Rooful.

Mask-making.

I have some pictures I took of the masks I finished up on Sunday. I thought I'd take you through my process.

At the end of last week, the assistant to the designer (a woman I've worked with several times previously) contacted me to see if I was available to make some masks for an out-of-town event. She wasn't sure if the project was going to happen-- she and the designer were waiting on approval from the producers-- but she wanted to get her ducks in a row just in case.

I was interested.

She told me the masks hadn't been designed yet, but that the producers wanted a sense of how much they'd cost. She forwarded research images (none of which were pictures of masks, incidentally!) and asked if I could put together a ballpark bid.

Why not?

A couple days later, the project was approved, and the designer sent me a first draft of the design sketch so I could finalize my bid. A day or so later, I got a color sketch, with the caveat that the colors might change once they'd settled on the rest of the outfit.

Meanwhile, I was assessing my stock, planning out the build process, imagining potential problems and fit issues so I could solve them ahead of time (particularly since I wouldn't have a chance to fit the masks on the actors wearing them), and trying to figure out if the bid I'd made was kind of high or actually not high enough.

The designer specified that he'd like the masks made from paper, since they'd be oversized and needed to be light (I don't know if you've ever been in a position to find this out for yourself, but things seem much heavier when you're wearing them on your face.) Still, there would need to be an understructure to support the paper-- something that would look good, be appropriately light, and fast to put together. And the masks would be trimmed in feather and fur-- I needed to figure out how that would work, and where I'd find the items, since I wouldn't have time to order anything online.


The other meanwhile involved jumping through the appropriate paperwork hurdles to make sure I got money to buy supplies. This took some time. Friday morning I got some petty cash, and took a couple hours zipping around the Chelsea and the Garment District, assembling everything I'd need for the weekend.

The masks needed to be finished and delivered Sunday night.


Fortunately, I'd been able to start the patterning process and putting together the bases for the masks with what I had in stock.I ended up using buckram, which I wired with a zigzag stitch on my machine-- it was a trick getting it under the needle (and I broke a few in the process), but it's rollable (and recovers from being rolled) which is one of several reasons I chose buckram over thick paper as a base. I went ahead and attached the elastic ties at that point, too-- so they'd grip right at the understructure of the finished mask, and so I wouldn't have to figure out at the eleventh hour how to discretely drill holes in finished masks and have to hand-stitch the ties on later.


I got home around 2:30 Friday afternoon and settled in to work. My work process from that point on was driven by time-- timing how long each proposed step would take, multiplying that by six (since there were six masks), subtracting that from the time I was supposed to be leaving the house with six finished masks on Sunday, and estimating the other known steps. Does the timing work? Is there a faster way? A more efficient way? What are the fewest steps I need to accomplish to convey the designer's idea?


Of course, even with that, most of my estimates were off by... a lot. It's hard to estimate the time a task will take if you haven't done that specific task before.


But I managed pretty well. I even scheduled in some sleep each night (something I never would have thought to do in my younger years.) And Sunday evening I snapped some shots of the finished product, stacked the masks in two big Ikea bags, and headed downtown for an on-time delivery. Woot!

Now, with no further ado, the pictures:

Process shots.

Saying Grace.

Baby Mobile!

Just last night, I finished up the last of my list of baby-related craft projects to complete before the arrival of the boy-o.

For a while there it seemed I was just in time--
this morning, I packed my hospital bag, and J and I went to Labor and Delivery. I was a little worried because the baby wasn't moving around as much as he had been, and the nurse on call told me we should go in and have him checked out. They hooked me up to a fetal monitor for half an hour, and heard no cause for alarm. Then they did an ultrasound-- so I got to see my baby for the first time in months! He looked pudgy, and he was sucking on his fingers. All of which was a huge relief.

So we're back in waiting mode, with two days to go before my official due date. Which means I have time to show you all some pictures!

A few weekends ago, I hid out with my husband at his office, so he could get ahead on some of his projects, and I could soak up some blessed AC. I decided to while away the time at a conference table, building armatures for animals for a mobile.

Since I already have a bit of an African animal theme going on in the nursery, I thought I'd stick with charismatic megafauna of the Serengeti. I knew I wanted an elephant, a giraffe, and a zebra-- the latter two for their patterns, and the elephant because, well, I love elephants. I figured five animals total, and after a bit of deliberation, chose a lion as my big cat (a leopard came in close second-- but I thought his spots might read a little too similar to the giraffe's patterns.)

