MPB DAY -- the dress rehearsal

Readers, I can hardly believe it: MPB Day is tomorrow!  Like Christmas and the 4th of July, MPB Day is a time when we celebrate, not just a blog, no, but a set of shared values that include pressing as you sew, avoiding cheap interfacing, and always being on the lookout for treasures in the trash.

MPB Day isn't a legal holiday yet, so a lot of you may be working, but I do hope tomorrow you will find some time to celebrate with your friends and loved ones, even if it means only spending a few hours in the MPB archives, recalling favorite posts of yore.  It's guaranteed to bring distant families closer and close families may need to be literally pried off each other.

There is a possibility that MPB Day may not be covered by your local media but please don't despair.  The entire day's events will be recorded and condensed into an eight-hour DVD set, made available exclusively to MPB readers -- the next best thing to being there and arguably better.
 
You wouldn't expect Ethel Merman to go on stage without a rehearsal and just like Ethel, I believe in preparation.  How fortunate that yesterday I was able to rehearse MPB Day with lovely Lynnelle, whom many of you know from Pattern Review and her blog, You Sew, Girl!



Lynnelle is in town visiting from Michigan this week, and I immediately took advantage of the opportunity to test drive the entire MPB Day schedule of events with her.  Of course, the flea market isn't open on Thursdays, so we couldn't do that, and we didn't eat lunch in the place where we're going on Saturday, but we DID visit the current FIT show, Sporting Life, and it is terrific, chock full of vintage sporting clothes and sporting gear-influenced fashion.

If you don't get a chance to see it with us tomorrow, please try to catch it if you're in NYC this fall -- it's open through early November.  And please, don't lean in too close to the mannequins or you'll set off the alarms -- enthusiastic Lynnelle had a tough time with that one!

After a quick bite, I dragged Lynnelle -- who was dressed entirely in her own beautiful creations --to the Garment District, or was it the other way around, I forget.  Anyway, to watch Lynnelle take in the wonders of Spandex House was akin to seeing formerly blind Joan Crawford have the bandages removed from her eyes in that famous episode of Night Gallery, or wheelchair-bound little Clara run into her father's arms in Heidi: I could barely hold back the tears and does anyone even get my references?



Even more enthusiastic was Lynnelle in Pacific Trim, where she had a near meltdown over their wide selection of rayon grosgrain ribbon, which she apparently uses to finish the tops of her skirts.  If we go there on Saturday, please, no audible sobs of joy.

Finally, I introduced Lynnelle to Kashi at Metro Textiles, where she bought some beautiful gold wool.  Sadly, Metro is closed on the weekend but them's the breaks, kids.



Fortunately I was able to rehearse many of my prepared speeches for Saturday, and Lynnelle was an excellent critic, tough but fair.  She pointed out all the ums, ahs, you knows, and likes that punctuate everything I say, and also helped me practice an assortment of greetings, suggesting that "How do you do?" is a little fussy, while "Hiya, Toots" is perhaps not fussy enough and somewhat dated.

After four hours with Lynnelle (who has the stamina of a draft horse), my arches have collapsed but otherwise I feel ready for the big day.  Am I nervous?  Certainly.  I'm still not sure what I'll be wearing, so you'll just have to find me by my face. 

Anyone who RSVP'd should have my cell phone number in the footer of my response, should you need it.  You don't HAVE to RSVP of course, you can just show up, but it's helpful for me to have a general idea of who's coming.

In other news, I made the big purchase.  More about that next week.

Finally, as if I needed to spend more money, I bought the most beautiful dress pattern on Etsy yesterday.  File this under "The Lost Art of Pattern Envelope Illustration."  Love!

For those joining us tomorrow, I look forward to seeing you there.

Everybody else, tune in Sunday for all the official MPB DAY gossip and pics, pics, pics!

Have a great Friday, and -- however you may be celebrating it, or where -- I wish you and yours a very happy and healthy MPB DAY!