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Check the link below for more photos!

Finally! I finished another project — one that has been sitting around gathering dust for a while, at that! And just in time for an event this past Saturday.

I was nervous I wouldn’t even finish in time or that it wouldn’t work out, but I somehow pulled it off. I tried it on for the first time as I was getting ready for the event. Whew!

I made a page in the costume section so you can see photos and information on the construction. See below for the link.

The event was the Dallas Ft Worth Costumers Guild (DFWCG) tea at a local antique shop. The theme was hats… you didn’t need a full costume, but many of us went ahead and made something new for it. I still haven’t finished my husband’s 18th century costume, so he had fun shopping around for a hat to wear.

It was a blast, and a great way to have some fun after the past couple of months I’ve had. These folks are wonderful, supportive, and you’re guaranteed lots of laughs.

The food and tea was lovely, and we were there for a few hours. I had hoped to look around the little antique shop, but I didn’t get very far before others arrived and I stopped to chat with them.

After the tea, we went to a nearby park and took photos. I need to get better at taking photos, but we’re hoping to get a better camera. Phones can be handy for some things, but not for event photos (at least for my needs).

I did set up a Flickr account, and I changed the image gallery setup on my blog. Here are the links for the event photos and the costume information and photos:

It was a great time, and I’m already looking forward to trying to make a few accessories before the next event!

I’ve had a profile on Google+ for a while, but I took a while to add it on my website since they’re taking their time to make changes and test it out.  I haven’t yet seen a lot of people adding links from their blogs and webpages, probably for the same reason I haven’t.

I’m on Google+!

I already have a link for Twitter, Blogger, and once I update one other thing I’m on and join another I’ll probably have two more down the line. (I do have a Facebook profile, but I keep it mostly private and may even start using it less and thinning out my friend list — I was very pleased about Google+ starting up because I wanted something like it to use for socializing with other costumers and people I meet through my website.)

Anyway, as you can see I’ve added a link to my Google+ profile to the sidebar on the right.  Please let me know who you are as well, so I can add you to the correct circle!  I have friends all over from different interests, and my memory is also horrible — plus many of the people I know online go by nicknames totally unrelated to their real name!

Another social networking site?

When Google+ first came out, a lot of people didn’t want anything to do with it.  They hated the thought of yet another social network.  Others were happy to have something they liked better and deleted the other ones they were on or use them less.

Options are great!

I must admit, so far from what I can tell, I think Google+ has really come up with some neat ideas to make their social network stand out.  First, I like having different options.  Some of the places I’m on are for private use and I don’t mention them publicly or provide a link to them. Others, I use differently, like Twitter.

I’ve met some people on Twitter, but I mainly use it to follow news, weather, and topics I like to keep track of. With Google+, I like that it has the feel of both Facebook and Twitter, and I’ve decided to use it for my website.  I may eventually create a Facebook page like other bloggers have done, since some people prefer Facebook. We’ll see how things go — I don’t want to feel like I’m spread too thin with all of these different networking sites.

Google+ could be great for costumers

Google+ makes organizing friends into groups is so quick and easy.  If I don’t want to bother my musician friends or WordPress acquaintances with costuming stuff, I can quickly change who sees what I’m about to put as a status.

Also, while I never use Facebook chat, there is a video chat where you can add a lot of friends.  Once it’s working smoothly (it hasn’t worked the two times I’ve tried it), there is also an option to watch YouTube videos with the people you’re chatting with. Can you imagine talking with sewing and costuming friends about a certain sewing technique and someone says “oh! There’s a video for that! Hold on…” and they pull up the YouTube video so everyone can watch it at the same time and comment on it?  Also, I haven’t used it yet, but there is something called a huddle where people could chat about a topic and it keeps it all together and handy to follow.

My husband’s entry about Google+ features

My husband created a blog entry explaining some of the features from a writer’s point of view, but I think it could work for many different groups.  Instead of making one from scratch for costumers, I thought I would just link to it here (and here is another entry covering his initial thoughts about Google+).

Say hello if you’re there!

So, if you’re on Google+ I’d love to hear from you. Please let me know who you are so I can make sure I add you to the correct circle (costumer, history blogger, musician, kilt wearer, etc).  Best wishes, and I hope there can be a great costuming community that’s easy to find on Google+!

Not only does my husband have some of his short stories for sale online, he now has a novel too.

Christopher Gronlund has made his first novel, written about 2003 or 2004, into an eBook.  You can purchase it in various formats here.

This is the same story that he read as a podcast.  He didn’t just read it — he used different voices and really got into the storytelling!

Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors is about:

A humorous coming of age story about a family traveling cross-country in a possessed station wagon.

So, for those of you who haven’t listened to the podcast, or enjoyed it so much that you’d like a copy to read on your own — check it out!  Enjoy!

I just wanted to do a quick update — I’m hoping to have a better update or two this week, sometime.

Sewing

I’ve been staying very busy.  I’m trying to keep sewing, although I’ve not been as productive as the petticoat week.  I’m trying to make a few accessories before I work on a tape dummy and sew a jacket or two.

I’m also looking forward to finishing my garments (for the first one or two outfits, anyway) so I can start working on my husband’s again!  I’m excited about costuming with my friends and letting my husband join in.

He seems excited as well — I caught him looking briefly at a few informative websites about period card games to see what they’re like.

