February 19, 2013

The weeks are passing fast...it is now mid February and it seems like I  just took down the Christmas tree and now Lent has started. 

Projects, projects, projects...they seem to be everywhere and multiplying!  I am still working on the leather pouches for Bespin Luke and they are really not coming out as good as I would like.  The whole "wet forming" thing is really a pain and I am having no end of trouble with that.  Actually, I am just having a lot of trouble with the two bottom corners of the pouches as I am finding it difficult to get a nice, square corner.  Lack of that square corner makes stitching the leather difficult also.  I have moved from the single needle method to the double needle method of hand sewing leather and finding that each has a certain advantage.  The real problem now is that I have run out of some supplies and either need to get to Tandy which is a 3 hour (and lots of $$ for gas) round trip or order on-line and have it shipped.  Shipping would probably end up cheaper in the long run BUT some of the items I need like dye and Barge cement can't be shipped if there is a danger of the product freezing.  Suffice it to say that those items can't be shipped at this time of year....so I am kind of stuck in neutral.  I hope to get back to my General Riekeen costume today and I also have to work on completing my second Hoth Hat and second Endor headgear pieces for the Joliet SW Day event.  I need the second set of these headpieces so that one can be on display in the Library and one in the Historical Museum.

On 2-10-13 I attended the armor party in Crystal Lake.  It was a great event as it is always nice to be in a large group of creative people as they are busy with making their costumes.  I kind of really had my nose to the grindstone though as I was determined to get something done.  I did manage to help a couple members with some sewing and work on my leather projects...so...mission accomplished!




On Saturday I volunteered at the "Dick Wunderlich Memorial Workday" and it was kind of a brutal workday.  I started with the chainsaw but found that the 3 chainsaws were getting too far ahead of the herbiciders so I switched to herbiciding.  Wow...what a pain!  Also, there was just no way that we herbiciders could keep up which is bad news as that means that there will be a lot of re-sprouting since we could not find/get to all of that which was cut. 

Can Spring be far off?  I started my pepper plants a couple weeks ago and they are up and on Sunday I started my tomato plants.  At this time of year one always wonders what the next garden season will bring.

I put another lot of Star Wars toys up for auction two weeks ago.  The first round netted nothing...only 2 peoplel watching and no one bid.  It didn't sell so I re-listed it.  This time it sold but for just the minimum.  Where disapppointed again, at least it sold.  Today I hope to pick out the next lot to sell.  Where I had initially decided to sell huge lots, I am thinking I will need to break up those lots as the boxes end up huge and also I think that the size and price of the lots might be intimidating.