Raven's Ramble

All the Sartorial THINGS!

Posted by Melanie Unruh , Monday, April 21, 2014 2:09 PM

I made a decision a couple of weeks ago, that I would get really serious about some quality "play" clothing. There are a couple of reasons, not the least of which is a sense of professionalism about my "other job" as creatrix - which includes the whole concept of building organizational skills.

The project piles haven't been cutting it as far as getting to some sense of sartorial satisfaction. So I started a Gantt chart. Well, it started out as a Gantt chart, but that didn't really serve the purpose, because I don't have a lot of dependent processes; I mostly have a list of things, ideas and deadlines which are based on event dates.

This starts with the crazy creative image/ideas stage. What do I want to do? What do I want to look like? How can I relate it to the events' themes, and be comfortable, stylish, and make an impression? How to keep it cohesive to conserve resources (time, quality, finances), and so I don't end up packing for events all the stuff because I might want it? Working in two genres, I made two decisions; mid-century 14th century, and 1890s. Frankly, I also need to clean out my closet.

It helped that I scheduled DVSS for the rest of the year; I have a pretty good idea about how the SCA is going for the rest of 2014. I mostly have one complete outfit/impression/ensemble scheduled for each of the next four events. And so I started charting by dates on the horizontal axis and projects on the vertical.

The breakdown looks like this:

• Coronation - fillet, hood and veils, kyrtle and gown, finish shoes. I need to buy wool for either the kyrtle or the gown, and some bunny fur for the gown. 
• DVSS Day at the Gardens - blouse and dickey (ready to stitch up), spats, and a bicycle skirt for which I need khaki fabric. Tool belt, for which I have the leather, but need to purchase the corselet pattern from TV. 
• Crossroads in Time - here's the BIG ONE. I need a full wardrobe for me and for Evan. So a couple of gowns and about four tunics each. And dress accessories. This will wait until school's out to be started, and I might take a couple of days off for sewing in early June. 

I'm going to be very tired of sewing by the time the CiT clothing is done. But I'm excited about the possibilities. I hope that I can start posting statuses soon.

ADHD and Me (and Us)

Posted by Melanie Unruh , Sunday, April 20, 2014 8:32 AM

Thinking a lot about things today.

I'm making connections between the way my thought/organizational processes work, and situations that I've encountered both in the past and presently. As I examine my reactions to situations and others' reactions to what are (justifiably) perceived as my own failures - in light of my ADHD (dys)function - I'm gaining understanding of the "whys" and learning strategies to cope and improve. I'm also gaining the ability to allow other ADHD/creatives to be intense and focused and featherheaded without being critical.

OTOH, there are plenty of opportunities for me to be irritated. No, I'm not forgetful and I don't fail to follow through because it "isn't important enough". I don't miss deadlines because I don't care, and my house doesn't look like this because I'm a slob. I don't struggle with finances because I'm a deadbeat.

The only way to really understand this is to be "in here". It seems that my therapy is to be one and to know many.