I decided my fifth animal should be a bird. Unfortunately, I don't know African birds that well, so I hopped on an office computer and did a little on-line research. I discovered secretary birds-- large, with striking black and white feathers, a raptor-ish beak, and a red eye spot. Perfect! (After I found all sorts of pictures of secretary birds, I thought I remembered a secretary bird character from The Lion King. I'll have to check and see if I'm right about that.)

I'd already decided to build the animals out of papier-mache, because it's cheap, versatile, and lightweight (I didn't want to hang anything heavy over the baby.) Plus, I'm just a big fan of papier-mache. There's something about crumpling and tearing up paper, and then smoothing it in place with warm, sticky goo, that's very relaxing.

Actually, back in the day, I used to joke that if I ever really lost it, I wanted to do papier-mache as my occupational therapy. Of course, when you actually do lose it, you find out you don't get to choose your occupational therapy activities. We ended up making greeting cards, and other crap out of construction paper. A shame.

Anyway, I built the basic shapes of the animals out of lumps of paper wadded up and twisted and controlled with bindings of masking tape. For the giraffe and the zebra, I stole a little foam core from my honey's office (a perk of hanging out in an architecture studio)-- made a base for the torsos and necks, and legs and heads that slotted into place, then built them up as necessary with crumpled paper.

For the secretary bird's wings, I used some scrap watercolor paper-- cut darts to give the wings a little curve, and taped them in place.

The next stage of construction involved wrapping the armatures in paper and paste. Since that tends to be messy, I did that step at home. I have a dry container full of wallpaper wheat paste, which I've been using for papier-mache projects for probably about ten years now-- it doesn't take much to make a nice big bowl full of goo. You can use regular wheat flour for this step, though.

I also like to add a bit of white glue to the mix to make it extra sticky and a little smoother and stronger. SOBO glue is really good for this, but I decided I'd just add a bit of Elmer's, since I had a bunch kicking around.

First I wrapped all the armatures in strips of gooey newsprint (I grabbed a New York Post from the recycling bin upstairs-- only thing that rag is good for!) I let that coat dry. I used broken toothpicks to build out the elephant's tusks, and the secretary bird's legs and tail. Then, where I needed to, I built up the shapes with wadded up pasty newsprint, and did a second wrap.

After that dried, I trimmed away excess paper as needed, and applied two coats of gesso to each animal-- both to seal and strengthen the sculpture, and to create a nice base for painting.

I used acrylic paint, because it covers well, dries fast, and isn't fume-y (after all, I'm still cooking another person-- even if he's almost done.)

It took me a while to figure out what I should use as a mobile frame-- wire? Wood?

Then I remembered I'd bought Fiona a cat toy that was essentially a clump of feathers on a string, which dangled from a length of carbon-fiber rod. She didn't seem to be that into playing with it, so I decided I'd save the feathers for her, and harvest the rod for the mobile. It's actually pretty perfect for the purpose, since it's strong, light, evenly-weighted, and has a bit of flex.

Unfortunately, I think Fee was a little sad about losing her toy after all:

I have a few spools of nylon beading string in my stash, which I used to suspend the critters. I made wire hanging loops out of heavy-duty paper clips (a set of barrel-nose pliers is handy for this), which had a tail of wire I glued into the back of each animal.

I didn't have any crimping beads for the nylon, so I just knotted it a bunch of times and then glued the knots with non-toxic craft glue.

There was a lot of back-and-forth in these steps, where I'd test-suspend the animals and the frame pieces, checking for balance points, making sure everything would hang evenly, eyeballing heights and lengths of cord.

I ended up working one-handed a lot.

I decided to finish the cut ends of the fiber rod with a little leather lace, wrapped and glued and knotted with a fringe. Towards the end, I drafted J to suspend the frame for me, so I could use both hands for the last few finishing touches.

He hung it in place for me, too.

Since I don't seem to be getting anything else checked off my to-do list at the moment...

...why not have a little nursery tour?

Hello, there!

I'll be your guide, as we explore the rather cozy confines of the boy-o's new room.

Hey, at least he'll have more space than his current digs:

(I'm huge! And also very, very hot. I belong in the deep sea, cool and weightless, singing songs to the humpback whales...)

Here is mah kitteh, at her bird-watching perch:

You can see the under-the-window hanging I made to protect the wall from her wear and tear, as well as the black-out curtains I made-- fabric courtesy of Mood. "Thank you, Mood!"

Let's pan out:

So, here you can see the long drapes from Ikea, finally hemmed, from the curtain rod I hung myself, back when I still semi-trusted myself to be up on a ladder with power tools.

