A Royal Evening 2016

Its been a long while since I last posted. Life, I guess got in the way, oh, and a new puppy!!

Sleeve detail

There has been a gala or two since I was last here. The first of which was "Royalty" starring the King of Motown - Smokey Robinson. We transformed the Theater into a Royal Palace with the help of some friends - Emerald City Designs and our Stage crew. With this theme the guests could dress up as any type of Royal. We had Lady Di, Prince, a Scottish king and so forth. My glorious volunteers  really made the theme come alive with their costumes. I made each one according to their personalities. It took two months and it was a ball! Silks, Brocade, Organza and Upholstery fabrics were used. One pattern, a lot of hoopskirts and imagination! All of this is done on a very tight budget. So finding odds and ends from other projects came in handy. My favorite trick of the evening was concealing my Bluetooth with fabric around my neck to make it look like a chocker.  Most people thought it was cool, I thought it was ingenious! LOL.

Henry approved fabric.

The centerpieces

Meeting Smokey!

The Boss Knighted our top sponsors

and I carried the tray of roses and gifts

The Dining room

In Da Moonlight!

This year's Cars & Stars at Music Hall in Detroit was themed "In Da Moonlight." We booked Jeff Daniels as our "Star" of the evening and thought the theme suited well. I am a Mitten State lovin' Daniels fan and it is my favorite event to date!  

For my dress, I used a brocade from Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak. I used some horsehair in the hem and a crinoline underneath.









It was a thrill!!!!

The girls

We turn the main hall of the theater into a northern cabin in the woods. Dinner was served in cast iron skillets. Mine was autographed by Mr. Daniels.

Table numbers were done in assorted frames ...

And our volunteers were dressed in New York and Co. Gingham blouses with handmade brown linen sashes and satin ball gown skirts...

...and as forest rangers.

It was a fantastic evening...In Da Moonlight!

The Nutcracker

I was lucky enough to be able to design and make my ball gown/costume for this year's "The Nutcracker."

I started with tapestry and black silk satin, but it didn't match the flow of the existing  costumes in the scene.  So instead, I tired a navy blue poly-taffeta. I may not be a fan of polyester, but it was a great color and fit in well with  the rest of the costumes.

Then I volunteered to make another costume for someone else in the same scene. This one would have Scarlett O'Hara as a shoulder ghost. I had such fun making these and had even more fun twirling in them, on stage.

 

 

The Baby's Quilt

It started with the idea to make a baby quilt for my best friends daughter, Grace and grew into so much more. Our girl little Gracie was having a baby, the first baby of the family. Being the youngest she was hard pressed to be first at most things, so when news of the baby broke minds started whirling.
Her mom, Kappy wanted me to make a quilt for the shower. This was a big deal for me being such a momentous occasion.

 

I started collecting fabric and then thought, "Hold on! This has to have a special something, a special signature other than it being handmade. This is where the father of this precious tike came into play. John had drawn four animals to be framed for the nursery. Four little guys who I like to call - Mr. Bear, Mr. Raccoon, Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Fox - original right? LOL.
I got to know these guys well. I had Grandma Kappy sneak in the nursery and take photos of the drawings so that I could turn them into fabric. Thank you Spoonflower.com Here they are...



 

  

 

I am so proud of this project. I don't embroider, but I did. It may not be perfect, but I spent hours with 4 seasons of Downtown Abbey playing in the background and these little guys spilling a lot of love and thought into a piece that made and makes my heart smile every time I think of it. I think the best things you do come from love.

 

 

 

Blooming - The Floral Dress

Just finished the year-end fundraiser for my job and now with a little down time sewing is in order. Actually, I am a bit obsessed with sewing dresses, especially floral girly dresses. When does floral go out of style? Never! I found (per usual) some wonderful floral prints at Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak.

This blue ball gown is a cotton pique. So yummy to wear and it has pockets. What girl doesn't need pockets. I think pockets are a must.

Wearing the dress at Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island

The short and long of it...
This wonderful floral is a embroidered cotton. Same style as above, mostly because it fits my figure, but knee length. It has a dropped waist, pockets and full skirt. I like to walk and spin!

On to the next dress...

Shipwrecked

For my birthday I decided to throw a party. I wanted to use the theme of Princesses, but some thought it too childish for a 50 year old, so I went with another love of mine... the Sea. A love of lighthouse, the angry sea and mariners seem to be an interesting idea.

In researching the details and design aspect all that I found were really traditional things - Nautical & Pirates, so this blog is hopefully an inspiration to finding more within a theme. The invitation started with Microsoft word and a picture of one of my favorite lighthouses -- Minot's Ledge Light of the coast of Maine. Minot's uses the flashing signal of 1--4--3 (I love you) something I have carried with me for decades.


For the décor I choose navy and cream as the colors with the addition of orange for accent. Lots of water, floating candles, and roping. For additional atmosphere I used fleece blankets and added an anchor stencil on the corners. They acted as deck throws. Snack containers (orientaltrading.com) for munchies with an added sticker that I printed myself -easy breezy. The wine bottles had their own life vest (amazon.com) and each guest at check-in received an itinerary.

         

Attire: Nauti-Shipwrecked

Costume 1. The nautical shipwreck

I used a stripped knit for the top and blue linen for the skirt. Red roping to attach the sleeves. I shredded the skirt.

Costume 2. Falling off the ship without all your clothes on ...
I made pantaloons and a chemise out of linen and ordered a corset from amazon.com and sewed strips of the linen over the stays of the corset. I added roping to the lacing of the back and tied square knots to put in my hair. I opted for #2 because it was so comfortable and fun. When can you get away with wearing your underwear on the outside!

The Food: A buffet station of "crew chow" beef stew, calm chowder, salad and biscuits. The catering staff wore jeans and flannel shirts and aprons.

Thanks to Edward's Café and Catering and Jazz Café at Music Hall staff.