Good morning! We had a much needed mellow break last week – a few play dates, an utterly stress-free Thanksgiving (This movie was unexpectedly moving and the food at Din Tai Fung was excellent. So excellent that the place was packed on T-day). I participated in a fun author event at Queen Anne Book Company, and K rocked her piano/voice recital.
Oh yes. Look at her, owning that gold dress. Work it, girl.
Since I had quite a few projects in progress (one of which is the annual Advent Calendar that is getting out of control in the usual manner), I briefly considered skipping out on sewing a recital dress. I mean, it’s not as though she’s sorely lacking in the wardrobe department and could have easily worn something I’d made previously.
When I casually mentioned this to K, her eyes widened so much I thought her eyeballs would fall out. “But you always make me a recital dress!! It’s a tradition!!!” Well, we can’t break tradition now, can we? Guilt is a powerful motivator.
In the interest of saving time, however, it had to be a knit dress. I was adamant about keeping ironing to a minimum. My infinite stash yielded just the blingy, gilded and stretchy fabric I had in mind. I flipped through several of my Japanese pattern books, and this drop-waist turtle neck frock seemed like a casual yet fun design to downplay the gaudiness of the fabric. I made the top version eons ago, and she loved it so much she wore it until it was stained to death. I traced the largest 130cm size from the book, and again, to speed things along I omitted the buttons on the turtle neck.
I’ve been batting 1000 with my sewing lately, and K practically awarded me a medal of honor for this dress. I actually think that by sewing less for her, she’s appreciating what I make more.
As for the recital itself, she was super nervous until the very moment she went up on stage (she followed a long-haired boy drummer who enthusiastically head-banged his way through two heavy metal songs — he was awesome, but it was quite the contrast). On the piano, she played “Morning” by E. Grieg, which was melodious and sweet. But it was when she cleared her throat, took microphone in hand and sang, “Rainbow Connection” — now that, as K’s music teacher whispered in my ear, “stole the show”.
Above she’s mock singing for the photo shoot, but something incredible happened when she belted out her first note on stage during the recital. Her voice wavered ever so slightly initially, and then you could see it: the inner calibration, the straightening of her spine and boom! As though someone plugged her in, all lit up, voice soaring. She crooned the last lyric and when it trailed away, the crowd erupted in wild cheers, and I gazed at my little girl in wonder. We all contain so much magic inside of us and here was irrefutable evidence of K’s. A musical child! Given that I have no aptitude for music, I never would have guessed I’d have one of those. So so good.