8.31.2006

Episode 8

Yes, friends, we're skipping over Episode 7 (for now) and getting right on down to the good stuff. Now, first of all, I have to remind all of you that I live in West Palm Beach, Florida. Remember that little storm you've been hearing about on the news? Ernesto? Yeah. That's me. And, while Ernesto did manage to skim by us on the WEST coast (I'm on the far south east coast, for those of you who don't know your Florida geography), any time the wind blows so much as to sway a tree in our neighborhood, we lose our DirecTV signal. Sooooooooooooooooo, consequently, my watching Project Runway last night went something like this:

9:55 - Eagerly turn on the TV to await the beginning scenes of Project Runway. Discover that, even though everything is connected properly, the screen is completely black.

9:56 - Wail and moan as though someone died; decide to sit on the couch and watch a blank screen anyway, "just in case."

10:05 - Catch a 2-second glimpse of last week's recap and get WAY too excited that the TV has now decided to work.

10:05:03 - Plunge into darkness. Repeat wailing and moaning.

10:10 - See Heidi Auf a few models and tell the designers they'll be designing something for an international jetsetter. Hope that the signal stays on long enough to see Tim explain the thing.

10:12 - Watch Tim greet the designers in the workroom and hear as far as, "What she didn't tell you, is" before the screen goes blank again.

10:13 - Cut to stunned faces of contestants standing in workroom. Watch as some begin planning menswear designs and guess that they have to design for Tim Gunn, which would explain his presence on the judging panel as shown in the previews for the episode.

10:18 - The designers sketching in the workroom. Since the women are doing womenswear, correctly assume that they are, in fact, designing for themselves.

10:25 - Watch Michael try to teach Kayne how to work it on a catwalk. (Aside: What the ? Why doesn't a gay man already know how to work it on a catwalk?) Kayne's assertion - "It's easy when you come from the ghetto; I'm from white trashville!" Dude, you're from GAYville. Get your act together!

10:30 - Ecstatically view a mostly uninterrupted runway show. Feel impressed with Michael and Uli's designs and wonder what the HECK those rhinestones up Jeffrey's crotch are supposed to be for.

10:35 - Sit through darkness while the judge's give verdict of what they like and what they don't; catch Heidi telling the designers to get a move on so they don't miss their flight. (Another aside: Even having seen about 5 minutes of show up to this point, I was not at all surprised they were going to be putting their garments to the test. Can we say, "Predictable?")

10:40 - Designers arrive at airport and discover they will be flying to Paris. Wonder why, oh why I didn't go and audition for Season 3! Paris! First class!

10:50 - See Tim introduce Catherine Malandrino (love her!) at Parsons Paris and inform the designers that one of them will be out after their outfits are judged again by her...NOW.

10:52 - Hear Jeffrey announced as the winner. (Those rhinestones! Oh my!)

10:55 - Picture onscreen returns long enough to hear Ms. Malandrino say, "Kayne, I'm really sorry..." Freak out about Kayne being Auf'd.

10:59 - Watch in stunned disbelief as the screen shows not Kayne, but ANGELA packing her bags to leave!!!!!! Immediately jump up from the couch and begin doing my happy dance.

People, that was the most dramatic viewing of Project Runway EVER. You try it sometime...just go ahead and turn the TV off every 15 seconds for about a minute and a half and see if it isn't more exciting. Just be sure to watch the rerun later, so you can get all the good stuff...which is what I'll be doing next Wednesday, of course.

I know some of you are waiting for screen shots, so here they are (I'll be posting all of them from here on out):

The winner:

By Jeffrey
This was definitely ambitious, if nothing else. A jacket, embellished tee AND pants? Goodness. These guys only had one day to sew this all up! And, if you know anything at all about sewing, you know that is a LOT of sewing to do in one day. Without a pattern. And, those rhinestones! I just can't get over them. Very Jeffrey.


Auf Wiederesehen,

ANGELA!!!!!
Oh, Angela. We are so glad you are gone. No more whining, no more complaining, no more ROSETTES!


Buh-bye. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on your way out....wait. On second thought, DO!


Here are the others:

By Michael
You can't tell very well from this picture, but those pants are actually made out of blue seersucker. The shirt has a bit of stretch, which was also genius for travel.


By Laura
This was a really pretty dress of silk jersey knit. Fashionable, comfy and non-wrinkly! The back of this dress, which I can't find a photo of, was incredibly interesting and had a wrap-tie effect going on.


