Jill’s Dress, at long last
August 25th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Remember the Royal Wedding?
Well, I actually finished this project on that very day while admiring all of the McQueen in white. I finished it, that is, with the exception of the crocheted princess seam-lines. It has been siting on my Size 5 dressform since then, waiting, and hoping it would soon be finished.
Well, finally that day has come!
Every lot of Malabrigo is different, but I thought this would only be reflected with the color, not the hand of the yarn. I ordered this yarn, and wished that I had gone to pick it out in person. I have worked with Rios a number of times and love it, but this felt more dense but also fluffy than the rest that I had used. The smoothness and almost unnoticeable gleam in the yarn was gone. Displeased, I threw a little tantrum, and almost never got started on it. Once I did, ready the pattern, and building the project went very easily, smoothly and quickly.
Changes to the pattern, not many!
- I was dead-on with the gauge, so that made it easy to get started.
- I added some shaping in the bodice through the “side-seam”
- I also added some shaping in the waist through the hip through the “side-seam”
- Leaving the princess seams out. With the varigated yarn they just aren’t working for me. I love them in the original pattern, and this is where I got caught up for months. I have come to the conclusion that I do love them, just not in this specific yarn.
I know that I have mentioned this before, but I love the patterns in this book, and the super friendly author makes them even more fun to work on. And that’s how knitting should be, fun, right?
Two Dresses. One Finalist.
March 17th, 2011 § 2 Comments
I mentioned last week that I was working on and then submitted images of two dresses for a little design competition. Now that one of the two was selected as a finalist, I feel proud enough to share my entries to the California Community College Statewide Fashion Symposium Fashion Show.
But, I mean, really people, can we please try to come up with a longer name?
My original plan was to make two dresses, but this didn’t really work out the way I had hoped, and at the very last minute, Ramon suggested that I enter my One-Yard-Wonder Cowl Back Sequin Dress, as it technically meets the requirements of the competition in the Evening category. Brilliant man he is. This dress was selected as a finalist.
Business in the front, party in the back:
The second dress, for the Contemporary Sportswear category, I started the designing Friday before submissions were due, and had it finished by the following Monday. Sadlly, this dress wasn’t selected as a finalist, but I still love it, and I am going to make another one that fits my, slightly smaller than standard, figure. Both fabrics are Polyester, as I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a dress that I wouldn’t be able to do anything with other than submit it for the competition. So, there are two animal prints. The entire dress is “silk charmeuse” and the center front panels are the second animal print in silk chiffon, layered of the charmeuse.
While I am very excited that my one-yard-wonder was nominated as a finalist, I do feel a twinge of disappointment that the dress I made specifically for the competition wasn’t selected. The sequin dress needs to be mailed down next week, so I’ll get it out, hopefully, by Monday. As for the silk animal print dress? I do love it, and I wish my photography did it more justice. It really is a lovely, and flowy little dress. I would like to show it to my mom, in person, and then I am pretty sure I will be listing it for sale on Etsy.com.
Plans may be in the works for driving down to see the event, as it would also make a great Mom/Daughter weekend getaway to look at fashion, fabric, and race-horses, as it is the closing weekend of Santa Anita.
The California Community College Statewide Fashion Symposium Fashion Show, “A Whirl Wind of Fashions,” main event, where the finalists will be worn on real models—god-damn I sure hope this dress fits—will be held at the California Market Center on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 12:45PM. More info can be found here, while hard to find, is under the “News” section. Additionally, here is a piece about the event from the LA Times.
Super yay on Saint Patrick’s Day! (Intended to be read that so that it rhymes)
I feel all warm and smooshy inside 
The Progress in Perfection
September 8th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I am still working on finishing the snake-skin print dress, but noticed something when I tried it on again yesterday. I should have used black serger thread, instead of white, because with the knit fabric the serger thread shows through a little bit in the shoulders, because, as it turns out, I made them a wee bit too short, and so that area is stretched. So, what do I do now? As in all of my projects I am on a quest for perfection, which is a slippery slope. But it has always been this way. I am a commercial artist, which means that there are deadlines for things. I want, appreciate, and need the deadlines. I feel like that with a project, I can always continue to work on it, and make it better, but at some point it has to be finished. Am I just settling for good enough?
As I venture forward into sewing from Graphic Design, again I struggle with the same delema. With Graphic Design I have found ways to move through the process quickly, and fluidly, to get the project “done” sooner, so I do not have as many late nights or trips to the emergency room with an exact knife protruding from my thumb. I had a great conversation with my sister last night about these sorts of creative endeavors, and so I wonder, when are they ever really done?
I have a photo (reprint, of course) of Richard Avedon’s, Dovima with Elephants, on my wall. When I saw the exhibit last year Ramon took a picture of me next to the real photo, set it to my phone number on his iPhone, and now looks at it fondly whenever I call. I look happy in the picture that Ramon took, because I feel like I am standing next to my favorite (if I had one) celebrity. Since the first moment that I saw that image, when I was 17 in the public library, in Richard Avedon’s book “Evidence,” it has moved me. I think of it as the epitome of beauty, and classic elegant grace, perfectly balanced. A few years ago I bought a second copy of the book just to carefully exacto knife out the image, and frame it.
What really gets me though, is that this image, that is my favorite photograph of all time, and one of my favorite pieces of modern art (top 3), Avedon always felt was a failure! How can this be? Well, Dovima’s white sash, see it softly at an angle to her body? Well, he felt that it should have been blowing slightly more to the side.
And what about McQueen? Did he look at his own works of art and find failures? I am sure that he did. Clearly, he was a perfectionist too, but when did he decide done was done? When the models were stepping out onto the runway? His beautiful and sometimes extravagant works of art we see as beauty complete, and I am sure that he probably felt that some of there were that way, but not, impossibly, all. How did he know when to quit, and move onto the next thing? As I only have a very limited view into McQueen’s public life, I can only speculate about his private and creative one. Genius as he was, he to worked by deadlines: Spring and Fall.
Maybe he never did quit, and that is why his garments were always art, not mere clothing. While the seasons defined a step, and shaped the journey, they also kept him searching for perfection, something which I don’t think any type of artist can ever achieve. Oh McQueen, why did you have to leave us so soon? I was enjoying the show.
Back in my own show, I have a few routes that I can take with my snake-print dress.
1. Start over from scratch, and use black serger thread this time.
2. Cut out the shoulder seem, and use black serger thread to put in a 1″ block, making the shoulder a little wider.
3. Decide that it is time to move onto the next project, get out a black sharpie, carefully color the thread, and finishing the bindings.
I think that we’re going to go with #3. I think it is time to take what I have learned, and get started on the next thing. I mean, thanks to the bargain bin, this is a $3.00 dress after-all.