Another window view:

And here's the crib! A glorious example of just how much can be done with an allen wrench these days:

(And, yes, we'll be removing all non-baby stuff before we place the baby in there. I was just having fun merchandising.)

Here's a close up of baskets and blankets, assorted shower loot:

The basket is holding some toys, and many blankets for receiving, swaddling, and otherwise happily straight-jacketing our infant, once he arrives. You can also see the damn crib skirt, which is, as I mentioned, one of the less compelling of the crafty endeavors on display here. But, it's a pretty purple corduroy, and I made it so the length can be adjusted as we drop the crib down to accommodate the growing boy-o. So, yay me.

And now, for the other side of the room...

This is the changing table I bought in response to the hand-me-down dresser grandmother drama alluded to here-- never let it be said that I let one grandmother position herself more favorably in my son's affections through the donation of nursery furniture.

Unfortunately, it's difficult in this cozy space to back up far enough to get a full picture of it-- rest assured it is another triumph of allen-wrench engineering.

There's a sun hat on the edge of the dresser there, which I made a few nights ago. I'd like to be able to go out and about with the kidlet pretty much as soon as it's safe to do so, and, given the season, I wanted him to have a hat to shade his face. But for some reason, all the hats for newborns these days are like these weird baseball caps with a neck ruffle-- kinda ugly.

So, since I received many more blankets than I'm likely to use, I decided to sacrifice one to make a hat-- I even harvested the ribbon from the blanket packaging, 'cuz I's thrifty!

I've got more photos of it, but I might save them for another post, since I've practically buried you all in images already.

So, I'm feeling... ready. I think.

I'm excited, anyway.

I still have a few things I'd like to do, like making a mobile, and maybe a caddy to hang off the changing table for plastic shopping bag storage. But if I don't get to those, that's okay.

The room already has one devoted fan:

Fiona is very pleased with all the work we've done on her new room. And she particularly likes the jingling sound the giraffe rattle makes when she carries it out of the crib (we ended up hiding it in a drawer.)

Poor kitteh.
Ah, well. Enjoy it while you can...

Since I can't have a mai-tai...

I made a mei tai instead!

(I may not be able to carry my booze, but hey, at least I can carry a baby!)

The fabric is a cotton ikat, about the same weight as army canvas.
It's the stuff that didn't work in my first ring-sling attempt-- too thick to fit through the rings.

But it's sturdy, and I think it's pretty. It's also fairly gender-neutral as far as patterns go, so J could wear it without looking silly.

The body of the carrier and the inside of the pocket are lined with a much softer, lighter-weight cotton ikat, that I chose to add a little brightness and contrast. I also thought it might be nice for the baby to have something lighter next to his skin.

So here's what it looks like on:

Of course, my belly is pretty large these days, so the fit will probably be a bit different. I hope, anyway. But it's plenty adjustable, regardless (which will also make it easier for either J or me to use it.)

I decided not to torment Fee with the trial run this time. At my baby shower, Mom actually did this whole designed presentation of her gift, with a hand-me-down canopy leaf from Ikea (a gift from my sister, that ended up being too large to use in my nursery.) Under the leaf, Mom nestled this little Anne Geddes baby doll, dressed like a tiny butterfly. It was a sweet gesture, and now J and I have this fairly realistic baby doll for practice swaddles and the like. So I tucked the doll into the mei tai to see how it'd work.

Again, I made my own pattern, after looking at a lot of internet photos of other mei tais, and cribbing dimensions from a few craft sites. I decided a pocket might be handy, and the turn-down lip flips up if it looks like the baby would be more comfortable/stable with fabric higher behind his head:

I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out. It's lightweight, and unpadded, so it can fold up small and fit into a diaper bag or under the stroller for whenever. Of course, the proof is in the pudding as to whether or not it ends up working well for the baby-- hopefully I'll be reporting back in a few months with some real-world trial results.

But we've got a whole passel of baby-transport options, now-- a ring sling, an Ergo carrier (shower gift!), a stroller, a car seat, and now a mei tai. Which means I've got what I need to be a modern mom-on-the-go!

Stacy and Clinton would be so proud.

Well, once I get some shoes, anyway.

Barefoot and pregnant-- the hot new look for 2011!

Thirteen.

1. It's 2:23 in the morning, here in Gotham City.
And it's hot. Muggy sweaty gym sock hot.

2. I'm not as brave as I thought.
A giant bug scared me off the toilet.
I scraped my back on the door hinge, and let out a whimper that woke up my husband.
He came in and looked for the bug, but he couldn't find it.

