My Middle Earth Adventure: Arwen Swimsuit, Part 2

I have some good news, and some bad news.

The bad news is that when I opened my package containing the fabric I did NOT like the blue.  It was way too purple.  Plus what's more, when I unfolded the yellow liner, I found it to be quite stained, a corner was cut off, there was tape in it, and it had been cut down the middle and sown back together.  That was quite a disappointment.

The good news is that I found a different fabric on amazon that is a way better color.  I also really liked the grey.

So, I will be returning the blue and yellow, keeping the grey, and purchasing a navy blue.

What I am kicking myself for is not thinking of looking up the same type of fabric anywhere else before I ordered the wrong color of blue instead of just praying it wasn't as bright as the picture showed.

Anyway, while I wait for the fabric, I'll probably start making a pattern.  I found a really great tutorial for that here.  I did the same thing when I made my Tauriel costume.

Namárië!

My Middle Earth Adventure: Arwen Swimsuit

Hello all!

I have decided to be slightly adventurous and make my own swimsuit this year.  As I always try to keep modesty in mind by the pool, and I have this "little" thing with Middle Earth, it can be quite hard to find the PERFECT swimsuit.  Therefore, one does not simply compromise when a Tolkien fandom is involved. :)

I will be making a swim dress that is knee length with long shorts underneath.  My sister ordered one from a company online, Meant to be Modest, and I liked hers very much.  I would have ordered one from the same place, but as I wanted it to be more detailed with many adjustments, I knew it would be cheaper to make my own.  Plus it gives me a chance to expand my sewing skill. :) I have decided to make the swim dress based on Arwen's character.  I haven't seen the last two LotR movies, (oh, shock and disbelief!!!) but I am basing the swim dress more on her book character anyway.  Since she represents the evening, as Galadriel does the morning, (page 953 of The Return of the King) I will be using a dark blue and a grey fabric.

The blue I got Here, the grey I got Here, and the liner I got Here.

I am a little nervous about the blue, though, because, although I had wanted to get navy blue, they were out of it and the regular blue, so, I decided to go with what they call "Blueberry."
The package arrived yesterday, but I didn't realize I actually had to go open the door when the mailman rang the bell or else he would take the package with him and I would have to wait until the next morning to pick it up at the post office.  I now safely have the contents of my shipment but have not had the time to open the box yet.

For a liner, I had wanted to use white, but they were out of that too!!  I decided to go with a yellow instead, and pray for the best.  The one my sister has has a beige lining, and as it never really shows, I believe the yellow will be fine.  Once again, I am quite nervous!  Ok, VERY nervous!!

The grey will be used for the neckline and bracers, and the blue for everything else.  No, I'm not really making bracers for a swimsuit, (I do believe that would be slightly difficult when swimming) but I will only make the blue part of the sleeve half-length and finish the rest with grey.  I might add a little blue to the end of the sleeve to give it more of the bracer illusion.

I'll probably post pictures of the fabric once I get them out of the box, and hopefully they'll look as good as I'm praying they are. : /

Namárië!

Tolkien Trivia Answers

Greetings!

Two weeks ago I posted a Tolkien Trivia, and promised that I would post the answers today.  Therefore, here they are. :)

1. What is the name and title of Lord Elrond's ring?

Vilya, the ring of air

2. Who really banished Sauron from Dol Guldor?

Saruman.

3. Why is September 22nd National Hobbit Day?

Sept. 22nd is Bilbo and Frodo's birthday.

4. If Middle Earth had existed, where did Tolkien say Hobbiton would have been in England?

I'm afraid I must apologize and confess I misunderstood the statement I read.  It was not where in England but that Hobbiton is the span of Oxford in England.

5. How old is Pippin in The Return of the King?

When talking to Bergil, son of Beregond, he proudly states he is 29.

6. What is Saruman called by the Elves?

He is known to the elves as Curunír.

7.What firework does Gandalf save for the last of the show at Bilbo's birthday party?

c. The Lonely Mountain and the dragon, Smaug

8. What is J. R. R. Tolkien's full name?

John Ronald Ruel Tolkien.

What are the names of the 13 dwarves?

Thorin, Fili, Kili, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Nori, Dori, Ori, Gloin, Oin, Dwalin, and Balin.

10. What nursery rhyme does Tolkien elaborate on that Frodo sings at The Prancing Pony?

Hey Diddle Diddle.

11. Which of the dwarves plays the harp at Bilbo's house?

Thorin.

12. Who are the S.B.s?

Bilbo's snubby, thieving cousins, the Sackville-Bagginses, whom he would rather not encounter.

13. How many is one gross?

A term representing 144, but it is usually not used when describing people.

14. What are the names of the three elves who greet the Fellowship at the edge of Lothlorien?

Haldir and his brothers, Rúmil and Orophin.

15. What did Tolkien originally want to name The Return of the King?

He feared The Return of the King would give away too much of the plot, so he wanted to title it The War of the Ring.

And the Bonus Question!

16. What is Fangorn's full name?

Here we go:

Ok, I lied.  I KNOW I found it somewhere, but as I didn't not take the time to memorize the un-hasty Entish name, I can not find it now that it comes time to post it to all who have been waiting!

Well, of course that is how things turn out for those who are too hasty, hoom hom, hoom hom. ;)

Until next time!

(Sorry, I just had to, if you take my meaning, Mr. Frodo. ;))

Modest Monday

Today was a beautiful, overcast, make-a-book-worm-happy kind of day.

For some reason he is a very sensitive dog when it comes to thunderstorms.  My mom, sis and I spent a good part of our morning in the laundry room with the fan on.

After all was said and done he was pretty tuckered out!

Anyway, after the Monday report, here comes Modest Monday!

Inspired by this quote (my favorite of all time!) and one of my favorite characters,...

