So I come out of a deep hibernation from this blog with a whole new perspective on life and a baby on my hip. I guess its called motherhood. I was not sure I was going to be ready for this at first mentally and then physically but here I am. Finnegan Tiger Flowers came in to life on January 23, 2013 at 4 pm weighing 8lbs 14oz. He is a really great little baby, very easy, good sleeper and yet this whole thing is still very hard! My life is flipped on it’s ass and I am still trying to find my new normal, you know. But Finn, the Finster McCool is a real joy to watch grow, learn, struggle and laugh, well and even watch shit his pants. I never imagined myself so excited about big baby farts but like I say here I am! I really thought that I would have all this time off to sew post postpartum…. and the Mothers reading this laugh because its a real joke. I have been blessed to have a work from home daddy/ tear wiper/ Finn walker so mommy can sew or sleep/ part-time diaper changer to peel me off the floor and deal with MY tantrums with poise and compassion.
Spring Art Show at Coyote Central- May 12th
I will be in an Art Show next weekend at Coyote Central….. and I don’t really even know what I will be showing!
I will be freakishly throwing some stuff together in the next week but I also have lot of product in storage so I should be fine. If you are in the Seattle area stop by…. 2300 E. Cherry from 11-5 on Sat. 12th
The Twilight Zones, PinBall Wizard, and beyond!
In January I took on perhaps the most ambitious costume design project to date and followed that up with my second year designing the Twilight Zones for Theater Schmeater. Needless to say I have neglected this blog again for four months… days after I made it a resolution to pay more attention to the blog! I guess that is the way I roll!
TOMMY- The Rock Opera
I get an email on January 5th asking if I could design for the Burien Little Theater’s Tommy production that opens February 17. At first I say no because it is too far a commute for lugging costumes with no car. Then my friend Michelle tells me that she is playing the Acid Queen (which I wanted to see) and that I can commute with her, the budget is decent too, which intrigues me- a good budget will make up for a lot of things. Short story- I accept before looking at the script- faintly remembering Ann Margret rolling around in beans and Elton John with rising platform shoes that I love the thought of designing the outfit for. WELL, the 1992 Broadway Rock Opera is not as high on LSD as the 1974 movie and it has about 30 costume changes in the prologue alone, gulp! I just had to dive in head first and figure out how to swim later because the clock was ticking away.
Here is the whole set of pics on Flickr
The Twilight Zone-
Lisa Branham and Daniel Christensen in Twilight Zone Live!
The week after tech of Tommy, I start designing for the Twilight Zone… which I have known about for months now and I have the scripts and seen the episodes already. I was excited for this because we have move this production for the very small Theater Schmeater Play house to ACT in downtown Seattle, tripling the audience capacity. I really love this production because of the period. Since the original series ran from 1959-1964 (I think) the is a very specific period and the director, Tim Moore, is very detailed in his vision. Its like my own little Mad Men world…. with some Monks mixed in.
I am POOPED! I slept all last week because of the lack of sleep for the prior 3 months. Thank my lucky stars that I won’t be designing for theater until September. I want to sew for myself!! BUT I do have an Art Show on May 12 at Coyote Central. So Stayed tuned!
John Q Smith, Chris Macdonald in The Twilight Zone Live!
Chris Macdonald and Buddy Mahoney in The Twilight Zone Live!
Wow, it’s been so long since I blogged that the interface of WordPress has changed.
When did that happen?
Well it’s been since August that I shared anything. Oopps! Sometimes life gets a little too busy and I drop the ball. Here is a little montage of what has been going on. It goes from Party Dress to Christmas.
A party dress for playing!
But that is just the beginning- I have been sewing (and cooking!?!) up a storm these last few months. Some of the other sewing includes but is not limited to:
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- A party dress for playing 2011!
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- embroidering gifts… until the machine broke!
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- Again working the machine in the Christmas spirit
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- Etsy holiday gifts 2011
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- Etsy Holiday Gifts 2011
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- New skirt for my etsy shop.
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- The only cooking that I managed to photograph.
I have also been marinating on some ideas for a line of clothing and/or soft furnishing 100% re-purposed for the thrift store. I have found some AMAZING textiles at some of my favorite “digs” here in Seattle like the Dearborn Goodwill or its sister store the Goodwill Outlet (if you are a Germ-a-phobe this place is not for you). I guess I just don’t know if people would be as excited about reclaimed leather/ linen/ cotton as I am.
And I have been cooking, here are some recipes I have used over the last couple of months:
- Italian Focaccia This was so awesome there were no leftovers!
- Black Bean Burger I liked this recipe but I want to find something closer to beef (yeah, I know longshot!)
- Grilled Pears and sausage– So good I wished I doubled the recipe.
- Crunchy Crackers– A little to crunchy- my jaw hurt:(
- Artichoke Dip– This is like crack so watch out (consider yourself warned and just double the recipe!)
There are other things that I heard about so created my own version like the fennel and sausage Quiche:
The only cooking that I managed to photograph.
We have also been doing a fair amount of juicing over the last month and we also might commit to a juice fast for the New Year… although I really don’t know if we can do that… I mean I am a meat and potatoes girl. I know it will be good to clear out the system but it is going to be kind of torturous. My husband suggested it at the beginning of this month and I logically pushed it back noting that Christmas would be hard and that the New Year is great for gimmicks like that.
