Thursday, September 18, 2008

It's that time again

The local theater company is gearing up for its new season (Kafka's The Trial, which I read in high school and am probably still recovering from), and at this point I'm making two dresses. Thankfully, I can do both from the same pattern using different versions.

Right now what I'm looking forward to is getting together on Sunday with the actress who will be wearing both dresses - she lives around the corner from me and would be very accessible if only she didn't have rehearsal 5 nights a week.

So this is the dress: the first one will be version A, in a sky blue cotton with white rickrack trim and pockets. This is for the ingenue character. BTW, the play is set in the 1930s, so I think the general lines of the dress will work well.

The second version is meant to be a uniform, and will have a round neck, long sleeves and a narrower skirt. It's going to be olive-greenish (it's a court uniform but I'm assuming the idea is vaguely military) and it's actually supposed to button on one side, but since it's a stage costume and won't be looked at closely, I'm going to just extend the princess seam to the shoulder on both sides, add binding to the side that's supposed to be the opening, and add buttons. It's probably not the best solution, but with limited time and budget, and having worked out the fit already on the first dress, it's the solution I've come up with. Pictures to follow.

Sorry for the radio silence lately; I've been in the dumps about the roof mess (repaired to the tune of $550, not bad except I was saving it to go to NY), very busy time at work, a wadder or two, and a good case of the general blahs. I've been at the gym a lot trying to sweat it out of my system.


Today's photo: Thomas, one of my best boys.

9 comments:

-E said...

hehe- I thought that was a Christmas card at first :)

cidell said...

Maybe I need to go to the gym and try and sweat it out. I'm glad your roof wasn't too pricey. But, I hear you on using fabric money for these things.

Cathy said...

Sorry life is sucky--at least the roof is ready for all the fall rain coming...and one dress/costume is done.

Meg said...

I thought you seemed quiet! So no NYC shopping day for you? I don't know yet if I can swing it or not. I also like the idea of not spending money on fabric I don't need right now.

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

So sorry to hear you're down in the dumps. I hate those times. Your idea for the "uniform" dress sounds good. I recently went to a production by the Shakespeare company in DC and the dresses were gorgeous and period--except the separating zippers up the back of the bodices. Oh well. And seriously, if they can do it, you can toooootally do it.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

I totally understand why you would be depressed about using your fabric trip money for the roof...hope you're feeling a little better!

Kat said...

What a great picture of your boy! I love it :) . Here's the good news, Karen. My ancient dryer started working again, so I was able to cancel the dryer and vent kit order and just get the washer. A savings of over $500. Those damn expenses though. They are the most unwelcome surprises, aren't they?!

Kitty Couture said...

Sorry you've been feeling down, Karen. Same here.
How about we open a club with special cheap flights (preferably eco-friendly - mmm, how 'bout a tunnel with a superfast train) between Philadelphia and Paris, and we set up a sewing bee? Cat cuddles inclusive, of course.

Kitty Couture said...

Forgot to say... If he enjoys them, give your Thomas a good scratch for me, OK?