...here is an outfit that totally shouts. "I AM A TOLKIEN FAN!!!!!!" (Surprising, right?! =D)

God bless, Namárië, and have a wonderful rest of the week!

Tolkien Trivia

Greetings!

I thought it would be a fun idea to test you all on your knowledge of Middle Earth and all things Tolkien!

The rules are simple:

• No using Google!!! (I understand it's tempting, but YOU SHALL NOT PASS If you use it!! ;))
• Answer as many or as few as you would like.
• Have fun!

Our Journey begins!

:SPOILER WARNING:

If you have not read the books, you may discover some surprises!  These questions are based on facts from the books.

1. What is the name and title of Lord Elrond's ring?

2. Who really banished Sauron from Dul Guldor?

3. Why is September 22nd National Hobbit Day?

4. If Middle Earth had existed, where did Tolkien say Hobbiton would have been in England?

5. How old is Pippin in The Return of the King?

6. What is Saruman called by the Elves?

7. What firework does Gandalf save for the last of the show at Bilbo's birthday party?

                    a. A large, green tree that burst into bloom

                    b. A river in the image of running horses

                    c. The Lonely Mountain and the dragon, Smaug

8. What is J. R. R. Tolkien's full name?

9. What are the names of the 13 dwarves?

10. What nursery rhyme does Tolkien elaborate on that Frodo sings at The Prancing Pony?

11. Which of the dwarves plays the harp at Bilbo's house?

12. Who are the S.B.s?

13. How many is one gross?

14. What are the names of the three elves who greet the Fellowship at the edge of Lothlorien?

15. What did Tolkien originally want to name The Return of the King?

(Bonus Question!)

16. What is Fangorn's full name?

I hope you have fun answering these questions!

I'll post the answers to the questions in two weeks.

Namárië!

Modesty and Feminism

To start at the beginning, for Lent I wore skirts every day.  I decided to do it in order to get more in the habit of being modest.

Recently my family and I were out in the yard pulling weeds. (homeschool perk!)   As I was shifting positions, I realized I couldn't just move any-which way.  I normally do yard work in shorts or pants, moving freely and sitting in any old stance.  With a skirt, it's much harder to do that, almost forcing you to have to sit or kneel in lady-like positions.  But, considering I am a lady, it just seems fitting that I should sit like one.  Girls wearing shorts or pants have blurred the the lines between girls and boys.  Modesty is a way to keep those lines clearer.  Boys shouldn't wear skirts anymore than, I'm beginning to realize, girls should wear pants.  We can still do the same things boys can, but in a more feminine way.  God created male and female, and we should keep it that way.

Also, for Modest Monday...

Totally Modest Tuesday

So yesterday was another crazy fun and busy day, so I wasn't able to post Modest Monday.  I just HAD to post this skirt, though, because I love it so much!!!

The tutorial on how to make it is here.  I will definitely be making this in the near future!

Easter Week/ 20 Things That Make Me Happy

Greetings, and Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

This past week has flown, but boy was I blessed!  It felt like an endless weekend! (haha, you'll never guess what I buy at Bath and Body Works. ;))

On Easter Sunday we went to Mass then came home and hosted brunch.  I wore a new dress that we had gotten at Stein Mart.

My favorite part about the dress is when I spin...

Ta da!!! :D

On Wednesday we had our schola over for practice and a crazy game of Scattergories!  If you ever have the letter P, and I think list 7, I would highly suggest doing Pirate Pinball for number 6, and Ping Pong Paddle for 11. (a double and a triple! SCORE!!)

This week I drew a picture of Tauriel (shock and disbelief!) for an art contest held by my school.

 This was the picture I based it off of...

...This is how it turned out.  It's not 100% perfect, nor as good as I would have liked it to be, but it's close enough. :)

On Friday, we went to this new ice cream place called Handel's Ice Cream.  It was SOOO GOOD!!! I got mint chocolate chip (inspired by Ben Seawald!)

Then Friday night I spent the night at a friends house.  Saturday morning I went to the gym for practice, then got back together with the same friend and went to confession.

After that we had a coffee/smoothie date, hung out some more, then headed over to my cousins' for a game of Jumbo Sequence.  All in all it was a very exhausting and fun day. :)

                                               

Of course I had to add our beautiful Iris that bloomed some time this week.

Also, I was inspired by Beth and everything I've done this week to add...

*drumroll*

20 Things That Make Me Happy!

1. Going to Mass
2. Doing my hair like and Elve (hehe!)
3. Hanging out with friends
4. Sewing
5. Writing stories
6. Running in an open field (most of the time I imagine in a whole different world) :)
7. Reading
8. Finding modest and cute outfits
9. Laughing so hard I can't even breathe
10. Listening to Christian Radio
11. Knowing I am loved no matter what
12. Playing with the littles!
13. Discovering something new in the world of Tolkien
14. Baking Miss Kay's (Duck Commander) cookies, or baking in general
15. Eating ice cream
16. Seeing God's creation bloom into spring
17. Writing letters with friends far apart
18. Thinking of the future
19. Being with my family
20. Singing

And that concludes my post on this beautiful spring day and Divine Mercy Sunday.

Until next time,

Namárië, Mellon!

Pardon my...dust?

As you might have noticed, I have been doing a little construction on the blog.  I'm most definitely not finished, but I only have so much time in the day to work on my blog.  So please bear with me, and if you're ever visiting my site and all of a sudden something changes, know that I'm experimenting with one thing or another! :)

Namárië and God bless!

Modesty Monday

For this outfit I was inspired by my friend Vigi and instead of wearing my favorite blouse like I normally do, I wore a white t-shirt under it,  only buttoned it halfway, rolled it up, and tied it in the front.  Of course the skirt and the converse make the outfit quite complete! :)