When I was asked to create the gown of Kelly Frey,
the emcee for the Garbage Bag Gala ( benefits the salvation army crisis center)
--it seemed like a great idea.
And then panic set in.
I stared at my heap of plastic.
And stared.
And stared.
Apparently, my creative juices had gone on leave.
(a side effect of happy pills)
It also did not help that I had never seen
(except on tv)
the woman whose dress I was to make.
(the only information: size 6)
So in an act of desperation,
I begged my size 6 mother-in-law to make the
90 mile trip to my house,
to stand naked while I draped, tucked and taped plastic on her.
A total trooper, amidst the sea of garbage bags, dirty laundry, partially unpacked bags, plates and coffee mugs (accoutrements of the bedroom) with the smelly dog as an audience:
my mother-in-law was the perfect model.
Or so I thought. Then I met Kelly--
"They are real...and they are spectacular!"--Frey.
There was no way that the blue gown I had slaved over
(forgetting the kid's bday and all) was going to work after all.
I had not factored in her "friends".
Luckily, shortly before the fitting, I obsessively whipped up a back-up gown.
This is why my mother-in-law ended up in the Kelly Frey gown.
For myself I made "Great Women" pants out of green garbage bags.
It had names of women who've made a difference: Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Pearl Buck, Eleanor Roosevelt, Harriett Tubman, Gabriela Silang, Pamela Abdalla... to name a few.
Since a garbage bag gown can get a tad uncomfortable due to plastic that gets hot and sticky, I added a lining inside the hefty creation to solve this problem. Problem.
Like this is actually a problem. Who am I kidding.
If getting hot and sticky in a garbage bag is a problem that I can devote a few days to fixing...then life must be good.
Pictures from Garbage Bag Gala 2006 .