Knock Offs with a Little Culture on the Side

Finished the handsewn bow and ruffle for this latest Pamela's Patterns T shirt, this time with the V neck front.  I was inspired by this Kate Spade top
Kate Spade inspiration top
I'm not sure how the inspiration shirt fabric is attached to the the front.  I did handstitching which is visible on this soft knit.  If that bothers me too much I might go and some beads in those areas for some bling later.... but most likely I'll wear it as is.

My knit is a very soft cotton poly blend from Fabric Mart which was probably destined to be a nightgown or perhaps a robe.  But I loved the shell pink color and thought it would be appropriate for this ruffle look.   It is a little clingy for a knit top but so very comfy.

Auditioning the bow and streamers on the dressform

Since I'm explaining my knock offs, here's one for Lucky the rescue dog.  We've started training classes on Saturday mornings and this is his Dollar Store hack collar.  It's a design based on martingale collars which slip over your dog's head and let you correct the dog then release the tension.  The generic ones have a collar release to size it for your dog but Lucky's is custom fit for him.  I used a $1 leash that I cut up following a very old martingale that belonged to Sam.

Martingale dog collar inspiration:
Martingale collar

Last week was also a week of culture in our house.  We saw this wonderful play at the Olney Theater.  I don't have a musical bone in my body (but I am a great audience) so I was wondering how I would respond to a play based upon a string quartet losing one member and gaining another.  Fascinating play.  We are all part of groups, at work, in our families, and we all influence....and annoy....one another so the topics covered are quite universal.  Thoroughly enjoyable evening especially since it started with dinner across the street at the ever popular Olney Alehouse.  My brother and his then girlfriend introduced me to it maybe twenty years ago and I've enjoyed the opportunity to dine there whenever I'm in that neck of the woods.  Back then it was my first time trying their lemon tahini salad dressing and it's still a winner.


My next cultural event was a limited  select movie theater  showing of an HD filmed version of Steven Sondheim's musical, Company.   An amazing cast....Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Steven Colbert (yes, that Steven Colbert) Martha Plimpton, Christina Hendricks, to name about half of them.  A girlfriend and I had a night out and were blown away.  We felt just like we were in Lincoln Center watching the performance...from the very best seats.  I could never have afforded tickets to this limited 4 show engagement but got to see it just a few miles from home, how cool is that?

Company by Steven Sondheim movie trailer