Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

I write a post with this title at the beginning of each month... it is supposed to be a monthly review. I find it fitting that is has "adjustment" in the title, as that seams to be the main skating related effort I put in these days.

I'm happy to report that the covid cases dropped in my area. We are still under heavy restrictions waiting to see what will be the impact of the Thanksgiving travel and gatherings. So my home rink is still closed, but there are still rinks open for practice ice. Last month I went  skating twice  a week to the rink where I used to take private lessons. Last week I even added a lesson.

I'm putting as much effort as I can into MITF Pre-Juvenile test preparation. I'm trying to test this for more then a year, from last summer, when something went wrong with the registration, then I've hurt my hip, then the winter holiday season slowed me down, then covid happened, then I've got to get back the skills and confidence, then I had blade problems, now, the test sessions are scarce and they fill out the moment they are announced. I want to be ready to test, so when a test is announced I can register immediately.

Lately I've started each skating session with the "5 minutes warm up" for the test that I've described in my last post,  and the test. Then I've worked on the test on the skills I've felt I needed improvement (mostly the 3-turns). Then I did something else (spins, the slow new skills I'm learning), then I went back to the 3-turns. I'll keep up the good work for this test, I'll continue starting with it each skating session.

What I'll add, is the Nutcracker exibition program. I stopped working at it two weeks ago, as the rink that organizes it closed, but it seams it's happening!  The rink did close, but then they allowed private rentals, including private lessons. For the exhibition, the skaters will be staggered, in 10 minutes intervals. Each skater should come fully dressed, skates on, 20 minutes in advance her skating time, warm up for 10 minutes on the second rink, then move on the big rink, do her number (2 minutes), then leave. Each skater can have 2 people with her, and the coach. The event will be live streamed. It sounded a little weird at first, then, I thought that it's gonna actually be sweet, like a private moment for each skater and very immediate family or friends.

Going back to the program... I'm gonna do my old pre-bronze freestyle program, the only program I ever had, on Nutcracker music. I want to challenge myself and add a back spin at the end. My back spin is consistent at this point, but I do it on a line and with a slow entrance. I've had mixed results when I've tried it from steps, with a shorter and faster entrance. I also want to finish the spin with the free leg inside, so I can do a back pivot after, and I keep forgetting that. I'm used to the landing position exit. The rest of the program elements should be fine, but I haven't practice the program from when I tested it, so I hesitate at points, it takes me a second to remember what comes next. And I have other challenges... Firstly, the music it's a little longer, the rhythm it's a little faster, so I think I'll have to add some moves to fill the program. To complicate things, the music doesn't have strong sections, but it's kind of one tone, so it doesn't help me structure the program and look for points to check my timing. I'll have to try it many many times and see what I can fit in and what not. And... at the rink where I skate now, it is complicated to put music, I'll have to try earbuds... I'm planning to skate 4 session until the exhibition and I'll do my best.

I also want a new dress and if you remember, I sew them myself. I had a dream of a silver gray lace and mesh ethereal one, but besides the fact I won't have the time to make it as it's a bit complicated, I also think it may not be a good fit for the occasion. I've also wished for a very simple, like stark simple, white dress. I hope I can make that. If not, I'll use the old gold dress. 

The goal for this Nutcracker exhibition was to get joy and I'm determined to let it be a joyful process even if the choreography, the skating elements and the dress won't be perfect... 

The second part of this month should be mostly about moves. Plus, I'm gonna add it here as a goal, so I won't forget... I have to work on the loop jump consistently. I want eventually to be able to have Bronze Freestyle program and I need the loop jump for that.

Mid month update

My skating goes so well! Only good news in this post! Mmm wait... I'm pretty sure we will get another stay at home order soon...

Back to my skating... for now, I'm still skating Monday, Wednesday and Friday on my own at my rink and I'm having a lesson on Tuesday at another rink. I've missed one Friday and one lesson, but still, I feel I've got a good pace, a rhythm. The muscles feel good, the mask doesn't make it easy, but stamina is improving too.

