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.)

Now that I have time to blog! (and Musical Monday)

OH MY GOSH I HAVE NOT BLOGGED IN DECADES.

Seriously.

In all fairness, though, life has been terribly busy. Guys and Dolls wrapped, we went through Wolf Calls and Pig Tails, and oh, yeah, I had to make twelve dresses and four pairs of knee britches in the span of two and a half weeks. I just about exploded.

But I'm back now, happily celebrating the one-year anniversary of my blog! But right now, I'm too sleepy to really talk much. So I leave you with my Musical Monday, which brings back memories of my parents on Christmas. I hope it makes you giggle like a small precocious schoolgirl.

The story of a costume

Sunday, October 17: Find out I need to make a costume so I can be Swiper from Dora the Explorer for Trunk or Treat at church. I immediately run out and buy $15 worth of costume velvet and thread.

Over the next week: I deliberate over the design of the costume before deciding to dig out good ol' Simplicity 2942 from my stash. However, because of a STUPID REGENCY DRESS and nightly rehearsals, I don't get around to it.

Saturday, October 24: I finally get started.

4:21 pm: I dig out the pattern (no, literally, I have to dig) and sort the pieces while watching an umpteenth episode of Wizards of Waverly Place.

4:34 pm: After finding all the pieces, I lay out the fabric, pin, and cut. (This is my least favorite part of sewing...)

5:10 pm: Gah, I hate pinning and cutting. It took me this long!! But c'est la vie. The rest of this dress should go a lot faster. I'll check back in an hour... (Also, I switched to watching Hocus Pocus on ABC Family.)

6:10 pm: The bodice is complete, and I've started working on the pockets. I'm thinking about eliminating them, though, because I think it's going to make the skirt sag too much. I think I'll just skip ahead to the next step.

7:49 pm: The front skirt is doing just fine...but I took a break to eat dinner. Because food is awesome and stuff. Also, the Wizards of Waverly Place movie is on...

9:04 pm: A lot more progress. The back is faced, the ties are sewn, and both hem ruffles are pinned (but only one is sewn). The Wizards movie is over; now I'm watching the end of The Goonies.

10:01 pm: STUPID SEWING MACHINE. I have made little progress. But I went from the Goonies to King of the Hill to Project Runway.

11:02 pm: The dress is almost done- it's just a matter of attaching the sleeves. Looking for something else to watch. Snacking on a mini KitKat bar to stay awake. Also waiting for P to call.

11:37 pm: Both sleeves are attached and the dress is complete! On to the mask and gloves. (Also, P called.)

12:06 am: I realized that I have no pattern, nor any clue as to how to construct a mask. I dug around through some boxes and unearthed a pair of goggles.

12:32 am: The mask is okay. I'm not thrilled about it, but it'll work. However, I'm completely daunted by the idea of sewing a pair of gloves.

12:40 am: I gave up on the mask for the moment and went searching through the downstairs hall closet for a pair of purple gloves. I found one. As in one glove.

12:55 am: I said "screw it, I'm going to bed."

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 III: Mm, muslin!

Who knew muslin was this amazing? I'm really happy with it. I've sewed with some crappy cheap fabrics before, but this muslin has such a delicious weight to it. It's going to be just the right fabric for this project. Very happy about that.

I'm not so happy about the fact that I forgot to compensate for the fabric I would need for the lining. I didn't get nearly enough muslin for the dress and the lining. So I'm compensating by making the lining about six inches shorter than the gown. I'll probably trim it with eyelet, just to make it longer (and make it secretly prettier).

I need to cut the skirt lining panels (two back and two side back), one more bodice, and the sleeves. But I am just way too tired to deal with it right now. So I shan't.

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.

Just an everyday bride

If all had gone as planned, I would be rocking out at a Relient K concert with Kat. But I have a mild but nevertheless obnoxious case of the flu. So instead of shouting the lyrics of "Sadie Hawkins Dance" at the top of my lungs (do they even still play that one? I feel so old...), I am curled up in my bed with a Sprite-and-cranberry juice cocktail, watching Fox's Animation Domination block and cruising Weddingbee.

Despite my blah-ness, P came over after church so we could work on wedding-related stuff. I wasn't terribly up for it, but P was willing to drive and carry all the stuff I pointed out.

