Comics Roundup

After beginning to blog about my monthly comics reading, I hit a snag. My January shipment of books was swapped for someone else's--someone who just happens to live in Australia. The online comics company I buy from is, oddly enough, in North Carolina too--which means that my comics took almost two months to effectively travel two hundred miles from origin to destination. With a slight detour down-under.

I suppose I should take a moment to explain why I have my comics shipped to me. Yes, there is a good comic book store in Asheville, North Carolina. Two, in fact. That Asheville is more than an hour away doesn't matter too much. I go down often enough so that I could collect my books in a timely manner, and having them shipped to me means I have to wait a few weeks for books that are already on shelves anyway.

And yes, I do get my comics cheaper by ordering them online. The folks at Sci-Fi Genre, the web site I use to order my comics, don't have a brick and mortar store. This isn't a sideline for them, it's their only business. Their site is great and easy to navigate, and they don't have the overhead that comes with paying a college kid to sit around and read comics all day.

But the real reason I buy my comics online? I hate comic book stores. I mean, I love them, but I hate them. I love them because I can totally blow an afternoon browsing the shelves, looking at all the comics I want to buy. I love the action figures that line the walls, the posters they sell, the t-shirts that have been collecting dust since they ordered them ten years ago. I love the big white boxes full of back-issues and the bookshelves full of trade paper collections.

What I hate are the clerks.

Not uniformly, mind you. I've met one or two nice ones in my day, like the guy who ran the comics shop I frequented in Cincinnati. Not only did he always have my books reserved--and I mean all the books I reserved, not just some of them--he was actually friendly. But most comics shops I walk into have clerks who are comics snobs. It's like they've been marginalized all their lives for being total geeks and losers, and the only power they have in life is making wannabe comics readers feel like idiots for asking where the Batman Animated comics are. I swear, I get so intimidated when I walk into some comics shops because I'm not "hardcore" enough, meaning, "I don't buy every single title on the shelf."

Is it any wonder that comics shops are going out of business left and right? Certainly there's more to it than that--like high overhead in a short margin business--but the number of comics store clerks and owners (usually the same thing) who work really hard to drive potential customers away is astounding. New Gods forbid anyone should want to buy a book from them that they themselves don't give the comics geek seal of approval.

So back when I was in Atlanta, where it was difficult enough to find a comics shop, let alone one with normal people running it, I decided I'd explore ordering my comics online. I did a bit of digging and finally settled on Sci-Fi Genre, and I couldn't be more pleased. Last month's rerouting of my books to Australia (the shipping slips for my books and this other Spider-man-obsessed fellow were merely switched) has been the first malfunction from these guys in three years of ordering books from them. Not only that, but the more books I buy from them, the bigger my discount is! I routinely get 20-30% off my comics shipments, easily paying for the shipping, and then some. To compare, I went into one of the comics shops in Asheville and, just for kicks, asked them what kind of discount they could give me if I subscribed to my books through them. The answer? No discount for a year, then a flat ten percent on everything after that.

Thanks but no thanks.

So, long story short (too late!), I ended up with two months of books at once. Here's a rundown on how things stand in the stories I follow:

Robin 170-171: The return of Chuck Dixon, former Robin scribe, has been . . . disappointing. He's introduced a foil for Robin called "Violet," who--you guessed it--dresses in violet. She even tells Robin that's her vigilante/villain name. Okay, I get that Batman and Robin named themselves. But don't you think that a Robin Hood-like vigilante would just get named by the press and not be all like, "Hey, I'm Violet! Cha-ching!" VERY cheesy. And why does her costume remind me of eighties' workout fashions? It's terrible.

Worse, in the second episode, in a weak attempt at laughs, Dixon completely steals a Paul Dini creation--"The Condiment King." Yes, it's a super villain who uses giant condiment canons to battle super heroes. The thing about Dini's episode of Batman: The Animated Series was that the Condiment King was a joke--he was a schlump brainwashed into being a farcical super villain by The Joker, who was taking his revenge on the poor fellow. Yet here we're supposed to believe that the Condiment King is a real villain. Yes, Batman and Robin don't take him too seriously, and yes, they dispatch him quickly, but come on. It was a joke in a Dini show. He shouldn't be resurrected here like he's one of Batman's rogues . . .

There's bad dialogue too. Dixon's trying to make the teenagers sound hip and cool but . . . they're not. "You need some serious caffeinization, Timbo," and "Dude, she is hacked off at you" are not words that real teenagers would speak. I struggle with this in my own writing, so I know it's difficult. But this just isn't working.

And since when does Robin drive around in a bright red sports car with a yellow "R" on the grille!? Greg Rucka preserve us. I've dropped this book from my subscription, which is a shame. It was such fun with Adam Beechen as the writer. Bring back Beechen!