By Uli
Yes, almost everything Uli makes has the same style sense. Yes, it doesn't work for everyone and everywhere. But you know what? I like it! If I saw her stuff in a store, I would buy it and wear it. I really hope we get to see her do a fashion show at the end of the season, because it would definitely feel like it all went together, and it would definitely not be boring!


By Kayne
Again, I couldn't find a photo of the back of this outfit. See the shiny stuff on the right sleeve and left shoulder? The ENTIRE back side of this shirt looked like that. While it was very Kayne, the judges didn't like it, and he almost got the boot. (Which leaves me wondering why, when they've been asked to design FOR THEMSELVES, the judges think they can say, "That isn't what we wanted." Well, if the designer likes it, and feels comfortable traveling the world in it, it's exactly what you wanted!)


By Vincent
Ummmm, why wasn't Vincent out this week? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm delighted to see Angela go, but COME ON! This design (if you can even call it that) was completely dull. Black pants and a sewn sweater? Icky-poo! And it wasn't even well-constructed! And he used his own pants for the design! You didn't see anyone else doing that, including Angela! And besides all that, it was just ugly. UG-LEE.


I'm sticking with my claim that Uli, Laura and Michael will either be in the top 3 or the top 4. The wildcard is who the fourth person will be; I'm guessing Vincent or Jeffrey, and I'm leaning towards Jeffrey. And, if past seasons have been any indication, all 4 of the last remaining contestants will get to go to fashion week. No, you won't see it on Bravo, but you'll be able to see it on the website later, a la the Kara Janx collection. I would far rather see a collection by Jeffrey than by Vincent, wouldn't you all? Again, at least it wouldn't be boring!

Well, I guess that about finishes up my soap box for this week. Tune in again in a few days for the rant on Episode 7! (And I'll give you a hint: I was not on Angela's mom's side!)

Till next time,
Sarah

8.30.2006

Another Post!

Well, it seems that there won't be any photos any time soon, so you will just have to read on without them for now, as I can't stand being blog-lazy any longer. So.

Have you ever wondered why they say intarsia can't be done in the round? I have. And, until yesterday, I thought it was just because it would be too difficult to fight with all those strands of yarn through a tube of fabric. Actually, it's because intarsia can't be done in the round. See, the reason is that when you're knitting in the round, you're coming back around to each section of color from the opposite side of where the yarn for that section is attached. (Think on that for a second, you'll get it eventually.) Unfortunately for me, I didn't make this connection until *after* I'd already cast on and knit two inches for my nephew's birthday raglan...and spent a few hours carefully finagling FIVE different skeins of yarn around the piece. (What can I say? Call me the intarsia queen!) Only to join in the round and quickly discover that I'd have to rip it all out. *sigh* So much for learning something new, eh? Looks like the sweater's going to be done in pieces this time. Without a pattern. Again. I'll be so happy to knit something from a pattern again! There's just too much designing going on over here to be relaxing, haha!

Speaking of knitting things from a pattern, my seester (aka SIL) has finally purchased yarn for her Convertible from Knitty, so I do look forward to an interesting knit soon! Yay! Plus, I'm currently trying to find yarn for this, which I absolutely love. Hopefully, Phildar's English translations of their patterns are decent. Oh, and speaking of Phildar, their English website goes live in September!

I have a special treat for all you sock knitters out there today. This is a treat that I have not seen floating around blogland yet; something I found while doing research on a knitting product. Go see what you have to look forward to being on the market sometime soon! And, if you're interested in learning about how bamboo is made into yarn, check this out. Ahhhh, the wonders of the U.S. Patent office!

In other news, we are still enjoying having Laury live with us, and are sitting tight through Hurricane Ernesto! Well, allright. Sitting tight in this instance means me coming to work and blogging/knitting most of the day, but hey. It's still a tropical storm, right?

And speaking of tropical storms...I finally finished my Hurricane Sock! But more on that later...when I have pictures. : ) Check the sidebar for new updates!

Till next time,
Sarah

8.28.2006

A Post!

I actually have a nice, long, knitting bit waiting to get posted; I've been lazy about taking pictures. As soon as photos get done, I'll put them up. Meanwhile, enjoy the updates to the sidebar! : )

Till next time,
Sarah

8.22.2006

Random Blogthing. . .Tuesday?

My Blogging Type Is the Private Performer

Your blog is your stage - with your visitors your adoring fans.
At least, that's how you write with your witty one liners.
And while you like attention, you value your privacy.
You're likely to have an anonymous blog - or turn off comments.