We went on a field trip. Not a very exciting one, but first we traveled to Michaels to pick up two more boxes of invitations. Not only were the invitations marked down to $29.99 from $39.99, but I got one of the boxes for 50% off with a coupon! Fifteen dollars for thirty invitations? Yes, please.

I also picked up ribbon to wrap around the stems of my bouquet. Originally I wanted to get velvet ribbon, just because I am totally in love with texture, but it's just not practical. Light blue velvet ribbon with a 2" width is just not malleable enough to wrap around stems, and it's hard to find it in a wide width, anyways. The ribbon I picked up is a satin stripe- so there's still texture, just different.

After Michaels in 100 Oaks, we headed over to JoAnn's. I had picked out the lace fabric that I wanted to use for my going-away dress the last time I was there, but I wanted to wait until it was A) on sale, or B) I could use my 50% off coupon. Turns out the fabric was on sale, so I picked up four yards for $9.09 instead of $12.99 per yard. It's an absolutely beautiful diamond white organza striped in a floral lace pattern. It also fulfills one of my big critera- instead of selvage edges, it's finished in a lace pattern. Sold!

I still need to buy everything else to create the dress, but I have plenty of time, since I'm not planning to actually sew it until February. I'm still losing weight, and I don't want to start now, lose a lot of weight, and then drag around an ill-fitting dress during the reception. Besides, I have to make a muslin mockup of the bodice. So yeah. Plenty of time to buy the rest of the supplies.

Then I splurged.

P told me I was fine, that I've been planning for this for a super long time and he was fine with me spending the money. And as much as I dislike spending money, I'm super excited about this, my newest large-scale costuming project.

*drool*

I have been in LOVE with that dress since Enchanted first premiered, and it took me almost two years to find just the right fabric. It's still not perfect, but I definitely won't find anything better. I snatched up five yards of the stuff back in the spring. Today I splurged and bought the rest of the supplies (except for the four yards of cream organza I need for the two underskirts).

I felt as guilty as sin as I slunk away from JoAnn's with my bags of loot. (Did I also mention I bought five yards of white muslin? It was only $1.49 a yard...). P kept telling me it was all right, but I still wasn't confident.

Oh, well. The purchase was made and P took me home. (And he picked up a peanut butter fudge milkshake from Sonic for me too...I love that man.) We were going to hash out a whole bunch of wedding stuff, but I just wasn't up to it. Instead, we had a laptop party. Basically, we sat on my bed and watched Nickelodeon and worked on our laptops. He worked on some Microsoft 7 training stuff, I worked on wedding stuff.

I know, right? We're so boring. But hey, that's what happens.

Before he left, we went over our rough guest list. It's changed a bit over the past few years of our engagement (beginning with the fact that he couldn't remember the last names of several of his relatives!) and I wanted to make sure everything was still good on his end. He studied it for a bit, and declared that it looked good to him.

So now I've been recalibrating the guest list. Not terribly exciting, but it needs to be done. And when it's done, we can work on actually printing those pretty invitations!

But now it's bedtime. Just another end to another day in the life of an everyday bride.

Bluebird of happiness nightgown (and skivvies!)

FRANNIE
Pattern: None
Fabrics Used: knit print, knit cream solid
Made: September 2009
Time: About three or four hours (including embroidery)
Cost: Free!
Made for: Fabric scrap recycling

When I finished my yoga bag, I still had plenty of fabric left. I knew a dress was out, because P hates the fabric and he would tease me unmercifully if I wore it out in public. Ergo, I made a nightgown. Because then I can wear (in five months) in the privacy of our apartment and tease him about "Ha ha, I'm wearing the fabric you hate!".

There wasn't enough bird fabric to make the entire nightie out of it, so I dug a length of cream knit out of my stash for the skirt.

The bodice was shaped from an old tee shirt that I sacrificed for the express purpose of making a pattern. The buttons came from the tab tops of an old set of P's curtains. And it was supposed to have cap sleeves and a patch pocket, but El Padre "helped" me clean and threw away the pieces.

"But wait," you say, "you mentioned skivvies! Where are the skivvies?"

They look rather awkward in this picture, but I can't help but love them. But wait! There's more!
Who doesn't want to have precious embroidery on their bums? Certainly not me!

This was my first attempt at skivvies. I cut apart a pair of Hanes to make the pattern. They're a pretty comfy fit, but all the same, I don't think I'll ever make a habit of making all my skivvies.