Which means it's lurking, somewhere.

3. What's with all the bugs lately?
Can I say "all the bugs" if I've only seen two?
It still feels like an invasion.
Or some kind of judgmental plague from the heavens.
Who did I offend?
Is there some sort of dance of contrition I can do?

4. I tried reading,
but my book is too familiar to hold my attention.
I need something new.
Or at least, new to me.
Because when I put my book down, my mind starts going.

5. I'd like to sleep, but it isn't happening.
I should probably let the bug-related adrenaline wear off before I try to give it another go.

6. The baby seems to have settled down.
Before, he was all mushed up against my right ribcage,
pushing like he thought there was an exit over there.

7. This makes me think I should sleep on my other side--
let him drift back towards center.
But my other side just isn't as comfortable.
Apparently my gut prefers lying downhill.

Our mattress sucks.
See item 5.

8. I made a mei-tai.
It's really pretty cool.
I'll post pictures of it soon.

I have enough fabric left to make a nursing cover.
Maybe I'll buy some Ridgeline and some closures tomorrow.
Oh! and I could trade in some old books for some newish ones...

9. I made that under-the-window wall hanging, too.
We'll see if it helps guard against kitty wear and tear.

Which means I'm closing in on the list of sewing projects I've had kicking around for a while. Which is good, because the constant presence of the ironing board in the corner of our dining area walk-through is really starting to piss off J.

10. Unless I decide to make some little sun hats.

11. Lists can just grow and grow, if you let them, huh?

12. They are pretty soothing, though.

13. Okay. I think I'll try to get some sleep now.

G'night...

A bit of this, a bit of that...

Hey, all.
It's Tuesday, June 21, and, depending whose calendar you believe, I have between six and eight weeks to go before I get to meet the boy-o face-to-face.

My doctors have prophesied a number of dates in the first two weeks of August, but I have a hunch it might be the end of July. If I'm right, J has to give me something. I think he's placed his bet for the sixth. Any ideas for stakes other than bragging rights will be duly considered. And feel free to get in on the action, if you're the gambling sort.

Aside from the heat, I feel good. I'm at that interesting stage where I can see the baby moving in my stomach like a pod of dolphins just under the waves. And he's starting to make his opinions known. Case in point: he isn't much of a fan anymore of my bending my torso in the middle. I mean, it's difficult to do these days, regardless-- at the meet and greet at our hospital last week, I tried to put some print-outs on the floor beneath my seat and realized I couldn't reach (at least not without some remarkably un-ladylike maneuvers I was loath to employ in a crowded room.) But now, if I start to lean over, he actually braces his feet against my ribcage and pushes me back in the other direction.

Yep, there's a real little person in there. One who wants me to bend Barbie-like from the hip.

Whatever you say, little man.

The other day, J pointed out that, unlike the traditional scenario where the husband has to learn to sympathize with his pregnant wife's new physical challenges, pregnancy has actually helped me appreciate the sort of shit he deals with on a regular basis. For instance, I'd never had heartburn before a few months ago. We actually had an interchange where I asked him, "What does it mean if you feel this sort of burny feeling in the middle of your chest?"

"Uh, a burning sensation near your heart? That'd be heartburn, sweetie."

Duh.

And the other night, I woke up with my very first bout of acid reflux. Again, J had to tell me what it was.

"That's acid reflux?"

"Yup."

"Acid reflux SUCKS."

"Yup."

The topper was yesterday, when I looked down and saw a line of flop sweat oozing under the bustline of my cute sundress.

"Ugh! This is so gross. I looked nice, but now I feel like a fat, sweaty pig."

"Yes! Yes! That's what it feels like!"

I've made fun of J's extensive collection of anti-perspirants pretty frequently, over the years.

"See? You're always telling me I worry too much about it! But that's exactly how it feels! Like I'm a fat, sweaty pig!"

"I'm so sorry, honey."

"Man, pregnancy seems to be one long Welcome to my World! Let me know when your feet start to hurt."

Um...

Still, all things considered, the boy-o has been a very reasonable tenant. Sure, I down Tums like they're going out of style, and when I'm hungry, I'm HUNGRY, and you'd better get out of my way. Early on, my face broke out in an alarming fashion. And I slept through about half my first trimester. But morning sickness, migraines, that sort of thing? Hasn't really been an issue.

[brief pause while I knock on the end table.]

As for nesting preparations, well, they're proceeding nicely. I finished the damn crib skirt (the least compelling of my crafty endeavors of late.) I found a dresser/changing table on the onlines yesterday, so that's on its way. I cleaned out the bathroom, ditching expired medications and cosmetics, re-configuring storage, touching up paint, hanging hooks for towels and bath mats and such.

