Patchwork

     I remember nearly a year ago typing up this whole post about my jean vest. Though I thought it was cool before, I never really wore it because of my own insecurities. Sometimes my anxiety manifests itself in clothing; in high school, whenever I wore a scarf to school on a cold day, I would almost always strip it off  when I stepped on campus and stuff it in my locker for the rest of the day. I was convinced everyone at school was staring at me judgmentally, thinking I was over-dramatic for sporting a scarf in Southern California. Even if it was legitimately cold enough to justifying wearing one, I would get nervous about what others were thinking of me as I passed, and the scarf would start to feel like a noose. It's weird, trust me, I know. But I must say that I am falling more in love with this vest the more I work on it. Soon, I'll be wearing it with pride :)

     I bought these swallows MONTHS AGO, along with the Edward Elric patch, so I could get free shipping on Amazon when I needed to buy a French-English dictionary for class. I'm really glad I didn't put them on until now... Cathy gave me the idea of ironing them onto the front! Then, last night, I added some cross-hatching just to make the front look a bit more interesting.

     I did the hap-hazard sharpie work at school, including writing "I put this on before I knew what cultural appropriation was" around the Calavera patch. I'm still debating just tearing off the patch and covering it with something new. Or maybe putting a thing white fabric over it and writing "no cultural appropriation" or something. I'm not sure yet. This is an on-going project.

      Cathy taught me to hand-sew with a needle and thread this weekend! During our trials and errors with making patches with iron-on transfer paper, an S came out unscathed (from the word "Dracarys." If you know what that means, getting fucking pumped for the patches Cathy is currently working on). There was nothing to do with it but throw it away, so I just sewed it on. I'm quite proud - it doesn't look bad for a first try!

     Last night and this morning, I felt the need to paint. I used to do it all the time; writing on T-shirts with fabric paint and handmade stencils was my thing a few summers back. I'm creative, but I can't draw or dance or make music or anything. But I love this sort of thing. Words are my favorite medium of art. They usually mean more to me than images do. 

    And if you didn't know, I'm currently obsessed with Game of Thrones. I took a quiz and am OVERLY EXCITED BEYOND ALL REASON that I was sorted into House Targaryen. That is unreal for me. I'm too happy about this. It's fine. And so on the top panel of my vest, I wrote a quote from A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin, "...like their dragons the Targaryens answered to neither gods nor men." Ughhhh. It's just too good. Even if the quote is in reference to incestuous family practices, damn it's powerful.

     On the lower panel, I painted "Valar Morghulis," meaning "all men must die" in High Valyrian (a language in the Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire universe), simply because I love it so. Then I added Daenerys' response to it, for it reeks of feminism and Targaryen badassery: "All men must die, but we are not men."

Sidenote: I also made a House Targaryen playlist on 8Tracks called "Fire Made Flesh."

Fire Made Flesh from reservoirsnogs on 8tracks Radio.

     So I've been a bit obsessed with patches in the last 24 hours. Though I've always been under the impression that Etsy is quite expensive, it's actually often comparable to Amazon. There's a wealth of patches I want to get. I also want to buy some Disney fabric to sew onto one of the panels. The problem right now is that I don't have any money. Once I get my first paycheck this fall, I've already decided that I am buying this necklace for myself. Perhaps once my savings account bounces back from my trip to Europe, I will allow myself to buy these patches as well. For now, let's just dream:

1. Mini Embroidered "Mom" Tattoo by HeatherOstrow
2. Mouse (Large) Iron on by TheFabricScene
3. Harry Potter Death Eater Dark Mark by MTthreadz
4. Dead Man's Hand Skull by SewMagicStitches
5. Game of Thrones, Minimalist Tyrion Patch by StoriedThreads
6. Embroidery Iron-On Patch by DianaRomeroHandmade
7. 4 PC Rose Dead Skulls No Sew Iron On Appliques by TDFT
8. Game of Thrones, Syrio Forel, Not Today Patch by StoriedThreads

 ♥ Happy Living ♥