's seems to be a plot device despite the fact that I plan to write some scenes from his POV. I need to somehow figure out a sub plot and a motive of his. Protecting his sister is kind of weak. I have a little over a week to figure this out. In the meantime I have a competition on Nov. 4 to prepare for. My rhinestones for my rose dress came on Friday. I have 5 different colors in 3 different sizes. I'll work on it a little during the coming week.

Oh boy, what an odd week it is. Although I don't dance some of these styles, I at least know what they're supposed to look like. Let's see what happens. Kirstie. The ending was a little strange but they had me laughing the entire time. She could have danced some places a bit better but she did something different with her arms. I don't think she went to her default position once. I'll agree with the scores. Bristol. She messed up a few times and if mark was dancing at level 10, she was at 5. I feel the choreography was safe. Too high. Sabrina. Fun, disco-y. I've seen better routines on SYTYCD though. I'm surprised she stayed in her top. Little high, but I'll allow it due to Bristol's score. Emmitt. Four choreographers? The shirt is not flattering on him. Lots of Cheryl dancing around him. The half basic I saw was not very good. Not smooth enough or lowered through his knees. Lots of lifts to cover the lack of steps. Did she really need four ...

My progress on In the Garden for the week. Not as much as I could have done but I did work on something else for a few days. Namely scarves. Aren't they pretty? I'm planning on selling them and a few other crocheted items. Currently building up some inventory although I will do custom orders if possible. I made a crochet spider for Halloween too. I ordered the rhinestones for my rose dress and will hopefully be able to stone some of the roses prior to the competition. Still need to make a new smooth dress, but still figuring some things out. I would love to use the purple velvet but I was having trouble finding a good color match for the skirt. I do still have the black charmeuse I can pair with various fabrics. Maybe these? I did pick plot 2 for NaNoWriMo. Plot 1 hinged a bit too much on what powers the Fae possessed and nothing was coming to me. Now I just need to try and finish my plot outline in the next two weeks.

Week 3 with a double elimination tomorrow night. Let's get started shall we? Drew. I felt like Anna was dancing around drew a lot tonight. He seemed flat footed on what I was seeing of the cha cha steps. They weren't too good. The spectacle was done well, but the lack of technique brought the performance down for me. No hips either which didn't help. I think the scores are too high. Gilles. I liked the performance, but he looked like he was missing his heel leads on the forward steps. The scores are still a tad too high, but it was better than Drew's. Melissa. Not much samba, lots of shaking and tricks. The few steps I saw were not that good on the technique, tony dragged her through the rolls. Too hoppy, your head should stay on the same plane during the dance. I just spent two lessons on samba technique. It seems everyone is over scored so far. I love the two of them but I'm being honest. Apolo. Karina's pants are distracting. Very fluid, rise and fal...

Well, I finished the first page (out of 16) tonight. Onto page 2 tomorrow. Onyx's birthday was the other day, she's now 8. I figured I'd post one of my favorite picture of her. My dance teachers are going through another mix-up/change. Who knows what's going to happen now... I worked on samba for a hour and a half today. I currently have two stories floating about for in my head for NaNoWriMo, I'm going to outline both for now. Not sure which is calling to me more or if I can even reach 50k with either of these. Plot 1: A human FMC is a ballroom dancer on Earth. MMC1 and MMC2 are both fae princes living in different kingdoms within the fae realm. MMC1 is a light fae and is constantly watching FMC with his powers. MMC2 is on the edge of the dark fae realms. MMC2 sets up an elaborate scheme and kidnaps FMC to his castle. MMC1 confronts him and tries to get her back, but teleportation magic doesn't work within certain perimeters of the castles exce...