The wedding day is in two months and you have yet to start making the gown for the bride who just happens to be your daughter.
On top of that, you also have to make the dresses of her 14 bridesmaids. Oh, by the way, you also have to shop for all the materials.
It’s hair-pulling time but not if you were Bridgette Gee. No, she’s not a pro seamstress, a veteran dressmaker, or even a seasoned couturier who could effortlessly whip out an outfit in just a matter of hours in one day.
And no, her daughter is too young to get married. The sewing rush, in this case, was the 17th annual Medieval Faire celebration on May 14 at Nile Garden School where junior high teacher Tim Lewis and his seventh graders staged a re-enactment of the historical period that they have been studying during the school year.
Part of the annual living-history presentation requires that the students attend the extravaganza dressed up as the historical figure that they choose to portray. This is where the parents’ involvement comes in. Some of them go to commercial places and simply rent a costume for their children to wear. Others, like Gee, opt to go the home-made route. But the fact she did not just make one or two but a total of 15 dresses including the one her daughter wore was an extraordinary feat that did not escape the attention Lewis who plays the role of King Lewis The Wise at these events.
So how did Gee do it?
“I do quilt as a hobby,” was the matter-of-fact explanation given by Gee who was singled out by Lewis during the celebration for having gone above and beyond what she was supposed to do.
When Gee found out that some of her daughter’s classmates were having problems procuring a costume for the celebration, she volunteered to make their dresses as well – all 14 of them.
“This is my way of donating to the school for the year,” Gee simply explained.
She worked on the dresses all at the same time. She even took it upon herself to shop for all the materials that she needed.
“I shopped at a lot of thrift stores. I’m a thrift-store queen,” she said with a laugh and with pride. She even went as far as going to San Francisco and rummaging through fabrics that she found there.
A lot of the work involved plenty of creativity, which is something that is not alien to Gee as a quilter.
“Some of the bodices were made out pillow shams,” she pointed out.
It took her 17 hours to make her daughter Ali’s costume. “She just loves it,” she said.
“I love all their costumes,” she quickly added.
The challenge of making 16 gowns in two months apparently did not faze her at all. On the contrary, “I had fun, I really did,” she said as she feasted her eyes with pride on the smiling young girls proudly wearing her creations.
Except for one girl who liked her dress so much that she asked if she could keep it, the rest of the costumes that Gee made will stay at the school for other students to wear at future Medieval Faire celebrations.
On top of that, you also have to make the dresses of her 14 bridesmaids. Oh, by the way, you also have to shop for all the materials.
It’s hair-pulling time but not if you were Bridgette Gee. No, she’s not a pro seamstress, a veteran dressmaker, or even a seasoned couturier who could effortlessly whip out an outfit in just a matter of hours in one day.
And no, her daughter is too young to get married. The sewing rush, in this case, was the 17th annual Medieval Faire celebration on May 14 at Nile Garden School where junior high teacher Tim Lewis and his seventh graders staged a re-enactment of the historical period that they have been studying during the school year.
Part of the annual living-history presentation requires that the students attend the extravaganza dressed up as the historical figure that they choose to portray. This is where the parents’ involvement comes in. Some of them go to commercial places and simply rent a costume for their children to wear. Others, like Gee, opt to go the home-made route. But the fact she did not just make one or two but a total of 15 dresses including the one her daughter wore was an extraordinary feat that did not escape the attention Lewis who plays the role of King Lewis The Wise at these events.
So how did Gee do it?
“I do quilt as a hobby,” was the matter-of-fact explanation given by Gee who was singled out by Lewis during the celebration for having gone above and beyond what she was supposed to do.
When Gee found out that some of her daughter’s classmates were having problems procuring a costume for the celebration, she volunteered to make their dresses as well – all 14 of them.
“This is my way of donating to the school for the year,” Gee simply explained.
She worked on the dresses all at the same time. She even took it upon herself to shop for all the materials that she needed.
“I shopped at a lot of thrift stores. I’m a thrift-store queen,” she said with a laugh and with pride. She even went as far as going to San Francisco and rummaging through fabrics that she found there.
A lot of the work involved plenty of creativity, which is something that is not alien to Gee as a quilter.
“Some of the bodices were made out pillow shams,” she pointed out.
It took her 17 hours to make her daughter Ali’s costume. “She just loves it,” she said.
“I love all their costumes,” she quickly added.
The challenge of making 16 gowns in two months apparently did not faze her at all. On the contrary, “I had fun, I really did,” she said as she feasted her eyes with pride on the smiling young girls proudly wearing her creations.
Except for one girl who liked her dress so much that she asked if she could keep it, the rest of the costumes that Gee made will stay at the school for other students to wear at future Medieval Faire celebrations.
