The Continuing Adventures of the Case Against Pants

When it comes to fashion, I still dislike pants. True story. I've only worn pants three times so far in 2010. My goal in 2011 is to NEVER WEAR PANTS.

"But why," you ask, "do you hate pants?"

Well...

#1: They don't always flatter me. I am a hair under 5'0" but was blessed with curves. Lots of them. I have a proportionate hourglass figure with some extra squish on it...and abnormally short legs. They're nice, sturdy, shapely legs, but mega-short. Wearing pants just makes me look...well, stumpy.

#2: I don't find pants comfortable anymore. I'm really not sure why. All I know is that unless there is an elastic waistband and a considerable amount of stretch (or flannel, flannel is good too...) I am distinctly uncomfortable.

#3: I am a girly-girl. Aside from second grade, when I became a tomboy because my BFF Samantha said she wouldn't be friends with me other wise, I have been a girly-girl. Frills, lace, bows...the whole nine yards. And I feel my girliest in skirts.

#4: I have to dress up for work. And let's face it, it's easier to throw on a dress and call it a day than stare at a pair of basic slacks and think all right, let's get this going...

#5: Dresses are easier to sew than pants.

So that's why, when P and I were moving into our apartment, I tossed a megaload of crap. Jeans with holes in the heels, khakis that I wore day in and day out in high school, knit tops that were faded and pilled and had a tendency to slide up my tummy squish. All the stuff that I wore to death in college, but I really shouldn't wear as a young grown up.

All in all, it was rather cathartic.

However, that left me in a predicament. What shall I wear to work? Pretty much everything that's still in my closet is still ancient (you buy a lot less when you stopped growing at the age of twelve) and is splattered with the remnants of a life as a theater kid. You know...diluted paint. Wood glue. Glitter. Snags from getting caught in the flies. (Don't laugh...it happens.) Am I really supposed to wear that to my new big girl job?

Luckily, my parents offered to help me get some new pieces of clothing. HALLELUJAH.

And, oh wait, it gets better.

My mother has become a fan of getting me things from Modcloth.

That's right, the Holy Grail of all things adorable and retrochic. I am now the proud owner of four Modcloth dresses.

How This Dress Got Its Groove Back (which I wore for my rehearsal dinner)

The Soda Fountain Dress in cola (because I have to wear black for trunk shows)

The Tea Rose Rendezvous Dress (so comfy!)

The Indie Darling dress (which is currently awaiting me at my parents' house)

I'm going to have to face it, I'm addicted to lo...um, Modcloth.

Now I just need to sit down and figure out how to match up my outfits and figure out what else to get and what else to get rid of. So...maybe I'll start doing fashion entries? Maybe? Yeah...that'll be fun.

I also have plans to sew up plenty of things to augment my wardrobe. The only thing is I have about a hundred unfinished projects. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I spent about three years going "ooh! I wanna MAKE THAT!". So I would buy up the supplies, perhaps get started, and then move on.

It's ridiculous.

So I'm trying to sew through my stash in hopes of putting together some redeemable outfits. Some of them, however, are just awful. You know how I was going to make New Look 6722 in yellow knit? Yeah. Yeah, that was a travesty. Just awful. Thank the pattern gods that that bad boy has been discontinued.

(I'll discuss it further when I've figured out how in blue blazes I can salvage the remaining fabric, but let's face it- there's only so much you can do with a highlighter-yellow knit.)

Oh, well.

I hope you enjoy my further fashion endeavors! Now I'm going to give Simplicity 2622 a try!

A Dress...for a Hockey Game?!

I might have mentioned this earlier, but I hate pants. I've worn them maybe three times so far this year. I don't like how they fit my short, curvy frame, and I don't like how restricted they feel. So dresses it is.

Well, tonight I am going to my VERY FIRST hockey game. Kat and Rose have been promising to take me for like two years, and now I finally get to go! And yet I have nothing to wear. I don't have a dress that I feel is just right, and I definitely don't have a tee and jeans I can just toss on.

Luckily, the last time I was at my parents' house I picked up about a dozen or so of my unfinished projects. One of them includes two yards' worth of a yellow ribbed knit that I bought from Walmart's dollar-a-yard table.

