Thursday, May 31, 2012

Sherlock 3 filming

Sherlock 3 filming will begin in January says Steven Moffatt. Co-creator Mark Gatiss will be writing the first episode based on "The Adventure of the Empty House". John will be very angry when he finds out Sherlock isn't dead.

Andrew Scott aka Moriarty has suggested that perhaps Sherlock's nemesis isn't gone for good. Scott told RadioTime.com that “It’s very hard for him to come back. But nothing is impossible”.

Head over to TellySpotting for  more.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Les Mis trailer thoughts

I'm in it. I don't care if you don't like Anne Hathaway (I'm not a huge fan) or worry about Russell Crowe's singing, I'm in deep and it's going to be great. It'll probably be next Valentine's Day before the daze wears off and I can give you a more fairly studied opinion.

Ok, thoughts about the trailer:

Anne Hathaway's voice: I'm not a fan of original Fantine's voice...don't shoot me! I'm excited for a new take. Also, since this is film she can really play up the nuances of the song through her acting. I like the weak pathetic tone at the beginning. I think it'll be a moving performance all around. Even though she's not a favorite of mine she does shine at times.

Hugh Jackman, if only he'd take me away and raise me in an abbey...LOVE the pulling in the water. Just learned about a week or so ago that there are alternate beginnings between some sort of chain gang and ship workers of sorts.

Amanda Seyfried looks like the perfect Cosette, totally vapid.

RUSSELL CROWE!! russell crowe. RUSSELL CROWE! First time I watched the trailer lost my mind a bit when we see him on a horse...in the rain...in a uniform. Going wild. Then he comes up all dashing and evil looking when she sings "but the tigers come at night". And then he's in it later running. Ug, I just am SO excited. Still a little worried ab his singing, but like I said, I'm in it!

Lovely Ladies is going to be awesome, I can tell just from the one shot of the whores swinging out of the doorways.

That's Anne Hathaway's real hair getting shaved off.

That's one nice looking barricade.

I'm going to bawl my eyes out during this movie. I'm going to bawl my face out every night I dress it back stage. I'm not really going to be emotionally stable until Valentine's Day so keep that in mind.

I'm excited. I realize I'm not approaching this film from any angle of neutrality. If you read the entries I've posted to this point you can tell I've been slowly deciding to just give in, and I have. This will be amazing!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Les Mis Trailer!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Lizzie Bennet Diaries: P&P Vlog

Friend Sarah tipped me off to the Lizzie Bennet Diaries on YouTube which is Lizzie's video vlog, if you know, Elizabeth Bennet lived now, was getting her grad degree in mass com, was a redhead and had access to the interwebs. Also Charlotte's the vlog editor and her last name is Lu, Bing Lee is a med student and we get all the scoop from Lizzie's bedroom.

I embrace most takes on Austen except when people try to write like her, or add zombies to her stories. I'll take Lost in Austen, Austenland, Mormon Pride and Prejudice, anything like that. I'm kind of hooked on these vlogs. They update on Mondays and Thursdays and I try to pretend I don't care that much, but I'm oh so excited when a new one is posted.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

waxing bridal for a moment: Maria's wedding dress

 Forgive me while I wax bridal for a moment. As mentioned before I watched The Sound of Music yesterday which of course has my favorite all time wedding dress. I can't get over Maria's dress and I never will. It's in nowise historically accurate for approximately 1938, but I love it anyway. I love late 1950s, early 1960s wedding gowns with fitted bodices and A-line skirts with so much fullness in the back.
so much skirt!
love love love
I will hire a nun to get a shot like this at my wedding
buttons down the back, gathered lower back
such a good sized train
adjusted the color so you can see the buttons and gathered back
While Googling said dress I found Colette Komm's blog. This woman is everything I want to be! She got her fashion degree from Parsons and now designs and makes couture wedding gowns out of NYC. From her sister's wedding I'm assuming she's LDS as it sure looks like a temple wedding. LDS or not this woman creates amazingly special but modest wedding gowns. I have half a mind to save all my pennies to collaborate on my future dress with her. Browsing her site we seem to have a lot in common with our wedding dress goals and ideals and we both had mad crushes on Georg von Trapp. Look at her blog and website, she's an inspiration to anyone that wants a unique and modest gown. I have half a mind to see if I can apprentice with her for a summer. She's also a great renderer and she rightly caught that Kate's wedding dress is more Maria than Princess Grace.