8.18.2006

Episodes 5 & 6

If this trend in posting keeps up, I'm going to have to rename my blog "Project Runway-aholic". . .

So, I have two episodes to catch up on.

Episode 5 was an interesting twist on the usual ho-hum of choosing models and wondering what the next challenge will be. Instead of having the designers choose which models they wanted to work with, the models chose their own designers! The models were then whisked away to the workroom, where they were presented with photos of various "fashion icons" such as Audrey Hepburn, Diana Ross & Jackie O. The models fought to the death for the photo of their choosing, and the designers were challenged to design a modern outfit for the chosen celebrities. Two days and quite a bit of drama later, here's the winner:


By Michael (finally!!!!!!), Icon Pam Grier
LOVED this outfit. Totally would wear this outfit. Michael's original design was a very cool off-the-shoulder dress of the same material, which he scrapped completely when he saw it on the model. This turned out quite nicely! And Michael Kors was right, those shorts were PERFECTLY sewn. Props to you, Michael!

And here's who's out:


By Bradley, Icon Cher
While this was by no means the best outfit on the runway, I was sad to see Bradley go as I was just beginning to like his personality. He was a pretty funny guy. However, I do wonder why this was judged worse than. . .

What was he thinking:


By Robert, Icon Jackie O
This just made me want to vomit. The very thought of polished, perfect Jackie O wearing *shiver* a linen suit tied up by a ROPE was just repulsive. Robert, you're a disappointment to gay men everywhere. You seriously need to do some fashion icon research, okay?

Here's my favorite:


By Uli, Icon Diana Ross
Uli nailed it again with this gorgeous gown. Amazing movement, amazing colorwork and pattern choices, and overall well-constructed. What more could you want?

The thing that I am not understanding about Robert is that he is a fashion designer for BARBIE, for crying out loud! The man knows how to work a good piece of fabric. . .and glitter, and pink stuff. Heck, besides Kayne, he should be the most flagrant designer out there. But nooooooooooooooooooooo. . .gotta go with the boring stuff. I just don't get it. *yawn*

Okay, now on to Episode 6! The designers were confronted by Heidi, who warned them that they'd been having an easy go of it so far, especially compared to Season 2 contestants (huh?), and that the challenges were going to become increasingly difficult. The designers were then taken to the Newark, New Jersey recycling plant to choose from recylced materials with which to design an outfit of their choice. So, my first issue with this is, what???? We already did the make-something-out-of-trash "innovation" challenge in the first episode! Why are we doing it again? The plant challenge in Season 2 was far more interesting. And secondly, what do you mean the challenges have been easy this season? Any time you have to design TWO outfits for ONE challenge ("Designer's Best Friend," episode 3), or have to work in teams for more than one challenge per season("Fit for a Queen, episode 2, and "Reap What You Sew", episode 4), I say your patience is being tested. But I digress. Here's what the designers came up with, and well, most of it looked like trash.

Here's the winner:

By Michael
Sources: Burlap sack, mylar tubing, plastic tarp
Michael wins again! Although I am happy to see the judges finally acknowledging this man's talent, this was not my favorite design. But we'll get to that later.

Auf Wiedersehen to:

Alison
Source: Manila paper
Well. . .between her, Vincent and Kayne. . .I just don't know. They were all so bad that it was scary. And I do mean SCARY. But this one was really awful. And not very innovative, either. Plain paper? I mean, at least if you're going to use paper, you could jazz it up a bit like Jeffrey did. And the hair on that model was just. . .beyond horrible.

My favorite:

By Uli
I really hope Uli wins, she is just fabulous. Paper and mylar tubing never looked so good. I really thought this one was going to win. Apparently plastic tarps are more wearable than cute, inventive dresses. Hmmph.

And Jeffrey's design was cool, too:

Jeffrey
Source: Paper and acrylic paints
I would never wear this, but it was very cool. . .in a Jeffrey sort of way. Great construction, anyway. Paper! Who woulda thunk it?


And just for kicks, here are Vincent and Kayne's designs (extra point if you can tell me whose was whose without having seen this episode):





Yeah. . .pictures are worth a thousand words, aren't they? I have to say that all in all I'm just ready to get to the final 3. The challenges could be far more interesting than they have been (I genuinely hope to see something new in the next couple of episodes), and as far as contestants, it seems fairly obvious who's going to make it. Robert, Angela, Vincent and Jeffrey don't have a chance of making it, so that means it's going to be between Kayne, Michael, Uli and Laura. And if Kayne has another disaster like he did this week, he'll be out, too. I'm pulling for either Uli or Michael for the win.