I texted Kat to ask her if yellow was a Preds' color. She responded by saying "Yes...you're making a dress, aren't you?"

What can I say? My best friend knows me well.

I originally planned to use New Look 6722 for it, but I wasn't sure.

I wasted a heck of a lot of time looking at other potential dresses, and whadaya know? This dress from Modcloth (it's not available now; I had saved the image) caught my eye.

So it looks like...if all goes as planned before 5:30pm when I have to leave for Kat's apartment, I'll be rocking a little yellow wrap dress for my first Preds game!

The Procrastinator Proceeds!

So...the wedding is in EIGHT days. Am I ready? Hecka no! Time to get cracking.

The biggest project on my list is my going-away/reception dress. Because is it done? No. Is it in progress? No. Is it started? Hecka no!

So my goal is to finish the dress tonight. Petticoat tomorrow morning. Flower girl dress tomorrow afternoon after work. Rehearsal dress and robe tossed in there somewhere. My goal is to at least be done with all the sewn bits-and-bobs by Sunday morning, so I can move on to other projects.

Shall I succeed? Who knows! I'm just going to keep updating my progress.

Saturday, 5:24pm: Arrive home from work with every intention of getting started, but instead got distracted by packages and a newish episode of Big Time Rush. FAIL.

5:53pm: Get off my butt, change out of my work clothes, and pull out my supplies. Time to get cracking!

6:00pm: I read through the vintage, circa 1956 pattern instructions. It's a size fourteen, so it should fit...right? I mean, that's 2-4 sizes larger than what I usually where. WRONG! It fits a 32" bust. Um. No. That's my sister's size. I'm glad I already bought the fabric for a practice bodice...

7:33pm: Wow. Just wow. After nearly a year of planning for this dress, I realize that this is a NO. GO. Seriously, the test bodice is a hawt tranny mess, to quote Christian Siriano. So now I'm back to square one, searching for an inspiration bodice.

(I would post the test bodice, but it's just too sad.)

When Musicals Eat Your Life (and a Musical Monday!)

Seriously, there is no life but Guys and Dolls. I'm in rehearsals every night- last week it was three hours a night, now it's bumped to four. Gah.

Trunk or Treat was tons of fun. The Swiper costume was a hit!


P made a fabulous nerd. No one was surprised.

Kat and Emma and I also ventured forth to find their bridesmaids dresses, and yea and verily, we were victorious! My five lovely ladies shall be clad accordingly:

Kat:

Lindsay:

Rebecca:
Rose:

Emma:

So now no one will be naked! Huzzah!

And now I am at Guys and Dolls rehearsal. Where I shall be for the next three hours. Please, someone come to Alumni Auditorium and shoot. me. now.

But on the other hand, I've been listening to this song a lot while driving, and I thought I would share the joy. So here is my Musical Monday contribution!



And that concludes today's sporadic and spazzy blog entry. Carry on.

Thursday's Ten!

Before I get started, I guess I should say that the Regency dress is done, done, done! I finished it this morning, a few hours before class, and it fit perfectly and was incredibly comfortable. Success! The presentation also went very well, which pleases me. Now I just have to make a Swiper costume before Sunday and a zombie coat before Halloween...

I have also been named an honorary man in the theater department. When I have my official christening, I shall report the tale (as much as I am permitted).

Other than that...nothing has really been thrilling. Basically life=Guys and Dolls rehearsal.

Wedding stuff has hit a minor plateau. Things have changed a little bit when it comes to vendors- we've decided to have a local bakery do the cake. It's getting a little stressful to balance school/rehearsal/wedding/graduating/life, so I've delegated the vendor search for the big three (cake, photography, and catering) to my dad. He loves that sort of contract stuff. And I...do not. But I'm trying to keep wedding stuff in my wedding blog, so I'll move on. (Although it's been a month since I applied to Weddingbee...and they still haven't answered me! Gah!).

And now on to the Thursday's Ten!

I love what Lora picked for this week. It's all stuff that we would absolutely have to take with us to the next house if we were moving. And since I'm going to be moving with P in five months (finally!), I suppose I should actually think about that.

So here's my list!
#1: My baby blanket. I know, stupid. But I've always had it, for every move, every dorm, every internship. And I'm holding onto it so I can sew it into a coat for my first child. So there.