1959
1950s
1963

Saturday, May 26, 2012

art day

The weather wasn't good for hiking today and I'd gone adventuring for the past two Saturdays so it was nice to stay inside. Friend Kara and roommate Valerie and I spent the afternoon doing artsy things and watching The Sound of Music. My artsiness was repainting some frames I have.
I put a piece of velum in the label that says "hello." I'll probably change it to "chirp" at some point.
This one was originally glossy white. I've always loved this frame and I love the bird I keep in it that I embroidered, but it needed a little more pizazz. I didn't have an initial plan, but this what I got. I'm super pleased with it.

This frame was originally a run of the mill wood. I liked doing the gold so much on the bird frame I did a gradient kind of deal with this one. It looks better in person. It's all brush strokey on purpose. It's not my favorite, but it's a lot better and seeing them both on my desk makes me happy.

this looks great stretched as my desktop wallpaper
The turquoise, gold, and white made me really excited so I did this little number as the movie finished. Lots of scotch tape was involved for all of these projects. It was a great day!

Stuff You Missed In History Class podcast

Firstly, I passed 50,000 page views! And as of right now I'm sitting at the exact same number of page views for this month as last, which means this will be the fourth month of growth in a row! I also hit over 300 page views a day for the first time this week! I'm currently sitting at around 200-300 views per day. Thanks so much for your readership! And thank you Google for putting my picture results at the top of the results :-).

I don't really know what this entry is going to be about so...Oh! I know!

Since I sew 8 hours a day I have a lot of time to listen to podcasts ever day. My favorite at the moment because it's interesting and I don't have to concentrate on it too hard is Stuff You Missed in History Class by How Stuff Works, available on iTunes.

source
I heard about this podcast in the fall build and downloaded all 300+ podcasts. It's been around since 2008 and is weekly I think. Each podcast is about 20 minutes long and features two hosts basically talking about little known people or events in history. Some times I've never heard of what they're talking about (hence the stuff you missed in history class), but I'd say about 85% of the podcasts are about things I've heard of before with about 99% of those with new info that I've never heard before. They're really big on setting the record straight so even if you know about Pocahontas or the French Revolution or the OK Coral you're going to learn something new.

I randomly picked a place to starts so I'm around November 2009 at the moment. It's really great! I'm learning a lot! The hosts are total English majors and absolute nerds along my ilk so I really like them. How Stuff Works has a website, and other podcasts, but I'm sticking with this one for awhile.

My favorite podcast recently was about a pair of women that visited Varsailles in 1901 and were transported back to 1789! or so they say! very interesting...

Thursday, May 24, 2012

favorite picture: Duchess of Kent's wedding dress

I haven't done one of these in awhile. This is my way of copping out on a real entry. I have some in the works, don't you fret.

I just found this randomly, I was going to post a picture of the Duchess of Devonshire when I found this blog entry with this picture of the Duke and Duchess of Kent on their wedding day in 1961. I would wear her dress tomorrow...if you know, I was getting married, which I'm not.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Stitchin' it!

This is what a stitcher does all day. This was the second crinoline petticoat I put a new organza cover on. Needless to say there's a lot of it. Mostly I just laugh and laugh. My friend Valerie sews to my left and sometimes I can feel the petticoat move and I know she's still alive.


Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Why December is going to be the best month of my life.