Pre-Juvenile MITF: The only move that I was not 100% confident for testing was the 3-turns. And they count as two moves and two of the marks for the test, so they need to be confident. Looking back they started to get hesitant when my blades got very dull (I was skidding on some). Then, when the blades were too sharp and on a too deep radius, it was confusing. I wasn't sliding but whenever I wasn't perfectly align (and that is often, and that is ok because this is still a low level test) I would have a balance check and a scare. And a bad fall... yeap, on the bad hip... Also the backward circle eight hasn't gotten completely around on too sharp blades. Now, with the right sharpening, everything is back... The next testing session is December 15... And I'm very doubtful that that is gonna happen because of covid... So I'm not really pushing the moves but I do run them carefully, kind of eye-ing the testing. 

Ice Dancing: I've got it in my head that the boots are not supportive enough. When I push into my ankles, and in Ice Dancing you push on every step, I get no resistance, it's uncomfortable, so I don't feel I can go for speed and power. I do maintain the Ten Fox, but I'm not putting any heart into it. I'm not particularly attracted to this dance and there is no hope of testing partnered any time soon. I've considered testing solo but I'm late on few steps, so not on music, and I feel that I would need a little more power that I don't seam to be able to find. The Foxtrot and European Waltz also don't work without speed and power, the pattern just doesn't goes where it should go.  So I don't do much Ice dancing...

Slow new things: I'm spending most of my ice time on new things that I can do slowly, no power and speed needed. The forward inside brackets are getting really good. I'm not hesitating anymore on the outside ones. Twizzles... I couldn't work on them with too sharp blades, so I just started them again. They are confusing... The counter clockwise sometimes gets 2 full rotations, yeiii, the key word being sometimes. I'm not able to figure out what I do differently when they work. The clockwise ones stop invariably after one rotation. I feel I'm leaning outside the circle, I'm blocking myself with the right shoulder. Per my coach's request I've made a list with the new thing I wanted to learn. And I tried them on my own first... forward double 3-turns, backward power 3-turns, backward crossrolls that he explained to me and I'm ready for the next set of corrections. I'm also working on adding arm movement to some of the edges.

Exhibition program on Nutcraker music: This gives me so much joy, as I expected. The music is a little longer then my old Freestyle program so I added some moves from the Freedance program I was working on. This exhibition also me to work on Freestyle, the spins and jumps that I planed to put in the program. I decided that I'll run the program each time I'm on ice to be sure I build the stamina even if I don't put on the music. I've put the music just once... it's complicated... Anyhow, I'm trying to not allow this program to take over all the skating time, I just work on it on the last 15 minutes on ice. Now, the bad news... The exhibition is suppose to be on December 13th, so probably it's not gonna happen...

Power and Speed: I'm getting into the habit of trying to push myself at the end of the session, if I'm not too tired. If I'm tired, I do breathing kind of edge lunges and contractions. When I feel good, I do power stroking, forward and backward crossovers, forward and backward chasses.

Sewing: I've finally sewn some soakers (absorbent covers) for my blades. I haven't really felt I needed them before, because after wiping the blades after skating I was putting them on a towel in my skating bag. But now, we are not allowed with the skating bags in the building and I'm using the plastic guards to transport the skates and those keep the blades wet. I've also sewn a new skating skirt. From when I've hurt my left hip, I'm always wearing a hip pad so I like to have a skirt over the leggings to cover the pad. I used to wear mostly black leggings and I have made two black skirts. Lately I've got into heather grays, as they don't show the cat hair so badly... so I needed a gray skirt!

Ice show: The Nutcracker on Ice

The Nutcracker on Ice happened this last weekend. I saw it last year and I loved it so much decided I had to be in it. It was the 45th anniversary of the show. Also it is the last year it's gonna be done on this particular rink, as a new rink is being build and this old one it's gonna be demolished.

What can I say. It was grand! The music goes uninterrupted and  numbers align in the back and they are cued when to come in. And as the Nutcracker is a party, it honestly felt like a party. It was beautifully decorated, the costumes were over the top, tutus included. 

