Haz Mat Warning

I finished the last of the sheep costumes this morning...I really had to make myself do it, dress rehearsal is tonight.  That fleecy stuff does  not just generate feathery debris, I found; it also generates  very fine, almost invisible, fiber coating on EVERYTHING.  ( I didn't take any more photos, but you can refer to my last post for an idea of what I was dealing with)

After coughing and hacking and feeling kinda bronchitis-y I wised up and tied an old rag over my nose and mouth to cut down on the fibers I inhaled.  I wish I'd had a set of goggles...my eyes are itchy and red and irritated. I'm on antibiotic eye drops, because there was a problem that really started before I got the fleece, but it has gotten aggravated as I've worked through the costumes.

But they are done; I used about 1/2 the sheets on a lint roller to get the fiber off the cutting board (at least it doesn't feel slick now) and vacuumed the carpet...and most everything else in a 3 foot radius of the cutting table.  This may move the 'clean and organize the sewing nook' project up the priority list...right now, I can't even vacuum in there (bein' honest here...).

So...should you be called upon to make sheep costumes with the admittedly perfect-for-the-garment curly fiber fleece...take appropriate care....

This has been a public service announcement from your friendly neighborhood sewing blogger...

Sewing in an Apron...

..in an attempt to keep the white feathery debris from adhering to my clothing.

The costuming task that I have is to create costumes that suggest sheep for 5 little girls, who will be with Bo Peep in the Toys segment of the Christmas Eve production.

We've had pretty short notice, and I'm making it up as I go...per the usual costuming gig. ;-)

We have white sweatsuits for them, so we're layering a tunic vest made from the poly fleecy stuff.  It is ALL OVER.

I finally got smart and took each piece as it was cut,very carefully folded it and carried it over to a large shopping bag I'd hung from a doorknob, draped the piece into the bag and then shook it like a terrier to get rid of as much floof as I could.

Pity I didn't think of it sooner...

Looking down the apron after cutting out one sheep set...

 Debris on the cutting table...

The tail to be wagged behind her...

I have made all the ears and all the tails and one of the vests; two more vests are cut out.  We have a rehearsal tomorrow night (I'm just a body in the gospel choir finale)....hoping to get them done so I can check the length of the tunics.  They may need a little adjusting...

I'm thinking tomorrow's going to be a rather short work day.  But I have some vacation time to burn, so it will be fine...

Choir Wardrobe 12 13 15

December colors: Red, black and gray

Modified Jalie Pleated Cardigan in red rayon blend (same as last week, actually);   black and gray rayon/lycra jersey stripe Jalie 2566 cap sleeve T , gray Lee jeans and red Cobb Hill shoes. (Quickly becoming a fashion rule of thumb for me...if I can get away with red shoes, wear 'em!)

We put up and decorated a Virginia Pine Christmas tree that we cut fresh yesterday; we haven't had a fresh tree for several years.  It was something of an adventure, as the first tree farm we visited had  a selection of truly pitiful little trees.  I had a huge 'to do' list, but a series of light string failures (three in a row!) put us very late finishing.  So I'm going to do the blog posts and then just get up in the morning and finish the urgent part of the to-do list.  I've got some vacation hours to burn  anyway.


The tree is pure kitsch...mismatched lights,  random ornaments, not a shred of tulle or feathers or flowers or fruit anywhere to be seen.... ;-)

And yeah, the window's open.  El Nino year and all..it was 73 today.  Good thing the tree is up; I'd never get myself to believe it was December otherwise...

Choir Wardrobe 12/6/15 - With the Choir in Red, can Christmas be far behind?

Well, technically the colors are red, black and gray. 

And this is a hop-in-front-of-the timer photo.

But it's all good. 

Modified Jalie 2919 Pleated Cardigan and a sleevless mock-t that I quite honestly can't remember the pattern on...both made of rayon/lycra jersey blend in a kind of twist on a twinset.

Jalie basic flair legged pants, made up in a dollar bargain lycra/poly blend that came from the dollar table at Wal-mart.  Have never managed to review the pants,  and the fabric feels icky but is a wonderful red and white pinstripe coloration, so it stays in the wardrobe.

And it just so happens I made the necklace, too...my first venture into wirework jewelry.

It was not as hard as I thought, and it didn't take as long as I expected...I'll probably do more.

In my spare time, of course.

Bwahahahahaha!!!