Renaissance Festival 2010

If you would have knocked on our door the past two weeks, you would have found me sewing... yes, you read right, sewing.  Like 1800s style fabric, needles and thread.  Minus the hand stitching.  It's all about the machine these days.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I own a sewing machine.  In fact, I asked for one for Christmas last year.  And got one...!

My mom is a fabulous sewer.  Like, amazing.  Made all sorts of fancy stuff when I was growing up, and before your mind goes all 'Duggars' on me, I promise, the clothes she made were beautiful.  Once when I was in 4th grade she sewed this absolutely beautiful red dress for me for some school function, and let me tell you, I was the talk of the 4th grade.  : )

(Andrew's Note: It also might have been the fact that she was the only blond girl in a Chinese 4th grade in Malaysia....)
 
Regardless, I was convinced that I didn't have the sewing gene.  Cooking, yes.  But sewing, no.  In fact, Andrew... is a great sewer, although he doesn't know how to use a machine.  (no, seriously).  How do you think he has so many costumes??! (Andrew's Note: I have never actually sewed any of my costumes...I use the cheater tape that you iron on.  I did hand make a whole huge drumstick bag when I was a freshman in college since I didn't have $100 to buy one.  It lasted me 10 years!  It's because I used some kind of industrial titanium and gold woven thread or something.)  I always just figured that encouraging his costuming fetish was apart of the whole being a wife thing.  (It is.)  But then I got bored.  Also, the school that I work at has this archaic tradition of making the female teachers wear dresses/skirts on chapel days.  (Not to mention washing all the communion dishes barefoot :-)  So, I decided that sewing would be a good use of my time.  (As if grad school and band directing wasn't enough)  (Right???  She didn't start this until AFTER summer break when she's teaching, going to football games AND grad classes!)

 This might also be a prudent time to mention that Andrew and I are obsessed with the Texas Renaissance Festival.  We go every year.  In costumes.  But the best thing about the "Ren-Fest", as we like to call it, is that you are in the minority if you DON'T  dress up.  Excellent!.... a festival designed for weirdos like us.

Every year there are themed weekends and we decided to go on Halloween weekend, mainly because "Fairy Weekend" requires a pixie-like body, and "Barbarian Weekend" gives you the pleasure of viewing people who are wearing dental floss and a loin cloth.  (Although any weekend, no matter what the theme is, apparently, is a great time for a Star Wars costume.  There are also an inordinate amount of pirates.  What gets me the most is mixing the costumes...PIRATES DON'T WEAR KILTS!  Also, KILTS ARE NOT MADE OF CANVAS, NOR DO THEY HAVE CARGO POCKETS!!  I admit, I'm kind of a purist and shouldn't talk since my ren fest kilt is just random plaid from the fabric store...but it's just until I can afford a real one.  ALSO YOU CAN'T WEAR A LEATHER KILT.  EVER.  EVEN IF YOU'RE A BIKER!!)  (Ok, sorry, I get carried away...)

Three weeks ago I decided to sew my own costume using  a McCall's pattern.  We hit up the local fabric stores in Katy (there were 2) but one just went out of business, so that should tell you how many people in Katy actually make their own clothes.  I didn't take pictures of the sewing process because about five minutes into it I realized that this was going to take a friking long time to make.

Back to sentence one.  Every night for the last 2 weeks I  (we) have been sewing to until 10PM every night.  I haven't even run once this week, except for doing my long run of 12 miles.  None.  Why, you ask???  Because I made so so many mistakes making a Renaissance Festival dress that I wore for approximately 6 hours.  To be perfectly honest, I haven't made a grocery list, shopped for grocery, cleaned ANY part of the house, or done of the laundry, for the last 2 weeks.  In fact, I'd like to take this chance to thank my wonderful husband for picking up the slack around here!  (Our grocery and mealtime routine has been...odd lately.  I'm not the best one to do the shopping, particularly on a budget since nice grocery stores are like KatyDisney for me.  I keep all the stuff we need as cheap as possible so I can spend the rest of the budgeted amount on some cheese from the Flemish countryside or a tiny piece of beef from a 7 year old cow in the highlands of Tibet who has been fed nothing but fois gras for its whole life.  Anyway, I get in trouble when I come home.)
 Complaints aside.  The dress turned out great!!!  Like, really great!!  I got compliments from people I didn't even know at the festival.  And I heard quite a few people say how great it looked when the walked past me.  I have to admit, I'm kind of proud of it.  I might even wear it again next year!  So here are a few pictures of our  (immense) nerdiness, enjoy!

 (I LOVE this picture)

(Awww looks like nerd wedding pictures)

(Ye olde gang signs)

 (Perhaps I should explain....I'm trying to execute a successful "Bloods" sign.  Please nobody shoot me...)