Travel

Bali here I come…

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This looks orderly – you should have seen it yesterday—that room was a MESS! It took me the whole day to organize stuff: following the rule – lay out all the stuff, then pack half the stuff and twice the money!

I’d already looked after the “twice the money” thing with a visit to the bank a couple of days ago. Yesterday was the day for sorting out “half the stuff.”

Notice the post it notes? I’ve been leaving messages to myself so I will remember a few last minute items I’m still using. I hope to finish up the pair of socks I’m working on tonight which will let me begin the pair I will work on while I travel (hence the small knitting bag with the fish mola).

I leave Wednesday afternoon. I’m travelling Toronto/Frankfurt/
Bangkok/Denpasar (takes three calendar days – about 35 hours travel time).

I’ve managed to get everything into the one suitcase (which is half filled with “gifts” – (which are heavy) that is the custom in Bali, apparently) – so there will be lots of room to bring back batik fabric. The bag weighs only 35 lbs – well below the 50 lb limit so I’m good to go (the bag will open another 2″ wider if I unzip that second zipper). On the way back the bag will likely be well over 50 lbs – I’ll simply pay the charges – or I guess I can jettison the clothing and other stuff I’m bringing to keep the weight within the limit – none of that is of concern at this point.

I have my small Japanese style backpack which I made a couple of months ago and a carry on bag which I made a couple of years ago to carry stuff to sewing classes – it’s not too big—just the right size for my pillow, a change of clothing, the liquids/meds/supplements that you don’t want to get lost on the trip. It’s not too heavy to carry across my body (I added some strap padding last evening for that very purpose).

Tomorrow and Tuesday I have things to catch up on—I will be able to attend to those tasks without feeling any panic about having to pack.

And Wednesday—the adventure begins. I’ve made contact with three women who are coming via Taipei, arriving in Denpasar about half an hour after I am (that’s if everybody’s connections actually happen as the itineraries say!). We’re planning to meet up in the Denpasar airport and travel together by cab to the first hotel we’re staying at. I’ll be looking for the chartreuse luggage tags we’ve all made.

 

Armani / Swarovski Dress

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Armani Privé evening gown. Silver silk, Diamond Leaf Swarovski crystals. Fall 2007.

A couple of years ago on the New York Garment/Fabric Shopping trip we visited the FIT Museum – this was the first item you saw as you walked into the exhibit. It’s an amazing garment – created in 2007 by Armani at the request of Swarovski to showcase a new “leaf crystal” added to the Swarovski collection.

We weren’t able to see the internal construction of the gown, but it must have been substantial to allow a wearer to hold up the 50 or so pounds of crystals!

I’ve been looking for images of the dress since I got back. I finally got the idea of writing to the FIT Museum to ask about it. They answered me with a lot of information:

The dress was designed for Armani’s Fall 2007 collection in collaboration with Swarovski. It is embellished with approximately 100,000 Swarovski crystal beads and rhinestones as you describe. The beads appear in graduated sizes from small ones around the neckline to larger ones at the hem.  I’ve also included the label text that appeared with the dress in the exhibition in 2012 (Fashion journalist Suzy Menkes described Armani’s elaborately embellished women’s clothes as “symbols of escape from everyday reality.” This gown features approximately 100,000 Diamond Leaf crystals, a new shape designed by Armani for Swarovski. Prior to this collaboration, Swarovski had not worked directly with a designer since the 1950s, when the company partnered with Christian Dior.)

Luggage Tags

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The women on the Bali trip have been talking about how to recognize one another in the Denpasar airport when we arrive. We’re coming from both the east and west coasts and from locations in between. Some travelling west, I’m traveling east. Several of us are arriving at about the same time in Denpasar. Since most of us don’t know anyone else on the trip, the suggestion was made to create luggage tags in a lime green so we can identify another trip member at the luggage pick up.

Seemed like a good idea. So yesterday I whipped up a couple of luggage tags – one for my suitcase, and one for my backpack (which I will be wearing). Very easy to do.

  • Cut 4 pieces of 3.5″ x 5″ fabric as well as 2 pieces of 3.5″ x 5″ heavy weight interfacing, two 6″ lengths of grosgrain ribbon and two  3.5″ x 5″ pieces of plastic.
  • Fuse the interfacing to two of the pieces of fabric.
  • Place the other two pieces of fabric on the right side of the fabric/interfacing piece and sew on three sides.
  • Turn inside out, press.
  • Insert the folded grosgrain ribbon (cut ends) into the open end which has been folded  inward. Stitch the open end closed.
  • Take a business card (or a card with your ID on it) and lay it in the middle of one side. Place the plastic piece on top and stitch around the outside, then stitch around the edge of the card. Trim the plastic as close to the seam as possible.

