I got two more show shirts done and delivered last week. I discovered that once the patterns are drafted and cut out, it's quite efficient to assemble two shirts at once. A's shirt was made up in a holographic "liquid metal" lycra, iridescent black for the body and iridescent lime green for the collar, cuffs and facing. The collar and cuffs were embellished with aurora borealis swarovski crystals. A picked her shirt up Friday morning and was thrilled with the finished product. She was giving a presentation on showing your horse the next day and immediately decided to wear her new bling. She was on her cell phone bragging to H before she even left the driveway. H's shirt has black collar and cuffs, with a silver-on-black body that reflects rainbow. Aurora borealis crystals continued the rainbow theme. My daughter took H's shirt to her at the barn yesterday evening. H immediately donned the shirt then danced down the aisle at the barn. This triggered a storm of pleading from a little girl who were there for a riding lesson - "Mom, I really NEED a new show shirt. The one I've got is just plain. Wouldn't me and Coco look so pretty in silver? Please? What if I save my allowance?" Also present at the barn were K and R, my daughter's arch rivals. To my daughter's catty delight, they were visibly envious and K eventually choked down her pride and asked for our phone number so she could call me about a shirt of her own. My daughter, A and H are all planning to wear their shirts to the rodeo Wednesday evening. I'm going to bring the camera along and get some pix for my portfolio. Due to a mix-up in ordering from StretchHouse, I wound up with enough extra of the lime green fabric to make up another whole shirt (I only charged A for what I actually used). At the girls' suggestion, I'm going to go ahead and make up a shirt to take up to the rodeo and see if it sells. Neon colors are big with the girls who ride the speed events... And last night I took M fabric shopping for materials for a princess seamed zip front, mandarin collared show tunic. M is a good friend and a woman of substance. The ready-to-wear selection in plus-sizes is pitiful. Most of the western wear catalogs only offer a few shirts in large sizes, and the prices are nothing short of appalling. Considering that there are lots of big women who ride and show, it's difficult to understand the lack of selection. M chose a glorious royal, black, silver and gold brocade from the special order book. She was pleasantly surprised when the total for fabric and notions came to $75, and even more delighted when I pulled out my Hancock Preferred Customer Card and a fist full of coupons and brought the cost down to $56. I can't wait to get started because I think she's going to look absolutely regal, but for this one I'm definitely going to need to do a muslin first. Kathleen
- posted
17 years ago