The Spirit 13-14: On to another disappointment, The Spirit. I almost didn't finish #14. New series writer Sergio Aragones is a comics god, I know--on par with the dearly departed creator of The Spirit, Will Eisner. But I cannot get over the loss of Darwyn Cooke on this book. I don't know what Darwyn Cooke left The Spirit to do, but it'll be tough for it to be half as good as what he produced on his too short, thirteen-issue run on the Spirit relaunch. Sigh. Yet another book I've dropped from my list. At least I have my newly-acquired Justice League: The New Frontier DVD (based on Cooke's fantabulous comics mini-series) to watch in the meantime.

Detective Comics 840-841: Now that the Powers That Be have finally finished re-introducing Ra's al Ghul back into the Batman rogues gallery in a crossover event with every Bat-book (and after more painful experiences with the ill-conceived and poorly-executed "son of Batman and Talia" character) we get a stand-alone from Paul Dini about the Mad Hatter being used by his own henchmen. Close to the kind of bittersweet villain tale we got sometimes in Batman: The Animated Series, and all the better for it. Still, it felt a little rushed, as though there was too much content or not enough pages. (Which, I suppose, amounts to pretty much the same thing whichever way you look at it.) Might have really sung with one or two more pages to stretch out the Columbo moment we get at the end when Batman apprehends the villain and actually feels some sympathy for him.

B.P.R.D.: The Killing Ground 4-5: Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, with art by Guy Davis. WOW. What a finale! The B.P.R.D. books have been just as good as, if not (dare I say it!?) better than Hellboy! These books never fail to move me, surprise me, and entertain me. And what an end to this mini-series! Just when we learn the secret behind Captain Daimio's strange existence, he turns into a monster and goes on a rampage through the B.P.R.D. headquarters. When his comrades can't stop him, he figures out a way to stop himself that is at the same time both heartbreaking and brilliant. Kudos to everyone involved in this book. I can't wait to dive into B.P.R.D.: 1946!

Abe Sapien: The Drowning 1: And speaking of diving right in, the first ish of this Mignola-penned Abe Sapien story is great, taking us with the amphibious paranormalist's first mission for B.P.R.D.

Superman 672-673: I love writer Kurt Busiek, but I'm going to bail on Superman. It's not just this Queen Bee story, although that's been pretty bad. (Zeriouzly, doez everything thiz inzect villain zay have to be written like thiz!? It'z annoying az hell.) It's just that I can't get as interested in Supes as I'd like. He's a nice guy, and I'm happy that he's finally together with Lois and all, but I just feel like the challenges for Superman aren't up to his impossibly powerful set of super-skills.

It's not Busiek's fault--it's that over the decades Superman has become even more super, and there's very little left that can give him trouble. Even the threats he faces now that challenge him in the books don't seem to really be all that challenging. In the last comic, Superman hit a baseball to the moon as a charity stunt, actually aiming for a target that had been placed there. Now, the fun of this aside, it took a room full of geniuses at NASA to calculate how to get a rocket there, and Supes knows JUST when to hit that ball so that it'll intercept the moon in it's orbit AND hit just the right spot? I know, I know, I'm nitpicking impossibilities in a story about a guy in a big red cape and blue tights who can fly around and shoot lazers from his eyes . . . but seriously. AND NOT ONLY THAT, but in the resolution to this three-parter (in which an alien queen bee has taken over a Lexcorp moonbase and kidnapped Superman to be her mate) he defeats her by . . . wait for it . . . maneuvering her into the path of the ball as it speeds toward the moon!

And it's strike three for Superman, which just fell off my list.

Justice League of America 17-18: Still fun, now that Dwayne McDuffie has brought the Justice League Unlimited feel to the "grown-up" comics. My devotion to the animated versions of the DC heroes is finally vindicated!

The Flash 236-237: After trotting Mark Wade back out to try to resuscitate the flatlining Flash comic book, he's been packed back into his trunk and a guest writer, Mark Champagne, was given the reins for one book until the new creative team takes over in a month. I mention this one-shot appearance only because it is perhaps the best Flash story we've had in more than a year. Not that that is saying a lot. This story isn't perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than what's been published under this title for a long time. Congrats to Champagne for whipping up something worth reading, and having a little fun with Wally and the family in Metropolis.

And a note to the new writers: Can we please settle on a new job for Wally quickly and move on? I was never a great fan of Johns' decision to make him an auto mechanic in the police pool (seriously, an auto mechanic!?) but that would be better than some succession of odd jobs. Isn't there like a Fallen Hero Assistance Fund that all the Justice Leaguers contribute to that can help out the Wests while they get back on their feet?

Ex Machina 33-34: The odd "Mayor Hundred is brainwashed to kill the Pope" run is over, and we're rewarded with a tremendous stand-alone that focuses on New York City's tough female police commissioner, from her childhood through her patrolwoman days to her failed marriage and her on-again-off-again battles with The Great Machine--who just so happens to now be the mayor of New York, and her boss. The last page/panel is a real kick in the pants, laugh out loud grinner, and proves that Brian K. Vaughan is a postmodern comics master. Still consistently one of the best books out there. Go buy the trade paperbacks.

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Project Runway Season 4: Finale Part One Preview

It's finale time, and this year the finale is doubly final.

Wait, is that possible?