Downton Abbey and Christopher

I had about two days where I wasn’t feeling too great, so I watched Downton Abbey on Netflix.  I know, I’m a little slow finally getting around to watching it.  I’m not a big fan of being glued to television’s schedule, so I waited to catch it on my own time.

I loved it SO much, I told Christopher about it and we sat down to watch it together over a period of a few days.  By the second episode, he exclaimed “We are buying this on DVD!!!” I kept warning him about the last episode, and sure enough as the end credits started rolling, he practically jumped up and had fits.  He wanted to see more!

I think he’s hooked!   (what a lucky gal I am to have a husband who loves watching things like that with me)

Blogger

I decided to create a blogger account so I could more easily reply to friends there.  I also felt like I was missing out on the great sewing and costuming community there.  I feel a little alone on my self-hosted server (although, I very much appreciate those of you who reply here or talk to me about my entries in person or elsewhere — thank you so much!).  Having an account there will help people recognize me, or even get a feel for who I am when they see me replying.

I don’t know if I’ll do anything more than just use it as an informative placeholder for this blog/website.  We’ll see how my needs change over time.  It seems like a neat setup so far.

I’m looking forward to keeping up a little better with my friends, as well as meeting new people.  Here is the link to my blogger account.

Hoping to post later this week

I’m hoping to post two entries later this week — one related to sewing, and the other to something Christopher did this weekend.  In the meantime, I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

I talk a lot about my husband, Christopher Gronlund, on this blog.  He means so much to me, obviously!

I’ll be mentioning him a little more.  He just started getting into podcasts.  He has a few others planned — especially for his The Juggling Writer website — but for now, I’m going to talk about his very first podcast:  he’s reading his first novel, Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors, a chapter a week!  You can check out the details on the podcast website.  Here is a little about the story:

Hell Comes With Wood Paneled Doors is a humorous coming-of-age story about a family traveling cross country in a possessed station wagon…

When Michael O’Brien’s father, James, buys a new car just in time for the family vacation, he signs away more than his old ’74 Gremlin as a trade in.

If you’re in the mood to hear a goofy, fun novel from a writer who really enjoys making quirky, touching stories, please give it a try!  I’m not just biased, either!  I actually had read Christopher’s writing before we ever met, and I was already a fan.

I just wanted to wish my husband a congratulations on his blog, The Juggling Writer, being a year old today!  He’s put a lot of work into it, and although the main focus is for writers who have trouble juggling everything in their lives and making time for writing, many of the things he posts could apply to non-writers as well.  Christopher, may your blog and site be around for many more years, and full of great posts and information.  Best wishes!

My husband, Christopher, is a writer (The Juggling Writer), and he realizes that he may someday need to read or speak to audiences to help promote his writing.  He was always incredibly shy, but has been finding ways to overcome that over the years.  Not only does he try to strike up conversation with strangers more often (both to overcome shyness and because of his natural curiousity as a writer for how people interact), he went to Toastmasters meetings and learned how to give speeches and get past being nervous to speak in front of groups.

He’s also realized a great way to combine public speaking with his love of stories:  the Moth.  There are “MothUps,” meetings where storytellers come together and share real, personal stories in a set time limit, and using a theme for the night.  Dallas now has a group, and they had their first MothUp February 26, 2010 using the theme “Love Hurts.”  It was a fun success, and the storytellers seemed to have a blast, as well as the audience (it was held at a bar in Dallas — the patrons didn’t even know about it and seemed to get into the stories too).

Christopher was the second storyteller of the evening, and he did a great job although he was incredibly nervous.  You can read about the evening on Christopher’s blog entry here, and check out the video of his story below.

I must say that I’m very proud of him for giving this a try and having fun with it.  I look forward to hearing more of his stories — and best wishes to the Storyteller Ranch group!

Christopher Gronlund from Marcel Cairo on Vimeo.

I’ve mentioned how much I adore costuming — especially historical costuming.  I’ll be the first to admit that my own projects are far from accurate, but perhaps someday I’ll get a little closer to it!  One of my favorite time periods has always been the 18th century.  I’ve probably also mentioned my love of the kilt (maybe not yet on this blog, but anyone who knows me has probably heard me mention it).  I’ve been fascinated by Scotland, and interested in learning about 18th century Scotland.

Some of my favorite blogs are The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide, Marie Antoinette’s Gossip Guide, Diary of a Mantua Maker, and American Duchess.  Basically, blogs that give me eye candy to drool over — garments, art, antiques (or even new things that are a tip of the hat to the 18th century), as well as tidbits of info about the time period… people, places, life in general.

I have been searching for something similar to the above-listed sites, but focusing on the 18th century Highlands of Scotland.  I keep thinking how absolutely wonderful it would be if someone, or a group, were to have a blog that talked about re-enacting, history, garment how-to’s, items from that time period, and life itself.  Listing and reviewing accurate and enjoyable books and articles about the time period would be incredibly helpful as well, so people like me could read the entries and get the information we’re craving.  Websites are fine, but I’ve found sometimes they’re not updated as much.  I’ve also recently gotten addicted to following blogs and enjoy even short entries with bits of information.  It allows the reader to keep up with and even tag along in spirit, since many of us can’t do some of the events or visit historical locations in person.

So, has anyone seen anything like this?  If it doesn’t exist, it sure would be wonderful if one (or more) would pop up (hint, hint)!

While we’re at it, readers feel free to list your favorite 18th century blog!