I had no costume inspiration of my own this year, so I decided to join Alison’s crew of bumblebees. I wanted something I could comfortably dance in: thus, my concept was “disco bee”. I cut two yards each of black and yellow metallic stretch material into five-inch strips, then stitched them back together, alternating colors to make stripes. From this I cut out a pair of pants, making each leg from a single piece so I wouldn’t have to match the stripes along an outside seam. I fitted the legs, made the yoke and waistband, adjusted it to fit comfortably, stitched it all together – then discovered I had left no way to actually get into my own pants! Frustration!

Time for a dinner break, with Ava, over at Jeff and Nika’s place. Nika happened to have a spare zipper, so I used a sharpie to turn it black, then stitched it in: hey-ya, the pants are done. I made a pair of sleeves from the remaining fabric, attached front and back with strips of elastic. I finished off the look with an abstract set of wings, repeating the striped look with layers of black and yellow fringe, stitched along the underside of each sleeve and across the shoulders. Top it off with a pair of springy antennae, and I was ready to go – 11:15 PM is a splendid time to leave for a late-night party!

The bumblebee project came out really well; there were at least 30 of us, enough that people clearly understood there was something going on. Shawn and Barry came dressed as bee-keepers. Hive Mind always has a lot of really elaborate costumes, and I felt good to be wearing something unique and polished. The party was so crowded, in fact, that I spent the first hour just standing in the hallway talking to friends as they passed by! It wasn’t until 2 AM that the crowds had thinned enough that I felt like dancing. But, hey, it was time-change night, so we got an extra hour of party in and I rocked out until 5 AM. It was a good night.