The Great Gatsby (brand new trailer!)
The trailer reveals it's just as ridiculous and fabulous as Moulin Rouge and I'm so excited! Also, Amitabh Bachchan!! US film debut? Oh Mr. Luhrmann, you would put the world's greatest superstar in your film.

Les Mis
mad props to Anne Hathaway for whacking all her hair off, way to go. You already know how excited I am ab Russell Crowe. I've been sewing for a week and a half on Les Mis for USF and will dress it backstage, but I'm sure I'll still be stoked come December!

The Hobbit
The Hobbit's the only one of the series I've ever (had) read (to me). I love Bilbo, I love Martin Freeman, I love Benedict Cumberbatch, I love Richard Armitage and even though I haven't read all the books, I really like escaping into Middle Earth.




Word was the My Fair Lady film was going to be out this December, but casting is far from finalized and it seems Carrie Mulligan, who is the pick for Eliza, was busy filming Gatsby and is onto her next project, and Emma Thompson is working on Annie with Willow Smith and Jay-Z, so we'll see if anything ever comes of My Fair Lady.

Reichenbach postulating

We know that Molly probably helped with the body identification/autopsy.

We know Sherlock probably picked the roof of St. Bart's bc that's where Molly could help and he knew that it would come down to his death.

We know something probably went down when John got hit by the biker.

We know whomever fell from St. Barts was alive, or at least animate bc he was moving in the air, obvs not a dummy.

We know Sherlock was very adamant that John stay far away from Sherlock, exactly at a certain point.

We know the little girl screamed when Sherlock came in.

My guess...A Sherlock look alike was used to kidnap the girl, hence the screaming. Sherlock figured this out, and that Moriarty wanted him to kill himself so he used the look alike in some way (killed him? harsh for Sherlock) in conjunction with the bike collision and John's shock to  confuse and convince John that it was his body, which was of course quickly whisked away to be processed by Molly.

Filming for series 3 won't even start until 2013 when all the Hobbit business has blown over. I guess The Hobbit will have to fill my Cumberbatch/Freeman need.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Reichenbach Fall

There is litchrally a puddle of tears on my desk, litchrally.

Duh Sherlock didn't die, if you know Sherlock Holmes you know he doesn't actually die at Reichenbach Falls, but it's still so so sad! And John's so loyal.

Really Sherlock? Irene Adler told you she wasn't dead when John asked her to, you can't tell John you're not dead when he asks you to?

But if Moriarty killed himself who can the next great villain be? I should probs read some Sherlock Holmes.

Mycroft had to have helped.

NO! Molly helped! She does matter!...but how did she help? She can give him blood and fake the autopsy and...she had to have done it. Good ol' Molly.

However it went down, stuff happened when John got knocked over by the biker.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Books to re-read in the next 5 months

I've settled into a nice routine for the build at USF and will do so again when I'm just dressing. This is my list of books to re-read in the next 5 months a la my having read the Austens before 16 and one of each Bronte before 18.

:-:To Kill a Mockingbird...bc we're doing the play here and I'm sure I'm going to get so much more out of it than I did in 8th grade.
:-:Pride and Prejudice...bc I've never actually re-read all of an Austen again besides Persuasion.
:-:Persuasion...bc it's my favorite and I love it!
:-:Emma...bc I love Knightley
:-:Northanger Abbey...bc it cracks me up
:-:Sense and Sensibility...bc it's not my favorite, but I want to like it more.
:-:Mansfield Park...bc it's under appreciated.
:-:Little Women...bc I'm craving it recently, just watched the movie last night, and I don't think I fully appreciated Prof. Bhaer in 6th grade.
:-:Vilette...bc I waffle between liking it more than Jane Eyre
:-:Jane Eyre...bc I lurve it
:-:NOT Wuthering Heights...bc that's unnecessary nonsense

Books to read for the first time:

:-:The Professor...lots o' Charlotte's are the same-ish, but s'ok, I love a good age gap ;)
:-:Shirley...to round out my Charlotte anthology
:-:Lady Susan...to round out my Austen anthology
:-:Something totally fluffy that doesn't have vampires, suggestions? I need to read some more Ishiguro, but he might not be fluffy enough for me.

