Mina's Easter dress!

Last year I made two Easter dresses for Mina AND a bonnet.  This year I unintentionally kept up the two dress tradition but only one is actually useful.

As with all of my projects I started out with a few sketches.  I had a few ideas that turned into three dress designs.

Then I did what any modern person would do, I posted the picture on Instagram and asked for opinions. The first and third dresses were pretty similar to dresses I had designed in the past.  I think that is why the shirt dress got the most votes.

It had been a little while since I had built something for Mina so I took her measurements and made a sloper.  I'm glad I did because it was kind of messed up.  It really didn't help that she was so wiggly when I was trying to fit her!

I made the pattern, serged the pieces and was feeling pretty good about my progress.

 I felt so good that I put the button holes in and sewed buttons.

 It didn't fit.  The shoulder seams were in the wrong place, the sleeves were oddly tight, the collar wasn't the right size, the skirt wasn't full enough and the lapel wasn't laying flat.  It was not a happy thing to discover on Thursday night.

I had a Stake training for Primary so I held off on the alterations until Friday.  I wanted to sleep on it and decide how to proceed in the morning.  I altered the pattern and cut out the new dress during Mina's nap time.  Some how I had this much done by Friday night:

I waited to open the last button hole until I tried the dress on Mina.  I wasn't sure about the length and I was pretty gun shy after the first disaster.  Luckily it fit and after a very busy Saturday I had it ready before I went to bed.

I even had time to make chocolate covered peanut butter eggs!  

Sure, they aren't pretty but since when does CHOCOLATE need to be overly pretty?

 Easter morning rolled around and Mina seemed pretty happy to find her basket.

I didn't get a decent picture before church so I put a bib on Mina and hoped she would leave it on during nursery.  Imagine my delight when I saw that SHE KEPT IT ON! HER DRESS WAS NOT COVERED IN NURSERY TREATS!

Then it was time to attempt to take a decent picture of Mina in her dress.

She would not hold still.

Or smile.

Or look at me.

 Or hold still.
So, I asked James to entertain her.

She was smiling at James who was playing with her swing.

Our little girl is growing up entirely too fast.

Midsummer Photos part deux

I've been working on my Plan B report (thesis) and I came across my Midsummer production photos.  I don't think I shared these last time I posted them so I'm sharing them now.

Fairy girls and boys cavorting

Oberon and Titania, together again among the stars

The cast with the Mechanicals in their "play" costumes

My friend Felicia looks hilarious in this picture (she's the red head)

It was a lot of work to paint all of the silk for the fairy girl costumes but it was SO WORTH IT!

The mechanicals and the fairies

On a side note, I'm really loving the new options for photos on blogger.  It's really great to be able to have them take up the whole of the page.  Such choices!

And yes, I AM procrastinating!

Turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese...

I sat on the floor of my room doing something I used to do as a kid: sit really close to the heating vent. Granted, when I was a kid I would drape a blanket over it as well but it was warm enough without one. I don't know how the situation could have gotten better, 30 Rock, polka dot pajamas, and the heating vent.



I felt like I needed that at the end of today, we got a lot done in the shop. However, before I got to the shop I snapped the following colorful pictures:

I think this was some kid's homework from the elementary school. I loved the pattern the bleeding colors created!

Apparently the walls in the theatre department were this color once upon a time:

Sheesh! I'm actually glad for the boring white walls!

Our last show of the semester is quickly approaching, we go into dress rehearsal on MONDAY before breaking for Thanksgiving and then picking up with more dress rehearsals. It was my pleasure to work with one version of the main character, Issun.
Your eyes do not decieve you, this is a PUPPET! Little Issun is wearing a preliminary costume called a mock-up, it helps us to see if the costume is going to work based on the pattern. We use cheap fabric such as muslin rather than using the "real" or fashion fabric. It was a good thing that I made a mock-up because the sleeves were too short and the pants were waaaay too long. I also needed to know where the mechanical elements were going to be attached.

This is a view of the puppet and the pattern pieces. After I took this picture I made marks on the mock-up and then took the mock-up apart so the altered pieces could become the pattern pieces for the final version.

We use "high-tech" materials in the costume shop such as scotch tape. It is VERY technical.And the finished product! The fabric is actually a scaled down version of the pattern used on the actor's costume. A photo of the pattern was scanned into PhotoShop, scaled down, printed on heat transfer paper and ironed on to muslin. It's really cool!

In addition to working on the costumes I've also been helping with the wigs for the show. I'm not sure how authentic they are but I'm pleased with the results!

Come see Issun Boshi, December 1st-5th at Utah State University!

Typical!

I decided to come home for the weekend, right before finals. I wanted to see family and have a break from Logan. I also needed a haircut and my favorite hairdresser is located in, you guessed it, Kaysville. During my appointment we talked about theatre and she asked if I was going to see "Wicked." I told her I probably wasn't because it's expensive and I am a grad student. Imagine my surprise when my cell phone rang an hour or so later and my aunt invited me to see "Wicked." It was AMAZING! I only had my cell phone so enjoy the sort of awful picture quality. I'm so lucky!!! Thanks John and Kathryn!!!!

The Museum!

I went to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts with my parents today and it was wonderful! I love art...and the food at the Lion House.
That's all.