finally, a completion

if you recall, way back in 2010 i stained some jersey fabric which i had bought to make a dress from the drape drape book; which i then put aside to do later (i didn't think later would be a year later). feeling anxious and bored the other night, i decided i would actually make it into the no 6 dress. the pattern sheets are a maze of overlapping lines and sections; unnerving to say the least. but, with careful concentration i was able to locate everything, trace it onto swedish tracing paper, make adjustments, and cut out my fabric with the aid of a chaco liner (thanks kathryn!).

the next morning i sewed it up, deciding to add some interest to the front by twisting the straps, and embellishing. i enjoy embellishing, i think perhaps, a little too much. but there is definitely a fine line between Gaudi and gaudy, as a college instructor of mine was fond of saying. i prefer to think of it as my rococo impulses.

some of the embellishment was inspired by this shirt from park vogel.

the shape of this dress is definitely different from what i normally wear, and i hope it does not appear matronly on my hourglass figure, but i think with the right accessories i should be fine. the front is what throws me at times, but once you see the back, everything is forgiven. i hope to make more pieces from this book, and i have my eye on the second volume of drape drape. i will also have to search for more drapey material as well.

a visiting

quite spur of the moment, we stopped at the home of carl sandburg, while driving back from asheville. something about chocolate and cheese. i was put in mind of my great aunts home; perhaps it was the sense of age, or a smell in the air.

upon first entering, there was a sense of neutrality in the interior decoration, but soon a minty blue green began to permeate the space. i love that color.

i think, perhaps, i would like to have a small farm one day. nubian goats, angora goats, caramel and cream ponies, alpaca, a baby elephant...

harmony of spaces

while doing my laundry the other day i realized something; my current wardrobe consists of shades of grey, mint blue, sunny yellow, palest peachy pink, white, and touches of oatmeal. then, today while accessorizing i noticed a certain relation between my personal space, my blog, and myself, let's say, a certain color harmony. hmm. i think perhaps these hues make me happy, so i am especially drawn to them. ah, well, do what makes the serotonin flow. so, we'll label it a good thing, yes, a very good thing.

some nice news; father is doing well, almost recovered from surgery, finally home, stubborn as usual, and never drinking enough water, but we love him anyway.

kasuri

i have tried my hand at kasuri weaving, and i love it! take some little learning mishaps (but they're good, because you learn more that way), and slow dawning of understanding, add a little time, voila! a kasuri sampler. i want to do more.

the tying of the kasuri areas, to protect them from the dye, was a tiny bit painful; but with practice, those muscles and digits will be in tip top shape! i'm still not sure if it was easier tying bigger sections, or little sections. hmm.

the warping of the kasuri was not as traumatizing as i suspected. plus, i learned of an amazing doodad to help with tensioning. it's called a kasuri zurashiki. i want. will post photos when object of desire is acquired.

sensei had some amazing samples of past student work. for future reference, i drew pictures and took photos. i've posted two of my favorite pieces, detail shots. well, more kasuri creating tomorrow, and this time on silk!

when one is never enough

my little collection of nail polish. and yes, that pink really is that bright. as you can see, i tend to favor the cooler shades. i don't wear polish on my hands, as between work and all the other things i use them for they would quickly become sad, but toes are another thing.

what is your favorite color on your nails?

it's actually a laid back kinda dragon

the finished piece; stretched, framed, and hung. while working on this, i realized the many positive steps to be found in the making of a japanese embroidery piece versus the western style of embroidery. mostly that drum tight fabric, rice paste starched backing threads, and steaming while still in the frame create a wrinkle and dimple free finished piece. which, of course, this is not. but i like the dragon anyways. maybe i'll apply padding under the clouds, that will take care of the dimpling.

getting the color right

have you seen the japanese pattern book drape drape by hisako sato yet? it's incredible. the garments are very flattering to curves, grecian in their draping, and look so comfy for the upcoming heat wave. it's a little unusual to see this type of sensibility from a japanese pattern book; from what i've seen boxy and um a little (dumpy) on curvy figures being more typical.

there are so many patterns i want to dive into and make. but i've managed to restrain myself and give #6 a try. so, a trip to the fabric store being necessary as i very rarely have over a yard of anything. i thought perhaps a solid, a large print, or a one color print would look nice. i first thought of using this really amazing faux-shibori grey silk, but it would need to be lined. and it would wrinkle as soon as i sat down in my car. egh. so then i thought perhaps a nice jersey, but what color? i went home and browsed around the internet for awhile. i came across a couple of yards of a mint blue cotton jersey. perfect.

or so i thought, until it arrived. it was more like an aquamarine ice blue. but that's okay, i can fix it. i would just need to overdye it with a yellow color to get the vespa mint blue green i was after. i also thought of perhaps bleaching it to lighten the intensity. so i snipped a bit of the selvedge, prewashed it, and cut it into 10 squares. i made three stained as is in a black tea bath (4 cups water per yard, 1 tea bag for each cup) for 5, 10 and 15 minutes, and six pieces paired up to be used in a bleach bath for three minutes (1:2, 1:3, 1:4 ratio bleach to water), then take three of each ratio and stain them in tea for 10 minutes. here's a photo of my results (from top to bottom; original, 5 min tea stained, 10 min tea stained, 15 min tea stained, bleached and tea stained, bleached in 1:2 ration, 1:3 ratio, 1:4 ratio):

the bleached bits had interesting little spots from the glue, so there's something to experiment with in the future, but not good for this project. there wasn't much difference in shade between the 5 minute tea stain and the 15 minute tea stain. but it was the perfect color. so i crossed my fingers, prewashed 2 yards, brewed up some tea, dumped the fabric in and let it soak for 10 minutes, and washed it again. it's drying now in the shower. it's more like a seafoam green then the previous ice blue, so pretty. hopefully i can get the pattern traced and cut out along with the fabric tomorrow. i don't think this will be a very slow project, so hopefully by next week i'll have a new pretty dress!