The theater life

As I write this, I am sitting on the floor in front of my dressing room, sipping a Juice RockStar and reading MLIA (and blogging, obviously). Why, do you ask? My dressing room is locked. I need to curl my hair, but it's locked. Sadness.

It's the second-to-last show of Beau Jest, and I'm terribly bummed. It's been such a great show that I hate to say goodbye to it and all the people I got to hang out with for the last two months. I almost wish we would add more shows just so I could keep going. But alas, we cannot.

Kat (my bestie/roomie/MOH) is coming to see me tonight!! I am thrilled beyond words. I was so afraid that none of my close friends were going to see me. But she's coming! I have to sneak her in because the show is SOLD OUT for tonight, but it shall be a successful mission. Mostly because my director okayed it. (Not nearly as cool as a devious ninja mission, but still, I'm happy.)

Tomorrow is the cast party at my house. There shall be Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, and lukshen kugel, which looks like it's going to be disgusting. But I spend the whole show talking about how I make amazing lukshen kugel, and I figured I'd better make it at some point. What better time than the cast party?

P is spending the day with me tomorrow (cast party, final show, and all!), and then on Sunday afternoon we are Weddinging It Up. This means several things:

-sorting through wedding files

-purchasing our invitations

-perusing artificial flowers

-and monitoring my fabric purchases

All right, so the fabric is actually going to be for my colonial gown project for History of Costume, my Regency-era protoype, and most likely some of the supplies for my Giselle dress, but I'm also going to get what I need for the dress I'm going to wear at my lingerie shower. It's Vogue 8360, and it's typically used for a prom or wedding dress, apparently, but I'm going to make it out a super soft pale blue knit, trim it with lace, and wear it for day #2 of the party.

But it's time to go get ready. Time for the second-to-last show!

Wardrobe Overhaul

I've decided to go through my entire wardrobe and purge it mercilessly.

(What a way to begin an entry, eh?)

My wardrobe is just so weird. I mean, my clothes fall into five different categories:

-Items I've had since middle school and high school and I've kept just because I haven't outgrown them.

-Items I bought on the spur of the moment, and I've never had the chance to wear.

-Items I bought because they were cheap. And only because they were cheap.

-Items I made.

-Items that I wear to death, and they're now falling apart and pilling and gross.

Plus, most of the stuff I wear either A) makes my boobs look huge, or B) makes me look like a six-year-old. Or a six-year-old with big boobs, which is very unsettling and I don't want to think about it at all.

P tends to give me very sensible fashion advice, but sometimes I just don't pay any heed to it. My mom isn't that great giving me tips (they mostly say something like "cover up your boobs!") and my sister is in her "artsy college freshman" stage, so I can't really get much fashion tippage there.

So, I mostly look online for my inspiration.

Sally at Already Pretty:
She has a lot of really good advice, both about your clothing and how it relates to you as a person. Plus, she's funny!

Zooey Deschanel:
She's very retro and fun and quirky. Have you seen the coat she wears in Yes Man? The movie's just all right, but that coat...that coat trimmed in bias tape...it's glorious! And I'd love to have her hair. At the moment I've got the color (just not for much longer).

Kate Nash:
She's my all-time favorite singer. And she's British. And she plays the guitar, plays the piano, and writes her own music. So in short, she's fantastic. That, and I don't know if I've ever seen that girl wear pants. She wears the absolute cutest dresses!

She's also really close to my body type, so I can definitely copy her styles without too much trepidation. And I've actually had her haircut before, and it looks really cute on me. I just don't have a picture of it...

The Pipettes:
It's another awesome British singer!...er, group. The three girls- RiotBecki, Rosay, and Gwenno- wear supercute retro clothes. And again, I want Rosay's hair (she's the brunette in the middle). Sadly, Riotbecki and Rosay left the group for solo careers, but they're still amazingly awesome. (And their backup dancers are three guys called the Casettes. I want one.)

Modcloth/Modlife:
It's an absolutely great website with classy retro clothing...and they show you how real people have put it together!

So this is rather rambly post, but I hope it makes sense. I'm ready to be a married lady instead of a little college girl, and I need to dress like one.

Hopefully I'll succeed. :)

Yoga Bag

YOGA BAG
Pattern: McCall's 4261
Fabrics Used: knit print, light green fleece
Made: September 2009
Time: About an hour and a half
Cost: About $12.00
Made for: Fitness Yoga class

I'm taking Fitness Yoga at school, and I needed a yoga mat. Did you know how expensive yoga gear can be? I found a cheap bright pink mat, but I wasn't about to pay $25 for a canvas bag...especially when I knew I had a pattern lying around that I could use.

