We’re still here!

Well, although it has been several weeks since I last posted, Grace and I are still here and sewing! Unfortunately for the Barbie pageant world, school has started, and I’m busy going back and forth to classes at college, not to mention all the homework! We had initially planned to finish Miss Merry Melody before the summer was over, but we started too late.   We do have a final deadline for the pageant, and we will  finish by that date. Fall break is in mid-October, about a month from now and we have a whole week off. That will give Grace, Claire, and I plenty of time to finish any designs we don’t get done in the meantime, as well as hold the actual pageant. I can’t wait to see the results!

Here’s some news about another design related thing going on with me, although this time I’m not designing for Barbie, but me! For the second year, I’m participating in an event called Design For a Cure. This is a design competition where young designers design an evening wear look, and show it on the runway at a fashion show my town holds to benefit the American Cancer Society. I’m modeling my own design, which is a pink empire waist gown with a long, flowy skirt. To make the design even more fabulous, I’m completely covering the bodice with hand beading, which I am currently working on. (Veeeeerrrryyyy slow work!) The gown will be amazing, and it’s so fun to model my own design!

Here’s my sketch:

I wouldn’t be able to do this kind of competition without the experience of designing for Barbie. It’s just really and ideal situation all around! Instead of just sketching design after design, which is great, I can actually make my ideas, and see how they look when executed in fabric. In addition, I can sew many more Barbie designs than full sized items, since Barbies use MUCH less fabric, and thus cost MUCH less money!  I have figured out that I have made almost 300 Barbie designs since Grace and I first started sewing for Barbie. Wow!

Rachel