Monkey - shines

I have been thinking about those monkeys.....sock monkeys that I made for the "grands" for Christmas.

These three now live with Emma, Laura, and Katie-Abigail. I hope they are being good for their owners!



Russell, the wrestler, is worrying me!

He picked a fight with Charley's monkey while I was trying to take their photo!

Russell is now on an "under cover" mission some where in the Carolinas, we don't know exactly where.
I did have a chance to tell him "good bye" and "BE GOOD"
as he was leaving.

Annie is still waiting to find out what her next assignment will be.  She doesn't talk much, but I think she contemplates deeply.

It looks like there might be some more sock monkeys in my future!

Obi .....when?

I am often asked to help with costume pieces... or even entire wardrobes!  So when Joanne asked for help with Savannah's costume for MIKADO I said "Sure, you just want a sash."

Here is the kimono that was bought in Japan for her.

Lovely, but the director wants the principle actors to "Pop"... so she needs an awesome Obi...
this one was lent as a possibility...

photo by Joanne

It fit Savannah, but it really clashed with the lavender and blue of her kimono.

OK, I can recreate that in another color.... I have all month to do it ... right??

Wrong..... I made one too many assumptions.... it is Monday and the Obi is needed on Thursday... of THIS week!  It is a good thing I did not have a Tuesday morning sewing student!

This is the result...

I heard that she wore a gold flower in her hair! 

I hope to post photos of Savannah after the production.

and here she is!



photo by Joanne

edited to add photo of Savannah in her costume

What's Important?

<sup>Matthew 6




25</sup> “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

photo by Abi

²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 

<sup>Not exactly lilies of the field... they are violets of my back yard... lovely today, and gone the next time hubby mows the grass.


30</sup> But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,and all these things will be added to you.

 ³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

My Creator, my God, has made me and given me the skills that I use to design and complete any thing that I make. I can sew a pretty dress, but HE is the ONE who makes all things grow!

He created cotton plants, and wooly lambs, and silk worms and mulberry leaves to feed them... and HE gave mankind knowledge to invent spinning wheels to make yarns and looms to make cloth.

He is the Master Weaver of all history - including all my days.

Finished costume

The deadline was fast approaching!  This garment must be ready for the dress rehearsal, no more time for photography of each step along the way!
see the beginning here

see the process up to this point here


A black satin underskirt and a borrowed, white chemise complete the costume.

The back of the billowing coat has been reduced to conform to the shape of our actress.

The hem has been raised in the front only; to prevent trips on stage yet leave a little bit of a train in back.

And here she is.....

along with two handsome gents who were also clothed with my help.

De-construction of the coat

Once the decision was made to go with restructuring  the coat into a dress...
I tore into my work with gusto!

 

 Off with that ugly, floppy collar!

Off with the sleeves - but gently, they will be needed later.

Off with those clownish, ruffled cuffs; open up that sleeve!

Much better!

With a new lining and a new angle this sleeve will be just right!

But it is still too big all around.

Princess seams! With a transition from seam to pleat, this is the perfect place to take in the bodice with out reducing the skirt.

And we need a "Shakespearean" neck line.

And a little boning so we can lace up the front.











I think this is going to work out after all!

Costume challenge

Last year, about this time, my friend Joanne asked for help with Jennie's costume for her role in Taming of the Shrew. The dress provided by the director did not fit well, and the dress I borrowed for her did not fit at all.

 The one resource available was this Opera Coat, purchased at a thrift store!

Stunning, stage-worthy fabric... but it looked like a clown-coat.

The only thing Jennie liked about it was the fact that it was long enough to drag on the floor behind her.

So what can we do with this in only about a week??

Learning new tricks - blogging!

I have been thinking about joining the ranks of bloggers..... well.... once in a while I think about it.
Now I have a reason to write. I will be test sewing vintage patterns for the 1912 project at Vintage Patterns Lending Library; photos and comments to be posted here.  You are welcome to follow along as I learn to blog and as I use my sewing skills in a new (old) fashion era.

test post

this is a test post, if this had been a real post ,there would be something interesting to read!
For instructions to make sock monkies click this link:
sock-monkey-tutorial.html