Gah, July!

Gah. where do I begin? I promised myself to blog at least TWICE a month and where did that get me? I have no other excuse other than I have been, as Americans would call it, "crazy busy." 


Let's see, I made more of those striped Maxi dresses for friends: 

Then I attempted to make a skirt with a bunch of cotton scarves that I got on sale:

I kinda wasn't feeling it, so I shelved the project for another day. Do you know why? Because my wonderful  mother distracted me with this:

She got me 4.5 meters of this staggeringly beautiful blue grey embroidered Indian silk. I want to do a tunic with it, nothing complicated with so many darts and tucks that I have to distort the beautiful embroidery on this fabric. I am, however, doing some more beading on it and it's so much fun. I'm using gold metal beads (not metallic beads, real metal beads. I'm so happy I found some.)


While I was beading, I also decided to make a wearable muslin of the tunic I want to make out of the Indian silk. I made it and my mother loved it so much, she claimed it. >D I will take in the sides a little bit and maybe add darts (maybe) at the back for the next version. My mom was happy with the first one, I'm not complaining. 

Self-drafted, 100% cotton.

Most of all, my time has been taken up by this little boy: 

I wake up to this everyday and I love it. 

Dressing Downton, Sewing Downton

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I fell head over heels in love with Downton Abbey. I watched it for the clothes at first, then got sucked in by the drama less than two second later. To celebrate my obsession with this show, I have decided to sew up some Edwardian pieces (also, garments that can be styled as such) I am so excited!


To prepare for all this sewing, I downloaded several patterns from Sense and Sensibility Patterns. I spent the better part of the weekend printing everything out and taping the first pattern I'm going to work on. I decided to work on the 1910s Tea Gown Pattern first. I am going to do it in black fabrics: black lace, black italian satin, black chiffon etc. Kind of fitting since Downtown Abbey started with a tragedy and a memorial (I also have mostly black fabric in my large stash that I have to get rid of before I justify buying any more fabric *cough*)

And of course, I have been collecting pots of inspiration from different places. The possibilities for embellishment and construction are endless. Here's hoping I come up with something fairly cohesive that is also fairly historically accurate.

NOTE: I was on a right-click-save binge, so all the images (except the one from Sense and Sensibility Patterns) are of semi-unknown origin. If you want credit for these pictures or want me to take them down, let me know, 'kay?

Update

As much as I wanted to update my portfolio and make pieces for the Project Runway audition, I had to go to the hospital and stay there for a week because of a liver infection. I was brought to the emergency room with a gigantic belly ache, vomiting and just feeling terrible. They quickly hooked me up to an IV and told me that I would be confined to a room while they run tests. They also found a stone in my gall bladder through ultrasound and it all sounded scary to me.


These past few weeks were an eye opener for sure. I need to improve every way. I need to not only try to improve my sewing and pattern making skills, I also need to get healthy. I have been neglecting my health and this experience inspires me to never set foot in a hospital unless it's a routine checkup. I need to live longer. I have a small boy I love and he is everything. That reason alone is compelling enough.

Cotton/Silk Embroidered Blouse for Mom: DONE!

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The Details


MATERIALS: 4 yards (yes, you read that right) 60 width Cotton/Silk (70/30), 1 pack of cream colored bias tape, five spools of white thread (four for the serger, one for the machine) and half a yard of cream colored cotton twill tape.


DURATION: May 5 to June 7, 2011. Embroidery from May 5 to June 2. Sewing took a total of two days, June 6 to 7. 


PATTERN: Self-drafted according to Mom's measurements.


CONSTRUCTION: I really enjoyed making this blouse. The planning, embroidery, modifying the design and sewing was so much fun. 


The front bodice is doubled, so the embroidery is protected from skin and friction. 


I did change a lot of things from the original design. It was supposed to be a tunic with set in sleeves, but it ended up being a raglan peasant top instead. 


On to the horror stories: a bit of fabric got caught in the knife of my edger (eek) and there was a big hole next to the right arm-scythe and while I was doing the embroidery, Connor ate a melon popsicle and left an orange stain on the neckline. (DOOOOOOOOOM) So I cut away the offending parts and made the blouse raglan sleeved. Mom liked this silhouette better than the original so I'm relieved. 


I also originally cut the sleeves to be quarter sleeves, but mom changed her mind and wanted long sleeves instead. I cut more leftover fabric and connected it to the existing hem. I covered the unsightly seams with bias tape and hereby declare it a design feature. 


On to the next project! YAHOO!

EMBROIDERY IS DONE!

Mwahahaha!

And here's a couple of mostly unflattering behind the scenes photos. No makeup, hair unbrushed, no dignity:

Stitching while watching North by Northwest. Yahoo.

Taking a Connor break!

He is the one I love the most.

Sewing the tunic is gonna happen tomorrow, bright and early. Hurray! Can't wait.

So Much To Blog About!

It just occurred to me an hour ago that I DID have a blog and I have been neglecting it. So here I am, shameless tea-drinking exhibitionist trying to figure out how to update my blog and cover the important events of 2010.

To start, Fashion School! I made plenty of projects to complete my requirement and I'm going to showcase them here. Some of my projects were surprisingly good, given my time and budget. Then there were others that I want to shove in a closet and forget about. I'll showcase those duds here too.

Second, my family is complete again! My husband flew in from the US to be with us and we couldn't be happier. Connor's demeanor changed overnight. From being withdrawn and silent, he's once again a happy, giggly, excited little boy who is starting to talk more and more and more.

Third, projects outside the school! I still can't believe it. People have approached me to design and sew for them. It is very exciting seeing that I've always bemoaned the fact that my style borders on the old-fashioned (i.e. Victorian, Edwardian etc) and can't really be as trendy or cutting edge as my classmates. No matter, no one seems to be complaining.

Fourth, new machines OMG! I recently got a nice, second-hand Juki industrial and edging machine. They work like a dream! My industrial sews well and sews through anything and my serger is so easy to thread! I still use my portable white Singer for decorative stitches and light sewing, but my two Jukis are such wonderful workhorses, so completely different from my slow and limited white plastic Singer Disc-o-matic. Did I also mention that I was able to restore my grandmother's sewing machine as well? It's all just awesome.

Fifth, costuming and my growing love and obsession for bustles and Victorian corsets. I could go on and on all day about bustles and corsets. I made some and I'm making entries about it in the coming days and weeks.

Sixth, (and most important) Connor Connor Connor! He turned three last December and he is growing like a weed. He is a tall and sturdy little boy who loves to ride his bike for hours and hours. He's less picky about what he eats and laughs and laughs at the silliest things. He is the reason why life is so good and getting much much better.

And for your viewing pleasure, a preview of some of the pictures of come:

Black Leatherette Evening Dress with Brass Rivets that I made for my Illustration 3 collection called "Her Majesty's Airship"

This dress was made before I got my Juki and I made this on my Singer Disc-o-matic using lots of baby powder and swear words.