"Young Woman in a Pink Dress"
"I feel the weight
Of Atlas' woes, my brother in the west
Shouldering the pillar that props heaven and earth,
No wieldy fardel for his arms to fold."
Just the Facts:
Notions: Interfacing, serger cones (building up the stash) $8
Pattern: Colette Moneta, $7.50
Year: 2014
Time to Complete: about 5 hours including tracing the paper pattern off
Time to Complete: about 5 hours including tracing the paper pattern off
First Worn: July 13, 2014
Wear Again: yes!
Wear Again: yes!
Total Cost: $30.50
Bucket list item #204: Take picture in front of a Matisse. Check.
Realize you are standing in front of Back II and nobody can see it in the photo. Move slightly to the left. And tighten that damn collar again. Welcome to my tie collar Moneta and the Lillie and Hugh Roy Sculpture Garden in Houston, TX.
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I used the small bodice and extra-small skirt for this dress. I chose those sizes based on the measurements of my lady skaters. I think this dress fits pretty well. I could and should go back to the small for the skirt so it is more gathered if I make this dress again. At this point, I'm not sure I will make this dress again. It's nice, but it isn't as easy as the lady skater. I prefer the shape of the lady skater skirt, the cuff and neck bands, and the overall construction method. I do like that the Moneta has pockets and comes with a zillion collar options. Maybe I'll try it again. Maybe.
I wish I had a bunch to say about this dress, but I don't. I made it in a cotton blend knit. It took only a couple hours to sew up once I had everything cut out. It probably could have been a one hour project if I didn't lollygag about so much while I'm sewing things. I sewed most of this dress on my serger. I needed to use my regular machine for attaching the elastic with the zig-zag stitch and hemming the hem and sleeves with the twin needle. I only had cone thread in a color that mostly matched, so I filled up 2 bobbins for the regular machine and used 1 serger cone for my second top thread. Too legit to quit.
I don't love the way the collar turned out because the seam line is totally visible. I think the seam when you sew the two collar pieces together should be on the underside and that wasn't the case with my dress. It might have turned out better if I sewed the the collar on with interfaced side on the bottom instead of the top (or whatever the opposite of what the instructions said). I love the 3/4 sleeve length. I think it makes me look polished and put-together without actually being polished and put-together IYKWIM. That's why I <3 my lady skaters so much.
This is a terrible photo. More on that in a minute. I think the way the pattern has you sew the elastic in is a bit weird and cool. You basically cut a length of elastic, mark a few key match points on it, and stretch the elastic to those match points while you sew it down. Stretching the elastic is what creates the gathers. Pretty cool, huh? I ended up with a couple sections of fabric that wasn't gathered much. I ended up doing a regular thread gather dealie on those sections to even everything out.
I originally wanted to take FO photos at the Water wall in Houston. This is that thing you see in this photo. It's a 64-foot tall curved wall with water cascading down on all sides. There are always people around the wall taking engagement photos, wedding photos, dance troupe photos, fashion photos (all examples of what I saw while there), and more. The wall is right near the Galleria and there is loads of free parking.
Do I look like a wet rat in this picture? It's okay to say yes because I FEEL like one. I was miserable. I parked in the yellow parking lot at the Galleria--not that far from the water wall. The problem with parking at the Galleria is that all the parking is in a garage and the safest way to get out of the garage without driving is through the mall. So I walked into the mall and proceeded to walk to the nearest street-level exit to make my way to the water wall. Sounds okay right? How could this possibly go wrong? ---It could go wrong in EVERY FREAKING POSSIBLE WAY. First, the exit was the "designated smoking section." Hack, cough, spit. Gross. Second, the exit was on the exact opposite side of the water wall. The Galleria is massive people. MASSIVE. I can't find the acreage of the Galleria itself, but it must be near 400. So, I'm on the wrong side of the mall and I need to walk all the way around in the sweltering Texas sun to get to this water wall and I walk the LONG way around. I'm already at least a half mile away and I make it even longer on myself.
But I made it! Pit sweat. Gross hair. General disdain for life and everything in it. The wind was on this side of the wall, so I had sweaty windblown hair and I was being annoyingly misted by water. I took my photos and walked back to my car. Not the long way this time. Fortunately for me, parking in the parking garage meant my drink was still on the cold side when I got back and I savored every delicious gulp on my way to my next stop--
--which was the Lillie and Hugh Roy Sculpture Garden for those playing along at home. I was only slightly less sweaty and slighly more hydrated when I got there; however, my attitude was at least an 7 on a scale of 1-10. Huge improvement. This place was so quiet and definitely less-frequented. I thought it made a great location for photos.
It was kind of a choose-your-own adventure place. There were several blank walls. They reminded me of those blank inside cards. You know the ones I'm talking about? They have a photo on the front and no funny phrase or loving thought or whatever. You are supposed to be creative/clever/witty/insightful/forlorn/insertotheradjectivehere enough to come up with your own crap. (obvs I'm no good at blank insides. Waste of money.) That's how I felt about this blank wall. I chose despondent. It works.
Then I found this bench opposite of no sculptures and chose to scheme up my next move.
While I searched for birds' nests in this sculpted bush.
THE END.
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