Perhaps it would be better to say that this year's finale means double jeopardy for one contestant. One designer will have to win a walk off to make it to the final three, then be judged again against Jillian and Christian. (I think there's a law against that in America, being tried twice for the same crime . . . but apparently Project Runway is above the law!)

In something of a groaner/shocker, Chris and Rami were both given reprieves in the penultimate elimination and told to "bring it" to Bryant Park, where they would be judged on their three best looks. So this week, instead of the usual full hour of Tim around in a Saturn product-placement-mobile visiting the finalists as they slog through the creation of their collections, we also get the added bonus of a walk-off between Rami and Chris.

(And an aside: Who else thinks that the driving we see Tim do in these episodes constitutes the sum total of the urban Manhattanite's yearly driving? I think he probably arrives a chauffeured car, mounts the Saturn, and then drives the last block or so at fifteen miles per hour for the cameras.)

Where is Rami's other hand!?

Don't Chris and Rami look like a cute couple? And I do mean couple. There has been some speculation on the Blogging Project Runway boards that the two shared more than phone calls during the creation of their clothing lines, and in the reunion they did confirm that they had grown much closer due to their unique situation. We here at Gratz Industries think it's a sweet idea, but we think they're just friends. Their chumminess certainly brings Rami up in our regard though, as he seems to have been able to loosen up about his design and get over his weak showing in the last regular season elimination challenge. But a loose and revitalized Rami doesn't bode well for Chris competition-wise . . .

So on to the preview videos we go. There is scant evidence to work with this week. In the second of the two official Bravo previews, about all we learn is that Rami is still deciding which three looks he'll send down the runway walk-off when he arrives in LA, and that Jillian and Christian are enlisted to help the two challengers. The pairings are somewhat obvious too: Jillian teams up with Rami, while Christian helps Chris. It's the reunions of Team Valedictorian/Salutatorian and Team Fierce!

In the other video, we get the usual mash-up of judges' reactions and the contestants' responses. It looks like Rami is on the left and Chris is on the right. If that's true, here are the comments directed at each of them:

To Rami:

Kors: "The dress, at the end, it's really unflattering."

Kors: "Those round things on her hips . . ."

Nina: "I disagree."

To Chris:

Nina: Who is this woman you are dressing?"

Nina: "The clothes look terrific--don't know if I would wear it . . . but it can go overboard."

A bit cryptic there--does Nina like Chris' clothes or not? And both designers are getting critical edits. Rami comes off looking pretty confident though, and Chris is doing a lot of solemn nodding, like he's accepting criticism. This may be a misread--especially as Chris always looks like he could use some Maalox up on the runway--but Rami appears to be happier. Maybe he's just found wuv, trwu wuv?

And while Kors is critical of one of Rami's dresses, it sounds like Nina isn't too concerned. And with Chris' proclivity for big and bold, it's possible that he puts three looks out there that are over-the-top and daring, but not particularly wearable. (Oh, there's that word again!)

Now, the good folks at BPR have already posted the full lines of each of the designers--even the designer playing "spoiler" in this scenario--but we at Gratz Industries have not looked at these. Perhaps as prognosticators we should, for the sake of duty, but we prefer to be surprised this time. Thus our call this week is solely based on the two preview videos, and not the inherent strengths of the designers' lines, which we haven't yet seen.

Having said that, we think Rami is in line for the win this week, making him the third and last official contestant for the $100,000 prize at Bryant Park. Chris, alas, will be aufed for the second time this season. But Chris can go out knowing that he came back from defeat with a vengeance, and he got to show his line at Bryant Park as the decoy too.

And hey, maybe he got himself a beefy Palestinian boyfriend too!

Oh, and for those of you keeping score at home, we've still got Christian for the win, pending any preview videos to the contrary . . .

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Turn and Press

I get a lot of (often anonymous) thanks for a couple of tutorials I've posted on this blog, so I think it's safe to assume that there are a few new sewers hanging around here. Check out Turn and Press - a new blog chronicling one woman's adventures learning how to sew. As a self-taught sewer myself I sooooo sympathize with her as she tries to translate the "seamstress speak" in which so many patterns are written - especially the ones from the big pattern houses - grrrr.

But here's the cool thing. She goes beyond just sharing her woes. She takes readers step by step through her projects - pointing out what she did wrong along the way and then how she fixed it. Her most recent post was about her attempts to make a zippered pouch. She tried three different methods, linked to them all, and showed what did and didn't work for her. Very cool! And a great resource for those who want to learn along with her.

By the way - there's a list of links now, in the left sidebar, to my free tutorials. It's right below the flickr badge.

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Almost a Bestseller

For a little while today, I was very excited. For a little while today, I thought Something Rotten, my contemporary mystery based on Hamlet, might be a BookSense Bestseller. BookSense is a national marketing campaign put together by a large group of independent booksellers, and each week they collect the sales figures from their member stores and put together a bestseller list to rival the ones printed by The New York Times and USA Today.

So at the very bottom of today's Shelf Awareness, a self-styled e-zine of "daily enlightenment for the book trade," they had recommendations "from last week's BookSense bestseller lists, available at BookSense.com." The only entry under "For Teen Readers"? Something Rotten. But if they took the recommendation from the bestseller list . . . was Something Rotten a bestseller? That would be BIG news.