I also want to read a book on the history of Washington, DC and some other nonfictions, suggestions?

You better believe I'll be posting s'more insights on these novels, and maybe doing some renderings of the Austens at least.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Photos of Tom Selleck

We started talking about Tom Selleck at work today and it might have been my complete and utter brain depletion from doing three vest backs this week, but I had a rather uncontrollable moment of Tom Selleck euphoria. Hopefully these photos will help you accomplish one as well. I'm buying Quigley with my next paycheck bc Mr. Selleck with a giant gun holding an aboriginal baby on a horse in chaps is probs the best thing of my lifetime.

I want to touch his hair, all the time.
I love that that's his real facial hair, woof.
dimples!!!
again with the hairs
manly perfection, manfection?
every morning i wake up to this please?

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Elementary: more info

This one's for tkangeroo, which is pretty funny because I found this video this morning and thought ab blogging ab it but didn't have enough time.



Elementary, mentioned previously, is America's answer to Sherlock starring Lucy Liu as Joan Watson and Johnny Lee Miller as Holmes in present day New York. Sherlock is brilliant and I kind of want to hate Elementary like you're supposed to hate your best friend's enemy, but I'm hesitant to do so yet. I think that having Watson as a woman, while novel, misses the boat on one of the best bromances in history. If you watch above clip Lucy explains that Joan is the emotional side to the story, like this is novel somehow. That's Watson's job. Sherlock does seem to have sharper edges in this one, tattoos, six pack and addiction and all, but we'll see if that translates to the incredibly steely and detached yet arresting likability of the character.

Elementary will be on CBC on Thursday nights at 10pm/et

Just an update

I've been working full time for the first time in MONTHS! My brain is working so much every day it's hard to come up with blog inspirations, but I'm trying! I don't know that non-sewers understand how much thinking and brain power goes into a stitching job, or any job along the costume construction ladder. There's a lot of thinking. I will say that it's nice to have been doing this enough that I can just have a job handed to me and know what to do.

This morning I took in the sides of some pants, which for non-sewers might sound easy peasey, and easy it is, quick it is not. These pants are lined in tricot and the zero point was the knee so I got to take in the fashion fabric and lining and then the waistband. Also these pants were kind of Frankenstein pants to begin with so it's all easier said than done. And joy of joys I have yet to finish the other little notes and  I have to redo the hem which wasn't noticed during the fitting. This is what I use my brain juice for. I have gotten a lot of podcasts listened to, which I might blog about later.

My big accomplishment of the week thus far has been learning how to put a new vest back on a vest. The first one I did took about 2 days, the second took half a day. I'm getting so fast they're solving another vest problem by just putting a new back on bc I can whip that out in about 4 or 5 hours now. It's an exciting new skill and I might draw some visual aids and post the technique because it's a miracle! Easy yes, quick no. That's basically how sewing goes.

Overall the build is going very well (knock wood). In case you didn't know I'm on the Les Mis team at USF and a week in we've fit over half the 30 some odd cast, probably because the day we started work our designer and draper were already in a fitting with Javert. We've also got a 6 stitcher team which is such a luxury, and the other teams don't have enough for their stitchers to do yet so at one point we had 12 stitchers on our team. What joy is ours!

A long wordy post that was mostly for my sanity's sake, but that's my life recently. Envy me? You should, I create everyday and work with fantastic people that bake and bring in candy!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Teri Meri Kahaani: Time to get back to Bollywood?

