Pride & Prejudice Overload

I finished sewing the dresses for Larisa, who is playing Lydia in P&P, in the nick of time. The lame pattern had these cute, inefficient draw strings at the neck and the empire waist…. that just produced a gaping hole with white skin showing on the back.  So I sewed the cord in place, chopped it off and put in a zipper.  Whew.  No ivory skin beaming forth.   I also made a green gown that had four handmade roses on it… which were also finished the night before the show.  WHEW, again.  The cute lavender dress kept blowing open in the back because the snaps and hooks wouldn’t hold up to Larisa’s flamboyant movements.  So I added some hooks and the squeezed them all tight with pliers…. and the dress stayed shut… but was very difficult to get off!

There is some sort of anti-family-photo regulation with the shows, so only the staff photographer can take any pictures.  So we’ll have to wait for those, which are always fabulous, by the way.  I just hate waiting.  AND I forgot my camera for before and after the shows… so I have no pictures.  But, alas, another dad posted pictures on facebook and I lifted one so you could see just the top of the cute lavender dress:

This is post-production hair that has been flattened by matching bonnets, by the way.  And that is Matt, aka Mr. Darcy…. and Hannah, aka Kitty, in the background.

So the Friday night show was a packed house and they had to bring in more chairs.  With such a lively crowd, the cast was also lively and the show was fantastic, if I do say so myself.  Larisa’s portrayed the giggly 16-year-old, Lydia, who runs away with Mr. Wickham…. the floozy.  But I must say, she portrayed her quite vivaciously and was the true comedy relief of the show…. bouncing, smiling, fluttering, primping, swaying, flirting, and on and on.  Makes a mama proud…. well, her ACTING ability…. not the floozy part.  :o)

One Weekend!

Seems I missed quite a few activities while I was away for four days!  Larisa and her father attended a Pride and Prejudice ball in Regency Era regalia.  Oh boy, did I miss out on preparations for this entertaining event.  Rick decided to escort his daughter the day before I was leaving town…. so I did nothing but give instructions over the phone.  I did call my sister, who is here nursing my mother, and gave suggestions and was much relieved that costumes and hair were in her capable hands. 

On Friday night I got a call from our youngest son, Keeve, half in distress.  He explained, “Mom, we’re in Walmart and dad is buying a shirt for himself from the girls department and the brand name is Miley Cyrus.”  I laughed.  He cut the ruffle off of the front and hot-glued it to his $3 Goodwill shirt and on the cuffs.  Actually, I think Christy may have done the gluing.

Then, don’t laugh, Rick wore my white cotton capris and tucked them into knee length socks that he bought also at Walmart.  He donned a dark dinner jacket and Larisa found some black and white checked fabric from my stash and Christy turned it into a cummerbund with some folds and safety pins. 

Larisa wore my mother’s 1978 Gunne Sax dress that I added blue ribbon to and Auntie Christy saved the day by curling and pinning up her hair.  I really do need to post some pictures for your viewing pleasure.  I’ll see if they have any available.  YES!!!

ALSO, Keeve starred in his first ever flag football game as the winning quarterback!  I can’t wait to go see him play next Saturday!  Three touchdown passes and 3 other passes for something else, because they don’t kick field goals.

ALSO AGAIN, Rick was given three GREAT tickets for the opening game of the Phoenix Coyotes… but it was the same night as the ball where he wore his wife’s white pants.  So Grandpa took the boys and they got free shirts and pompoms because it was a white-out at the game.  The Coyotes lost, but they had a great time…. eight rows from the glass!

Mom’s home.  Back to normal boring life!  hahahahaha

My Latest Pasttime

Larisa, our almost 16-year-old, is in the play Pride and Prejudice this Fall as Lydia, the giggly, obnoxious sister who runs away to be wed.  It should prove to be an entertaining show.  The cast is amazing.  Lydia requires four dresses, mostly day dresses that are quite plain, just princess waistlines and floor length gowns.  Larisa was given one dress but it was made for a person with dramatically different measurements, so I’m still waiting to see if I can give it some major adjustments.  This could be dress #1.

Lo and behold, a Gunne Sax dress of my mother’s was pulled for the archives from the late 1970s!  It is creamy ivory with long sleeves and satin trim.  I let out a few seams and added some pale turquoise satin ribbon at the high waist and sleeve cuffs and VOILA! Dress #2 down.

The pattern above was purchased yesterday after piles of lovely creamy fabric, satin and intricate diamond lace were given to us by the drama department.  It is to be all off-white with a touch of lavender at the waist, neckline and sleeves.  I plan to do the bodice and under skirt in a shiny material with a pattern of teeny squares scattered over it.  The over skirt and the sleeves will be out of sheer cotton.  It is truly lovely.  Dress #3… on my sewing table.

As for dress #4, there is no vision or material or vintage Gunne Sax gown to account for.  I’m hoping Larisa can make a trip to the costume basement and gather another beauty.  But with several shows of Pride and Prejudice, I’m sure the pickin’s will be slim.  We have six weeks, so I could sew another dress, but that is not my number one option.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Larisa will be wearing gown #2 to a Pride and Prejudice ball next weekend.  It is a lovely period occasion where everyone is whisked into 1809, dance steps taught and juice sipped from gloved hands.  I’m totally bummed that I will be out of town for this but I’ve already begun strict instructions to take lots of pictures! (so I can post here!)