We were around 30 adults participating as guest to the party and we had a group number, but some adults also had solos and duets. The queen and king were adults and they hand a dance together. There was a duet with two maids that did an amazing fun number. The magician, Clara's godfather, was played by different adults. And at least one adult had a solo in the second act.

As we rehearsed, the main instruction was to have fun, be comfortable and present big. Almost half of the adults did the show in the previous years, some, going back 20 years! And they were of course big help. Basically we were told to not stress out about anything, and just follow their lead. These adult skaters are part of a theater on ice team and they create each year a new number and they compete to ISI nationals and take part in local shows. They are a truly lovely group of people. The one day, Saturday, when we had two shows too close together for most people to be able to drive home, one of the skaters from this group invited us over to his place to eat. He made huge pots one with chili and one with vegetarian ratatouille, and the rest of us brought sides and deserts. Drinks were suggested but I was actually impressed that nobody went to it. What a responsible group!

Now, the only not so little negative thing, is that this is not my home rink. It's 40  minutes away without traffic, but it took me more then an hour with traffic. We had 6 rehearsals, 3 of them last week and 5 shows during the weekend, two shows each day on Friday and Saturday. I thinks this schedule is close to a professional performer schedule. And besides work, it is the time of the year that is most busy. So, as much as I enjoyed every little bit of it, I may not do it next year.

It all went so fast I didn't remember to take pictures, I took just a few. I will share only if they look good enough to make justice of how beautiful was everything. Otherwise I'll let you use you imagination.

Fashion: Figure Skating Practice Tunic Dresses

As I don't skate much these days, I was thinking to share my first skating sewing projects.

My desire to sew something to skate in came after I bought an inexpensive tunic dress at Marshall's that became an uniform going skating that summer because it made it easy for me to transition from what I was comfortable on wearing on street on hot days, to the ice rink. I was wearing knee length leggings and this tunic dress to the rink and even running errands without feeling under dressed. Then at the rink I added over the knees legwarmers and an athletic jacket and I was ready to skate. No fuss, no changing in dressing room or bathroom and packing extra clothes. That tunic was made from a flimsy rayon fabric and was short lived and I couldn't find something similar. After the summer was gone and I would wear skating a long sleeves sport blouse over legging to the rink and I was wishing for something to cover my behind. So I had no choice but to make my own.

Now, I did sew when I was younger. A lot... I studied fashion design and pattern making for two years, had two fashion shows in school and sewed for clients. But then, I decided to take another career and I've been sewing just a couple a times a year. And I've never got to work with knits. Knits while very forgiving need different patterns and sewing skills than I had. But thanks to youtube I picked it up quickly. My at this point sewing machine was a very cheep and simple one and was stretching the knits so I had to buy a serger. That makes sewing knits really quick and easy.

These are the first tunics I've sewed for skating practices. They are really bad pictures (snapshots from videos of my practices, taken with my phone), sorry for that.
 

I made them quite loose so after they rise as I rise the hands, they'll go back on their own, I wouldn't have to pull them down. The white one is a thick poly knit and the dark gray is bamboo terry with tie dye inserts on the sides. The poly pilled quite fast, the bamboo lasted for few years. It is disappointing to put so much work in a sewing project only to last for few wears. I'm sharing this because that has became my main problem, how to judge the quality of the fabric. And it seems there is no way. I have to restrain myself and use reorderable fabrics that I test first. That became especially important when I was asked by other skaters to make some for them.

As I was getting better at skating (maybe the fashion helped?) I was getting too warm in my tunics. As I was looking for something thinner I came over some wool knits, a blue gray and a cream. They were just a little ticker than a t shirt fabric. I have some ski base layers made of something similar. I made a basically long t shirt from the blue one and as it was looking rather plain I added a ruffle 2 inches above of where the tunic was ending. I don't have pictures with this one but I'll take some next time I'll wear it. At this point I've started Ice Dancing, and I think everybody that learns Ice Dancing knows Kseniya and Oleg youtube videos. The ruffle was inspired by one of Kseniya's skirts. With the cream knit I've learned my lesson and I design it to be more than a long t shirt. I added an asymmetrical piece  inspired by another skirt of Kseniya. You can see it in the videos I posted in My jumps post, and here is a snapshot.

