Fabric and a Movie...

After it took me three days to sew a dress...one dress...*sigh*  I knew I needed some quality time out of the sewing cave to get a new perspective.  So the Little Prince's mother, commonly known as my middle daughter, and I headed to NYC to pick up a few things on my sewing restocking list.  I really wanted to do this while I was on vacation so I didn't have to rush around the garment district on my lunch hour.

We hit up Mood Fabrics, SIL Thread, and Daytona Trimmings. Of course we took pics of both of us amongst the fabric at Mood...

...and this is my haul...

Hug Snug, thread & stitch witchery from SIL Thread

Tracing paper from SIL Thread

Invisible Zipper from Daytona Trimmings

10 yards of brown wool crepe from Mood 

2.5 yards of forest green double 

wool crepe from Mood

Then because I missed her birthday last week while vacationing, we took in an afternoon showing of the movie, Sparkle.  

Now I know the movie has been bashed by the critics, but the original Sparkle starring Irene Cara and Lonette McKee was one of my teenage years' favorite movies.  I own it in both VHS and DVD.  If anyone has seen the original, you know it was a cheesy story badly filmed with really poor acting.  But Irene Cara sang her butt off, Loretta McKee was such a convincing drug addict and Philip Michael Thomas was in his prime and sooooooo good looking...this was way before his Miami Vice days.

So Sparkle is an integral part of my childhood as well as my daughters...we were anticipating the remix even before Whitney Houston died.  I know Whitney's participation in the movie and passing hyped up the anticipation for the movie even more...and can I say first that the remix is so much better than the original. However, before I get to that, I have to say that I was annoyed to read a review about the movie saying that it was the poor man's Dreamgirls.  Ummmm, excuse me!  If the critic had taken the time to learn the history of Sparkle they would have realized that it was written and shot way before Dreamgirls even appeared on Broadway!  It actually was the black people's version of what was happening in their neighborhoods, versus the sanitized Broadway version of the music business with a black girl group.  There are some rough scenes in the original version of Sparkle that are totally gone from this remake.

On that note, I like what the director and producers did with the remake.  I like how they concentrated on Sparkle and her desire to sing more.  I like that the sisters are so much more well developed characters and I love the church aspect of the movie. To that end, I lost it in the movie theatre when Whitney Houston sang, His Eye is on the Sparrow. To realize that she was singing about being free and wrapped up in Jesus' arms after she had passed away, did me in.  I can't believe how much her death affects me even now... 

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie you should. Jordin Sparks is adorable.  Mike Epps as Satin Struthers is just awesome, the music is great...especially since I never liked the Aretha Franklin soundtrack - what can I say I'm a purist! I thought Irene Cara and Lonette McKee did a great job of singing in the original movie. Finally the clothes from the 60s are just fantastic! If you only go for the clothes, the music and seeing Whitney sing her last song, EVAH, it is worth it!

So, I'm back home in the sewing cave...refreshed...renewed and with a whole lot of new supplies.  My next dress is a designer interpretation that if you follow me on Instagram you've already seen the components.  BTW, why aren't you following me on Instagram? I'm diaryofasewingfanatic and it's all about my sewing...

Now I know that you're looking for pictures of the finished V8799 dress but since I no longer live with my photographer and just can't get the hang of taking my own pictures, they will be taken at the end of the week...

Let me leave you with a Sparkle clip...

and the closing song with the cast...

...as always more later!