#2: My Disney box. I have a box filled with all sorts of important things from my two Disney internships- a genuine Great Movie Ride newsie cap, an original Fantasmic! shirt, a handful of 3D glasses, photographs...even a piece of Great Movie Ride carpet. (Is that weird? Yep, that's weird.)

#3: My library. You know how the Beast gives Belle that massive library?

Yeah. I have this.

(This pictures was taken when I was in high school...there are fewer dolls now.)

I actually have shelves that wrap around my room, and they're sagging under the weight of my book collection. I also inherited a complete collection of Shakespeare's works from my grandfather, but I can't put them up because I ran out of room. But I'm already warning P that we have to get a lot of Ikea bookshelves for our apartment, because these babies are coming with me.

(And yes, my room is blue with a red stripe, a purple stripe, and orange shelves. My comforter is sage green, and I have curtains striped in all of those colors. Gotta love it.)

#4: My vintage Alice magazine ad. It's decorated my walls since I was five or six years old.

#5: My reminder box. For my twentieth birthday, P gave me a Willow Creek box filled with tiny pieces of paper. That tiny box is crammed full of reasons that he loves me, and he wrote it so that if I ever doubted that he loved me, I could read it and be assured.

#6: My Beatrice manuscript. When I wrote my novel, I wrote it by hand. Those three hundred sacred pages are coming with me EVERYWHERE, fo' sho'.

#7: My Alice in Wonderland costume. It's the first thing I ever sewed, and I love it. Plus, it's always nice to have a default costume lying around in case, you know, you have to dress up.

#8: A little glass Ariel figure. P bought her for me as a surprise from the Arribas Brothers kiosk in Magic Kingdom, right outside Pirates of the Caribbean. I had been drooling over her for months! She's a nice little mascot.

#9:My sewing machine. I have to downsize my sewing stuff when I move, but Zac Efron has to come with me.

#10: My little television. Because a girl has got to get her CSI fix while the guy plays his video games.

Rush into Regency Part Something-or-Other: It Looks Like a Dress!

Last night I dragged Zac Efron out and started chugging away. The bodices went together surprisingly well, despite how thin the front looks. I lengthened it by about three inches, and ended up cutting off two of them. Most of the reviews of the pattern I've read despair about how this dress doesn't look flattering on curvier girls. I completely disagree. If you look at paintings of women from the time period, they were definitely curvy, and they rocked out those long empire dresses.

(see? see?)

I also sewed the top layer together and hemmed, then pinned it to the bodice. Then I got tired and went to bed, for yea and verily, I am lazy.

So when I got home from classes today, I got back to work (despite the fact that all I wanted to do was take a nap after rehearsal). I finished the lining- including the process of sewing wide pregathered eyelet trim to the hem- and sewed it to the bodice. I also managed to assemble a sleeve (yes, just one sleeve) before I realized it was 6:03 and I hadn't eaten dinner and rehearsal started in less than an hour and AUGH.

So now I'm sitting in the hallway at Guys and Dolls rehearsal, super sleepy and even more super bored, wishing I was asleep. Maybe I'll take a nap after my scene...

Rush into Regency Part II: Why so many pieces?

I have finally cut out all of the pattern pieces. I think I'm going to die.

It took about an hour and a half just to cut the paper pieces. Now I have to align them properly on my (very narrow) cut of muslin and pray I have enough. I have to cut:

-2 bodice fronts
-4 bodice backs
-4 bodice side backs
-2 sleeves
-1 skirt front
-2 skirt backs
-2 skirt side backs

And that doesn't even include the underskirt. I seriously doubt I have enough muslin to do the job, and I have no desire to purchase more. I do have a vast quantity of a dusky lavender sheer, which might do the trick, especially if I lace the back of the dress with lavender ribbon.

Also, I think I know what I'm going to be for Halloween, since now I can't dye my hair back to red and be Ariel until after Guys and Dolls is over.

Um, yes. Hilarity.

Rush Into Regency Part I: AUGH.

While I have several projects going on right now that are nearly done (red corduroy coat, navy Kate Nash dress, plaid open-back dress), everything is going on hold. Why? Because I have ONE WEEK to make a Regency dress.