My other passions

When I started writing the blog I knew I eventually would want to share my other activities beside skating. I think most of the people look at these kind of activities as hobbies. I look at them more like passions.

Taken chronologically, from when I was a child I loved nature and animals, and to this day I'm passionate about green living and animal welfare. Then, in my teens my big love was fashion and I've learn to saw and later studied fashion design in parallel with my "real" studies. As I matured I discovered art. I love music (classical and pop), I love dance (ballet and all the others forms) and I love the decorative fine art (painting, sculpture, glass art, ceramics). My biggest love may be the snow and skiing. And you know I love skating...

Of course there is not enough time to emerge myself in all I mentioned. I find that at different points some activities take over. For the last 2 years skating was my main priority. And I literally arranged my weekly schedule around the ice rink schedule.

I'm helping the ally cats for a while now (probably 10 years). I've inherited from a neighbor that moved away a colony registered with the city. A nonprofit foundation organizes these colonies care, they help with the food and offer assistance for TNR (trap, neuter, return). This would eventually curb the number of feral cats and also would make the existing ones less aggressive. Last summer I've encounter two lost kittens (3, 4 weeks old) that I've brought in and bottle fed every 3 hours at first. It wasn't easy. Even harder was to see that the kittens cared by their mothers disappeared one by one.So this year, when I've seen a pregnant cat, I tried to take her in. Some of my friends adopted some kittens :) One friend help with some medical bills. One friend started to do what I'm doing. The nonprofit non kill shelter takes the kittens after they've reach 2 months and puts them for adoption. It is sooo hard to let them go, but I know it is the only way to have space to help others.

I mentioned last week that I've went to an outdoor concert and some art exhibition. In the summer I like the outdoor concerts a lot. A lot of the classical music was inspired by nature, and to me makes sense to be listened in the nature. This year, I really don't have the time to go that much. With work, errands and skating I'm away from home too much. The kittens need lot's of time...

I still occasionally sew, mostly for myself, but I've just made  a skating skirt for a friend that used to borrow mine for tests. Now she is moving away so she needs her own. I've also made a new (shorter) skirt for my moves test, the one that I didn't get to test.

The one think that I didn't get to do in 2 years now, is paint. I paint in watercolors and I am a selling artist. But as everything, it takes a lot of time for learning the technique, figuring out materials, finding inspiration. Plus that one room that I used as my studio is now some of the cats room.

I cannot do it all, but I love it all!

Test: MITF Preliminary - part 1

Here is a link to the judging form.

When I tested, the scores were given from 0 to 6, and for the Preliminary MITF test the passing average was 2.5. Now the scores are between -3 and +3, so the same range, but an element that is done as expected for this level would be scored 0. I tested this one first on June 2017, and got a "retry" (a nicer way of saying failed) for "lack of power" and I tried again and passed on October 2017. If you remember, I'm an adult testing standard quality test, for this specific reason, to get the power that kids get.

Firstly, let me tell you about the preparation for the tests and the tests days. As I was saying in my post about the Pre-Preliminary MITF test, at the point when I started to learn the moves for the Preliminary test, I was talking group classes and having my first private lessons with different coaches. Close to the point of the Preliminary test I took in June, I designated one coach in charge with the moves. She was specialized  in dance, not moves but extremely good coach. She is also the nicest person. She never once mentioned "power" in preparation, for either her inexperience in judges expectations, or for our similar soft personalities. For the second test I trained with a different coach, who pushed me the hardest on power. But, I'll fess up. We both knew perfectly well at that point that I didn't understand the power and I haven't got it. He coached me that I should display power trough a confident attitude.

