lost sketch

This little sketch of Dorothy and her ruby red slippers was missed from my last post (it wasnt finished)...

top five friday. red things.

Top Five Friday this week is Red Things. Here goes my short short list:

5. Ruby Red Slippers. The ones that Dorothy on the Wizard of Oz wears. I think they would be even more fun to wear than gold shoes.
4. Ladybirds. So cute. I am particularly fond of the one on my emboidery.
3. Red car. I have a red car. Yes its red, has for wheels and I can drive it.
2. Red Lipstick. So so right for winter. Now to find the perfect shade.
1. Red Camper Shoes. I was given a pair for my 21st birthday. I still wear them alot!

Stay tuned for next week's top five friday!

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!!!

odd post

Hi, no comment box on last post. Don't know why, but will figure it out!

PS. All sorted now. deceivingly simple solution! :)

introducing...top five fridays!

Because I am one of those People Who Like to Write Lists, I have decided to do a weekly Top Five Friday list, just to make my life more interesting. I find those Hot or Not type lists in magazines fascinating, and once designed a fashion collection at uni based around the whole idea (I used an arrow motif, of course).

I'm going to kick this off with a list of my Top Five New Zealand Fashion Designers (and subsequently try my hand at The Fine Art of Fashion Writing). I suspect that over time these lists will get weirder and weirder though...

Ok, so counting down..

5. Nom*D. This brand is from cold cold Dunedin, and their dark and edgy knitwear reflects this. They are always reliable for putting on a bit of a show at Fashion Week. My favourite collection from this brand was from a couple of years ago (I cant remember the name), and featured a blonde model wearing a hat. The clothes were then wrapped around the model (they had a video) about 10 times. Very cool.

4. Kate Sylvester. What I like about Kate Sylvester is that she is just so likeable, as a person and as a designer. Another really consistent name in NZ fashion. My favourite recent collection to date is last winter's Stop Your Sobbing range with the ikat style tear-drop print skirts. If I could have brought, I would have brought.

3. Zambesi. These guys have been on the NZ fashion scene for about 20 years and have been amazingly consistent. I did work experience for them a few years ago, and although there was a lot of handsewing involved (the mainstay of fashion work experience anywhere) I still have a lot of respect for them. Zambesi make the type of clothes that you can pull out of your wardrobe 5, 10, 15 years later and still be able to wear.

2. JimmyD. What I like about this designer, is how the collections are structured. The image below is from a collection that is based around layering over a leotard and leggings, which is a really nice way of working, and not too dissimilar from how I would do things myself. In Autumn/Winter 2006 he did a cobwebby collection with very cool cut-out leggings (I am a legging fan from way back).

Image from JimmyD.

1. Cybele. This is my new Number 1. I'm convinced that she cant really do any wrong. I think that the clean lines and graphic shapes are good good good. I think I like her work because her aesthetic is quite close to my own, and that her clothes, when you put them in an everyday context, can be quite wearable.

Image from Runway Reporter.

Now.. what to list next week...!