SRK back in the day
I watched about 50 Bollywood films over the summer of 2009. It was a glorious time. I loved it, but at about three and a half hours each the urgency of viewing dwindled as I returned to school.  I love Bollywood! Bollywood (Bombay Hollywood) is in Hindi and is known for its epic stories, over the top dance numbers, and emotional rollercoastering. I fell out of Bollywood partially because after I'd caught up with all the SRK films to date all the new and hip shows were too Western and current for me; unwed pregnancy, cohabitation etc. The new round of stars and starlets can get all too modern as it were for my tastes. Bollywood used to be known for its traditional values and so forth so when stars started kissing on screen (one of my favorite Hollywood hallmarks) and even getting pregnant in the story lines I kind of fazed out. I miss the old Kajol, Aishwarya, SRK times of the late '90s early 2000s.





Priyanka Chopra and Shahid Kapoor
BUT I might just have to invest in getting a hold of Teri Meri Kahaani coming out in June. It looks like an old fashioned love romp through time that I can really get behind a gorgeous guy and gal, multiple locations, ridiculous dance numbers and a SUPER schmaltzy love story. I'm excited! I also need to catch up with Don 2 bc I LOVED the original Don and really liked the SRK remake. Maybe I'll get Netflix by mail again and have another Bollywood summer...

Monday, May 14, 2012

Dan Stevens in "The Heiress"

http://playbill.com/news/article/165905-Downton-Abbey-Star-Dan-Stevens-Will-Pursue-The-Heiress-on-Broadway#.T7CIorvDf14.twitter

Are we excited about this? Dan Stevens is going to play suitor Morris Townsend in the upcoming Broadway production of The Heiress in fall 2012. Can I go to there? SO excited! Jessica Chastain is playing Catherine Sloper and David Strathairn is playing her father, woof.

a)American accent (even though he has the poster boy face of England)
b)more period costumes
c)lovey dovey-ness
d)the villain (but who isn't in this one?)!!!

Ug, I love the Olivia de Havilland Heiress. I'd killed to see this one. Maybe I will as a present to myself after South Korea, you know, with all the gobs of money I'll have...

Stevens played Septimus in Stoppard's Arcadia back in 2009, a performance I might have literally killed to see seeing as Arcadia is my favorite play I've never seen and Septimus is a sexy tragic beast. Top of my list for events to travel back in time to see would be the original 1994 production with Rufus Sewell as Septimus. A brunette Stevens would be my second choice.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Things that drive me wild...

Russell Crowe
uniforms
men on horses
men with grey hair

I give you Javert from the upcoming Les Mis movie...

ug, yes. Also the distressing on his costume is fantastic!
favorite thing ever? probably, also my desktop wallpaper
 I started on the Les Mis team at USF this week. I've already worked on Eponine, Cosette, Valjean, and Javert. Javert's alteration was my favorite. Ballgowns are on the horizon, and SO MANY ensemble alterations. Good grief! I love my job!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Ginger Beards

I've talked about ginger beards before. I just love them! I'm not talking a redhead w/ red whiskers, that's common. I'm talking usually a brunette with ginger whiskers. You can almost always tell by their sideburns, although I've found that this is harder w/ men that grow auburn beards. I have a list of friends that grow ginger beards (one auburn) so here's the celebrity list. I decided to post a whole entry about this after I was watching Pride and Prejudice '05 and noticed that Mr. Darcy's sideburns had an auburn glow to them. Usually actors with ginger beard's get pieces or have them dyed for period burns (Michael Fassbender in Jane Eyre). I figured if I was seeing red then Macfadyen grew his own.
James Mcavoy, oh so very ginger
Matthew Macfadyen's awesome auburn
Michael Fassbender, I question if he's just a ginger in general
Christian Bale
Benedict Cumberbatch. A scraggly, gross beard, but ginger all the same
Michael C. Hall, probably wins, good grief!
David Tennant, sad bc he's not ginger
Sources can be found on my pinterest board

Monday, May 7, 2012

Project: Opening Night Dress: almost done

I just need to hem the skirt and sleeves and put the hook and eye at the CB. This dress was one of the easiest ever! The only thing I had to redo was one side of the zipper. Ka-chow!