The fabric was on sale at JoAnn's. I love love love this print...even though Patrick hates it. I also purchased cording and a button (well, two buttons, but I only used one). When I got home, however, I realized that I didn't like how thin the bag would end up. I wanted something a bit sturdier. Luckily, I remembered that I had a vast quantity of light green fleece lying around, so I used it to make a backing.

The main modification I did (besides the backing) was to make a strap using the knit on one side and the fleece on the other rather than using a length of webbing. I thought it was prettier...plus I forgot to buy the webbing. But it worked.

I also didn't add the velcro closure on the pocket. I'm not a fan of velcro, plus I don't feel like I'll be putting enough stuff in the pocket to merit adding it. So the button is just there to be pretty.

Something you'll discover as I post more sewing projects is that I hate interfacing. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I avoid it as much as possible. Therefore, there was no interfacing used in this project. I just used the fleece backing to stiffen the bottom of the bag.

Also, I sewed it with pink thread. I thought that pink topstitching added a nice touch.

What I should have done was measure the length of my mat. There's a good four to six inches of bag that closes over the mat. If I make this pattern again, I'll measure the bag so that it just closes over the top, rather than having all that extra.

So far, it works really well. It's sturdy but lightweight, and super soft. Plus I think that print is super cute.

Aaaand...things are looking up.

So yeah. Gap in blogging.

It's all good, though. 'Sall good.

As you've probably noticed, there's been a revamp of the blog layout. I got tired of the old one...and the old name. Thus, my blog has received its fourth name change. Good job, blog. Good job. I'm still working the bugs out, though, so bear with me.

I'm working on transferring the meager contents of my sewing blog onto this one. Goodness knows I have enough trouble updating one blog, much less two. So be prepared for blathering about sewing projects showing up on here.

Rehearsals for Beau Jest are progressing really nicely...which is a good thing, because the show opens in two weeks. Two weeks! Yikes. Oh, well. It's going to be fun. And do you know what else is fun? Dying my hair super super dark chocolatey brown for the show, because I need to look like Erin's mother, and goodness knows my hair isn't nearly as dark as hers.

(I've used the phrase "goodness knows" twice in the past two paragraphs. How old school am I?)

Oh, well.

I've got some sewing projects to work on, so get ready! I'll post them as soon as I can.

Whuch means that could be anytime in the next three months. Who knows?

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.

A week in review

Why is it I can always think of fascinating things to blog about when I'm NOT at a computer.

Oh, well.

Things have been going well on the Muffin Topple front. The focus on my eating habits has been mostly on eliminating white food- bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes. Which (except for rice) are all on my favorites list. It's been difficult, but I've been making it. And the exercise front is doing even better. I've worked out with Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred every day since Sunday, and I can actually see a semblance of a difference! It's tough as anything, but I solve the problem by making the workout part of my going-to-bed routine, so that, #1: I don't avoid working out, and #2: I can immediately collapse for several hours and not feel like a lazy slacker.

And to make everything even more worthwhile, two complete strangers on campus commented on how cute I looked, and several of my friend commented as well. One even said she could tell I lost weight!

Ego points for the win.

I've also been watching Ouran High School Host Club. Oh, man. I forgot how much I loved it! I used to be a big anime fan, but a couple years ago I got completely sick of it, partially because a girl I hung around with talked about anime and cosplay way too much, and it became a painful reminder of the fact that the girl was taking my best friend away. *cough* All right, enough with the emo. Since that girl went away, and things between me and my BFF are so much better, I am finally at the point where I can enjoy anime again. And seriously, Ouran is amazing. It's fluffy and funny and pretty and I DESPERATELY NEED TO PURCHASE IT BEFORE I LEAVE FOR ORLANDO.

The good news: I've been sewing like a fiend lately.

The bad news: I haven't photographed any of it.

Sad, right? Hopefully I can fix that. Especially the 1964 dress that I made for tonight, with vintage floral fabric. So cute!

Speaking of adorable dresses, hopefully I'll have one for tomorrow. P and I are FINALLY taking our engagement pictures. We've been engaged for nearly two years on the dot (April 19, 2007), and we've never taken pictures. Oh, well. They'll be awesome.

So yeah. That's what's up right now!

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.