I scoured the Booksense web site, but all I could find were last week's bestseller lists. Could Rotten be on the new one? I e-mailed editor Liz, asking if she had heard anything, then got back to work. Liz was able to solve the mystery: Something Rotten was not, alas, a bestseller. The good news: it was featured as the sole recommended book beyond the children's bestsellers this week. Check it out:

There I am down in the corner. (Click the image to see it larger.)

So today I am almost a bestseller. On the same page, at least. :-)

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Crocodots!

I bought this fabulous hat at a store called The Spotted Goose on my last trip to Cincinnati. Jo immediately asked if we could make one just like it for her. I happen to own a copy of The Saturday Night Hat, but I've only made fabric hats from the book - nothing felted. Yet. In the meantime I thought we could be inspired by my new hat and make some snazzy dots for Jo's crocs.

Here's how we did it. You'll need some felt, 3/8" snap fasteners (available at any fabric store), a hammer, and a thread spool. I hear there's a tool that can replace the thread spool, but I don't have that and the snap police haven't come after me yet.

Cut out three circles of felt. The big yellow one is the size of a quarter. The two smaller ones are the size of a dime.

Each half of the snap pair uses two pieces - the end with the points goes on the right side of the fabric and holds the male or female snap bit in place. Center this on the smaller yellow circle.

Flip it over and make sure the points are poking through.

Lay it down on a bit of scrap felt (for cushion) and lay the female half of the snap over it. The yellow felt circle will be sandwiched between the two halves of the snap.

Place a thread spool over the whole thing and whack it with a hammer to join the two snap pieces. You could use a small bit of wood but the spool is nice when you're attaching the male end because you can center the hole in the spool over the male . . . um . . . part so you don't smash it flat when you hammer. Ouch!

Congratulations - you just made the inside part of your crocodot. Now for the pretty top half.

Basically, you'll do everything you did for the first part, except instead of sandwiching one circle of felt between the two snap pieces, you'll use two stacked circles of felt. And you'll use the male half of the snap.

Now put the small yellow circle inside the shoe and hold the snap part up to one of the holes in the shoe. Snap the pretty yellow and orange dots to the bit inside the shoe. This will take some work because crocs are pretty fat, but it will work. See?

And voila! Cute little crocodots to jazz up your crocs! These are just made out of cheap craft felt and I'm not sure how they'll hold up to weather, playground sand, etc. But I love the look of them and I want to make more. Next I'll try vinylizing (is that a word?) some fabric and making the outer dots out of that. I'll keep nice soft felt on the inside, though.

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Gratz Industries HQ: Scrub-a-Dub Tub

Our first non-structural purchase for the new house - a very cool little clawfoot tub for Jo's bathroom. It's mostly in good shape. The inside is just dirty and doesn't need to be re-enameled.
But what kind of maroon stores an iron tub on its side in the grass? Luckily it wasn't out there for long. One whole side is rusted, but it doesn't go too deep.
Here it is flipped upside-down and ready for a good scrubbing with a wire brush.
I was all ready to start hitting it today with the naval jelly - assuming that it would take several tries to get off all the rust, but once I finished with the wire brush I realized that it will probably only take a few applications. I'm not ready to paint it yet, and I'll want to prime and paint as soon as I get the rust off, so we're putting this on hold until we choose flooring for Jo's bathroom and the color for the outside of the tub. I can't wait! And (as Jo would say) I'm not being sarcastic. I really mean it.

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Happy Samurai Spring Training Valentine's Day!

It's February 14, 2008, and the first thing on most people's minds is Valentine's Day. Wendi and I are exchanging gifts later, and Jo is already enjoying the gift I got her--her very own lightsaber. (Here she's posing very seriously, she tells me, like Luke.) We're already enacted a few scenes from Star Wars, and one, unintentionally, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

But it's not just Valentine's Day--it's the first day pitchers and catchers can report for spring training! Ah, the return of baseball season. Could this day get any better?

Oh, but it can! Today is also the day Samurai Shortstop is officially available in paperback!

Happy Samurai Spring Training Valentine's Day!

And to help promote Samurai and their other baseball books this spring, Penguin put together an awesome baseball card promotion featuring each of the titles. Check it out:

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Project Runway Season 4: Episode 11 Preview

"Now this is art."

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Alan, your museum guide for this week's final installment of Project Runway before the big Bryant Part double-episode fashion show finale. Yes, just one week after designing for wrasslin' gals, we're stepping out of the ring and into the hallowed halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's a strange juxtaposition, but then it's been a strange season.

This week we've got three preview videos, five contestants, and only three spots open for Fashion Week. That's right--one of the videos tells us we're in for a double elimination. Which makes us wonder--why did they bring Chris back when Jack had to leave if they already knew they'd have to eliminate two people in the last regular season episode? We figured they were trying to make the numbers work, leaving enough designers to eliminate one per episode they had left. Don't get us wrong--Chris was and is one of our favorites, and it'll be a wonderful thing if a designer who was actually aufed during the season comes back to make the finals. But it does make us scratch our heads.

