Monday, December 22, 2008

I Saw Mommy Stitching Santa's Pants

Friday evening when Santa came on-stage for the first time during the Clayton Holiday Concert, I noticed that he had a hole in his pants. I figured that since I could see it, the audience probably could too so I told the symphony's director of operations after the concert. Her reaction was, “Oh no, not again!” Turns out this is not the first time Santa has had a problem with his pants. I offered to fix them.

I think most people have a secret, or not-so-secret passion. Mine is all things related to sewing. When we bought our house one of the big selling points with us was the large bonus room. At first the room was primarily dedicated to music with a small corner for my sewing machine. Now the opposite is true. Slowly, the sewing machines, cutting table, and fabric have taken over the room. Even when I am ripping out a pants zipper that I accidentally installed backward (so you would have to reach your hand down your pants to pull it up...) I am always happy when I'm sewing. I love playing the viola and I'm glad to play with the Knoxville Symphony, but if The Metropolitan Opera Company or Cirque du Soleil called needing a costume designer I'd be there in a heartbeat. This is why I offered to fix Santa's pants.

My motto when fixing something is “First do no harm.” This is followed closely by, “Measure twice, cut once.” When I took out the old repairs to see what I had to work with I had visions of Santa wearing a pair of red sweat pants for the rest of the Clayton performances. The pants were in bad shape. Finally I said a little prayer, made a slit in the lining and repaired them as best I could. Luckily my repairs held for the rest of the performances. I did cringe every time Santa high kicked or karate-chopped his way across the stage. I had hideous visions of his pants disintegrating on the spot.

I enjoyed playing costume mistress for the night, but I think the best part of the whole situation was seeing my four-year-old's reaction when she got up in the morning to find Santa's pants hanging up in the studio.

1 comment:

Angie said...

Great post. It was fun knowing the story before I even read the piece! :)