Another thing that I'll fess up is that when I was preparing for it I thought this test is gonna be easy. I thought I already knew the elements in it. But I knew to do the elements separately, when I put them together, even not trying to show power, I've still got more speed that I was usually putting into those elements and that made me lose some of the control. Plus, as we know now, I really didn't have enough power required for that level. Looking back I don't think this test it's easy, I think it's a strange phase in a skater development, in the sense that you are still a beginner at this phase, not truly understanding how the moves work, but doing them somehow.

Funny thing, I had wardrobe troubles for both tests :) For the first test, the trouble was on practice the day before. In the summer I like to wear a tunic over leggings to the rink (I made myself the wrap tunic in the first video that follows). At the rink I'll put on a jacket over the tunic. Well, I forgot the jacket home. I was cold but I stayed and skated and I've got used with it. That gave me the idea to wear the same outfit for the test, instead of a leotard and nude tights and skirt (that I would have had to change into at the rink, and as somebody that never performed as a kid in any type of show, seamed very dressed up and made me self conscious). On the day of the test my coach couldn't be there and that surely didn't help. I felt like I didn't belong. I was also the only adult in the test session. I later wondered if my choice of a more comfortable costume also made me feel like not a legit skater...

The second test was in the fall, so I could drive in my leotard (that I also made) and nude tights with black leggings over, and the skirt in my bag. Guess what, I took with me the wrong skirt (I have a long skirt from the same fabric as the skating skirt). Luckily I had the wrap tunic in my skating bag and I took it over the leotard and nude tights. It was way shorter compared with the skirt I was planing to wear. And remember, I was self conscious, but I wanted to display confidence, and maybe it helped... You have to look the part to play the part. But lesson learned, now I check my bag numerous times before leaving for a test and I started to even take 2 outfits and tights with me, just in case... I'm now thinking I should throw in some treads and needles for emergencies...

And here is the first test, June 2017- retry

And here is the pass test in November 2017.

I'll describe the 6 elements of this tests in my next post.

Fashion: Making the dress for my Freestyle program

When I started testing Ice Dancing and MITF I asked around what should I wear. I saw a testing session before I even thought of testing, and the skaters were wearing from colorful and full of crystals dresses, to simple black dresses, to leotards with wrap skirts and even black leggings and black athletic jacket. I was advised not to worry about it. Still, I had to wear something...

I was in few group numbers at my ice rink shows and sometimes we had the dresses ordered and twice we had them custom made for the group. Even if the measurements were required and provided, the dresses never fit me properly. It seems I have a long torso. So I didn't feel like investing in a skating dress or even a leotard that probably won't fit. Plus I do sew! For the MITF and Ice Dance tests I've made and wore a black leotard and a black skirt. You can see them here.

I waited to work on a Freestyle program until I was fairly confident in my skating skills and so I would feel that I could express myself a little. Unlike the pattern dances that are performed on music approved by USFSA and MITF that are testes without music, the Freestyle program is choreographed to music chosen by the skater, and I think the costume should fit the music. My music for the Freestyle program is Strange Magic by ELO. And I just had the fabric for it. It is 4 way stretch a beige with light gray kind of tie dye and with a very delicate goldish foil print all over it, like crackles maybe. As many fabrics in my collection, this was a remnant. I had just a little over a yard. I knew I wanted long sleeves and a neck and luckily, as I am a size small I can cut the sleeves from what is left in the middle after cutting the front and the back. I initially thought I'll make the skirt part of the dress straight and with slits on the side. But I ended up having some leftover fabric after I cut the sleeves so I inserted a triangle at the back seems, it gives me a kind of a bustle vibe... I also wanted the back a little longer as I see many skating dresses looking longer in front while skating. My practice skirt in the video of me practicing the program, is in that shape. The fabric seemed just not long enough for the length I wanted in the back. As I wanted to add interest on the upper body anyhow, I choose to add a mesh band just up of the breast and continuing around the sleeves. That will end up being adorned with rhinestones. So I ended up with a design inspired by the 19 century "magic" and by the limited fabric I had.