This week the final five go on a field trip to the Met with Master Tim to find their inspirations for this week's look that must also, of course, reflect who they are as a designer and what we will see from their line, should they make it to Bryant Park as a finalist. Tom and Lorenzo over at the hysterical Project Rungay were gracious enough to let us borrow the pic of Tim, above, as well as this one, which we love:

Christian: "Why do I have to be Mr. Pink? Rami should be Mr. Pink."

We can't decide if that pic reminds us more of this:


Or this:


Which designers will have the right stuff, and which will be put down like reservoir dogs? Let's go to the film . . .

Early on, Christian tells us he's going for the win and will not play it safe. But when has he ever? Rami, on the other hand, has a different approach. While others are pulling out all the stops, he's not here to "make noise," but to "make beautiful work." Meanwhile Sweet P is having trouble with time management, and Jillian is spending lots of time pleating something. Chris can be seen building something . . . vertical.

From there, most of our clips come from the runway, which is where we get most of our prognosticating clues anyway. All five designers get scrutinized this time, but not all of them feature in the heavily edited (as usual) judging clips. In two separate videos the magical elves even cut to different designers receiving the same exact comment from Michael Kors. But as usual we can make guesses about who's receiving what smack downs based on the position of the designers on the runway and the angle of the judges heads as they hurl their venomous remarks.

What seems clear early on is that Christian is getting raves. He went balls out on this one, and an "I think it's super super super chic" from Kors and a "you have the ability to also think practically" from Nina are both pointed his way. It could also be Christian to whom Heidi says, "I love that you really thought about something special." Christian's proven remarkably adept at injecting his own unique fashion look into any and every challenge that's come down the pike, and we suspect this one won't be any exception.

Jillian seems the logical recipient of a "You're an American sportswear designer" from Kors (which is not a bad thing, considering Michael Knight from last season was told the same thing), but she also might be the one getting an "I don't know what you're going to present next" from Nina. This could be a compliment--"You always surprise me!"--or it could be a cut-down--"You have no consistent look." We fear it's the latter with Jillian, who is generally a very strong designer, but not one we think has a particularly distinctive style.

Chris gets a lot of attention in these clips, it seems. We think he's on the stung end of Nina's "You went really safe," (although that could be about Sweet P), and some sort of discussion about how he could have done something different with his outfit and "it still would have been beautiful." In the trickiest bit of editing, the magical elves show us Sweet P as Nina says, "And I'm sure you have other tricks up your sleeve! Not just this one. And that's what I wanted to see," but if you listen closely, it's Chris who is um-humming in response.

As for Sweet P, she doesn't get much runway time from the clips, other than a few grimacing smiles and anguished looks. We have to say, we're not feeling good about Sweet P's chances here. We think she's capable of the occasional surprise, but she's the odds-on favorite to be the first out this week. Sorry P, but there it is. Add to that the clips of her in the workroom still making a pattern with two hours left in the day, and we're thinking that perhaps she bites off more than she can chew here and pays the price for it.

But it is for Rami that most of the barbs in these clips seem intended, which doesn't bode well for a designer we thought was a lock to make the finals from the start. The problem with our preseason prediction is the same one the judges are harping on now: it's always the same thing from Rami. Consider these comments, all of which we think are directed at Rami:

Kors: "How predictable. I expect more from you."

Nina: "I want to see you out of this box."

Kors: "I'm like, oh my God, please don't--"
Heidi: "I'm not surprised he went for the Grecian!"

It doesn't take an art history major to figure out that Rami takes some Grecian or Roman toga-clad goddess as his inspiration from the Met. That's how he's been trying to dress his models from the first challenge to the WWE Divas challenge, with that poor prom dress girl turned into forty-year-old silent film star along the way.

Rami gets defensive too. We get a double-take "What!?" from him, as well as the very telling "Sometimes an idea can be interesting without having to be screaming out loud" comment. Frankly, we think the judges have had enough of what they see as Rami's one-note design, just as they harped on the same from Uli last season. But Uli listened, and she translated her stylistic vision into a new silhouette that wowed the judges and won her the final week--and a place in the Bryant Park fashion show. Has Rami listened? It doesn't sound like it to us.

So, where do we stand? First, we're going to assume the magical elves who produce the show really aren't kidding this time, and that only three designers will actually be considered for the top prize during fashion week. The final guest judge is, after all, Victoria Beckham--and she only has the attention span to judge three lines at a time. (And why is it we're always surprised that she's not the really pretty one of the Spice Girls? We suppose it's because her husband is an internationally renowned hunk and footy star.)

With three open spots and five designers, we have some tough decisions. First, we think it would be the haute crime of the century if we don't see Christian as one of the finalists. Christian is in. In fact, we predict Christian will win the final challenge, and go into the finals with a bigger head than Charlie Brown.

