The Reminder

Peter introduced me to the wonderful, magical musical world of Feist, so for Christmas 2011 I gave him this silhouette of her as a present. She's got a really cool nose.

Romeo Jacket: Finished Product!

Here it is! Aside from a few hiccups with the quilting and with the (expletive) cuff hem coming undone, like, five times, this jacket came together really smoothly and I must say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It's fully lined, with accents on the wrists and elbows, with contrast fabric on the ribs and the upper arms. I added a little shoulder panel (based on a flash of inspiration from Maximus's Gladiator armor). It zips up and has an eyelet section hidden on the chest so that Peter can choose to lace it up for shows. When not being used the ties are threaded through loops along the zipper and knotted at the bottom to keep them in place.

The only thing left is seeing whether or not it fits! And, of course whether or not he likes it. Fingers crossed.

Romeo Jacket: Construction

So here's the next installment of the Romeo jacket construction. This, more specifically, is the bottom layer of the coat. The actual leather part of the jacket is more of a vest that rests over the bottom layer (I liked the effect of the sleeves coming out of the arm openings as if it were a vest).

Romeo Jacket: We Cut!

And now...the most exciting photo collection EVER TO HIT THIS BLOG!

But really, it is a day to celebrate. Cutting a pattern is always one of the most nail-bitingly stressful parts of starting a garment, especially if you're working from your own pattern. What if you run out? What if you accidentally clip something you shouldn't? How much is future Bailey going to be swearing at past Bailey while she's trying to fit all these mismatched seams together? Why can't I follow someone else's pattern like a normal person?

Love in a Blanket

Being in a long-distance relationship is one of the toughest situations a young couple can find themselves in. I know, because four out of my last four relationships were long distance for a period longer than a year. It sucks. My mom, who was in a long distance relationship with my dad for the two years before they were married, always says, "You've got Facebook! FaceTime! Skype! You kids have got it easy!" It's a double-edged sword. Is it great that Peter and I can get together and watch an episode of Freaks and Geeks on FaceTime together? Sure. But I'm so hyper-conscious and hyper-informed of his comings, his goings, his parties, his shows, new friends...sometimes I'm not sure if we've made it easier on ourselves. In some ways those updates only emphasize his absence and our distance from each other. So every tangible thing we can do to feel close to each other takes on a value of tenfold importance.

Enter the blanket.

Black and White Ball 2012, or How to Score a Man-Friend

One year ago, on February 18th, Just People hosted their first Black and White ball in Portland. My bus date was my best friend Peter (continuing a tradition of bus dates that stretched back to our first meeting at the 2011 Masquerade Ball). I performed with the band, the two of us went back up to the band's Lodge for the afterparty, then we wound up trekking back to my house in the wee hours of the morning. The next day we smooched. I think the general sentiment among all our friends was less "Yay!" and more "FINALLY. Dear God." 

So, how does one capture the fancy of a young man? In my vast experience, it is best to start with a top hat.

Birthday Presents

Peter is one of those infuriating individuals who had the nerve to be born less than a month after Christmas. It makes the winter season that much more stressful (not least because I get super impatient for people to open the presents I make and waiting without giving anything away is not one of my strong points.) I think the idea for this particular gift was inspired by something I read about Elizabeth I embroidering a prayer book cover for Catherine Parr one Christmas. I liked that. So this project developed into a fourfold creative endeavor: embroidering the cover, constructing the book itself from scratch, and filling it with poems and photographs I'd written or shot that I thought Peter would like. You are not allowed to see the poems or photographs, so we'll just talk about the cover!

New Year's Eve 2012

This New Year's Eve it was all about the old Hollywood glam.

I should begin by saying that last year's New Year's Eve was not all about the glam. Last year's New Year's involved going out in a fur coat and velvet dress, getting stranded at a NYE party and waiting half an hour with my sister for a taxi to take us to the one place we wanted to be: Peter's. Then we played teamball and drank beer and listened to Horses and didn't smooch and then went to Megan's, where we had pizza. Fun? Undoubtedly. Classy? Not particularly.

Romeo Jacket: The Inspiration

This is going to be the first "track the project" on this enterprise. After Peter's leather jacket made such a great hit at Masquerade, I've sort of been jonesing to make him another one in black. After all, every rock star needs a little color variety, right? Right.

One Man's Leather Jacket...

Who wears this mysteriously attractive leather jacket? Where is he from? Where is he going? Most importantly, does he appreciate the music of Kanye West? (Answer: no).

Deciding that this year's Masquerade Ball outfit was going to be Steampunk-y on my end was a pretty simple decision. But the thing that really clinched it was the prospect of making a really sweet-ass leather jacket for Peter to wear onstage--I mean, the guys were opening for Blackalicious at a Masquerade Ball. Come on. For those who don't know him, Peter is not a "ripped-tank, funnel-the-groupies-in-my-direction" sort of musician. He's the "get unjustifiably excited at the mention of a B7th-diminished chord" sort of musician. I am under the impression that for years his bandmates have tried (unsuccessfully) to get him into something other than a t-shirt or button-down onstage. And I, dear reader, have triumphed where lesser fellows have faltered. I created that leather jacket. And boy, did he look good.

A Boy's Best Friend is His...Dog?

Here's the scenario: Christmas is approaching (okay, fine, it was September, but Christmas was still approaching). You're dating a wonderful young man. You're spending Christmas with his family in Wyoming. You want to give him something meaningful, unique. What do you do? Give him a beer hat? Another University of Oregon sweatshirt (go Ducks)? A certificate of appreciation? No. The trick is to make him a picture of the one thing he might like even more than you: his dogs.