This week's creativity was an item for the annual GISH... Greatest International Scavenger Hunt.
My friend, Kitta, participates every year as part of an international team.
The jacket back...
When GISH participants look for, or create, items, enlisting aid from the local community is encouraged. I have helped with an item or two over the years. It's lots of fun! So when Kitta and her mom, Cristina, asked for assistance making an embroidered, patchwork denim jacket, I said sure. They found a pattern, Cristina helped make the patchwork for the back, then Kitta did the requisite embroidery. It was at that point that they called me. I have made inset sleeves and collars, as well as have experience "making things work" with questionable instructions and materials. I had every faith in them that they could "make it work." They did not have that confidence.
GISH has a one-week time frame to complete as many tasks as possible. The deadline was 36 hours away. Thus started our marathon sewing day.
Our stack of old jeans...
We decided, in the interest of time, we could forgo pockets and modified the pattern accordingly. As well, we could add buttons and buttonholes at a later date.
Then, we figured out how to make the leftover denim from old jeans fit the pattern pieces for the jacket. A leg here, a different leg there, fitting all the pieces before cutting. At times patching parts together.
We also decided that making the collar, cuffs, and waistband all from the same pair of black jeans would be a nice touch.
Cristina pinning pieces together...
For several years now, every month or so, Cristina and I have come together for sewing days. We work well together... a bit like an intricate dance... cut this... pin that... trim the other. And before we knew it, we were sewing.
Bit by bit, the jacket came together. Kitta tried it on and we adjusted the back... try on again... we adjusted the sleeve. Finally, at the end of the eighth hour, I cut the last thread.
All that was left for this task was the pictures.
Me still sewing...
In the end, Kitta completed her assignments...
...the patchwork, embroidered denim jacket... a scurvy-foiling orange cake, dressing like a pirate, and finding a pirate ship to get a picture... an intricate, full-size door to a magical realm... and other tasks... I didn't hear all the details.
Kitta in her finished jacket.
She and her team did not win the monetary prize...
Though they are the recipients of confidence-building experiences, community-sharing fun, challenging grand adventures, and tangible memories which will last for years to come.
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