Next in will be Jillian, whose outfit will garner thumbs-up, and who deserves a place in the finals based on her standings alone all season long. She's consistently been in the top half--again though, without necessarily having a cohesive style. We think she'll be cautioned to think about that when they see her again in February.

Then we think it's going to come down to who's out, not necessarily who's in. Sweet P will be the first to be aufed, and we'll be sorry to see her go as a personality, if not necessarily as a designer.

And . . . cue the dramatic lighting and music: we're down to two. Chris and Rami, one of you will be showing at Bryant Park and the other one will be . . . showing at Bryant Park. Seriously, the red herring bit of bringing all the un-aufed last-round contestants to Bryant Park for Fashion Week is a little lame, since even the one or two almost-finalists can throw all their effort into a show that still gets seen by a big tent full of fans and critics. Do you think NYMag.com cared if Rami was a proper finalist when they named two of his looks among the 100 Most Fabulous Looks of 2008 Fashion Week? I doubt it. Yes, the finalists get more money from Project Runway, and no, neither of them will be in line for the $100,000 winner's payout from TRESemme to start their own line, but half the battle is getting on the docket at Fashion Week, and the red herrings get a big stage. If you're one of the red herrings, why not mortgage the house and pull out all the stops?

But we digress.

It will come down to Chris and Rami, and Rami will be aufed. There, we said it. We thought for the first half of the season Rami was a Ka-shou-in to make it to the finals (sorry, had to do it), but then he kept defying Tim and the judges, asserting his rather one-note vision every single week. The judges grew tired of him, and so did we. Of all the designers on this season of Project Runway, he was (and is) perhaps the one person who needed this launching pad the least, and we're sure he will go on to great things, getting paid big bucks to design the kind of dresses he always designs. There's a place for that in the world of fashion, but we don't think there's a place for him in the finals. This too is why we think Chris is moved to tears on the runway in the video clips--not because he's been aufed, but because Chris has been given an official ticket to Bryant Park.

Chris, Jillian, and Christian are in. Rami and Sweet P are out.

Bring on the debate.

This week's TRESemme Fantasy Runway question is fitting, as we think Chris becomes the first aufed designer to return and make the finals: Which two designers were allowed to return for another challenge in Season Three? It was Angela and Vincent, and none of the remaining designers was very happy to see them at all. Luckily Chris received a warmer welcome . . .

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Apron Madness

First there was the Tie One On challenge - which I finally entered. Then there was a conversation with my friend TB at Joseph-Beth Booksellers about the kajillion cute aprons she saw at Gift Show - none of which were for kids. Then there was an explosion of apron-making this weekend in my sewing room. I worked up prototypes of three different styles and all of them still need a bit of tweaking - but Jo has already decided on her favorite.

Ah - the aesthetic values of a five-year-old! I finished this late last night and decided that it was just too busy. My first plan is to reduce the width of the ruffle by an inch so it's more in proportion to the skirt part of the apron. I'll make the waistband and tie out of the skirt fabric so we'll lose a bit of the busyness from the contrast. I thought about leaving the pockets off altogether (again with the busyness) but Jo declared them "perfect" so I guess they're staying. Pockets are critically important - what was I thinking?

Jo saw this when she woke up this morning and her face just lit up. "Is it for me? Can I wear it to school today?" That response is really rare - I make so much stuff that a new project from the sewing room doesn't usually get a big response from Jo, even when it's for her - so I immediately said yes. As you can see in the photo - she picked her outfit today so it would match the apron. Too cute! The last time I got a response this enthusiastic it was for the Wonder Woman dress, so I'm pretty jazzed myself.

There are a couple of features that I designed into these aprons that I'm really excited about - but no good pictures yet so that's going to have to wait. I'm off to NY for work for a few days - so no evening sewing - but my Big Plan is to finalize all three patterns and make them available as a download by the end of next weekend.

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Wendi Writes Too!

Alan's not the only author in the family anymore. That's right - that's my name on the author line of this contract! I'm writing a book!

Not fiction, of course. I have zero skill in that area. Because I work with children's books, people have asked me for years if I plan to write a book. I always reply that I'm a competent writer, not a creative one. Mostly I'm ok with that, though every time my boss complements me on writing a good memo I kind of want to cry a little bit.

So I write a mean memo. Sigh. But those skills also mean I can write nice, clear instructions - and I love that - especially when I'm writing instructions describing how to make something I've designed. I've been doing a lot of freelance design work for Lark Books - with several books featuring my designs coming out this summer. And now I'll be an author and designer! The book will be called Absolutely A-Line and it will come out some time next year. I'll be the author and I'm designing about half the projects in the books. The other half will come from Lark's regular stable of designers - which will be lots of fun to see and work with.

It's all about designing and making clothes for children, using a basic A-line pattern as a jumping-off point. I was very much inspired by books like Sew U and Sew What: Skirts that give a basic pattern and then show how to manipulate that pattern to make the look totally your own. My hope is that people will be inspired and empowered by the book - but that's a long way down the road. First I have lots of sewing to do. And writing. . .

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Project Runway Season 4: Episode 10 Preview

Ladies and gentlemen . . . LLLLLLLLLLLLet's get ready to grumble!

