Besides, I'm just so excited about this one. I finished the dress a month before planned! Being productive is amazing! Who knew you could get so much done if you just DID IT. So yeah, let me jump in.
This:
OMG. RIGHT???
Look at that color! And him. And the wings. And her hair. And the COLOR!
I don't remember when this sneak peek first came out, but when I saw it I about died. I stared at this forever. The color is so rich, so beautiful. I soooooooooooooo knew I was going to have a hard time finding the fabric for this one.
First I had to plan, so I did this:
Wait, let me stop and confess something here. As you may or may not know, I had a prom dress to work on before this. Every single time I thought about and planned this dress, my brain juke box would always begin to play Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs Jones". Every. Single. Time. I'm not even kidding a little bit. Whenever I would sketch different styles, sneak to look at her, drape her, plan her, the song would trigger in my head; I would start to feel guilty that my priorities weren't in order, so I'd stop and go back to the prom dress (and those secret gifts.) Because of this she was Mrs Jones, at first. My Facebook friend, Debi, suggested I call her Harlow, so... that's how she became Mrs. Harlow Jones to me.
Anyway, I stared and stared at this beautiful book cover trying to figure out where seam lines were, but they are kind of hard to see in every image I looked up. So I had to imagine. Because the silhouette of the dress is so simple I knew I wanted to try something exciting, something to keep my attention. And although I've lost a few pounds since Ava, I still wanted my dress to be more... curvy to fit my extra fluff, so that's why I decided to go with the curvy variation on the princess seam.
I created my pattern and sewed a mock-up to see how it would work on me. The first mock-up was a DISASTER. I created the pattern around my hips a thousand sizes too small. No, Hell no, I didn't take any pictures of that. I will not let you laugh at my pain! (I did laugh and laugh at myself, though.)
After I remeasured and corrected my pattern the second mock-up came out much better:
Even though Selena, my duct tape dress form, is definitely starting to implode I fell in LOVE with Harlow. Harlow had me. (Don't tell Ava that. Though, I don't think Ava cares as long as I keep putting her in shows.)
While my niece and I were fabric shopping I was also on the hunt for the perfect fabric. At first I thought that I would do something with a brocade like I did with Ava (the pink dress), but I wanted something different, something more liquid... I wanted a challenge... I wanted... I honestly really didn't know what the hell I wanted but I wanted something to keep things exciting, so I decided that I would get a shiny silky blue fabric because it was the perfect color and then I had the brilliant idea to put lace over it.
Lace? Yes, lace. Why lace? 'Cause I'm a fool and it was pretty.
I've never worked with lace before so I didn't know what to expect. I used to think lace is scary, lace is fragile, lace is ... NO! You just don't. No lace. Scary lace.
Turns out if you use lots of pins it's completely fine.
Except, it wasn't because I wasn't mentally free when I worked on her. The initial hot inspiration to work on her went cold. I knew I had to go back and finish the prom dress first. So I did. I don't think I've ever sewn an evening gown so fast in my life.
When I went back to Harlow, it was as if I'd never took a break. I loved everything about her. I loved the decision to put an invisible zipper at the side instead of the back. I loved the side curvy pattern pieces.
I loved what she taught me about lace. I loved what she taught me about pattern making. I loved that I didn't feel stressed out about her, about making mistakes. She just came so easy to me. She totally helped build my confidence. And seeing her come together just made it all the more fabulous.
Even when the pattern didn't exactly match up and I had to re-plan and re-cut mid sewing, we adjusted and moved on. Her color and seam lines were just a velvet voice that encouraged me on.
Even when this mess happened while I was trying to attach the sleeves... She was easy. She was just so relaxed. I was so relaxed. I didn't feel stress, not once!
And I finished her right on time to debut her at Spring Fling last night. Though I think I'll wait to show you the full effect with me dolled up and all another time. (Unless I can find a photo from last night, then I'll edit that in.)
In the mean time, I would like to thank all my family and friends for being just as excited about this whole dressmaking process as I am. You guys don't know how your encouragement propels me ahead. I do definitely have to thank Vicki Pettersson for writing these great books. I can't imagine that I would have ever enjoyed a crime noir without that kiss of the paranormal. I def have to thank her for making me more curious about rockabilly style. I've added 3 dresses to my wardrobe and even though the series is coming to a close, I don't plan on stopping here with the dresses.
This series is a cool mash-up of that old crime noir vibe and angels. I can't wait to read The Given (out at the end of May), the last, though I'm kinda sad the series is at and end.
What am I going to do with myself when it's over? Start a new dress and a new book! That's what. Haha!
OK, I'm delirious. I gotta get ready for bed. Good night, guys and dolls.
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