a leap year day

It is a leap year day. And I'm going to post simply because this opportunity will only present itself once every four years. A 'Happy Birthday' to those that are born on February 29. This extra day of the year is a good day to think.

I've been doing a little inventory (as you may say) of all my projects and ideas that I am presently working on, or really really want to work on. It is a bit of a long list. A while ago I took the list of projects off the sidebar of this blog as I realised that I wasnt really working on them. This weekend I would looooove to start sewing again, as my high- rotation of favourite clothes are looking a little tired to me. My stash of Liberty is asking to be (very carefully) used up.

So my little long list is as follows...

sewing
... A blouse-y top for myself, made from one of my Liberty fabrics. I'm going to hunt for a good pattern.
... To finish the butterfly top for my sister.
... A couple of t-shirt dresses for my nieces.

knitting
... To work on my blanket every now and then.
... And to knit a basket weave scarf in a gorgeous wool in time for winter.

painting
... Simply to pick up my paints again after they have been in storage for so long. Especially when I have some ideas to develop.

embroidery
... To complete the first motif on the embroidery for Miss G.

crafting
... And to create a great cushion for myself (coat of arms)

design
... To finish my 'goodbye' illustration. Eventually.
... And eventually learn how to do textile prints.

jewellery
... To Finish the Neverending Cuff. By the end of the term. So that I can move on to...
... An extravagant necklace.
... And a brooch for my mother.


Now my question is- where, just where do I find (or make) the time?

fashion and life

Not too long ago, I had a reader asking about fashion design and how I came to work in it. I thought that it would be good idea to talk about it in my blog, just because if I can help more than one person, it would be good.

I was thirteen when I decided that I wanted to be a fashion designer (in a big- name kind of way, my aspirations are a bit different now). I think it was becasue I thought that I could earn better money in fashion than I would as a starving artist (as I put it at the time). I wasn't the most fashionable thirteen year old either, but I liked to draw, and I liked to make things, and this combined the two. By the time I had reached high-school, I was tailoring (excuse the pun) my education to a fashion direction, taking a combo of all the normal papers, plus sewing and design. I failed my final year high-school design paper and was bitterly bitterly disappointed. My style at the time was heavily influenced by Viviene Westwood- I had also gone through the late 90s (woohoo!) stage of toggles, clips, shot fabric and elastic. Not to mention coloured electrical wires used excessively...

I however got into Massey University's fashion design course, which was well regarded, and pushed myself. I made sure that I learnt to draw, patternmake and sew to the best that I could. I really enjoyed uni, looking back, but at the time it was a never- ending round of assignments and no sleep. I miss being able to sit and look out my window, listing to music, eating jellybeans and drawing (sigh). My style by that stage, had moved away from Westwood-esque crinolines and punk, to something more streamlined and clean. I liked to create garments that look simple, but were hellish to patternmake. I got into denimwear- I still love to read Sportswear International. It is amazing how fashion design students can easlily preclude trends- alot of what I have seen at design school has eventually come into mainstream fashion (often several years later though..). See our work here.

To make sure that I was actually able to get a job in the industry I did work experience- this I think is really, really important. I did work experience at Akira and at Zambesi. I think that it is quite important to get into a uni that you think is good, and that will help you get to where you would like to go. I still aspire to go to Central St Martins (As per thirteen year old dream), so when I go to England in year or so's time, I will treat myself to a summer paper there (Which one??? There are so many choices!)

Today I work as a design assistant. A design assistant is different from an assistant designer. Confused? An assistant designer works mainly on the design side of things, and a design assistant works on both design and technical stuff. Day- to- day I do alot of patternmaking, garment specs, and production related stuff. We design only at certain parts of the year, so that is a mix of researching, sending off textile prints to get printed and creating storyboards. We do sampling for new styles at the same time. My friends from uni work mainly in patternmaking, design assistant, merchandising and buying- so a bit of all the main fashion type jobs there. I think it is amazing that people can work in couture houses. You would have to be a perfectionist. Perfectionist. And I still struggle with the concept of high-fashion people- I simply don't get it- but it makes great movies and TV (Devil Wears Prada, Ugly Betty, Zoolander etc). My kind of daydream-fantasy job would to be a fashion illustrator. Then I can draw the clothes and not have to make them....

