Seamstress for the Band

Not too long ago Frater POS was kind enough to take me to an Elton John concert. It was wonderful and since then I have had the song Tiny Dancer stuck in my head. Specifically the line "Pretty eyed. Pirate smile, seamstress for the band..."

I have eyes that change colors, love all things pirate and am indeed the seamstress for the band. I know he was talking about me :) It all started when I was 6. My stepmom taught me to sew and like magick, I learned a lot from my mistakes. Also like magick, you always wanted to try something new.

So fast forward the better part of 30 years and I have created a ton of costumes, clothes, wedding dresses and all sorts of other things. Yet, some of my most interesting work as of late has come from my dear Frater. Armed with little more than a rough sketch and a few crude measurements we have created all sorts of interesting tools. Today was no exception.

It was your average Saturday around here and that is what makes it unusual. There really is nothing ordinary about our Saturdays. He was at the kitchen table working on his latest project when he was moving my latest alchemy experiments. He placed a piece of tin near the lemon balm and I laughed. I was about to tell him to be careful not to get them too close but then I realized. "No wait, they are BOTH Jupiter... never mind."

So then it struck me. That is quite normal for us. The kitchen table is usually pressed into service for either magickal tool construction or plant alchemy. It is rare when I clear it off on Sundays for breakfast. Today he leaned over and asked if I could construct a bag for a magickal tool and I really like that part. It has a certain form of togetherness that we generally don't get on seperate magickal paths. His tools are published mine are not - well sort of.

This is where the seamstress for the band comes in. Over the years my dear Frater has come to me with a sketch on a napkin several times. We sit down and start the socratic reasoning process. OK what are we trying to achieve here? What materials are you working with. How big does it need to be? And so it goes on for a while. We make the trip to the fabric store and we start again on the questions until between the two of us we find what it is he is looking for. Eventually we get it all hammered out and I finally start to construct.

My process is a combination of Hamster and sewing skills. The Hamster is especially useful when it is involving tools. He has great suggestions and a more fluid bend on time. He can see down the road and predict more of the technical problems. Then comes the joy of actually constructing it. As long as it is complicated I am fine. The problem is when it is very simple I tend to procrastinate. Once I have solved the technical challenges of the construction, in my head I have completed the project. The problem is I often haven't even started! So the more complicated the project, the more likely it is to get done. Sew on a button, lead time months. Complicated banner, a couple hours. Go figure.

I was laughing today thinking that a zillion years from now when some bright eyed magickian inherits his tools they will be wondering "Where ever did he get someone to make that????" I will have to program my astral shell Hamster to nudge them and say "They didn't have TV" :)
It really is amazing what you get done without it.