Tia Ria!

My Dearest lovely friend Amaris asked me to make this dress for her out of some fabric that she took off of a display wall at an antique store. If you know Amaris....that will make you smile.
Here 'tis. Yay!

P.S. that is not the belt that she will actually be using, we were at my house so we had to just use the smallest belt i had....which was still too big for the precious fairy of waif that is Amaris :) She is going to use a wider belt which i think will help the whole "giant potato sack dress" concept work a little better. Also i believe she plans to wear shoes, so the dragging on the ground thing wont be an issue either.

If i were a good little worker bee.....

....this post would be about this dress, and it would be done, and i would be wearing it.



...but since i am lazy, and have just reached the part of dress making where things have to get precise and annoying, i switched projects for today. So this is me procrastinating.

I am a little sick of looking at my "lines" screen print on bags right now, and unfortunately my other screens need to get remade, so instead of using a screen i just had to get a little crazy with some masking tape. I also am thinking that i need to start making bags that are a little bigger, along with my standard ones, so this was sort of a test to see if i indeed like this new shape and size.
can you dig it?

Tired of Canvas!

So as much as i am totally digging my little black messenger bag (it seems to be the perfect size) i am getting tired of it, and it is starting to look a little used up. So today i decided to go with leather for my new bag, but keep the size and shape kinda similar. When i went to Michael Levine this week for my other project i found this red scissor print fabric and i LOVE it, I decided it was definitely going in a bag for me. :)
i am quite pleased that it turned out presentable cause leather is a bit of a pain in the ass (it shifts, like velvet, when you sew it so perfection is pretty much out of the question on a regular sewing machine....which bugs me).
So Anyway i'll shut up now here 'tis,

Back in the swing of things, out of "Necessity"

OK, so Life has been totally annoying the last few months, lots of heavy things i would rather have not experienced. So needless to say, there hasn't been a whole lot going on on the creative front.
HOWEVER, yesterday i stumbled on a pair of pants that i think are super amazing, so i purchased them!




While getting dressed for the evening i discovered that my new spectacular pants, were the exact same color as my bag that i have been toting around for way too long, and as we all know......carrying an ochre bag while wearing pants of the same color is a sure fire way to get pelted with at least a tomato or two, if not something more drastic like....a dead raccoon....or a bullet.
So at 8:15 last night, i decided i could not continue out until i had a small black messenger bag, because that was what my new pants requested (it's true....they speak).
So here it is, black with green tree graphic lining and two magnetic snap closures. I even managed to get a couple pockets on there even though that is fairly atypical of my hour and a half long "i cant go out until i have this" projects.

Accidental Inspiration

So, the last bag of the 8 i made for amy's bridesmaids made me want one that was similar for myself. I wasn't thrilled about hobo-ish crescent shape until i completed the bag i made for Amy, and then i sort of changed my mind. So this is my new bag that i made yesterday. I kind of like it, especially the lining, it's chartreuse with silver and gold metallic maple leaves, very strange but attractive i think.

Done!

So here is the last bag of what has been a most lovely 8 bag project. (i am still doing one more for Amy, but i want her to get a chance to look at all these and sort of pick what direction she wants me to go in.)
This one was saved till last because i was least thrilled about this design and lining fabric, but once i finished it, it started to grow on me. I put some stuff in it and threw it on my shoulder and then decided i might just want to make myself one like this :)
So anyway, this one is sort of a crescent shape shoulder bag with an every so subtly seventies inspired lining fabric. The outside is a dark eggplant duck cloth, with two big pockets. It looks really great when it's filled up and on your shoulder, it collapses into a lovely shape.

Pink and Brown

....A delightful color combo indeed! For this next bag, number 6 of 8 Amy thought a messenger bag would be a good idea. I think it turned out great, i couldn't decide whether to mix the stripy fabric with the solid brown or the pink floral with the solid, so i went with....Both! i really like how this one turned out, it was a bit more work than the others but i think it will be perfect for its future owner. It's got two big pockets on the outside and a flap to keep everything in.

Seeing Red...

So here is the second of many bags, there was mention of Strawberries in the request for this bag, so that is where my mind went, especially with the lining. I am really excited about this one, i love the color combo, and it was way fun to work with the clutch frame. after it was done i kept snapping it open and closed, open and closed. i think this one is more of a gamble, so we will see if Amy thinks it will work as a gift :) it's the only bag without handles, but i think it's fun any way!

Finished!

Here is the finished Dress that i started last week, it's mostly just like i planned, so thats good!

Work in Progress

I just finished Draping a dress for my New York trip. I'm really excited about it, but i tend to always get excited about garments in this particular stage.....before the sewing begins. Not using or making patterns without a doubt always makes things way more stressful. And yet i will NEVER learn. So anyway, here is the general idea, of course it will be way better looking upon completion and will most definitely be longer ( i have to add a border piece around the bottom, but i didn't bother doing that for this stage) The fabric is super cool, and i cut the whole thing on the bias so hopefully it will turn out kind of easy, flowy, comfy, but still have some shape.





And...here is a close up of the fabric:

Still not sure......

...how i feel about this skirt. I made it the other day, but i tend to design things in my head for people who have.... "not my" body type, so then when i go to wear what i've made, i hate how it looks. so in theory i think this is cute, and i love this fabric (i've had it for years so i'm glad i used it) but i'm still not sure if i love it on me. If someone out there feels like they could give it a loving home, give me a shout out.



Here is a close up of the fabric: