Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for September 24, 2016

What a drag!

Let’s just hope Luann’s art class and Gunther’s engineering class aren’t at the same hour.

Again. Fashion and Designer>Engineering

She had better take it to Gunther’s class first. If it goes to Bozo’s class first, it might end up being shredded, doused in water, set on fire, or Bozo might take a liking to it himself…

Gunther should wear it to Bezo’s class. and Luann to the engineering class.

For those who know something about sewing, what does Gunther mean by “I’ll be making up the pattern as I go”? Isn’t Luann going to design the pattern? And wouldn’t the pattern be finalized before Gunther starts sewing?

Perhaps Gunther can get Stephen Hawking to wear it to his class. Can you imagine the cred Gunther would get for that?..“Gunther, >beep< could you please make me another in wenge brown with an ice white collar >buzz<?”

Luann would never miss the chance to strut her stuff for the engineering boys……………she’ll even bring a couple of extra tape measures.

I still can’t see how a dress qualifies as an engineering project, unless it was also a nuclear powered exoskeleton with full armour protection and a plasma laser weapons system….??

It’s a good thing he is probably wearing a combination of “Hai Karate” and "Sure"…though, by now, they’ve probably turned into “Tapout” and "Doubt"…. – If Luann didn’t wear it, his next logical step would have been to make the chair wear it… and as last resort, there’d be “Plan C” ….this time, the “C” being for Chuck Norris…..

Nice touch, Luann.

One totally (Geek) engineered Bridesmaid dress….Click thumbnail to enlarge

“Psych! 101”“Scare Package”“On Pins And Needles”“Ob La Di, Ob La Duhhh!!!…” (♫)“Never Let ’Em See You Sweat….Unless You Turned Up The Thermostat, First…”“Blood, Sweat And Tears….But Mostly Sweat…”“The Inspiration Conspiracy”“A Long Walk To A Short Peer Review”“Out Of The Flying Panic, And Into The Firing Line….”“100 Percent Perspiration”“Engineering The Runaway Train Of Thought”“I Must Be On a Cruise, Cos I’m Trippin’ !”

or

“She Played A Dithery Dude”

Or they’ll both get Fs because they had outside help from people who aren’t in their class.

And Luann sure is trusting of Gunther! Has she ever seen any clothing he’s designed?

Gunther should read the book “A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown” (Robert A. Baker, editor), if he does not believe that engineering has much to do with making a dress.

At Mr. Brdshtt

“The stronger person is not the one that does the work of ten men, but gets ten men to do his (or her) work.”-———————————————————————————————————

INTERESTING!. Sorta like Socialism…..,

(Psssst, Hey Gunth? Over HERE. Look after You’re DONE with that ‘Dress,’ sneak over to Brad and ask if You can be a Groomsman and escort ‘Maid of Honor’ Luann down the aisle on the Wedding Day. Oh don’t Worry. He’s so Giddy Now, You can talk Him into ANYTHING. Anyway, when You’re All standing before Minister/Shaman/Warlock, and the Wedding Vows are being Said, make SURE You are Holding Lu’s hand the Whole Time. Why, You ask? Well there is a little known proviso in traditional Wedding Vows, that states that ‘ANY Couple Standing and Holding Hands during the Ceremony, is Automatically MARRIED.’ VIOLA!!! Instant “Dream Come True,” Gunther, Old Pal! Hey, Don’t take MY Word for it. LOOK It Up! Just make SURE You Two have a (a-hem) “Memorable” Wedding Night before legions of the Stunned, Angry ‘Fans’ DE-MAND an Annullment.‘Why am I doing this’ You ask? Well, the ‘Never Gunther’s’ have Vowed to leave whatever Country ‘They’ are In, if You and Luann EVER Got Married. I just wanna see ’em PACK.For FUN, of Course…..,)

Good one Luann! he has “grown” alright!

When you submit your project documentation, Gunther, be sure to cite “A Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown,”

Many can sketch a car -that’s art. Few can make them - that’s engineering — and manufacturing.

I like the by-play here between Luann and Gunther. It’s refreshingly natural sounding and ends with a nice little joke at the end,

Doesn’t anyone think the bride should be consulted?

To those who were hoping for another potential Luann-Gunther romance, this strip is a good illustration of why I don’t think that should happen. When Luann decides to make a deadpan humor comment about Gunther wearing the dress, Gunther not only doesn’t pick up that it is humor, but he breaks out into a panic.Even if Gunther took Luann’s comment that he should wear the dress because it’s his engineering project as a literal suggestion, he hasn’t invested any significant time or effort in the project yet. So he could have just said, “Forget it! I’m going back to the can opener project!” without reacting in horror.Basically, this strip shows a less attractive side of Gunther’s personality which should hopefully work against the idea of a Luann-Gunther romance.

Oh, some other thoughts on the “cardboard” mention. If the kids still are growing a lot, the person who created the cardboard pieces might be hoping for more or might be constructing more lasting pieces for memories, or might be someone who lays fabric over the piece, rather than pinning on, smooths it, and then uses sewing chalk/sewing markers or pins to mark the cutting locations. I am NOT good at sewing, though can do it a bit (far less so now w my vision) but i have seen my mom-in-law who is incredible at sewing (as are her daughters and granddaughters) use that approach for homemade patterns, sometimes w a cheap cloth trial piece to see how a new pattern might work, and changes in the pattern as she goes if the trials do not work.

Sadly, my mom-in-law has special needs now, but i have heard that she still has done some sewing in the activities center where she lives though i am not certain how recently nor what type, but they have recently taught some yarn skills there, too, which she did not have before.My maternal grandmother was good at sewing – exceedingly good – but she saw it as “her” thing and never taught anyone. I can not recall for certain what she used for patterns, but for making those i think she mostly worked w soft, cheap fabric and sewing chalk.

BTW, my mom-in-law who has a great sewing background is in an enhanced living situation. The out of pocket costs are very high, but worth every penny in terms of quality of life and slowed decline compared to the needed nursing home for my father at a similar stage and same age. That option did not exist where he lived. Just mentioning as an aside because someone here might at some point wonder if that approach can pay off.

Luann is making her brother’s wedding all about herself, Gunther goes along with making a custom bridesmaid’s dress and nobody seems to think that’s abnormal. Is every other bridesmaid going to show up wearing whatever they want?The narcissism here fits in with modern American society, that’s for sure.

Is it just me or are they showing off Luann’s new bust?

Is there a formula for calculating the maximum structural integrity using the minimum amount of fabric?

If you can’t be the best, get the best. And since Vera Wang is out of Luann’s league, cross your fingers and give Gunther a shot. Pssst: Toni, its not too late to elope.

Okay, i am going to reiterate something: i do NOT know a lot about sewing or engineering. I can do some basics, and i have observed more than basics, but get beyond those basics and my mistakes are sure to be ones that a knowledgeable seamstress/tailor would consider to be basic ones. That is fine. It is at least as important to understand what one does NOT know as what one does know. We all know that. When someone claims to be able to learn “all about” a topic in an hour and a half or a day or a week, when the people who actually DO know the topic took years we know that person is ignorant and potentially one who will take gambles on too little information. It does not matter if the person hearing such clap trap is an auto mechanic who had a client who always complained about the time and cost of repairs then brought in a car badly damaged from a foolish at-home mistake, or a physician with a patient who tried a home-remedy that left permanent scarring or worse. Every single one of us has had ignorant people who derided what we do, whether job, at home chore, or hobby because those people did not understand the process, labor, cost, and safety factors. Because we have all been there we know that people who do that are full of it and potentially dangerous. If they feel that way about one area of expertise which is not their own then they are almost guaranteed to feel that same way about other areas of expertise which they do not understand, including yours or mine. So, again, i am NOT an expert on sewing, nor on engineering. I just know a little because i have observed a little, have tried a little, and have read a little.Sewing is a field which not only has a past in engineering garments, but also in engineering tools, and tools to make other tools. For examples: before hide scrapers were created people dragged hides over their incisors to prevent fat remains going rancid and to create softness; before needles there were awls used to make holes to bind pieces together; before buttons, hooks and eyes, and toggles there were ties which held pieces in place while also allowing them to be removed.One really, really cool engineering problem was the creation of uniform thread. If you read about sewing hundreds of years ago the threads presented great problems and the experts would first work their segments of thread to enhance uniformity. Thread which is not uniform catches, wraps itself, causes knots, breaks, does not fit many needles, etc. It is a total pain in the butt. No, it is worse than that.When you make or wear a garment today you are benefitting from generation upon generation of new engineering, though some portions seem stuck in the past like the foundation of user unfriendly sewing machines.There is a wonderful movie released maybe two years ago, but i forget the name, that a friend in the fashion industry recommended. It is about a new designer taking over a portion of one of the name French couture houses and wanting to be true to the past of the company and its founder. It is spellbinding. BTW, some of the new technology in that film involved finding ways to work the appearance of some major abstract paintings into fabrics used so that they were less limited than traditional weaving would allow but the appearance would be deeper and richer than typical fabric printing permits.There are also major weaving advances through recent technology which remove the need for seams. Our friend swears by that as being wonderful.

Okay, in a great many fields (most fields) i am luck enough to not only know people who know far more than i do, but to understand and respect that they do. Here are two things i learned today from others:1. There is a mathematical subset in the field of topology which focuses on knots. Apparently, it is very important.2. One of the differences between bespoke clothing and made to measure clothing is that the second goes from a pattern, while the first uses the approach w inexpensive cloth that i mentioned having seen a family member do in the past to get the idea before the final product is made for the individual.

Mentioned by a friend as possibly of interest to some here, for some to just know exists and the overlap, and for other to read or gift:http://www.siam.org/news/news.php?id=1254Begins:QUOTE By Sarah-Marie Belcastro and Carolyn Yackel, eds., AK Peters, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 2007, 200 pages, $30.

Cornell mathematics professor Daina Taimina has gained a certain celebrity over the past few years—-perhaps as much for her needlework skills as for her mathematics. Some readers may know of her as the mathematician who, along with her husband (geometer and fellow Cornell professor David Henderson), designed and crocheted models of the hyperbolic plane a few years ago.

END QUOTE

As an engineering project, how about a dress that can be changed to wear elsewhere. Like a long skirt and sleeves that can be removed after the wedding to turn it into a clubbing dress.

To do a proper engineering presentation of the dress, Gunther will have to draw a free body diagram…

As several commenters have already noted, pattern and design are not the same thing. Luann has come up with a simple sketch design; now, it is up to Gunther’s engineering skills to implement that design by creating workable patterns. I suppose it could be considered engineering (more especially if it were a strapless, cantilevered design; but the prof should get the point). The question is, will the result be good enough to get Toni’s approval? She has the final say for what her bridesmaids will wear at her wedding!

This is the fascinating movie:http://www.diorandimovie.com

The plots change ~ every two weeks but they do so in a seamless way which is different from the way it was … say.. last year where we would have a thread involving some characters, and then we would switch over to a totally different scenario. Now it seems we’ve been on one continuous thread since the beginning of summer. They flow together. Luann and Bern got out of school for the summer & didn’t know what to do for fun. That led into the Fuse Follies and their humor skit, which then led into the Shannon and Jonah episode which led into Brad’s anger/ jealously over Jonah which led into Toni’s stress which led into the wedding -plans episode which led into Toni’s dress shopping issue which now leads into Luann’s bridesmaid dress obsession and finally leading into this scene with Gunther and his sewing skills.

According to the FB page for Luann, they are going to go live there, with a new installment of the Brad and Toni saga.

Spoiler: G and T: learning so much?

Another spoiler: Forget Angelina and Brad, we got what’s hot.

Gunther’s look of pure panic is just perfectly placed!