{"id":14219,"date":"2011-05-21T04:01:07","date_gmt":"2011-05-21T08:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=14219"},"modified":"2012-11-08T23:28:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-09T04:28:11","slug":"costumes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/21\/costumes\/","title":{"rendered":"Costumes"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATE:<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0Robert did it!\u00c2\u00a0 He walked right up to the\u00c2\u00a0performance area and delivered the poem he wrote about his PlayMobil pyramid with all the confidence of\u00c2\u00a0a 5 year old SuperBoy.\u00c2\u00a0We were very proud of him. He really liked his collar.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We were just as proud when Laurel performed her recital dance\u00c2\u00a0without a\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0flicker of stage fright or a single misstep.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0 Then she showed her quilt.\u00c2\u00a0 As people oohed and ahhed, an adorable\u00c2\u00a0hambone seven year old boy stood up and said, “It’s so beautiful\u00c2\u00a0it makes me faint!”\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0With that he clutched his chest and collapsed to the floor. \u00c2\u00a0Just like Fred Sanborn!\u00c2\u00a0 This\u00c2\u00a0talent show was\u00c2\u00a0more fun\u00c2\u00a0than a\u00c2\u00a0Disney movie.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Costumes.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s what I’m\u00c2\u00a0 talkin’ about—and it’s not even Halloween.\u00c2\u00a0 I got the call this evening that our 5 year old grandson, Robert, has made a last minute decision\u00c2\u00a0to participate in a talent show tomorrow.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Is this tacky or what?<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Wearing this gaudy neck accessory, he will read a poem he has written about pyramids or mummies or Egyptians.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Whatever.\u00c2\u00a0 For this, the\u00c2\u00a0first public reading of his literary work, I volunteered to make our little Boy King a “real” Egyptian collar to replace the paper one he had created\u00c2\u00a0earlier.<\/p>\n

\"\"

He wanted this picture taken in front of the stairs because it reminds him of the pyramids.<\/p><\/div>\n

Even for a quick and\u00c2\u00a0easy project,\u00c2\u00a0this took longer than I expected.\u00c2\u00a0 Throughout the process of selecting scraps, evaluating trims, digging through buttons and finally sewing, I\u00c2\u00a0reminisced about all the costumes I have\u00c2\u00a0sewn through the years.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a lot of memories, all tinged with –or should I say\u00c2\u00a0 cringed with–uneasiness.\u00c2\u00a0 It just seemed\u00c2\u00a0shamefully inappropriate\u00c2\u00a0to be tracing off Sarah Howard Stone’s spoke collar for a pharaoh frou-frou.<\/p>\n

I’m always uncomfortable\u00c2\u00a0mediating the conflict between my usual high standards and the recognition that IT’S A COSTUME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!%$!!!\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0There are\u00c2\u00a0no more than\u00c2\u00a024 hours in any single\u00c2\u00a0day and we\u00c2\u00a0each have to choose how they will be spent.\u00c2\u00a0 So do I\u00c2\u00a0stitch an heirloom quality black metallic and satin Tut friendly mantle or “git’er done,” saving time for sewing more to my liking?\u00c2\u00a0 The obvious imperfections of this costume piece\u00c2\u00a0illustrate my answer.<\/p>\n

Surely, most of you have had to make the same choice.\u00c2\u00a0 You have probably made costumes for dance,\u00c2\u00a0Halloween, Christmas pageants, school plays and other occasions.\u00c2\u00a0 Did you go for the gold or just bite your lip and meet functional requirements?<\/p>\n

I thought tonight about one of the most unusual costumes I have ever made.\u00c2\u00a0 Linda, a nurse,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0wanted to go to a Halloween party dressed as a cataract with\u00c2\u00a0her husband,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0a very prominent opthamologist.\u00c2\u00a0 He would\u00c2\u00a0suit up as\u00c2\u00a0a laser beam.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Only friendship could move me to tackle\u00c2\u00a0 this project.<\/p>\n

A hula hoop was covered with shiny fabric, selected by Linda because it was precisely the color of a “ripe” cataract.\u00c2\u00a0 It was lightly stuffed to represent the curvature of the pupil.\u00c2\u00a0 On the\u00c2\u00a0fabric\u00c2\u00a0I embroidered bits of corny text in small letters, simulating laser cuts.\u00c2\u00a0 Phrases like “Can’t see?\u00c2\u00a0 Call me!” followed by the name of the surgery center or “Need a fix for your vision?\u00c2\u00a0 Al’s your physician!’ Linda wore black\u00c2\u00a0pants and\u00c2\u00a0shirt with her head stuck through a hole at the top of the hoop.\u00c2\u00a0 Linda and Al were the hit of the party, though she said she had a hard time eating and dancing with that cataract hanging around her neck.<\/p>\n

I didn’t spent a lot of time anguishing over the quality of that costume.\u00c2\u00a0 It was no thing of beauty, but then, what cataract is?\u00c2\u00a0 The things we do for friendship….<\/p>\n

It’s a little like the things we do for grandchildren, like making size\u00c2\u00a05 Egyptian collars.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0At the talent show, Laurel will perform her upcoming recital dance and wear the glitzy costume for that event.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0So Robert needs something more substantial and showy than a paper collar over his pillowcase tunic.<\/p>\n

It will be worth while if he doesn’t get stage fright.\u00c2\u00a0 Film at 11.<\/p>\n

What is the oddest costume you have made?\u00c2\u00a0 What was your favorite?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATE:\u00c2\u00a0Robert did it!\u00c2\u00a0 He walked right up to the\u00c2\u00a0performance area and delivered the poem he wrote about his PlayMobil pyramid with all the confidence of\u00c2\u00a0a 5 year old SuperBoy.\u00c2\u00a0We were very proud of him. He really liked his collar. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0We … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14219"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14219"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14362,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14219\/revisions\/14362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}