clearly, all of my grand (delusions) plans to document my progess on this garment have failed... since i finished the dress about a week ago... *sad trombone* i've also been really busy with work and paloma's birthday is this weekend.... lots of prep for the soon to be 10 year old's b'day party... (help.me.)
re: cutting...
i think i've mentioned before that cats do not make good pattern weights... you should believe me. (my) cats won't, but you should.... it took me about two hours to cut this out (cat notwithstanding), but only because i decided (*cough*forgot to buy lining*cough*) to have contrast panels and lining (see pink and peach fabrics)...
re: sewing...
this would probably be a challenging pattern even for an intermediate sewer, but if you just take it slow and read the directions, i think you'll find your way...
the trickiest part is definitely the bodice, where you turn the lining... again, if you follow the directions, you'll figure it out....
"16. Right sides facing, align the inner shoulder seams and stitch. Press the seam open." (then you pull the shoulder seams thru the opening at the waist and stitch the outer shoulder seams... this sounds more complicated than it is... really.)
"18. Right sides facing, place the inner and outer shoulder seams on top of each other. Pin and stitch the remaining seam opening along the armhole and neckline, which avoids topstitching."
after the bodice, the skirt is a breeze, especially if you take my advice and notch the patterns so you know which one is which.... then, TA-DA!!! *insertsnoopydance* (not optional)
so, yeah.... i always forget how tall Paloma is.... it's more of a long flouncy shirt than a dress.... but, she loves it and that's all that matters to me.... i can't wait for summer so she can actually use it.... she spent the coooold chilly day in this outfit with a sweater and long socks... she dinna wanna take it off... :)
ennyhooo..... happy thursday! thanks for coming by and reading!!
Just got a heads up from FAN that Battle of the Bamboo 2013 is this weekend! Sadly, I won't be able to attend and check out groups like this one from DePaul:
my jaw drops (and my feet cramp) at the 4:00 mark.... GAH! I'M SO BUMMED TO MISS IT!!!! :(
so if you're in the area, and wanna get yo' pilipino on... you should really check it out:
Battle of the Bamboo
Saturday, 2/16
5:30pm to 10 pm
"...Lent isn't only about giving up things. It's also about adding things, God things..."
*insertreflectiveandquizzicalpause*
then this quote is followed by a short list of examples including - "Having given up on Facebook, to whom will you devote meaningful conversation?"
which really got me thinking about the people i care about and the ways in which i choose to communicate with them and why i always choose facebook... for years and years and years, i happily wrote letters and drew and doodled with glee on envelopes... and then, i stopped... maybe i got too busy and too lazy... and then, i discovered facebook....
so, i'm giving up facebook for lent and i'm going to (try to) write to someone every day.... maybe a blog post. maybe a post card. maybe a letter. maybe a note in a lunchbox. maybe a post-it at an ATM....
please wish me luck! (and please pray for me, if you pray...) no, really! i look forward to reading status updates and browsing photos from my friends and family who are so far away.... these next 40 days are going to be very challenging... :)
all in all it took me about 2 hours to transfer the pattern, including:
cutting the original pattern pieces out,
ironing and transferring the original patterns to kraft paper,
drinking wine, wrassling children to take showers,
connecting the dots, revising the length if necessary, and labeling the patterns in pencil,
cutting the patterns out,
drinking wine, wrassling kids to sit in time out,
punching holes in wall in the pattern and hanging on a shower ring.
the original figgy's patterns are pretty self explanatory. the only added instruction i would have is to use a pattern notcher to add notches to the skirt flounce and panel pieces - top flounce (1 notch) , middle flounce (2 notches), bottom flounce (3 notchesetc...) they're similar in size and shape and once you cut them out in fabric, it may be difficult to tell them apart.
next up... cutting your newly transferred patterns out of fabric! how exciting!!!