I've been planning this dress for a while, because this is going to be my prototype for my Giselle dress.

I 've done a lot of dresses with sweetheart necklines (I have been, um, well-blessed), so I was going to do the bodice on my own by building it around a bra. The skirts were confusing me, though. It requires four layers- one pink, two cream, one aqua- but when she stands still, there's very little volume. Yet when she spins, it flares like a mofo. It also, inexplicably, has a train.

I theorized that the skirts were gored (in a pie shape, if you will) and most likely cut on the bias. In order to find the right pattern piece, I purchased Butterick 6630 off of good ol' Ebay.

The skirt is just right, so I'm just going to modify it. But I wanted to do a dry run by sticking exactly to the pattern, because I've never done a skirt quite like this before.

Last week I purchased five or six yards of a nice white muslin (yay for sales!), and the other night I started leisurely cutting out pattern pieces. I figured I have plenty of time. I wanted to wear it for an English novel project (since we're doing it on Emma), but I thought there would be time.

Oh, no. That's due in a week. And since I'm dressing up as Jane Austen, and naked is not an option, I have to start and complete this project by Thursday.

Oy.

When I get home from rehearsal, I'm breaking out the scissors. I expect it'll take about two to three hours just to cut the pattern and the fabric for this son of a biscuit eater.

Double oy.

When stuff changes

After all my bemoaning about skipping a day of blogging, I didn't blog yesterday either! I need to fix this. Now that I have my wedding-only blog, I got a little distracted...

I've been sending out a lot of Facebook messages, getting other people on the same page as me when it comes to wedding stuff. Especially the bridesmaids dresses! Naked is not a good option. I'm secretly hoping that all of them will fall in love with this dress as much as I have:

Gah. I love that dress. And it fits the feel of the wedding really really well!

Oh, well. We'll figure something out.

In other dress-related news, I've think I'm going to go with a different dress for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Originally, I picked out this one:
I picked it for the sole reason of the pickups. I thought "Hey, I'm too short for a gown with pickups. I'll just put them on my rehearsal dress!"

Lo and behold, my dress has pickups! And in the meantime, I have a new dress on my "if-I-could-afford-any-wedding-gown-ever" list: Christos's Bella.

Oh mah gah. It's gorgeous. I could eat it.

(Not really. I'm probably allergic.)

I think I'm just going to recreate a shorter version of this dress for the rehearsal, probably by Frankensteining. My sister has this pattern, so I'll use this for the bodice:
Form the looks of it, the dress is simply layered square skirts, to create the handkerchief hems. It'll take a heck of a lot of organza, but it'll be gorgeous! Pair it with pretty ballet flats and a flower in my hair, and I will be a happy camper.

I've also been considering the weather. I mean, March in Nashville can be either gorgeous and sunny, or freezing and gross! I'll need a coat. But not just any coat. This coat has to go over my wedding dress (and probably my rehearsal dress as well). So to cover up, stay warm, and match my theme, I'm going to make this:
"But how does it match the theme?" you ask.

This is from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland film, which (coincidentally) is coming out a week before the wedding.

Nerdy, isn't it? But it's a pretty, classy coat, and it's an Alice reference that most people probably won't get. But I will, and I will be happy.

My version will probably fasten with pearl buttons rather than self-fabric, and it'll be shorter, most likely based off of this pattern:
I can manage that, I think.

In real life news...well, life goes on. Guys and Dolls is crawling along at a snail's pace. I'm actually kind of relieved to have a smaller featured part rather than to be an ensemble member. Everyone else has to be at rehearsal every day...but tonight is my first rehearsal for the week! It's nice to have time to work on wedding stuff, rather than killing myself in the theater every night.

Fall break is this weekend. Will I be there? Nope. Rehearsal on Friday, load-in on Saturday. But hopefully on Saturday afternoon, P and I can go see the Toy Story double feature. Because I love those movies, for serious. And I wouldn't feel like a real cast member if I didn't go to see it.

Why the past few days have been awesome, and why I shall explode before two weeks are out

Wednesday
-I FINALLY got to hang out with Kat, Emma, and Rose. Seriously. Hasn't happened in forever.

