Wanted: Anorak

Either self-made or thrifted, so I can wear cutie-pie outfits like these:

Anorak love - by kellsbells on Polyvore.com

I think this this pattern from Hot Patterns (HP 1030) might do the trick should my thrifting search be fruitless:

The English Teacher's Stepford Wife

I never read the Stepford Wives novel nor have I watched the 1970s movie, but I am the happy owner of the DVD for the 2004 version. Despite it's glaring plot holes (are they robots or just brainwashed?!) I watch this movie repeatedly- I am visually addicted to it. I love the color choices, the psychotic tidiness of Stepford, and the wardrobe choices. Example:



This screen cap inspires me to have a wardrobe full of spring dresses, particularly Faith Hill's dress with the little lace trim and the big, bright poppy print. It's not necessarily the dress styles that I love, but just the visual enjoyment I have when looking at all theses dresses together, the colors and the patterns, and the idea I could have that same thrill when I open my closet. It's only February, maybe by May I'll have sewn up a fleet of spring dresses, or at the very least collected fabrics which are sometimes just as fun to look at stacked together.

Cluster-happy

During these dark cold nights while the Husband is doing grad-work I find myself at a loss for something to do. My homework is not nearly as intense as it has been in the last couple of semesters, so I do have quite a bit of free time. Last night I took out some of my jewellery making stuff, a random assortment of cheapie beads and wire, and decided to have a go at making some cluster rings. I've seen them on Etsy and they are so attractive to me, shiny, bright, cheerful groupings of beads bound together in an organic, random way. Here are the fruits of my labor:






I kinda just winged it (is that the proper past tense for that phrase?), but these YouTube video tutorials were extremely helpful for the technical stuff (i.e. construction, what gauge wire, how to wrap, etc):
Part One
Part Two
Part Three