The picture's not fancy, but I'll post some better ones when I'm all done up for the par-tay.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sherlocked: Scandal in Bulgravia

UG. just ug. really? REALLY?!!!! ug. and woof also. and just ug.


BEST EPISODE EVER!

Remember when Mycroft yelled at Mrs. Hudson and they all yelled at him? I rewound immediately to watch it again.

Remember when I knew it was her measurements? 32x24x34, she's a very slight woman.

Remember when EVERYTHING?!!!

Remember how Stephen Moffat is my hero?

Remember how my heart broke for Sherlock like every 2 minutes, esp when she said she was gay even though I knew she was lying or bi?

Remember how it's been far far too long since I've heard 90 minutes of Benedict Cumberbatch's inappropriately terrific voice (and that's putting it politely). 

Seriously, THE BEST time for British television ever.

I am Sherlocked. I am Sherlocked!!!

I have to make I am Sherlocked t-shirts.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Project: Opening Night Dress: in fabric, almost there

I got some work done today! I leave for Cedar on Tuesday and I don't want to do any more than finishing touches on my opening night dress when I get there bc I'll be sewing all day. The plan was to do the final in red and on a whim I bought sparkly leopard to do another mock up after my muslin, but then I ran out of time and money so the final's going to be leopard! It's either going to be super smokin' or totally trashy. Either way it's going to be festive...

the beginnings of the top

The fabric's not the greatest, the sparkles are just the plastic glued on bits that are obnoxious, but it's pretty fun right? I didn't mean to but it looks like I got that diagonal pattern to repeat onto the bodice. I also brain farted and even though I thought I was working it out to make the right side on top (girls are always right) I ended up with a boy dress (boys are left over). Too lazy to fix it. I need to finish the lining by hand, do the sleeves, sew in the zipper, finish up the back, and hem it. All in all not too terribly much to do.

It doesn't look the greatest on the form, but that's probably because my torso is a good 2" longer than the form's! I really hope it fits. There's no reason it shouldn't, but I always get nervous w/ my own patterns!

Part 2: The mock up
Part 1: The inspiration

Thursday, May 3, 2012

The Bodygaurd musical

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17906423
http://www.thebodyguardmusical.com/

Uh...the West End is producing The Bodygaurd as a musical with Tony Award winning Heather Healey (Nala from the original Lion King and Aida) as Rachel Marron. Lloyd Owen plays Frank Farmer who is best known for his role on Monarch of the Glen, but I know him as dreamy WWI soldier from The Cinder Path. I only recognized him bc of his awesome chin scar.
Owen as Frank Farmer and Headley as Rachel Marron
Now The Bodygaurd is on my short list of movies I have to watch if they're on TV (also Gladiator, Titanic, and Forest Gump), and I'll be thrilled if the musical does well, but I'm not so sure. It seems like a really intimate yet epic film to put on stage, but heck go for it! I'm dying for it to be great and want to see it! Previews start in early November, it opens in December. Christmas present?

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

too horrible by half: baby headbands TO THE MAX

I'm back! maybe...for a bit. I'm getting ready to move again and am not sure when I'll get the interwebs once I have moved, so ol' bloggy might still be rather patchy for awhile.

Anyway, awful baby headbands have been a plague to our infants of the female gender for quite some years. Headbands for baby have been around for many a year longer, but what's with the cabbage-sized, baby has its own moon headbands? It's just ridiculous. I have things to say about adult headbands and hair accessories as well, but let's just agree that scale and proportion are essential in choosing or making any accessory or garment we wear. Scale it back people, your baby doesn't yet have the neck strength to hold up her own head, let alone the balance to handle another one strapped to it.

cute baby's a little taken aback by the polar bear ear and crow on her head

when you have to play "where's the baby?" it's gone too far.

baby fascinators, unnecessary.