As I work and deal with the realities of commercial fashion, I have little time to dedicate to my own fashion work, and have in turn, taked to crafting. I like crafting beacuse of the scale of the projects- small, but detailed (excepting the blanket on the knit). My approach to fashion design is getting a little more homespun too- my choice in fabrics and colours are softening up, and I'm wanting to experiment with draped garments more (except I don't have a mannequin..) This is really coming to the fore as the clothing vs. jewellery project slowly takes shape- I'm really getting lots of ideas (and driving my tutor crazy in the process).

Lets see how it turns out

PS. My computer is feeling a little less congested now, so will be back to posting at a normal pace. Yay!

the daydream craft store

Me being me, is at best, quite a dreamer. I've started chewing over a craft shop idea, prompted by my last post. I think I've been inspired by the likes of Purl and other shops, but something beautiful and special for Auckland. It has a good potential for the 'lifestyle career thing'- you know, where your job and your interests tend to blend into one another, an escape route from the fashion scene. I'm not sure if thats a good or a bad thing though- I wonder that if I were running a craft shop if I would get tired of the whole craft thing.

...But I still like the idea of a cozy place, with a couch for itinerant crafters, a rag rug on the floor, a bowl of jellybeans by the counter, and knitting circles where you can gossip while tackling something complicated or as brainless as you choose. And hanks of yarns in lovely, enticing colours just waiting to be knitted up. Old-school tapestries on the walls next to new craft and interesting window displays (I'm thinking paper cranes). Fantastic craft design books and no-nonsense how- tos mixed with a good dose of vintage craft books (the crazier, the better). I like the idea of a little shop thats a more than just a shop, but a shop with a dose of personality and a sense of community.

So.. would you like to visit?

the knitting addiction

Today is one of those cold rainy rainy Sundays where you have very little motivation to go outside your house ( I must have a very low resistance to cabin fever). I am even making up excuses to try and avoid going to the supermarket. This is however very good for my new crafty addiction- knitting. Rain and knitting seem to go together quite well.

I have now finished my luminous sunshine mustard yellow scarf- the picture does not do it justice I'm afraid. I still have to motivate myself to wash it though (very difficult to do when you want to wear it straightaway). It took me a good seven weeks of knitting to complete it, and by the time I had decided to finish it on Friday, I had realised that I was well and truly over knitting that scarf! I was inspired by a print design that I found on Print and Pattern to mix up the colours on the tassels- this stops it from looking too flat.


I am not yet over knitting completely, and have begun a larger project to keep me occupied over the winter months: an oversized throw rug. This is from a very quick and easy pattern that I found in one of my Mum's Australian Women's Weekly's, which had a great 'learn to knit' section. I have managed to complete one square already, and am starting to understand the satisfaction that granny square crochet people must get when they work on a project like that- short and sweet, but progress none the less. I aim to get this rug roughly the size of a single bed rug, even though the pattern is saying to knit 9 squares, which I don't think is big enough to drape over the end of your bed. I am using an earthier, more homespun colour palette, with a mix of browns and soft greys offset with cream. I am limited by the range of wool colours that my local craft shop has, but am happy that they stock such a sumptuously soft felted wool such as the one that I am using. The wool is sold in hanks, so you have the fun job of winding the hank of wool ino a ball before you knit- a soothing process in itself. I like how organic a hand wound ball of wool looks.

While I was visiting the craft shop I spotted a sign advertising beginners quilting classes, I decided to sign up. I have recently wanted to learn how to quilt, and to be able to create a quilted bedspread. I think it starts off on a American Country Craft style quilt, which isn't really my style at all, but I'm sure you can learn alot of skills from a slighlty more complicated piece before moving onto your own style.

Last but not least for this post is my new favourite top- I brought a new woollen jersey knit top (to ward off winter chill and wardrobe angst) which I then decorated with a selection of buttons- it makes me smile everytime I wear it.

spot the knitting.

It is a little concerning, when your knitting and your choice in furniture, start to look the same. My flatmate picked up this neat retro rocking chair on Trademe a week ago, and our little flat is staring to look a bit more homely. I have knitted nearly my height in scarf now- I started it only 4 weeks ago (I am knitting at the rate of one ball per week- if I don't I won't have my scarf by the time it gets seriously cold.) so am aiming for serious progress!

I'm thinking that there are two types of knitter- big needle and little needle knitters. The big needle type are more 'means to an end'. The result is soft and chunky knitting that takes a relatively short period of time. The little needle type (myself included) is more focused on the process of knitting. The knitting that comes from this is at a tighter tension, and has fancy stitches (see yarnstorm for gorgeous examples). When I was at uni doing my art papers, we learnt about process as an artform, or using the processes of creating the art as an element of an artform. Slightly pretentious, yes. But it can make your work more interesting, for example I have been following the development of Julie Knoblock's interactive painting- its not just about the painting, its about the contributions and how they are realised in the artwork. Interesting and fun.

Anyhow I am gearing up for another Anti- Procrastination Craft Weekend. I have one main goal- to finish (now annoyingly unfinished) scalloped neckline top!!!

I must be inspired...

I must have been inspired by all this arty-crafty stuff that I have been doing lately (yes, it is addictive), that when I was in Napier I went on a retro-craft shopping binge....

First up was a trip to Raku, a Japanese gift shop for some kimono fabric. I love Japanese design, both modern and traditional (my graduate collection was inspired by the world of Murasaki Shikibu, a Heian era Japanese author), so this was a treat. I have intentions using this for the fantasy quilt (despite the fact that the light fabric is silk) so I was looking for reasonably patterned fabrics on a smaller scale. I received these fabric beauiflly wrapped up and complete with a paper crane- I am very fond of paper cranes and have some hanging around the house.

Onwards and upwards I went to the Art Deco Centre (or whatever they call it now) where they have a mad range of antiques and vintage clothing. I picked up an embroidered doily with a cute little house on it- I'm not actually sure of what I will do with it but its cute!

I also brought an unfinished embroidery with an Asian -inspired seaside scene. I really like the simplicity of the piece and especially the shape of the tree. I think, in time I might finish the embroidery (in my own funny way), but for now I'm just happy to look at it (and possibly subject it to Napisan...).

The prize purchase was a couple of 1950's dress patterns. I love old patterns, and the quirkier the drawing, the better (I also picked up a couple of 70's numbers from an op-shop). I think these two are really cool- the one on the left has a lovely little jacket with tricky little diamond gussets in the underarm (try sewing them!!), and the other has "La Nouvelle Vaugue" in a kitschy font- the pictures totally sold it!

There were more than a few other things (including mustard yellow wool and knitting needles for that scraft I have been meaning to knit...) that I brought, but that would make this post a bit tedious, so I will leave it at that!

PS. Thank you to my lovely readers who have added me to their blogroll :)

lazy days

I have been staying with my parents over the past few days. Going 'back home' is always so lovely. Napier is such a relaxing little seaside town- I often don't appreciate it fully until I get there and realise that it is much much more relaxing than Auckland is!!!

I have been busy working on my embroidery- now all that remains is an odd triangle shape which I am struggling to figure out what to put in it..! But however I can easily busy myself with putting in all the peripheral bits and pieces (mice, a spider, a toadstool somewhere) that have been pushed aside to make way for more important things (like what to put in the middle of the embroidery).

You may wonder why I have been inspired to make a piece like this for my niece (apart from being a time-rich but cash poor student at the time I started it). When I was about 5 one of my sisters (I have 4 sisters and 1 brother- and I am the baby) was in Scotland on her O.E and I think she may have been nannying or working in a craft shop, where she made me this pencil case. It has been worn to death- note the hole and the ink stains (!) - but is still very much treasured. So now I am reciprocating that gesture for her little daughters.

My embroidery, and the well worn and well loved inspiration for it all!

rain

Today it is raining. And raining. And raining.

I have a bad case of cabin-fever, which I think is due to it seeming like it is 5pm all day. My work day has been very very slow and I have been figity. It is one of those days where staying at home is very inviting. In that repect, I am very much looking forward to going home (and that means braving the rain- I take the bus- and hoping that my umbrella survives the journey) and sitting down to work on my embroidery.
I have moved onto the next stage- Miss E herself, who is holding some balloons, wearing an auntie dress with 'funky girl' tights (spotty). Sounds simple in concept, but has been a bit of a nightmare- I have changed the eyecolour back and forth about 4 times! (at the moment it is bright aqua). I'm also starting to think ahead to the cushion it will be turned into- I'm thinking of a cream or tea-stained felt background, trimmed with a border of Liberty fabric scalloped edges...

And while I'm in a crafty mood I'm getting quite inspired about perhaps making myself a patchwork quilt- nothing fancy like you see in magazines, just small squares of lovely fabrics stitched together. I don't know much about quilting- I don't have quilters in my family, so it will be all about learning. I am particularly inspired by the lovely Chocolate Box Quilt on yarnstorm... However this quilt idea would be a long term plan- so for now I will hoard fabric and dream...


Oh look! The rain has gone and the sun has (kind of) come out...

lets build a home!

A little house grew on my embroidery... and the large gaping hole in the middle is no longer so big. It is eciting to see the embroidery start to take on its final forms, but I'm starting to get a little sad, like its an end of an era. Not all of my ideas for the embroidery made it onto the felt, but plenty, I'm sure, will spill onto the next one I will do.

I am loving... Julie Knoblock's interactive illustration project. It is quite amazing to see how someone's suggestion is translated and incorporated into an artwork. It is quite a fun idea...


I am off to... the Craftwerk fair on Saturday to have a little look around. It has crossed my mind on more than one occasion that I could sell my auntie dresses there...

ridiculously cute

Wow, I can scratch off something from my listy-list! I have been busy sewing these auntie dresses for my nieces. I love making these- minimum input, maximum impact. There is something satisfying about making children's clothes, especially since they are almost always cute.

I have contemplated making these to sell on Etsy... but it would be quite a process, that may conflict more than a little with my plans for The T-Shirt Project (more about that later...) I really love this fabric- its double-sided (but I have make these garments in a reversible way)- stripy on one side, dotty on the other.

And for talented creative people- a big congratulations to my friend Emily, who was placed 2nd in the Vodafone ID Dunedin Emerging Designer Awards!

Other news is that I have decided not to enter The Triplets into the Hokonui Fashion Awards- I am so over looking at the same drawing of the same designs that it doesnt really interest me any more- I have worked with the same group of ideas for about a year, so they are definately stale. A bit of an executive decision there, but I don't want to waste my time on something that doesn't inpire me anymore. Onwards and upwards with The T-Shirt Project- my new design baby

the anti-procrastination craft weekend part 2

Well kids, The Anti-Procrastination Craft Weekend was a sucess. I think that telling as many people as I could that I was going to be having a crafty weekend really encouraged me to live up to what I had been saying.

Sooo... here is what I achieved:

I finished the dress for flatmate- so very important, it was great to see it finished.

As a thankyou gift/payment she gave me this great origami book, called The Origami Handbook by Rick Beech (also known as The Handbook of Origami). I love origami, and some of the designs are quite amazing. I couldnt resist making the cute little origami bunny (it is now just asking to be made in gingham origami paper).

And I finally mended those jeans (whew!).

My favourite part was working on this dress for my niece. It was meant to be for her 4th birthday, but since I chose to make a size 5 dress I am confident that it will fit her. Puffball shapes and kids work so well together since they are both fun.

I made a decent dent into the scalloped neckline top ( I now have a bad fear that it will kind of resemble a bad bridesmaid's dress from the early 90s.....). I got that pain that is called bias binding done (yaaaay!), and the majority of the top together. Now all I have to do is the hems on the sleeves and the neckband facing, which I will reserve for the weekend.

Oodles and oodles of bias binding- so how will it all turn out? Will keep you posted...

trees and balloons part two

Last Sunday I finished the WallTree- part of this work came from wanting to finish what I had started... and also a desire to clean my roon (scraps of paper were floating around my floor and slooowly inching their way out the room. Not good.) I want to take a decent photo of it and perhaps get that printed on canvas... will talk to my sister with the Good Camera.