I expect I'll wear this dress twice. But I like it so much, I was thinking I can cut it at hips and have a skiing blouse. For that reason I decided to line the mesh band at the top and to not cut the skirt at the waist. Instead I added a power mesh lining connected at the decorative mesh seam and at the sleeve seam and that would continue with the panties. For Ice Dancing I wore a regular dress with a bathing suit under, but for Freestyle, the body of the dress would rise when jumping if it's not pulled down by a connected leotard. This "lining" leotard ended up being a challenge because the mesh and panty fabric had different amounts of stretch between them and then the dress fabric. The power mesh was more "power" and less stretch then I expected and the panty fabric I found after 3 trips to 2 different fabric stores (to match the color of the dress), was very stretchy and soft, but a mechanical stretch, it may not have lycra in it at all. It worked in the end...

Now the execution...
Firstly I washed the fabric. I'm used to wash all fabrics. Same of them, like cotton and rayon, wool, silk go "in" after washing so I pre wash everything I know I want to wash as garments. Another reason to pre wash is to remove some "sizing" from the fabrics, that could make them stiffer or not breathable.
Then, I made the pattern. I've already made a leotard pattern from my measurement a while ago, so I've just copied it and cut the bands were the mesh would be, then cut it at waist and added the straight skirt.
Next I've cut the fabric. I have a 2 leaves foldable craft table that is opening to 36 by 36 if I open one side or 36 by 60 if I open both leaves. It is also counter high so it is very comfortable for cutting fabric. I like to cut every single piece of the pattern so I don't have to open the craft table too many times and to realign the fabric edges. This time, as I was using different fabrics (4 different ones) I was afraid I'll end up mixing the pieces, so I decide to cut just what I'll sew next.
I saw the decorative mesh bands with the lining into the front, left back, right back and the sleeves. Then I saw them all together with the power mesh that would be the top of the leotard. The power mesh I didn't saw at the side seams, it would have a seam on it's own and the panties would be added to it. I used a serger and stretch needles.
At this point I could try it on and I had to take in very little at the back near the neck and at the hips.
Now, I had to put in the zipper. This has to be done with the regular machine. That came out very wavy. The fabric is stretchy but the zipper not and the regular machine doesn't have differential feed dogs as the serge has. I wasn't too upset to take it out because anyhow I disliked the color of the zipper. It was camel, should go with gold right? It didn't. I had to pause the project for a few days until I found a better color zipper.
I wanted to try the dress while skating as I was seeing the choreographer coach for the last time and I wanted his approval. It didn't have a zipper and the panties attached but I've made a temporary seam in the back and pull it over my head and wore it over my leggings. It felt good while skating and people said it looked good...
At this point I received the rhinestones that I planed to glue on the mesh parts of the dress. I've got very excited imagining how great they'll look but I couldn't start gluing them because the dress didn't have a zipper yet, and I couldn't saw over the beads (the needle would break when hitting the stones).
I finally bought the zipper and put it in successfully. I had to do a little hand sewing from where the zipper ended to where I could fit the fabric in to start sewing with the serger.
Now I did 4 sessions of gluing crystals. I spent around an hour each time. I had different sizes in both clear and yellow color. I wanted a random look, but you know, you have to plan very carefully "the randomness". First, I put in the two bigger size crystals (that I had a limited number) after I counted and split them in groups to be sure I use the same amount on each part of the dress. I had lots of the  smaller size beads (2 other sizes) so on the next sessions it went somehow faster because I didn't count them, I was just filling in the spots.
I decided to add a mesh cuff with a hole for my thumbs to hold the sleeves down and to repeat the design of the mesh and crystals band on the upper body. I glued the crystals. I think I would like more crystals there, on the back of my hands, so to be continued...
I finally found some fabric for the panties that matched the dress color and put them in. It is a nude color with a yellowish tint. My over the boot thighs are suntan color, hopefully they will have enough contract from the panties.
The only thing left was the bottom seam. At this point I think I'll let it be raw. The only solution I see would be a rolled hem but that will make the bottom a little wavy and I don't want that.

So it took a long long time to make it. This is partly because I used unfamiliar fabrics and because it was a new design and that always requires tweaking. Still, I find the sewing takes way longer then people that don't sew think.