The Final Frontier

It's been a while since the big night but I needed to give it a little time to settle in, not to mention some time to get caught up on life. Last Thursday was a busy day and when I finally got dressed to go, it was just another thing on my to do list. First, I ran around the office showing all my friends and taking some pictures. Here are a few of me doing regular office things:

The whole experience was so much more than I expected. One thing I didn't include in my blog post from the theater was I met this guy who wrote the book Captain Kirk's Guide to Women and he gave me a copy of his book! Maybe because I was one of the few females there, he also pointed me and my costume out to the rest of the theater and everyone was looking at me! I was a little embarrassed but isn't this the attention that I was hoping for after all of my hard work? It felt really good. Later, on my way back from the ladies' room, a rando kid asked to take a picture with me! This sparked the celebrity-like photos with my co-workers at the bar...

Now that it is all over, I can reflect on the experience. When I decided to make this dress I didn't think it would very difficult or even a big deal. It seemed like a fun little project and a cool story to talk about. I had high expectations of the my finished product so I am still not that impressed with myself because I know I could have done better (especially had I not stagnated on the sleeves for so long).

I would like to continue sewing, especially when I go shopping and I see simple skirts and dresses that would probably be easier than what I made. I'm also hoping to utilize my new sewing machine for Halloween costumes, 80's party costumes and Bay to Breakers Costumes! By next week I will be doing something else that will be my big story to tell but right now, this is my "so get this..."

News Clip

Here is the video of me on the news. My coworker, Tim Matta, taped it with his iPhone (I didn't even know they could do that...)

I'm on for about three seconds but it's still pretty awesome!

This is it!!

I am here, in the theater, in my awesome dress! I will tell the tale of finishing it later and post tons of pics but I AM HERE! I made it just in time to be taped for the news with two other people. Everyone is so friendly and happy and digging my outfit. I walked the line and there were a total of 4 of us dressed up. I am the only girl and only one in the new uniform, all others are in the old.

Listening in on people's conversations is so entertaining, for example: "For the past year I've been trying to stay alive so I can make it to this night". One guy stood on his chair to announce he was "proud of all of us". It was all worth it. Thank you everyone for your support through this process! I don't know if I could have done it without the support of all my awesome friends. Specifically, I would like to thank the following people for their dedication to this project (in alphabetical order): Cate, Evan, Kaite, Kevin and Max. You're the best!

Such a Mess

Thank you, Max Page, for texting me at 6:30 because without your message I would have slept through the morning and missed all last minute revision opportunities. I got to work right away. I had to finish the lining that was half attached and do all the hems.

About twice a year I have to be to work by 9 and unfortunately today was one of those days. I was a power sewer! I cut some corners but this was not time to care about details... maybe I shouldn't have cut so many corners because I did the back bottom hem backwards! Blurg! in an effort to fix it, I made the dress even shorter and still didnt fix the hem. rush rush rush... sew sew sew... and I ran out of bobbin thread! I didn't have time to wind another one... so I used white thread. I wasn't pulling the pins out so I was afraid of breaking the needle but there was no time!

I think I used too much fabric for the liner so now I just have a big, lumpy, red, sack. No time to try it on so I tossed it in my bag along with my scissors and thread just in case I have some extra time at work today. I tore apart my room to find the black T-shirt that I am wearing underneath the dress, realizing that the extra layer will probably make my sack look even MORE bunchy.

I didn't expect it to turn out great but at what point is it un-wearable? Will people be able to tell what it is? In addition to looking like a nerd, will I also look like a fool? I am considering backing out...but what about step 9?

A Thought

The interesting thing about sewing is that no matter how many hours you put into it, it only takes a second to ruin.

To Do:

-Make badge
-Hem bottom of the dress
-Line dress or find something to wear underneath
-Eat sandwich
-Tack collar

Progress

I skipped cinco celebrations in order to get down to business and it was worth it; the dress was pretty much made on Tuesday night. My roommate's sister Margo was over when I got home and she reassured me about working with the silk fabric. I was worried that if I tried too many iterations I would snag it. She said it would be quite forgiving, and it was.

I took a great deal of time to pin on the sleeves using my muslin template but once I sewed them it was worth it. It looked great! I was surprised it happened so fast. Fast as a relative term to last night because honestly, it still took me quite a while.

The fabric was so helpful and the dress looked great. My hobbit fingers snagged it a little but nothing detrimental. I needed to make the finishing touches then I was ready for the show!