And there has been a lot of grumbling about this week's Project Runway episode. It doesn't help that there's been a two-week long hiatus for people to get their collective danders up. It's been almost as bad as the two week wait between the last playoff games and the Super Bowl. In the seemingly interminable interim, the Project Runheads at Blogging Project Runway have been weighing in on the previews. Here's a selection of reactions, all from different viewers:

"Beyond tacky"
"Just silly"
"Jumping the shark"
"Godawful"
"Oy vey!"
"Oh Jesus!"
"Anti-fashion"
"Ack! Ew!"
"Stupid and disappointing"
"An absolute stunner"
"Scraping the bottom of the barrel"
"Misguided"
"Awful, awful, awful"
"Product placement on steroids"
"Disaster"

What is it that has caused such consternation?

Pro wrestlers.

I wonder if America's next top designer designed these costumes?

Female pro wrestlers. No, not G.L.O.W. (That's the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, for you old skool wrasslin fans out there.) These wrestlers are the WWE Divas, a group of frighteningly buff women who act out choreographed battles as a part of the World Wrestling Entertainment slate each week.

In the WWE promo for this week's Project Runway episode (yes, Virginia, there is actually a separate WWE promo) we're told in no uncertain terms what this week's challenge will be: Each contestant is paired with a diva, and must design an outfit for that diva to wrestle in.

Designing costumes for pro wrestlers seems like a very odd choice for a competition this late in the season, as it doesn't really highlight the designers' overall aesthetic. Worse, due to scheduling questions, some trufans think this may be the last elimination challenge before the finals. If that's true, we've got a couple of issues with this. First, can we really be content with final group dictated by a costumey challenge? Second, just how many people are going to show at Bryant Park this season--five? We hate to say it, but despite the assertions of Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum that this is the "strongest group of designers yet," we can't say we think any five of these remaining designers would be the strongest final group we've ever seen. We're hard pressed to pick three.

Really. Consider who's left: Ricky, Jillian, Rami, Christian, Sweet P, and Chris. At the beginning of the season, we certainly wouldn't have bet on that final six!

And where have all the great "show us what you got" challenges gone? In Season Two, the last two challenges were the Contestant Makeover and the Evening Gown for Iman contest. Season Three ended with the Black and White Cocktail Dress challenge and the What the ELLE? challenge where they showcased their talents in the last elimination round before the finals. Can a "dress the wrestler" competition really compare to these? In what way will this demonstrate what we can expect from the designers who get to show their own lines?

If this is the penultimate challenge (meaning there is one more elimination challenge to come before Bryant Park) a challenge like this would not be completely unprecedented. In Season One, the not-very-fashion-world Postal Uniform challenge came before the final Red Carpet Gown challenge. But again, the final episode allowed the designers to put it all out there with a real fashion challenge.

But enough with the griping. At this point, we're willing to take the episode for what it is (an entertaining segment of a reality television show) and we're going to assume that there has to be at least one more elimination challenge before the finals.

Beyond the obvious challenge this week, the results in the previews are not so obvious. One notable feature of most of the previews: Sweet P is in peril. She struggles with her design, and not even Tim Gunn has answers for her, except to strip her silver ensemble of its white peacock feathers, declaring them worthy of "Eva Gabor in Green Acres." In another behind the scenes interview, P seems on the verge of tears because she is "almost out of time," but later still assures us that she will not let this challenge be the one to put her out. Unfortunately, P, sheer force of will can only take you so far.

Chris (perhaps not surprisingly) seems comfortable with the costumey aspect of this challenge, and he speculates that there are some designers who are not so happy with the challenge. We don't, however, see Christian or anyone else writhing on the floor in misery or slumped over a sewing machine in tears. In fact, Christian can be seen putting together something black and lacey and, well, "fierce," to coin an expression.

Even Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl breaks out the orange only a few times a year.

Rami and Ricky may be in trouble though. Tim worries over Rami's color choice (a kind of lipstick pink) and then later, in an admittedly chopped up runway clip, Nina outright tells someone "I hate your color." Rami's certainly over on the side she's talking to, but so is Ricky, who has chosen a sort of construction cone orange for his color. Now, I know orange. I'm from Knoxville, Tennessee, home of the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols' colors are orange and white. Bright, day-glo, rain-poncho orange and white. If there's one thing I know, it's that nobody, and I mean nobody, looks good in orange. Ricky also looks like he's swallowed a pin cushion on the runway--the only clip we see of him there.

If Ricky is in trouble, he'll have one of the classic "overconfident cut" quotes of any season: "Everyone is freaking out. You know, I could give them tips about what they should do, but why should I?" Tough talk there, Rickster. Better walk the walk with that one.

Jillian and Chris are fairly anonymous in the runway clips, except that Chris wears his usual "judging grimace." I suspect that Jillian is the recipient of the "I like it as a bathing suit" comment Nina gives, based on Jillian's position on the runway, and I feel confident that Chris is getting the "for you I'm guessing this wasn't too much of a stretch," comment from Kors, given Chris's place on the runway and his costuming background. Kors could also mean that comment for Ricky, who has a lingerie background, but I don't think he's looking in the right direction for the Mad Hatter.

