Happy St. Patricks day, in New Zealand!

Cyclone Lusi was a bit of a fizzer... we went in the parade... it rained alittle bit as you can see in some of the photos... Catherine danced. She didn't want to at first, but I made her and she was fine. We had a good day and even though I skipped church to go, God helped me in so many ways, like finding where to go when I have absolutely no sense of direction and would have wound up in totally the wrong place if other dancers hadn't turned up at  just the right time. Yes, God is with me in the drunken rowdy mobs of Auckland viaduct too. Hee hee. We may skip school next year too... it was fun.

someone give me a medal...

Woohoo! So I got to design the inserts for the medals at the competitions. (Note: I purposely don't use words that ppl googling this stuff will find. This is just for you bloggy friends).

Anyway, kinda exciting. I got paid, but having grown up in the dancing scene it's just a bit exciting to get to do this stuff...

Catherine's dancing dress 2014

So I'm determined to get good at making dancing dresses for Catherine. Last years one was my first attempt... and was semi ok. Probably not good enough for a regional competition though. And I emailed the teacher what I had done so far, only to be informed that as a Novice dancer she is not allowed to wear solo dresses this year anyway!! But all good. That means I have a full year to get this one right.

SO. The progress so far....
 I got Catherine to give me a sketch of what she would like:

Then I turned it into a sketch of my own, using it as inspiration yet still following the basic idea as best as I could

Then I got to work trying to turn it into an actual pattern. The pleats still needed fixing up, and I'm going to curve or put a point in the waiste, but this is the image I sent to the teacher...

The Feedback:

The teacher said she liked the style because it was classic and suited her level (beginner)

Also, nowadays, the skirts are usually separate from the tops, which she said may help me fix my issues with the skirt.

So there you have it. This was about 4 evenings work spread over 2 weeks. Getting the pattern right will be the hardest part. Once that's done, actually creating the dress will probably not take that long at all.

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And lucky me! I get to design the inserts for the medals for the Auckland dancing competitions! I was going to put up my preliminary designs...but I better be good and not. Better start being a bit more professional .

...really high!

So I sent Linda a text saying "send me that picture of me up REALLY high!"... and then I got this. Geeze, it doesn't look high at all! But I was moaning and groaning the whole time... it just seems so much higher when youre up there!!

Anyway, slow progress on this wall, but getting there. Infact Ive finished the logo in the area you can see there and Im onto marking the last line of text... Yay!

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And I've been back at Mum's for about a week now... and it's been ok! Being away at the flat must have been really good for me and taught me alot. I've put alot of boundaries in place I think, including my work life. My (old) next door neighbour has the spiritual gift of prophecy ( if you believe in that, which I do) and prophesied my business would do really well since I was taking a step of faith and flat out cancelling my benifet... and so far so good. I gave this quote for a van and pretty much tripled my usual price, and guess what? they still came back! Was not expecting that really.

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And YAAAAAY! again! someone shouted me tickets to go see this guy. Daniel Walker author of God in a Brothel. I bought this for myself for christmas. Hes a kiwi guy who runs an organisation that rescues sex slaves out of brothels in Asia ( and the US too). There are 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today. More today than when slavery was abolished, and most of them are in the sex industry. 

His website is NVADER . Donate if you can... and pray!

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And I'm working away at another dancing dress for Catherine. I'm tempted to post the preliminary attempts but I better not. I'll wait till I've done the draft pattern (and shown the teacher, coz it's all really serious you know).

now... not so busy!

So on Sunday I was preparing for the busiest week ever, wondering how I would get it all done before Christmas. 

Now... not so much!

I had this wall to paint and signwrite for my daughters dancing studio. My friend, Linda, graciously offered to help me with, which I really appreciated, coz it was a whole lot more enjoyable having someone to help out.

As you can see, we painted it, but the teachers decided that some of the boards need patching and nailing down before signwriting it... so now it's not an urgent, before-christmas deadline.

Yay! (it's sweltering hot and I get head aches in the sun)

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Job 2. I had to do a creative project for this years church Christmas Experience. I was worried it was a bit too rough, but it'll be one of many projects so it may be ok. (That bottom rip will be cut off).

I find the flustered mum and the naughty/crying kids funny, and I just realised I get my sense of humour from all the Giles cartoon books I read as a kid.

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And this is Catherine on Saturday dancing at the end of year School competition

Shed grown out of her dress a bit, but it  was alright... and she ended coming out 3rd in the beginners section! which I was not expecting at all!! Maybe I should give her some credit sometimes.

PS> Me and Catherine have designed her next years dress already! I'd put the sketches up but I don't want to give too much away... or maybe I will later on. We'll see.

Irish Dancing stickers

Catherine's Irish Dancing school is having a raffle and each family was asked to contribute something.

So I decided to make some stickers!

Now I'm not sure... if this raffle is a fundraiser, then it's not just for Irish Dancers! oops. Oh well, if they don't think it's acceptable they can leave them out. At least I tried.

In the mean time... I have some new stickers to add to my Etsy shop! Wahoo!

When I get around to it anyhow

Were into our second day of school term again , but we had a really good holiday in the last 2 weeks. First we visited Teresa at her new home in Whangarei...

...then stopped off at Dargaville to visit the Lappins, old family friends.

In fact it was so good I've hardly been on Facebook at all since I got back. Just can't be bothered with it. I mean after being around this, who would want to??

And check out the beach on their doorstep. 

It goes that far in either direction.

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But one thing about being back. I'm trying to perfect applique for when I make Catherine dancing costumes... so I practiced on a Super Hero cape for our church Light party.

And after basting it on (thanks for the tip Peg) it worked out really well! Actually I'm really pleased with it, and it only took two evenings, which is ok... worth the final outcome.

