Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Wheat Dress: 70% Done


Boxing Day was relaxed and quiet; I stayed home all day and got a lot of work done on the wheat dress. Same on Tuesday so I made a lot of progress in two (obsessive) days; I’m really happy with the way it is coming together.  
I am short of some leaves but rather than go through the leaf-stripping process again (boil; dry; bleach; dry; starch; dry), I found some online I could buy for the few more I need.
Working with the wheat is messy and slow. The wheat kernels have threads attached to them that almost cut your skin if you drag them across a finger. They attach to everything, so my place looks like a barn. I have to clean up frequently. 
It’s going to take me a very long time to do this dress. It’s a demanding project because it fans out at the back — it’s supposed to be a wedding dress so I want an elegant line to its silhouette. Sadly, the second order of wheat is very different from the first; I’m glad I used the “royal” variety for the front. That was a fluke. The other order — the stunted wheat will be where it belongs.
When I get the leaves I bought, I will add tissue to them and there will be leaves scattered down the dress when it’s finished and the waist of the bodice will be lower. It should come together this weekend. That will be dress #5 finished; then on to the apron.
The apron is going to assemble fairly quickly I think. The hard part of the bodice — the text — is done. I may sew text into the ties, too. I love that idea. But when I finish it, it is #6 so I will be half way through my project.
Initially, this was just a time-killing project. I set out to make five bird dresses as part of my therapy. Now its become a show of six different dresses and their stories — and … I am half-way through and I like my work. Making the peacock dress (#1) seems like so long ago.
Today: Dr. Shoja first, then lunch with Cathy and then back to the dress. And I think I am going to be able to keep going into working on the apron. My mojo is back. Yahoo.
















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