Ruby M. Smith

My dear, sweet, Great Grandma Ruby died this weekend. She was 96 years old. And although it is not coming as a shock it is nonetheless always hard to deal with the passing of a loved one. I got a lot of my craftiness from her and she is the 'Ruby' for which 'RubyMarilyn' was named. I hope she is at peace.

What's in an outfit? Derby edition.

Sorry about the film-nerd rant the other day. Today I am going to re-focus on ROLLER DERBY! Surprise, surprise. Our team is fairly far off from our first bout as of yet but we are having a HUGE fundraiser in February and we need outfits! Our team colors are red, white, and black and by the time of the fundraiser we will have our temporary t-shirt jersey's with our names on them. So between now and then I need to come up with a sweet style and diy the crap out of an outfit that will work for non-skating events but also on the track.

If you have seen 'Whip It'  you may have some idea of what a derby girl 'should look like'. Short skirts and fishnets are not unheard of. Outfits need to be functional but also fun! My derby name is Patience Zero and I need a persona to go with it.

Here are a few polyvore sets I came up with to help myself out.

Derby Outfit- Pretty in Pink by rubymarilyn featuring a thigh high hosiery

First up pretty in pink- for as rough and tumble as the sport is going the opposite direction and being super girly is an option I find appealing. Bloomers, pink glitter, and floral prints will be my calling card.

Or...

Derby Outfit- Pretty in punk by rubymarilyn featuring over knee socks

...I could go pretty in punk. Use the bold graphic red, black, and white, mix with plenty of sequins, and generally rock it out. This may be the easiest 'look' to achieve since it will involve basic colors and nothing really too 'out of the box'. Will have to invest in sweet thigh highs.

or...

Derby Outfit- Circus by rubymarilyn featuring printed pants

... I can go for something more 'themed'. I do love a good themed outfit. Or costume. I LOVE COSTUMES. Sorry. But yes, this circus themed outfit could be a fun way to incorporate my love of vintage circus, bows, and once again GLITTER. Glitter is going to be involved any direction I go : )

Once I pick a theme I can start making stuff for my outfit and can start modifying my helmet and such to be super awesome. Practice tonight! Let's hope the bruises from the last practice are healed up enough to get me through.  

And the nominees are...

The Oscar nominations went up today and frankly I am underwhelmed. I have not seen a single film nominated for best picture. I actually haven't seen hardly any of the nominated films. Honestly? The only film nominated for Best Picture that I even sort of want to see is 'The Artist'.

Being a film major/buff/nerd lends itself to some stereotypes. In my head I should have already seen all of these nominated films because I am a 'film person'. I have always loved the Academy Awards and have watched them since I was little. I love the glitz and the glam and the long acceptance speeches and all of it. I was at one point convinced that some day I would be up there giving my own drawn-out acceptance speech. But in recent years the Oscars have seemed more like a chore than a joy. Either the nominated films do not come to my city (which is so ridiculous) or I am simply not interested in seeing them. In no way shape or form was I interested in seeing 'The Social Network' so I didn't. Here is the problem, as soon as you assert yourself to not spending money to go watch a movie you are not excited about you loose your 'film person privileges'. This includes but is not limited to voting on the Oscars. You know that thing that people do either in the office, or school, or as we do at our Oscar Party. As soon as you 'miss' one movie, by choice or otherwise, you can't say with any authority that you know what you are talking about. "Well you didn't even see them all, did you?" That will be the response of any other film person. And it is frustrating. I love movies. Always have always will. Someday I might actually get my act together and work in the business but for now I am content being a film lover. There was a time in college when I was trying to impress all these people (read: Boys) and I would ONLY watch 'films' not 'movies'. I was the obnoxious girl who went to the foreign films every week, who refused to watch 'lowly comedies', and generally was a pain in the ass. I have since gotten over that and now enjoy a much larger range of movies.

My favorite films/movies/flicks of 2011? (In no particular order)

-Scream 4
-X-Men: First Class
-Captain America
-Drive
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
-Jane Eyre


I really wanted to see 'Shame' and 'A Dangerous Method' (Fassbender) but neither of them came to my town. I was hoping that maybe Mr. Fassbender would be nominated for 'Shame' 1. so I could see him on the red carpet and 2. so there was maybe a snow ball's chance in hell it would come to my town.