I've finished the tree in my embroidery- since my last update it has really blossomed. I have worked mainly in French knots for the tree- I liked the idea of having more texture- at first it was to be a combo of French knots and other patterns- but as they were nice to stitch they quickly became the whole tree. I have added a scalloped edge to the tree, a tweety little bird and an owl in the hole in the tree. After looking at a copy of The Gruffalo, I have also decided to add a toadstool at the base of the tree by the button flowers.

I like embroidery because it is addictive- you just want to keep continuously adding more and more and more detail, and your mind races ahead with more ideas before you even have a chance to complete the motif you are working on. I havent yet dealt with the large gaping hole in the centre of the embroidery, but I'm still wanting to keep reworking older areas, which I will do until I get my mad genius idea of what to put in the middle (am potentially going to add a horse (Number 1 Show Pony), a Clarice Cliff style house, and a fox. That won't be all I tell you).

Speaking of crafty crafters, I am still in awe of Jane from yarnstorm's amazing pineapple tea cozy. I am also very excited that she will be publishing a book. I think that one of the main things with blogging- and possibly the hardest thing - is being able to write in a manner that engages your reader (or viewer)- and she achieves this. I also think that writing without acting pretencious is difficult as well. It will be fantastic to see a book.

I have also added a few new blogs to my little rooms list, and they are..
....Little Birds Handmade, which has cute plush toys and lovely images.
...Six and a Half Stitches which has gorgeous prints and (again!) lovely images.

Liberty.

About a year ago, before I moved to Auckland, I camped out in Napier with my parents and I worked part- time for a lovely lady called Christabel. Christabel imports Liberty fabrics for England and sells them in NZ and on the web. During that time I patternmade a range of skirts and childrenswear, as well as making ready-to-wear for her clients.

However I grew to really love the fabrics, and have begun buying them and hoarding them (I am a fabric hoarder. I'm waiting for my fabric chest- a Chinese red chest- to be moved up to Auckland).

From left: Liberty Kingly Cord in Butterfield B, Liberty Tana Lawn in Jenny's Ribbons B, My Little Pacer and Mim.

These are some fabrics that I have been showing off to my friends ( I still haven't stitched them up. If I get near Photoshop I will post some ideas). It is fantastic to see such a traditional brand using the skills of young and modern textile designers. I have been using Liberty more in my fashion design for competitions. I had decided that it was abit sad that the fabrics were not gaining much exposure for a younger generation- I didn't want them to get lost! So more unsually, I designed a range for the New Zealand Fashion Quarterly Young Designer Award (the first dress in the pic was made) based around the Liberty Christelle print- I love the stripey flowers and the mustard yellow/pink/teal colour combo. I didn't get any placement in the competition, which was sad, but however it is alot harder to compete in fashion design competitions when you are working- you no longer get the same level of support and facilities, and most importantly, time.

That was only one range in Liberty. I have designed another, which I am going to make for the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards, which is held mysteriously in Gore, South Island (not a major fashion centre). But the competition has an increasingly good reputation and a handful of my talented friends has won prizes over the past few years.

I have designed another small range 'the triplets', which is kind of like an idea of a tryptich painting- the idea flows onto garment or canvas to the other. Knowing that I would be time strapped I aimed to get more bang for my buck (bad term...). The range is based upon the Hera pattern (peacock feathers designed by william Morris) from Liberty and the superstitions that surround them, which I found very interesting (my Nana is very superstitious about peacock feathers). So basically I created an abstracted peacock feather that flowed from one dress to the other, so that you get a big picture when the wearers all stand together.

Now thats my big project. Now all I have to do is make it and develop it further.

a picture... at last!

Now on my listy- list I had included a note to put some pictures on this blog...

so here are a few of my embroidery, which has been under progress (with breaks) for the last few years.... Its for my niece (surprisingly enough!).

... notice the large gaping hole in the middle??? I will fill it up soon, but am currently growing a supposedly Clarice Cliff style tree, on the side( you can see the trunk under construction on the right), which I will show when it is finished.

I went a tad overboard with the clouds and the gold thread. I love clouds and they constantly appear in my word. Ditto for vertical lines!!!
....and I love old buttons!