Well, that's it for now! Check the sidebar for knitting updates, if you so desire.

Till next time,
Sarah

8.13.2006

Knitty News

First I must apologize for my absence from the blog. Things are more peaceful here now that Laury is successfully residing in my guest room; however, I am knitting up a storm for my nephew's birthday, my sock swap, and most importantly, another submission for Knitty (the Winter issue, this time).

And speaking of Knitty. . .

I have mentioned in several posts before that I did hear from Knitty regarding my submission for their Fall issue. Below is the E-mail I received from Amy:

Hi, Sarah --

Thanks so much for your submission! I think the concept is good but the pictures aren't working for me at all. Also, a black and white sweater is about as hard a color combination to photograph as you could possibly have chosen. :-) I might like this for spring in some easier colors (not pastels, but fresh spring colors) and I'd definitely need to see more photographs, especially head-on shots.

In any case, I really like your style -- I thank you for taking the time to prepare it and send it in and hope we'll see something from you again in the future!

Best,
Amy
[editor, Knitty]

And there it is. Very kind, I thought. I'm leaning towards knitting a second piece and resubmitting as she suggests. . .what do you all think I should do?

More posts on PR to come (after Random Blogthing Monday, of course!)

Till next time,
Sarah

8.09.2006

Episode 4

Allllllllllllllrighty, here we go.

You all know the story. . . .teams of 3 this week, presenting a design for International Concepts a/k/a INC for sale at Macy's largest stores nationwide. Okay, so first of all I think we're all wondering why Banana Republic was "out" this season. Maureen Ryan of The Watcher had a massive interview with Tim Gunn last month in which Tim claims that the Bravo execs simply wanted to "give someone else a chance." I for one think that was pretty stupid. Hell, none of us would have even heard of Project Runway had it not been for the huge signs posted in every Banana Republic from here to San Francisco! Thanks for the press coverage, Banana, but "Auf Wiedersehen." Freaking idiots.

So, on to the drama. As I suspected, Keith was the rule-breaker sent home this week for sneaking pattern books into his apartment. Thanks to a little tattle-tale-ing by Kayne, one of our best designers is now gone. *sigh* (Oh, and what was up with Keith working out a discount at Mood? Methinks there will be a rule against that next season, too. . .)

The runway was a complete disaster; can we say crapola, anyone? The judges, faced with choosing the lesser of four evils, chose Angela's design as the winner. And, let's face it guys, they were right.

Here it is:


By Angela, with team members Michael and Laura
Michael and Laura were aghast at being chosen for Angela's team members. Wouldn't anyone have been? Now, I'm not saying I would wear this design, but it was certainly better than the other choices. Which is unfortunate, seeing as how Angela will now be ubearable. (And worse, immune for the next challenge.)

The loser:



By Bonnie, team members Uli and Bradley
This really was dowdy. Do the sleeves of Gramma's jacket look a bit too short to anyone else? Plus, when she took that jacket off, the shirt looked like something the model could have worn if she had been 9 months pregnant. . .and the pants looked like something she would wear after she had the baby and became a frazzled mother. Yuck.

Next:



By Vincent, team members Alison and Jeffrey
This would have been my favorite (can we choose a favorite from such awful creations?) had it not been for the weird, the-model-is-wearing-the-shirt-upside-down feature of the convertible tank. The straps hanging down around her hips bothered me. A lot. Yuck.

And finally:


By Robert, team members Kayne and Vincent
Weirdness. Did this CEO leave work and get caught in the rain? Seriously, what is going on with the jacket, here? Yuck.

I'm now going to predict that the winner of Season 3 will be a tossup between Uli, Kayne and Laura. I'm guessing Michael or Robert will be auf'd this week. Stay tuned, peeps!

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - The Knitty news is forthcoming, but will be in a separate post. . .

8.05.2006

The Runway from Hell, and Other Stories

Hello friends! Thank you for expressing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me. I am currently preparing for my best friend's arrival in Florida next week, and also a bit busier than normal at my two jobs. (In fact, I leave for today's second shift at the restaurant in 30 minutes!)

I have posted progress updates on the sidebar. . .my rant on this week's Project Runway will be forthcoming.

And trust me, it WILL be a rant. So stay tuned.

Till next time,
Sarah

PS - I have news from Knitty! But more on that later. . . : )))))))