Derby Gear Bag

I was so excited to make myself a bag that I rushed it a bit. Has that ever happened in your crafting? I get that itch and I just go to town. I had some upholstery fabric on hand that I liked so I decided to make a bag out of that. I ended up just making a HUGE tote bag with tons of pockets on the inside and out. I like it but I would like something with some more structure.

 This is what my floor looked like the other day. I just started cutting and sewing.

 Finished bag! I still need to add a button or something to the front pocket so it just doesn't flop open.

 Plus side: It is big enough for ALL of my gear and extra workout clothes, etc.

 Can't really see but lots of big pockets on the inside for pads, mouth guard, socks. I think in the future I will make a new bag and hopefully it will be out of something more canvas like so I has some more structure to it. But for now I love having just one bag of stuff to lug around and not 2 or 3 like I did before. And since I already had the fabric I am calling this 'free' which is nice.

We also got a present at practice last night! Bracelets! Skate Fast + Med City Mafia + Hit Hard. We will be selling them at our upcoming fundraiser. Practice last night was brutal. I have some good bruises to prove it.

Weekend wrap up and Derby Gear Bag Wishlist

Derby Gear Bag Wishlist by rubymarilyn featuring a wheeled travel luggage


What a sweet weekend. Friday I got to see 'The Lion King' on stage. Saturday I saw 'Haywire' (Fassbender!) and I got to hang out with my ladies. I made a yummy pear crostini. There was a bit of a snafu with the dogs eating an entire package of hamburger buns....but I am finally over that. Today my sister and I hit the stores. I mostly got things I needed like toliet paper and batteries but I did splurge on clothes on sale. I bought a button up shirt, sleep pants, sweater, and large scarf for less than $20! Win! 

I really wanted to hit the fabric store but we got there and they were closing. They were also bitches about it. So now I have to find a new fabric store....hmmm. I wanted fabric for a new derby gear bag. My polyvore set above was sort a wish list/ inspiration set. I might just suck it up and use some fabric that I already have. I should be de-stashing not buying more fabric. I have a gym bag but it is not big enough to fit all my gear. Tonight I am going to continue doing some sketches and I might make an interim bag. The one I have in my head is going to be epic and will need a lot more time to complete. 

I hope everyone had a good weekend and if you are in MN be careful on the roads! Pure ice tonight. Not fun.  

The Lion King

I had not been to the theater in quite a long time but last night that pattern was broken with a trip to the Twin Cities to see 'The Lion King'. I was excited about this trip for awhile but I think I forgot how amazing it was supposed to be because when the circle of life started up and those AMAZING costumed/puppeted animals came out on stage I started to tear up. Yep. I cried at the costume design. It was just so perfect. Plus that is totally my kind of theater, spectacle. I like a big show.

 

This is just an example of the costumes. My favorites were the giraffes. 

Since I can't help myself I had to dress with a bit of theme. 

I kept it fairly simple with these earrings. Aren't they darling? They remind me of vintage animal jewelry. I snagged them for $3 about a month ago and waited to debut them until last night. My friends were mostly lucky that I decided not to wear my full length faux-leopard coat.   : )

Better late than never...

Yay late Christmas presents getting done...finally! Here is my second t-shirt quilt. I was really working hard to get it done for Christmas but then I bought the wrong size backing material and I just froze. I even went and bought some new fabric before the new year but then the project just sat staring at me. Taunting me. But finally I put it together. I wasn't sure when I was going to see my friend to give it to her so through the power of facebook I sent her a picture. She saw the top when it was put together already but it does feel good to have it done.

I liked this quilt a lot because it is made up of both her and her husband's quilt. I think that is a cute way to meld the collections together and a super practical one if either party doesn't have enough old t shirts on their own! (Are there people like that? I am already saving up for my second quilt!)

 Used a red flannel sheet for the backing. Pretty cozy, and it looks like we are going to need it because our unseasonably warm winter is about to come to a screeching halt. Being from MN we like to be sort of hard core about the temperature but this year we have not had a chance to become acclimated to it yet so we are pretty much going to be a state full of whiny cold people for a few weeks before we toughen up for another season.