And there you have it – a personal luggage tag – won’t look like anybody else’s!

Trip Home

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I took the early shuttle to the Portland Airport. Once through security what should I see but a display of Dana Pinkham’s hats!20130624-110913.jpg
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She has a couple on display hung at different heights with a mirror behind so you can “try them on”. I did that, but didn’t take a photo.
The trip was uneventful – Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax – arriving at 2:00 am. I knew it would be hard getting a cab at that hour so I arranged with the driver who took me to the airport to pick me up; even sent an email early on Saturday! No Show, however. I was one of the last two at the airport to get a cab after having to wait for more than an hour. Got home at 3:30 – wide awake. So I unpacked, watched a TV program I’d taped while away before finally falling asleep at around 6:00 am. It’s going to be a slow day today.

Last Day In Portland

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Today is the last day of the Portland Sewing Trip. The morning began with a useful session with Marla (who did the pattern fitting session Tuesday) – she offered lots of useful tips for modifying patterns and fine finishing techniques:
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Afterward, we returned to the estate sale – the deceased, who passed away two years ago, was a quilter. She collected about a ton and a half of fabric all carefully sorted and stored in plastic bins. There was some amazing stuff there. I came away with three pounds of manufacturer sample sized Japanese fabrics for the grand price of $4 / pound:
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Next a lovely lunch at a seafood restaurant, then a trek to Fabric Depot. Oh wow! Huge. Wonderful quilting fabric selection, lots of very nice garment fabrics. Too much to choose from when I’m limited by what I can pack. I ended up with two half-yard pieces from the “outdoor warehouse” to complement the Japanese fabrics – for $2.50!

To end the afternoon, Marla and I returned to Mill Ends to see if the piece of silk I had walked away from on Wednesday was still there – it was – I guess it had my name on it.

Dinner at Salties on the Oregon bank of the Columbia River, then home to pack.

It’s been a great week – the shopping, the classes, the designers, the sightseeing – I enjoyed it all.

Home tomorrow and back to my normal retired life.

Fabric Shopping, Portland Opera

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Today the group went fabric shopping. Visited a couple of fabric warehouses. The first, Mill Ends Store, is a huge barn of a place which sells, you guessed it, mill ends! The selection was overwhelming. I was so busy looking at fabric I forgot to take any photos! I managed to find two different fabrics for swimsuits, some batik for the back of quilts and a bit of print silk chiffon for a scarf. I stopped looking at that point.

Our second stop was the Pendleton Outlet store which sells cuts of discontinued woolen and cotton fabrics made in the Pendleton Mill here in Oregon. I ended up with some lovely plaid for a cotton shirt, and two yards of a light weight purple wool for a jacket. Again, I forgot about photos!

After a tasty lunch at a small restaurant we headed to the Costume Department of the Portland Opera. I did remember to take some photos here!

The costumes are amazingly well made and very expensive to “build”.
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This costume made from upholstery fabrics and trims was for Falstaff in a recent production, who was a large man to begin with and the costume designer wanted to make him much larger.

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This wedding dress was exquisite, but it was only carried onto the stage by the maid servant – not worn, nevertheless it was completed as a wearable garment.

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A half yard of silver fabric (made of real silver thread) which will be used to trim the jacket cuffs of a suit in the upcoming opera “Salome” – the cost – a mere $350/yard!

We ended the day with Marsha showing us actual travel garments made using her Safe-T-Pockets line of patterns – these travel wardrobe pieces all have many concealed pockets – the point being to travel without a handbag.

It was an enjoyable day.

Pattern Fitting

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The greatest challenge for the garment sewer is a garment pattern that fits! The truth is that very rarely will a pattern actually properly fit the wearer – that’s why so many people give up making clothing.

Pants! For more than a decade I have been on the hunt for the perfect pants pattern. I’ve tried lots of things. I’ve come close but my pants pattern still needed tweaking. Today we did a paper pattern fitting, starting with taking body measurements, cutting out the pattern pieces, pinning them together, then trying on the pinned tissue so darts can be added or taken out or moved, seam positions shifted, etc. My pants pattern fits fine from the hips down; today Marla showed me how adding half an inch to the center back (leaving the front as it is) will allow me to sit and bend without having my shirt pull out. I made that adjustment to my pattern – At home I have fabric for five new pair of pants. I’ll get to them as soon as I return.
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I had also brought the pattern for the winter jacket I had intended to make last winter; I just never got around to it. I was planning on making a size M, but after fitting the tissue it was obvious a size S was a better fit. So that jacket is back on my To Do list.
All in all a productive day!