why I haven't been knitting

I've been busy with The Play. Horsey Girl scored a leading role in her middle school production of (what else?) Annie Get Your Gun. She played Dolly, Annie's rival and Frank Butler's Lovely Assistant (that's Frank on the left.) Being involved in The Play meant Many Hours of volunteer work: building sets, planning the cast party, selling tickets, and of course most importantly, sewing costumes.

Here's my Big Contribution: the fancy dress for the Ballroom Scene. Yes it was just as complicated as it looks. That's eight yards of fabric you see there (not counting the lining); two entire spools of thread, two broken machine needles, fifteen hooks and eyes, ten plastic rings and several yards of bias tape. The ruching is done by sewing a casing in the U - shaped bustle piece in ten places, threading twill tape through the casings and tying it in ten places through plastic rings attached to the underskirt. Miraculously, by the last performance, only one ring had pulled itself off.


The dress was actually four seperate pieces: the top ( it had a separating zipper up the back), the underskirt (where you see the lace), the front apron and the bustle. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat! Fourteen hours of work is nothing; seeing your daughter transform into a shining star: priceless.