Last week Ian and I took a day off to travel to Gatlinburg. The Weeki Wachee mermaids were performing at Ripley's Aquarium. I've wanted to see them ever since we drove over to Weeki Wachee Springs and found the attraction closed--it was fall and they're not open everyday off-season; just weekends.
Before and after performances there were photo opportunities with the mermaids. Naturally I felt that Elsa needed a tail to fully take advantage of that oportunity. Yes, she's one of those babies lacking a biological tail. If you're a big fan of Geek Love like I, then you know what I mean.
We ran by the-store-who-shall-remain-nameless and Ian selected the shiny blue fabric. By the time we returned home Elsa was ready for bed, so I measured her waist and length from her waist to her tippy-toes. Then I got to work.
Mermaid tails are easy to make. Really. I would have finished hers in under an hour, but my machine SUCKS. I probably asked it to do more than it could. The body was simply a sleeve with a bit of elastic at the top. The tail I traced onto paper and cut out 2. Also cut out 2 bits of batting and quilted each bit of batting to each side of the tail.
The trouble came with sewing those quilted pieces together. Even tried my walking foot to no avail. I was so pissed. Honestly. After several tries the bobbin got all flakey like it is wont to do. And when I turned the tail right side out there were gaps in the seam where it wasn't stiched tight enough.
When I make Elsa's next tail I'll probably use one piece of batting, or maybe something else, to stabilize the tail and make it more substantial.
Elsa enjoyed the trip. I've always questioned those parents who bring the babies out to theme parks, especially, at an age when they cannot possibly benefit from the trip. So here I go taking my 6 month old to an aquarium. I didn't expect her to get much out of it. Ian carried her and held her close to the tanks so she could see everything.
She loved the jellyfish, the snow crabs, and some other fish whose identity I cannot remember. The mermiad show? Eh. Not so impressed. She enjoyed staring at the red LED screen on the wall that scrolled through show times and information. Nor did she like the steel drum music that the mermaids lip-synched in time with underwater. Ian and I were impressed when one mermaid drank a coca cola from a glass bottle whilst underwater.
And she was a hit at the Aquarium. Stacy, the mermaid with whom she posed, said, "How precious!" when Ian handed Elsa to her. Random people wanted to take our photo, even. When I took Elsa into the bathroom to change her into her street clothes, two girls pointed and said, "That's the baby with the tail, squee!"