Meanwhile, Christian appears to be the recipient of a "job well done" from Heidi. Kors makes an enigmatic comment about not getting enough "Americana" out of someone's outfit (Rami's?) and Sweet P is scolded for not going for the drama.

So where do we stand? This is a tough one. I'm going to put Jillian, Christian, and Chris in the top group, and Rami, Ricky, and Sweet P in the bottom group. While there isn't a clear favorite from the clips, I think it will come down to Christian versus Chris for the win, and I'm predicting Chris's costume experience and his easy-going sense of fun mean his first (and long-overdue) victory.

As for the bottom three, I'm guessing Ricky and Rami are having color choice issues, and that all three are under fire for their designs. Sweet P is certainly getting a loser's edit in the clips, but is this a red herring? All we know for sure is that her outfit is blah. But is Ricky's or Rami's downright bad? Whew. My heart tells me one thing (Ricky's gone), my head another (Sweet P's gone), and last week I swore I'd go with my head from now on. So this week, without further evidence to the contrary, I predict that Sweet P will be aufed. I'll be sorry to see her go, and I have no idea how the rest of the season will shake out (will we really see Ricky at Bryant Park!?) but I have to call this one like I see it.

For those of you playing Fantasy Runway, this week's question is, "Who was a contestant on both Season One and Season Two?" The answer: Daniel Franco, who left too soon in Season One, and was serenaded by Santino after he left in Season Two.

Daniel Franco, where have you gone?

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Tie One On!

I've been admiring all the greatness happening at the Tie One On apron challenges for a long time - but I didn't get my act together enough to actually make an apron until this time. This time the theme was polka dots - and I love polka dots. When Alan and I were talking about opening a children's bookstore we were going to name it Polka Dot Books. So I had to make a polka dot apron. And when I think polka dots, I think white dots on a black background. As luck would have it - I just found more of this classic print at my fabric store. I bought every inch left on the bolt.

So - a polka dot apron in a flattering A-line cut. Pockets are an apron-must. I continued the polka dot theme by making BIG round pockets. These are actually giant yo-yos. Just for fun.

Jo took the picture because Alan was out of town. Not bad, eh? I'm standing in the under-construction kitchen because the current kitchen is too awful to photograph - even if all you see is a tiny sliver in the background. See those red and blue lines in the background? That's plumbing, my friends. Plumbing! The rough-in is complete, so heat-pex for the radiant heat will be next. . .

And be sure to check out all the rest of the polka dotted lovelies here. They are fabulous! This one is my favorite. And there's a pattern available!

Speaking of patterns - check out my new and improved website with downloadable patterns available. See those shopping cart buttons? I made them myself! I had a problem emailing the large PDFs to a lovely (and patient) lady in Australia - and I knew the problem was sure to come up again - so I figured out this option. You click to buy and as soon as your payment is complete, it takes you to a new window where you can click to download your pattern. Fancy and high-tech - that's me. :-)

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Heavy Ice and Deep Thoughts

Jo and I woke up yesterday to a world covered with ice - and no power. The ice was beautiful - crystal clear and very thick.
So thick that it weighed down everything in sight. We heard lots of branches snapping all morning, and I got to watch a big branch break off one of our tall white pines - and crush a smaller sapling on the way down to the ground.
Jo especially liked the way all the junk on our deck looked, encased in ice. I thought the chairs were especially pretty. I'm not sure you can see it in the photo below, but the whole underside of this chair is dripping with icicles. Very cool.
So no school and no power. That means no heat, so Jo and I were"trapped" in the very small living room where we could huddle near the fire. We read some books, played some games, drew in our sketchbooks, and nibbled on snacks from the pantry. Jo helped out by giving me a backrub while I struggled to start a fire. (Alan is the fire master.) Jo also drove me insane with her constant chatter. Here's a sample. . .
Jo: "Emma, [that's the cat] you're a fartbutt."
me: nothing
Jo: "Mommy - did you hear that? I called Emma a fartbutt! Ha ha ha! That's so funny! I called Emma a fartbutt! Did you hear that Mommy?"
me: groan

And then, at the end of the day while we snuggled under a blanket in the firelight and watched night fall with no lights or candles on inside, Jo comes out with this. . .
Jo: "Mommy?"
me: "Yes Jo?"
Jo: "I don't think this is really our house."
me: Hmm. I'm thinking that this actually makes sense in a way. This is a mobile home very badly abused by the people who rented it before we bought it. The sellers had to remove (and burn) all the floor coverings and only half of the plumbing works. We haven't unpacked all of our boxes from the move last April. This isn't really our home - it's just the place we live while we build our dream home. But I don't think this is where Jo is going, so I say, "What do you mean Jo?"
Jo: "I think this is actually a clone of our house and we can't tell the difference."
Huh. How can the person who's unbelievably tickled by the word "fartbutt" also ponder cloning and (sort of) alternate realities by firelight? She's a mystery. And I mean that in the best way possible.

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