Thursday
-P took me on a picnic!

-P took me out for ice cream

-P took me shopping!!

-While shopping I got new sandals (with 3" heels!), new flipflops, a new white dress, new lip gloss, and new skivvies! Seriously, hit up Aerie. It's a good time. (Was this too much information? Sorry...)

-I got so excited about my new stuff that I ran to Kat's room to show her...we ended up just chilling out together for a couple of hours. She commented that it was just like old times.

Friday
-Did pretty much nothing. Then I cleaned for a while.

Saturday
-World Lit I exam. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be. Hallelujah!

-I got two bags of sour gummie bears because the cashier girl in the school food court wasn't trying to gyp me like everybody else.

-I got free Panera. Including a cinnamon crunch bagel and some kind of chocolate praline cake.

-Mike the Almighty Director played my demo reel in Voice and Diction class as an example of a good one. Also, I have A's on all of my assignments for that class.

-I found out that not only am I presenting the underclassmen awards at the theater banquet, I'm making them. I immediately texted Kat that THERE WAZ A CRAFTING EMERGENCY.

-I called my mom to tell her that I would have to miss Lindsay's senior banquet because it's the same time as the theater banquet, and we ended up chatting for an hour. Let me tell you, that's not something that I ever thought would happen when I was a kid.

-Kat (after finishing an exam) saved my life and took me to Michaels, where I bought crafting supplies to make awards.

-Because of the humidity, the paint won't dry, so I resorted to sewing my dress and stopping to add a new coat of paint every two hours.

-My machine needle broke. I went to bed.

RIGHT NOW!
-I am sitting at work, wishing I was working on projects that need to be finished. I don't think I can make it to church...eighteen or so awards need to be completed!! And my dress too!

-I have to finish the awards.

-I have to finish my dress.

-Lindsay's last chorus performance is at 3:30.

-The banquet is at 6pm.

TOMORROW
-I have to write six essays for my History of Theater exam.

-I have to work on the Death of a Salesman protocol (which is going to kill me).

-I have to pack.

TUESDAY
-Marriage and the Christian Home exam.

-Packing.

-DOAS protocol.

WEDNESDAY
-Script Analysis final meeting

-Finish packing.

THURSDAY
-Physics exam (at $*&#@ 8am!!!!)

-Move most of the way home

-Unpack.

FRIDAY
-Finish moving out

-Start packing for Disney

SATURDAY
-Star Trek and possibly Ren Fest...this is most likely the last big friend outing I'll have before I leave!

SUNDAY
-Um...something is happening. I just can't remember what it is. It's definitely my last Sunday before I leave for Disney.

OTHER THINGS TO DO IN THE WEEK BEFORE I LEAVE:
-Go to two different bridal shops to look for my gown and the girls' dresses.

-Get my license.

-Get my hair cut and redye it.

-Go to two doctor appointments.

-Spend as much time with P as possible.

-Deal with my dad's side of the family coming in for Lindsay's graduation.

-Go to Lindsay's graduation and get mentally prepared for her 18th birthday.

-And, oh yeah, move to Orlando for the Disney College Program.

Yeah. So that's why my updates are few and far between, and probably will be until I'm settled in Orlando. I'm glad I'm doing it and I'm grateful to get in, but seriously. I am going to die from exhaustion. "Caitlin was near death, but the doctor was able to help." (That's an Oregon Trail joke.) So did I miss anything?

Oh, yeah.

I AM GENERAL CARWRIGHT IN GUYS AND DOLLS AND MIRIAM IN BEAU JEST!!! TWO PARTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am thrilled to little bits and pieces. Sure, it's not Adelaide, but what am I going to do? Throw hissy fits because I didn't get the exact part I wanted? I went a whole year without being in a mainstage production. Now I'm in three in one semester (I'm also still playing Missy in the pig show). It's going to be awesome. I'll blog more about that later, but for right now, yeah.

Now it's time to paint some spoons.

PET PEEVES

I hate it when people make unnecessary slurping noises.

Like the girl sitting down the row from me in the computer lab.

I'm going to leave.

It's annoying.

Plus I have sewing projects:

-a blue and white gingham dress

-a retro floral A-line dress

-a 1950s party dress

-a precious lil apron

PEOPLE WHO SLURP UNNECESSARILY SHOULD BE SHOT.