Well, finished Catherine's Irish dancing dress. It's ok for a first attempt. I've GOT to get better though. Did I tell  you even some of the smaller dresses cost around $1000 US ?... the championship dresses can go for $2000  !

My Dad would have been disgusted. He always said that Irish dancing shouldnt only be a rich-man's sport.

And he wouldn't like this dress either. Not a celtic design on it. But I made it in a week. In the future I'll definitely be making them more "Irish"...but for now, this will do.

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And 2 more bags in my Etsy shop!

Oh-'eck! I'm just not good at this!! In the middle of making Catherine a dancing dress for her school competition....in one week!! Mucked up the applique... how the heck do you applique onto satin fabric without it bunching up... Im determined to know!!

Anyway... took this photo to see weather to keep or discard it. Thought I'd add the skirt with photoshop so I could get a better idea of how it will look. The bodice is looking a wee bit masculine. Hope I havnt been too infuenced by Catherines assertions that she is a "tom boy"!. Well, I did pick the colours to appease her.

I don't know. It's just for a school competition. She's doing one dance. The beginners reel... which she barely knows!! 

I don't know if I'll ever be a good seamstress...but I keep telling myself... practice makes perfect...

Maybe if shes still dancing in ten years time I will have got a grips with the basics of applique and Irish dress design... who knows?

Puletasi

I made this last night. It's called a Puletasi... which just kinda means formal Island dress. It's for Catherine. We have been invited to a 40th birthday, the theme being Island. (Pacific Island that is.... Polynesia).

I used the same pattern I drafted for her Irish dancing costume (Ireland and Island hehe).

I have dyed it now and it's drying outside.

I will print some hibiscus flowers onto once it's dry... which should be any minute... the fabric paint takes next to no-time to dry!

dancing dress mockup

Well, turns out the upcoming Irish Dancing competition is non-dress.... which means because it's just a school comp, the dancers will be wearing plain shorts and teeshirts.

But I finished the mock up anyway. Not sure if I've perfected those frills. I'm going to sit on it  a while and think if theres a way I can get them all uniform.

Catherine's first dress

Now Catherine has started Irish Dancing this year. I did it for about ten years, and decided I would like Catherine to learn. She has been having lessons for about a month now, and is not ready to compete, but the school is having it's own school competition and the beginners are allowed to get some stage time, and just basically do what they want, skip, hop, whatever, to get some experience being up there.

Of coarse I decided I wanted to make her a dress... in 3 weeks.

Now here is an example of an Irish Dancing dress....

which is currently for sale for 500 pounds here

That's like $1000 NZ dollars! and that's for some of the cheaper ones!

Now, in three weeks, you can guess it's going to be nowhere as flash as this one... but she's just a beginner, who can't even spring 23 yet...

so long story short... here's what I've got so far.

The pattern. I've tried to draft a pattern from scratch.

It's taken about 4 attempts to get this far.

I've been sewing in scrap poplin, hence the colours. The sleeves are different here. I couldn't get them right. I decided for puffed sleeves. I realised I needed to bring in the armholes alot more so the puff would have more effect.

I finally mastered the puff. Now I'm onto the skirt. The ruffles are just pinned on here. The ruffles will go all the way down. The colours will be black and turquoise. I'll take some more photos once it's done and shes wearing it. Looks a bit funny on the hanger.  Although all the modern dresses looked pretty hideous to me at first anyway, I'm getting used to them.

I keep wanting to be more and more adventurous, but since I have 2 weeks to go, I'm trying to calm my impulses down, and stay simple for now.

I have been honoured to have been asked to design the logo for this years event. I've always wanted to do it as I participated in this form of dance for over 10 years competitively myself.

As you can tell I'm being very careful not to divulge anything that people Googling this event will find, as these are preliminary designs I am sending to the organisers. But I would like the handful of people who read my blog to see what I've been up to!

Sorry if I seemed a bit callous in my last post. But honestly, I think if I took the burden of worrying about Catherine onto myself I'd disentigrate into a puddle of muck on the ground. It's too much for me. I don't know how other parents handle it. Stoopid world. Anyhow... I decided to upload some old photos onto Facebook... so why not here as well. Here are my dancing exploits as a youth. I won't point myself out... but I'll just say things have changed alot in the world of Irish Dancing over the last 30 years. The photo of the hair rollers is in a Christchurch hotel in the 90s. Every competition and performance we would sleep all night in them. And I have fond memories of a whole hoard of us kids having dinner in a restaurant... all in hair rollers! The memorial is also in Christchurch. I don't know how that particular monument fared under the earthquake... be nice to think it was ok, but who knows...

Irish dancing

Well, I've had my holiday for the year. I've been to the national Irish Dancing competitions in a little township called Paraparaumu, above Wellington (nz). It was Catherines second trip in a plane, and this time she was old enough to antipate it a week before we left...(yet still young enough to loudly ask on the plane who smelt like poo?)..
First photo is me and Catherine in front of our parlimentary building, named the beehive for obvious reasons.. (sometimes called the hornets nest by a shameless few :P)

And this one... well its actually the first time I've visited the beehive and didn't realise they sport a giant banana right outside, so I HAD to get a photo of that too.

This is our accomodation in Paraparaumu. A lovely little motel. It included a spa bath which we thought was pretty cool. Me and Catherine went in together in our togs. You can just see the rolling mountains in the background.

And this one is the actual dancing. This was the parade of champions... the only time youre actually allowed to film, or take photos. I didn't think to take close ups. I could show you a photo of Teresa with a sock pinned to her head to puff the wig up (tricks of the trade), but I was told I wasn't allowed to put it on facebook, and I guess this probably counts too.

And this is what I did today. I had to add this, coz it was a hellofa job, and I couldn't believe I actually got them all back into place.