it's funny, when i first read this, i thought of this dr. who t-shirt - "you never forget your first doctor". if you're a dr. who fan, this probably rings true for you too... although i've become fond of the more recent regenerations of the doctor, especially david tennant, tom baker is still my first doctor. :)
ennyhoo, i think the same can be said of lindyhop teachers... i've said it numerous times before, but paul overton and sharon ashe are/was/always will be my favorite lindyhop instructors to learn "the basics". of course, i'm biased for sure, as paul and sharon taught me to lindyhop from day 1 (circa 1997) and started me on the long lindyhop journey i'm apparently still on... :) in addition to providing a strong dance foundation to build upon, they served as great role models for my short lived teaching career as well. i consider myself very blessed to call them my teachers as well as my friends....
swungover did a recent (well, for the very private paul & sharon anyway) interview with paul here.
it's a shame that there aren't more publicly viewable videos of paul and sharon teaching.... here's a teeny tiny short one.... paul and sharon really exemplified to me, two dancers/teachers who genuinely loved dancing, teaching and lindyhop.... they had clearly been affected and deeply moved by those three things, and had seen the affect on others.... they danced and taught effortlessly - seemingly - but were also challenged and captivated by their students and by the transitive nature of the dance and the community...
they were always encouraging and supportive teachers without being enablers. although they offered to help students to improve, if you didn't improve by the time the month long class was complete, you did not move on to the next class. it was made quite clear to us students and the rule was enforced. too often, i meet students, who are lovely, energetic, positive people, but are in dance classes or levels far above their current skills. and too often, i hear it's because "business is business".... imho - moving a student up to make room for more students is not good for the student or the dance community...
sharon and paul's passion for lindyhop was also very contagious. san francisco's lindyhop scene was very lucky to have them as they often brought in the best teachers for workshops. they also continued to take lessons and teach new choreography that they had learned or new (old) dance variations - the madison, shag, balboa, etc... paul was always listening to music and challenging all of our perceptions and paradigms about lindyhop relative to music.
i think because their vision and philosophy (and popularity) grew they left the metronome ballroom and started the 9:20 special - where they taught and also hosted a dance event. they also started the oakland swing dance festival, if i remember correctly. at one point, after i began teaching, paul also hosted a private weekend intensive workshop with steven mitchell for teachers from the west coast including - meeshi, josie say, chad kubo, ken watanabe, virginie jensen, micah jacobsen, jason christodoulou and myself. at one point, i think we all thought we should stop dancing and teaching - steven was very critical of all of us... but, then we all worked together on our weaknesses as well as our strengths... it was an elevating weekend to say the least.... they worked with local bands to perform at dance events. they collaborated with other local lindyhop groups like the ncls to host events and workshops as well...
not sure if this was deliberate or not, but clearly they began to teach and inspire outside of the framework of the physical classroom... and soon because they were so open to the positive changes that they were causing, they were open to the ripples of change that were returning to them... and improving and challenging them.... much like lindyhop - a conversation between people - an exchanging of ideas.... hey, it's no wonder to me that the first lindy exchange happened in san francisco... :)
paul and sharon were tireless teachers... in addition to teaching at their venues, they traveled to other cities, domestic and internationally to teach, etc... they choreographed or performed a few times with groups that they created, etc... they were like planets in orbit, constantly moving...
paul and sharon have moved on to other professional careers and other cities and i can only hope that they look back on those years happily and satisfied with the fruits of their labors.... i hope they return to teaching and dancing lindyhop soon. i really think the community (ok, me especially...) could use their encouraging presence, creativity, vision and guidance again... :)
on my way to the register, the remnant section's menacing tentacles grabbed me, refusing to let go until i harvested enough materials to appease it... really, it's not me, it's THE REMNANT SECTION...
dun duUN DUUUUUUUN!!!
actually, no. i have an addiction to remnant bins. i need an intervention...
although, to my credit - the only remnant i picked up was this orange chevron from dear stella:
i neglected to buy any lining (cuz i was soo happy!!!) luckily, i had some remnants at home (what? no kidding!? go figure....) that would suffice...
i'll document my little journey with this pattern over the next few days... for now, if you're thinking about starting a new project, the needle shop is having a sale on patterns - Use the code "BYEPATTERNS" and get 25% off!!!GO NOW!!!
