Hooping It Up

There seems to be those crazes that sweep the Internet, knitting and sewing and Shredding are a few I participate in. And now we can add hooping to the mix. For a few months, photos and videos have been popping up everywhere of ladies hooping as exercise and entertainment. It looked fun and I thought I would try it out. Off to Target I went, grabbed the nearest hoop from the kiddies section and looked up a YouTube vid when I could not seem to keep the thing around my hips. And that is how I joined hooping.

At the festival this weekend, there was a large Hoop tent, full of colorful and winged festival girls ready to give anyone a hoop to try. Well, let me tell you a very important lesson I learned. Hoops from Target do not cut it for the adult hooper. The hoops these girls had were substantially heavier and larger and I learned that one should gauge the diameter of a properly fitted hoop by holding it up to your torso where it should hit just above your belly button. There is so much knowledge to be gleaned in this world.


A few practice minutes with those hoops was all I needed to understand why I was exhausted after a few minutes with my Baby Target hoop. I felt like I could hoop forever with the heavier one and I did just that, with music pumping and watching the advanced faerie hooping girls do all kinds of neat tricks.


I did not buy a hoop as the matter of transportation home was a bit of an issue, but I know there are sellers on Etsy and I am sure there is a tutorial out there explaining the joining of 1" PVC piping into a concentric circle. I have yet to make my own, but it is in the works.

One thing that is mostly made is my Alabama Stitch skirt.

I felt the need to wear it out over the weekend despite the initial chill in the air. Can I just say, I am making 5 more of these and I will swear to wear only tshirt material on my lower half for the rest of my life.


This is by far the most beautiful and comfortable thing I have ever made for myself and I already have a 'mind' design for my next skirt. The finding of this book has changed my concept of clothing and sewing and I feel truly excited thinking of the wonderful things I can create, all with my own two hands and some repurposed tshirts. Rock on.


I thought I would include the night shots I captured, once the sky went dark

the DJ came out and festies, hoopers, hippies and your run of the mill Mama with twins all joined in a little dancing to Prince. Quite a sight, I did not realize that little musician man had such power to unite.