We have crib sheets and waterproof pads and receiving/swaddling blankets and baby carriers and a car seat (no car, but a car seat, because... well, it's just one of those things you have to have), and a stroller and a beginner set of bottles and a Pack n' Play and a bouncy seat, and diaper bags and rattles and an assortment of clothes for the first nine months or so (maybe a year, depending on how fast he grows.) We have some board books. We have baby nail clippers and a hairbrush and medicine dispensers and other grooming/diapering/first-aid supplies.

We even have an ear thermometer. J's mom said J used to get fevers a lot when he was a baby, and an ear thermometer let her check on him without having to wake him up.

Forewarned is forearmed, and all that.

I'm still working on where to put stuff (the dresser should help with that, when it gets here.) And the whole house could use a good scrubbing-- though I'm hoping I can hornswoggle J into doing a lot of it. But I'm starting to feel... well, I shouldn't say prepared, since a word like that is too tempting to the fates. But it's comforting, feeling like I'm closing in on the list of necessary supplies.

We need lighting. Not sure what it needs to be, just yet. Probably a wall lamp.

On the upcoming crafts front, I'll be working on another wall hanging, to deal with the under-the-window area my cat's already dinging up every time she hops down from her bird-watching perch. And I think I will make a mei-tai with that fabric from the first, failed baby sling. I should be able to have a pattern ready for that by tomorrow. And I still would like to make a mobile-- but we'll have to wait and see if there's time.

Because he's a'coming! That finish line is getting closer every day!

Hee hee!

Proof of concept.

I think I've done it.

I've made my very own Maya Sling! I think.

I've been doing some online research, looking at patterns, videos, and the like. Based on what I saw and read, I developed a pattern, with a shaped, slightly-padded shoulder but a single-ply body (I figured a padded shoulder would be more comfortable, but a single-ply body would be more adjustable, and more breathable, for wearing in the late summer and early fall.)

I actually almost finished an earlier iteration, but discovered late in the process that the yarn-dyed cotton canvas I'd chosen, with the idea that it would be extra-sturdy and extra-safe for the baby, was too thick to fit though the rings I had.

That was disappointing. But I learned something. I haven't decided if I should try to finish it with some extra-large rings I've located from a supplier in Brooklyn, or if extra-large rings would be weird to wear. The other option is to unstitch it and turn it into a Mei Tai -style carrier. They don't look hard to make-- though they do seem like they'd be better for an older baby who has some neck control.

But I'm new to this whole baby thing-- so what do I know?

At any rate, the early failure was a sort of blessing in disguise, because it gave me an excuse to use some birthday money to buy this pretty Japanese cotton I'd talked myself out of the first time round-- an indigo scale pattern printed through, with a beige ground on one face and a cool white on the other. I guess you could call it a very lightweight canvas-- finer than my earlier choice, but still enough body that I'm not terrified it won't be strong enough to bear a fair amount of weight.

I tweaked my earlier pattern a bit, based on my unsuccessful fitting. But I've never actually touched or used a Maya wrap-- I've seen other mothers wearing them, and, like I said, I've been doing a fair amount of research. But since I don't have a "real" one to compare with mine, I'm still a bit nervous about it.

So I thought I'd give it a test run. With the closest baby facsimile I have available.


Surprisingly enough, she really seemed to like it. I was expecting, well, severe kitty irritation. But she sat her little butt down in the sling and started purring and bumping my face with the side of her head. She even liked when I walked her around in it-- especially because it gave her a better view of the squirrel who's been taunting her from outside the kitchen window.

Admittedly, Fiona has much better tone and muscle control than my newborn will-- so I didn't experiment too much with really snugging her in (I also didn't want to push my luck with her good mood.) But she's not particularly skinny. I wouldn't be surprised if she weighed about the same as a three-month old. And the sling was supporting her weight. So... we'll have to see, but I think I can hazard that this version might be a success.


Lest you get the wrong idea, I'm not one of those weirdos who call themselves their pet's mommy. She is a cat, and I am human, even though I take care of her and love her, and she seems fond of me most of the time. But I have to admit, sometimes I look at her and think poor thing! You have no idea how much your life is going to change in a few months. She may be a kitty, but that might not make her immune to sibling rivalry.

I guess we'll find out soon enough. And if push comes to shove, we can always follow my mom's advice for kitty/baby relationships, and consult Dr. Spock.