LIBERTY OF LONDON IS OFFERING RAY HARRYHAUSEN FABRIC!!
I know! It's amazing, isn't it?! What are you going to make? I'm thinking a prim '60s shirtdress. Maybe just a skirt, though, since Liberty's on the pricey side. It'll have to have pleats, however, just so I can have the fun of pretending that dueling skeletons are hiding in them. In fact, maybe I could do a hidden bit of embroidery! Look at this fabulous fabric! So dark and mysterious...you know some fantastic creature is hiding in the depths of that jungle:
You haven't said anything. It's because you spit up your coffee in excitement, right? Or because you clicked away to order fabric of your own?
Or...is it that I'm one of only about six people in the world who would be excited about this? I don't know how often the fandoms of sewing and horror/sci fi movies collide.
I see a hand in the back. "Who's Ray Harryhausen?" you ask.
ONLY ONE OF THE BEST MOVIE SPECIAL EFFECTS CREATORS EVER!! He did JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS! He did CLASH OF THE TITANS and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD! He studied at the knee of Willis H. O'Brien, who did the original KING KONG!
Deep breath. I've calmed my movie geek side down. Harryhausen is an amazing artist who created special effects in the 1950s with stop motion photography. That meant that he created models (generally out of clay) and then shot them frame by frame, moving them just a tiny bit each time, to make an action sequence that flowed. Keep in mind that 24 frames go into just one second of film and you'll get a sense of the kind of painstaking attention to detail he had to employ.
Here's an example of his work, if you're interested. It's his famous "Skeleton Fight" from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS. (Warning: turn down the volume if you don't want 50s movie music blasting from your computer, though I'm sure none of you are reading this at work.) Laugh at the 1950s acting and the short gladiator costumes if you want, but remember -- this is the work of one man and his two hands. No computers. He did it all at 24 frames per second. Every limb of every skeleton -- and often there are several onscreen at once -- had to be moved just a millimeter for each frame. He'd often work all day to get half a second of footage.
Suddenly I don't feel like I should whine so much when I have to re-do a seam. Enjoy! (If you're in a hurry, the skeleton stuff begins around 1:45).