Tulle & feathers & rhinestones ... oh my!

 In addition to all the senior year events I mentioned in my last post, my daughter Kelly will also be dancing in her last dance recital. Both of my daughters have danced since they were four years old and it has been a wonderful experience for them. They made great relationships with their fellow dancers and teachers, they gained self confidence, they learned to appreciate the art of dance, they learned how to work hard and manage their time, and most importantly, they had fun! My husband and I have watched them with great joy and pride at what they have accomplished. We have been with this dance studio for a total of 16 years, so it is with a lot of emotion that it is coming to an end.

The girls have taken classes in most of the dance disciplines; ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, but they both love pointe. And since they were old enough to have pointe shoes, they have always chosen pointe for their recital solos. Some years it has been a contemporary pointe dance, some years it's been a classical one. A classical pointe dance means mom is going to make a tutu! In past years I've made tutus for "Cinderella", "Sleeping Beauty", and "The Nutcracker".

To be clear, I don't make the actual tutus (I'm not quite that crazy!). I purchase a basic, unadorned tutu bodice and skirt and then embellish it to reflect the dance.  Since everything has to be attached by hand,  there is always that moment ...  the moment when I wonder if I'll get it completed in time! It's a bit crazy, it's a bit exhausting, but I love it! And my girls love it too! They always have a great vision how they want their tutu to look and it's fun working with them to create their costume.

This year's recital will include highlights from the ballet "Swan Lake" and Kelly was selected to dance the part of the Black Swan.

So we start with a basic black tutu ...

we'll trim it with black and gold alencon lace ...

add some "swan feathers" ...

and rhinestones ... you have to sparkle ... so lots and lots of rhinestones!

...and we'll transform the basic tutu into a beautiful Black Swan.  I'll share pictures when it's completed!

Probably not much cross stitching will be getting done! But all of you enjoy yours!

Until next time ...