A 60th Birthday Celebration of Wine, Women, and Words

I have a fellow photographer friend who does amazing work, with a focus on weddings.  I told him if he ever came across anyone who wanted photography for a smaller event to please let them know I’d be interested.  Last Monday, I got an email stating this referral had happened, and asking me if I was available on Thursday for the event.  Why am I including these seemingly boring details?  Because it’s a small world after all.  The person who sent the email is friends with my aunt, and it turns out I knew her, and my aunt would be at the event!

After making my way through traffic (which really wasn’t too bad for after work in South Florida), and snapping up a quick pic of a peacock in the parking lot, I arrived as greetings were concluding, to a room beautifully decorated with red roses and candles.  Everyone sat down, opening remarks were made, as well as an opening song.  The birthday girl’s friends and family took turns toasting (and roasting) her with speeches that had the crowd laughing and crying.

After each speech, hugs and kisses were exchanged.  And I’m not talking about the kind of hug you awkardly exchange socially because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do.  I’m talking about genuine love and affection between this women.  It was really beautiful, and I was honored to be there to capture these special moments.

                     

Sew You by Erica Sue: Lady Skater #2–Jay Godfrey Summers Color Block Copycat

I loved my first Lady Skater so much, I had to make another.  I knew I wanted my next dress to be color blocked, so I turned to my favorite trusty source for inspiration, ‘Google Images’, and searched for ‘colorblock dress’.  One of the dresses that popped up in my search was this awesome dress, which Nina Dobrev wore on some red carpet somewhere (wouldn’t have known who she was if her colorblock dress didn’t appear in my Google search).  I searched further to find better pictures with more angles in the black and white version.  Check out my Pinterest board of sewing ideas for dresses for some of the other great color blocking inspiration I found.

 

I got to work refining my pattern, and cut it up and added 1/4” seam allowances per this great colorblocking tutorial.  I also added back the length that I had removed from the skirt the first time I made the dress because this time I made sure to have enough fabric on hand.  I used solid Interlock from Joann, 60/40 poly/cotton I believe.  I didn’t realize until after I was done cutting my navy fabric that the stretch was directional and the stretch should have been along the width of the fabric.  I caught my error when cutting the raspberry fabric, so my effort was not lost. 

When I assembled the dress, despite my accurate measurements when piecing the pattern, the assembled pieces didn’t always line up.  My Engineering self is still puzzling over that one.  It was basically within the seam allowance in most cases, so I just went with the flow.  In the final dress, one side has a perfectly aligned waistband, the other side not so much.  It still fits great and I love the design, so I’ll wear it with enjoyment.  And of course, I had to add another patch pocket (5” x 6” again) to the back so I could wear this one for photography too!  (Disclaimer:  photography and sewing don’t always mix, like the work in progress camera phone photos above).

As with the last dress, I did a sway back adjustment, but it was built into the pattern based on my adjustments.  I also added bust darts again.  The hem was a bit challenging, b/c the cut is circular, and folding and ironing a circle was rather odd.  This is one of the many reasons I love sewing with knits, though. They're so forgiving, and you can't tell there's any hem issue in the finished dress.  Can’t wait to edit and post the birthday party photos I took today, wearing this dress!

   

Dress photography credits to my older son.  I set up the exposure on my camera, and have him stand on a stool to snap some shots of me.  Good job little buddy – mommy looks great in these photos!