Family Gathering Dress - part 3

Much has been done since my last post about the FGD.

The skirt and waistband are attached.
Side invisible zip is inserted.
Inside linings are slip-stitched to the zipper and waistband seams.
The side slit edges are hand-sewn together for a clean and effortless line...with NO visible stitches!

Here's a sneak peek of the bodice, waistband, and skirt. I love the print placement!!

In my efforts to keep the finished product somewhat of a surprise, pictures from here on out are going to be stealthy and probably weird and low-quality. I would take dress form photos if my form had collapsible shoulders, but since it doesn't, once the zip was put in it was too small to slide on. So, awkward lap pictures it is!

BEADS.

What I've been doing slowly and in little spurts for days is adding beads.

Beads, beads, beads. Beads of all shapes, beads of all colors. The goal is to just bedazzle the entire left shoulder as much as possible.

Here's a progress shot without giving away too much. :)

The facing is the green fabric above. It and the allowance near my hand will be turned over and slipstitched on the underside.

I am so excited about this project. The red beads were the last ones I bought, mostly because I was anxious about being able to find the "right" red, if that makes sense. Often, red seed beads can look cheap if they aren't saturated enough with color. Around here it's difficult to find anything specialty in that regard.

Husband is so nice that when he ran errands the other day I asked him to buy some for me. Knowing I'm particular he sent me a photo of all the red beads for sale (admittedly only two kinds) so I could pick them out. So good, that husband!

I am excited that I already had most of the other beads I'm using left over from previous projects. Yay for recycling!!  And hooray for a cohesive color palette!

I even purchased some Swarovski crystals on sale to add some extra sparkle. The plan is to save some to make a complementary pair of earrings...if I have time. :)

My Process

Luckily, beading goes by pretty quickly. I like to cut one arms-length of invisible thread, thread a needle and double it, then knot both strands. This does make for a workable length of about 14 inches, and yes, you need much more thread than that for the whole project, but in the event that it breaks or snaps you don't want 643 beads flying everywhere when it could only be 113 beads.

(This logic is based on an advanced logarithm involving my own clumsiness, life's happy accidents, and random bad luck.) LOL

Loo is upset she isn't allowed in the sewing room right now. With little containers of beads on the table I can only imagine what would happen if she decided that she needed to sit up there, too. Oh, Loo. She sits outside the door and talks to me, sometimes gets a little whiny. Good thing spring is here - I let her outside and she's happy for hours!

The Unintentional Leave of Absence

I didn't mean to have a three week break between posts. In fact, I've been very busy with sewing projects! The truth is, though, I've just been really busy.  I'm not particularly proud of being a busy person, but that's how it goes this time of year.  We've had 7 concert in 9 days, plus juries, plus final exams, plus a house-hunting trip to our new city.  "Busy" barely covers it. 

Thankfully, with the presentation of those final concerts life is now much easier.  Now, rather than preparing 4 recitals, I can concentrate on the marimba competition in June! It never stops, I tell you.

If you want to know more about these performances, you can check out my music blog at laurelblackmusic.blogspot.