Pow Wow Season

Osiyo, Brothers and Sisters out there in Indian Country! So, what is everyone doing to gear up for pow wow season? I've got about 3 months of bead work to catch up on for my regalia, but I'm scared to do too much! My surgery is scheduled for Feb. 21, I wonder just how big my buckskin skirt will be by the time June rolls around!

I hear ya, I have the same thoughts about my own regalia. I'm organizing a powwow for the end of September. I'd like to make myself all new regalia but I'm worried about looking like I'm wearing a really pretty garbage bag by the time it rolls around. I'm attempting weight loss without surgery by way of weigh****chers for now so the change probably won't be AS dramatic as yours. If I were you, I'd do some applique work on mattress padding rather than trying to do up a whole yoke or something. Then, if you need to, you can take them off and move them around to fit your new size. There's nothing like having a couple of nice rosettes up on your chest and then shifting sizes only to find that your rosettes now look like nipple pasties. Thank GOD for mattress padding. I'm working on a fully beaded yoke right now (ha, I say "right now" but what I really mean is that I started it in 1997 and haven't worked on it for years but its unfinished... therefore its still a "now" project... right? right!) I'd be afraid to do one of those at my larger size knowing that I'm going to get smaller. Beadwork doesn't exactly trim very well, know what I'm saying? LOL Luckily, I was a much smaller chica when I started that yoke back in 1997 so its still pretty small and should be fine and ready for application when I'm smaller... again. hey, if that bucksin skirt gets too big, just slit it up the side and make it into a hawaiian wrap around skirt.... or pleat it and make yourself a kilt... or cut off the excess and make yourself come leggins... or a boat cover. You know, try to make it useful.

Boat cover huh? Well......I suppose it really could work! LOL! I know what you mean about the rosettes looking like pasties, and iot is NOT hot! LOL! What a great idea to put your beadwork on mattress padding! See, it pays to chat up other Indians and see what they're up to! I may just end up having enough buckskin to make little skirts for my daughters after I am finished cutting it up!

Mattress padding is the BEST. In particular I use the waterproof baby crib mattress padding. Most of the beadwork done in this family has some funny design on the back of it like colorful balloons or ribbons because it was printed on the padding for the baby crib. It's AWESOME. its about 1/16 of an inch thick, super dense thread weaving so it doesn't matter what angle you put your needle in or how deep or shallow you run it, its going to catch threads. I almost never bead on leather. It rots a whole lot faster than that padding will and when it does, I snip the threads holding my beadwork to my leather piece and move my beadwork to fresher leather. It just doesn't get any better than that! hang on and let me upload a picture of that yoke I'm working on to photobucket. hang on... almost got it... dial up STINKS!... While you're waiting, watch my new favorite show: While the Face Turns ----> GOT IT! http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/osage18/001-BAK-beadwork.jpg The spider is the center of it and I used photoshop to color in the unfinished bits or you'd be able to see that mattress padding. I really ought to finish that thing. Again, so glad to have met you. It's good to talk shop. (((HUGS!))) Brandy