Hey gang-- I'm stretched out enjoying the Morning Friendly when I get to the sewing column. And the familiar name Joy Hardie pops out at me...Barbara Gash writes about her State Fair entries and the heralded Scarlett O'Hara dress. (Joy didn't tell us about re-creating the fabric!) Will post a link if it's up tomorrow.
--Karen M. meanwhile try searching for it on
What fun!
I found it here:
Sharon
Joy also neglected to tell us about the Ren wedding dress with faux fur collar, beaded trim and net overskirt. You holding back on us, girl!
--Karen M.
October 19, 2003
From glittery tutu to practical pin cushion, the 62 entries of Joy Hardie won the hearts of judges at the 2003 Michigan State Fair. Hardie, 42, of Bloomfield Hills was named Exhibitor of the Year after winning 54 blue ribbons. Four were Best of Show awards in the sewing division.
It began a year ago when Hardie, wife and mother of three, decided to enter the competition. She studied the Fair exhibits and asked herself "What can I learn to do, and what is realistic?" She started a notebook of project ideas and started to collect supplies.
"I wanted to meet a challenge so great that I'd have to work hard for it," she said. "I had to find difficult or interesting patterns or stretch my limits somehow."
Hardie entered every sewing category and won a Best of Show for her velvet Renaissance-style wedding dress with faux fur collar, beaded trim and net overskirt. She received another top award for her Creative Clothing entry, a stunning reproduction of a Scarlett O'Hara gown from "Gone with the Wind." For this, she researched extensively and then decided to hand-print 20 yards of old curtain fabric. "Scarlett would have been proud of me," she said.
The bodice with its 18-inch-waist corset was fully boned. She also sewed pantaloons, a chemise, a hoop skirt and a layered petticoat made of old flour sacks. "This dress took about 50 yards of fabric and over two months to make," Hardie said.
Other winning fair entries included a communion dress, children's outfits, lingerie, novelty items and, yes, a black tutu embellished with glitter and crystals. "I spent every day of the past year striving for this goal," Hardie said. "I have a college degree in recreation management -- and this was the closest thing to climbing a mountain!"
Hardie will present her exhibit of prize-winning items to any interested groups as a way of promoting home crafts and the Michigan State Fair. Contact her at snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net.
BARBARA GASH'S column appears Sundays in The Way We Live. Write her at P.O. Box 828, Detroit 48231 or snipped-for-privacy@aol.com. Letters cannot be answered personally.
She goes out and gets a 50-hr/week job? (That's a joke!!)
--Karen M.
And a charter member of Overachievers Anonymous! Phwew! An ambitious goal achieved. I'm in awe.
Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati
Where are all the pictures???
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