Also I did finish the bridesmaid dresses I talked about rolling out but I don’t have photography of any of it yet and the wedding dress is in mock-up form so I did not completely drop the ball on that idea. It’s a slow build!
Party Dress Fever.
So… I was at work when I first discovered the book Party Dress by Mary Adams. I lay down my credit card and took it home that day. I loved reading about her experiences as an Oregon girl to being a dress maker in New York and then her process is astounding simple and clean and yet so sticky sweet and full of color saturation that I really just started making dresses… and now I cannot stop. Every page is sooo inspiring. It started with this skirt (recently sold to a girl in Ireland):
Then I started this quilted leather/wool/ silk strapless dress which is essentially done, just needs some hems and hand stitching)!
Then I got into the silk taffeta stuff which posted here in my last post.
NOW… it turns out that Mary Adams will be in Seattle at Nancy’s Sewing Basket (where i work) for a book signing November 5th! And to really get into the mood ALL of the employees are working on there own party dresses that will be on display during our annual sale in September and then we are going to wear them for the book signing in November. It will be kinda of fun too because customers will be guessing whose dress belonged to which employee! So I cannot divulge to much but I will tell you Analysis Paralysis has now sunk in completely for some of us because it is hard to decide!
Summer Separates…. An impromtu clothing line.
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- Part of a line of summer clothing 2010
I rolled out some clothing on my ETSY site this last week. I ‘ve got an “in” with a beautiful line of silk taffeta that has been fun to flirt with and these fabrics definitely tickle my feminine fancy because some dresses are next! The current collection of separates I just put up mixes this silk taffeta (washed to soften) with hand dye linen and lace tank tops for super comfortable and easy to put on pieces that have a summer boho feel. All of the skirts have fantastic wide elastic waistbands are lined in rayon. All of the pieces are washable. Not bad pictures for being in my basement. Also… I have been asked to do a fashion show here in Georgetown, Seattle, USA. I will let you know if I participate. Sometimes these things are not what they seem and that is why I am still on the fence.
Making Fascinators
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- Bridal Bird Cage Veil 2011
I have been straight up sewing like a storm!!!! Now I need to finish sewing and finish taking pictures of it all to 1) sell it on my etsy site and 2) Show all of you what I have been doing. But here is a sneak peak because I can’t resist.
It all start with fascinators… I can’t stop making them. And then in order to take the pictures (in my head) of them I want to make crazy party clothing to go with all of the fascinators. So I am working on a mini bridal collection of some mix and match separates, a couple “bridesmaid”/party dresses and, of course a simple silk wedding dress. Yeah, it’s ambitious…. but all of the separates (washed silk taffeta skirts and hand- dyed linen tank tops) are done and the bridesmaid samples are partially done. That just leaves the wedding dress.
Once it is all done I am going to put my huband in his three piece, voluteer my friends for the wedding party and take some mock wedding picture of the whole shibang . Yeah, no, not ambitious at all.
OK so I did take some pictures of the fascinators kind of to scout out the a location for my bridal shoot, and kind of spontaneously because my friend Taz, talented photographer had time to work with me.
Coyote Central inspired by Nick Cave exhibit at The Seattle Art Museum
I have been teaching kids (girls) ages 9-13 how to sew and design for a really excellent Non-profit organization called Coyote Central since last October. I have to say- I have been having lots of fun. I really did not think that I was the teaching type… or even had anything to say about sewing to children but well- I guess I learned something. My regular class is called Design Sew and Embellish– and through the school year it is on Saturday morning (all the better for keeping me honest:) but during the summer the class is more like a one week intensive , and it is pretty much full as of now.
Also since October Coyote and I have been talking about and organizing a special workshop in conjunction with (and funded by) the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) for the Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth exhibit that closed this last weekend. I know, I know… my timing is impeccable. We held the 2 day/10hr. workshop for 8 child artist in mid April and debuted the creations at Community Night on May 5th at the SAM. These kids were champions not even wanting to break for lunch!! The Jackets were then displayed at the SAM for the rest of the exhibit and then they will be put in a brand-spanking-new Coyote Central Gallery space!!
Thanks to Chris Barnett for the beautiful Picture of the process and the parade!
More from the theater front….
So this is a new (ancient) play that I am designing for Open Circle Theater here in Seattle. The story of Ajax is a Greek war tragedy written by Sophecles . This is an adaptation by a local thespian/writer, Todd van der Ark. It is a weave of modern and classical text and symbols- like modern desert fatigues mixed with knife fighting. One of the things that the director is spotlighting is PTSD syndrome and I think that it is interesting to see that this disease was also a problem in the ancient Greek society.
I also did the graphic design of this post card and the poster for the show!!
Twilight Zone 2011
Fear for your lives!!
The play I am designing costumes for, “The Twilight Zone”, opens next Thursday Night. If you are in the Seattle area you should definitely come check it out. The show run March 18-April 16, 2011- Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm. This years episodes are as folllows:
The Mosters are due on Maple Street
Don’t be shy…You are sure to see aliens and have nightmares!!
Hippy Long Stockings 