I mean, she's not even eating or drinking anything. She's just slurping.

D-day! (dress day)

That's right! Today is the first day of dress searching!

To be honest, I'm a little nervous. I mean, this is a BIG DEAL. It has to be "the one"...and it has to be the right price. Plus, I always get anxious about trying on clothes. So this could potentially be really interesting...

Last night was a ton o' fun. P and I headed over to hang with Lora and Anthony for St. Patrick's Day. She made shepherd's pie, and I brought Irish soda bread and vanilla chocolate chip cake (I was on a baking frenzy), and there was green beverages (with awesome cups and straws!) to be had. Then we watched Baby Mama and some Will Ferrell goodness while we played hand and foot (which Lora and I DOMINATED at. Seriously. It was spectacular).

And do you know what else is spectacular? The adorable pink gingham dress I got at Target for $21.99.

Seriously, how cute? It's the first dress I've purchased, rather than made, in probably a year. But on the downside, I did not find a single pair of shoes that I just loved. How sad is that? Oh, well. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow.

OH AND BY THE WAY...

P has his own blog. It's so nerdy and awesome. ^_^

Thanksgiving...is already over.

Thanksgiving was fun. I went to P's house this year- last year he came with me to my grandparents' house, so I figured I should return the favor. I had a lot of fun...I was just so sleepy! But P and I won the game of hand and foot, so it was all good. ^_^ And I baked- spicy apple pie, pound cake, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread. Mm...

And then I got up at 7:30 this morning and went back to sewing.

I cut, sewed, and finished a dress in about 2 hours, which is nice, but the bodice for Ariel's blue dress is taking FOREVER. I expected that, especially since I'm being persnickety and understitching all of the seams, but still. Bored and frustrated. I'm probably going to move on to something more exciting in a moment. You can tell I'm bored, because I'm blogging instead of sewing. Still, though, I have a lot of work before I can take a long break and feel good about it. Oh, well.

I'm also trying to figure out how to use up my fabric scraps. I have a bin about 3' deep and 5' long that's FILLED with fabric scraps. I'm thinking about selling doll clothes online. But there's a lot of makers of American Girl doll clothes online. I think the trick is to specialize. Like Disney doll outfits, or storybook characters. Yeah. Maybe I'll try that.

I've also been revisiting my childhood today. I've watched Sleeping Beauty, the live-action Peter Pan, and Mary Poppins. Oh, good times.

Working like a maniac...but it's so much fun!

Sewing sewing sewing sewing...my Thanksgiving break will be spent in quality time with my sister's sewing machine. (His name is Corbin Blue...and while I love my little Zac Efron Singer machine, Corbin is sooo much nicer!)

I have to make:
Alterations to the four costume pieces for the scene I'm directing for Shorts!

Meg's outfit from Hercules

A pinafore for my Alice in Wonderland costume

Ariel's blue dress from The Little Mermaid

A petticoat for a Cinderella costume

A blue knit dress for the December 5th show

A floral corduroy jumper for the December 6th show

And I might also make an Aladdin costume. And a Hercules costume. But at least I get to sew, which I haven't gotten to do much of lately, so this should tide me over till I'm home for Christmas. But yeah. I will probably blog more on my sewing blog than here, but I'll try to post some here too.

And in other news...

I didn't get the Barefoot role. Hence the hiatus. I had to sulk and get it out of my system. I still don't really want to talk about it, because I got majorly screwed over (and that's not just me being sulky), but hopefully I'll be completely over it soon.

P is working 23 hours this week. I will see him...well, much less than 23 hours. But hey, he'll get money, and we can save money for the whole "we're-getting-married" thing.

Speaking of which, our registry is up and booming! We're still adding stuff, but we're off to a good start. So far we're registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Target, but we're also registered here. The site lets you register for items anywhere on the internet...which means my Corelle dishes are up there. And if Santa doesn't bring me my dream bicycle for Christmas...it's so going on the registry. I can dream, can't I?

But in any case...I have sewing to do and Arrested Development to watch.

Also...Lora, I'm so glad someone reads this. It makes me feel my life is not completely futile. ^_^