Miss Honey

One of my favorite movies growing up was Matilda. Danny DeVito was a perfectly and irrationally irate father, the Trunchbull could not have been more menacing, and there was no hero in the world that I wanted to be more than this talented little girl. I wish sometimes that I were more like Matilda (and for that matter Will Hunting without all the... issues) who received her education completely for free at the local library. She consumed books at a rate that I wish I could read, and I'm assuming that's where she got her psychokinesis... am I just a few overdue late fees away from being able to move things with my mind?

Another character I really appreciated from this adaptation of Road Dahl's book (a favorite author of my childhood) was Matilda's first grade teacher, Miss Honey. After watching this movie again as an adult, I find that I no longer gravitate towards Matilda's character--I can't relate to her now that I'm no longer a child--but I do feel a strong tug towards Miss Honey.

After all, Miss Honey is a teacher. She an adorably feminine, soft-spoken, sweet little teacher, who notices a student that is remarkably gifted and praises them continuously. You feel that she really truly loves each of her students as much as this very special one. She never says a harsh word to any of them in the entire film. Also: she is a grownup who still has tea parties. 

Of course, Miss Honey is meant to be the foil to your Ms. Trunchbull. The Trunchbull is everything teachers shouldn't be: the kind of teacher that tells you to do something, just because she says so. She's the kind of teacher who gets an ego boost from belittling children. She's the kind of teacher that would give you homework on the weekends... (ok I am guilty of that sometimes.)

When I put on this dress this morning to wear it to school, my husband told me that I looked like Miss Honey. Hooray! What a compliment!

There's only one thing about Miss Honey that doesn't quite work for me, though. She's too sweet! (Hence the name, clever Mr. Dahl...) She has less backbone than a six-year-old. Granted, we'll give that Matilda is a pretty bold six-year-old, and the Trunchbull is a pretty intimidating creature to stand up against, but she could have been a little tougher.

I want to be a kind, encouraging teacher. I want my students to remember my good words. I don't want harsh ones to slip out. I want to lift them up and constantly praise them. But I'm also going to have a backbone. I'm going to enforce my rules, and on another note, no one will take my house from me.

The dress is made from the Scout Tee pattern. I traced the pattern and divided it up to do a color blocking effect. The top is from a vintage sheet a la Savers, and the grey is a soft linen from Hancock fabrics. It is like wearing a pillow case on top of a blanket. I lengthened the pattern to shift-dress status and added a drawstring for some shape. I'm a fan of the drawstring right now. I'm happy to see old lady style is in for us young ones: big glasses, comfy shoes, drawstrings, and coming soon... fun times with elastic waists.

Kitty was obviously ecstatic to be a part of the apartment balcony photo shoot. She has about as much sense for posing as I do.