sewing liberation

Today I want to share 2 things with you all rolled into 1!

In July I promised that as part of my "getting personal" series I would post a pic of myself once a month, to try and get over my feelings about seeing myself captured by the camera.

Secondly I want to show you what I was working on a couple of weeks ago, and now have fallen in love!

So here goes.......

When I was working on the drawstring bags for my aunt's school, it got me thinking about how easy making a skirt could be. I just had to push myself over the fear barrier if truth be told. What if it was too small, short or I just looked plain silly in my sewn creations? These used to run through my mind all the time. At the same time I would look at beautiful garments and something inside me would say that I could make clothes if I just knew where to start.

For me it started with "sew what! skirts" a fantastic book for all novice sewers. This gave me so many ideas and how to make the simplest of skirts! The main thing for me is my body shape. I am an apple, yes, it has been confirmed by Gok and his "How to look good naked - and his style consultation".

 (You should give this a go, lots of great advice on what clothes suit what shapes.)

Anyway, because I have small shoulders, big boobs, a tummy and no hips, I am an apple. And apple shapes suit A-line skirts. I have always know this and when I looked through my wardrobe for a skirt to use as a template I realised that the skirts I didn't like/ wear were not a-lines. (I love a revelation!)

Then on to the fun bit.

I searched online for "retro fabrics" and found this amazing fabric shop Seamstar. It was love at first sight.

It didn't take long at all once the fabric arrived. Maybe 2 hours? I used one of my own skirts as a temple and drew round it twice, adding on an extra 2 inches all round for seams, hems and a bit of give.

I then cut out strips of the contrasting green cotton and attached them to the waist and the bottom.

(I made the waist band into an elastic casing so I had a comfy fit skirt.)

And here we have it, my first proper skirt. I spent yesterday going through my Boden catalogue singing, "well, I could make that, and that, and that..." then I had an idea.....

In Gok's consultation he reccommends styles for dresses for my shape and being an admirer of Kirsty Allsop and her beautiful frocks, I decided, "I can do that....." Buying dresses that fit me in all the right places has become a nightmare. Well, no longer..... I bought myself this!

My first ever dress pattern by Butterick (B5030)

Now I have slowed things down a bit so that I can buy some muslin to practice on and I'm saving my beans for fabric, (I have 3 that I have my eye on.)

In the mean time I am going to make another skirt, this one maybe 3" longer so that I can wear it with tights and boots. This time I think a heavier weight cotton would be best with maybe a autum/ winter colour pallet?

Listen to me!!!!!

  

  

:: weekend love::

shoot me down necklace

Was given a loan of this fantastic book the other day - The Thrift Book by India Knight

Found this great tutorial to help me make my first skirt by the angry chicken

Got some great tips for my vegetable garden - BBC Gardening

We got a new edition to our family last Saturday. Her name is Flame and she has 4 legs. Photos will follow when she sits still enough to snap her!

Happy weekend x

Little stitches

washing line #4

Todays washing line features a little sewing project I created on Sunday evening. I had a quite night in alone and decided that I wanted to get my threads out, and created home 1.

As most of you will realise by now I love creating in lots of different mediums and for most of the time my head is buzzing with ideas.

My biggest challenge is giving each project my time and full attention. When I am creating jewellery I long to get my paints out. When I get round to clearing my desk to collage, I get orders in for jewellery. I need to work out a way to split my time between jewellery and everything else.

Any suggestions?

I am going to fill papier delights with all my non jewellery creations for the moment and share them with the world.

An art filled weekend

"Anais" bracelet

I have finished the book keeping! I am so relieved that both sets are done and dusted and awaiting delivery to the accountant.

In celebration I spent some time yesterday making up some new designs and loading them into the shop, head over and let me know what you think of my new favourite colour?

So now that one of my major projects are complete I can re-imerse myself into my creative life. I, as always have so many ideas and plans up my sleeve, so I have been jotting them on the back of a piece of wall paper and have pinned it to my studio wall.

"home is where the heart is..." proverb #1

I have been creating some more little fabric pieces too which is great fun and I am really enjoying exploring the meanings of the proverbs I have found.

I am really looking forward to this weekend, tonight Holly is coming over with Barney and we are going to have a lovely girlie night. I have pizza, salad, dips, cake and a movie! Then tomorrow Mr S is working so I will indulge myself in my first ever copy of "Artful Blogging". I keep seeing US bloggers talking about it and yesterday I found a company here, bladerubberstamps that sells them. To my delight the magazine arrived this morning! Talk about speedy delivery, I'll definately be shopping there again.

Have a lovely weekend x

Barney came to stay

Well Pablo has had a wonderful, action packed weekend!
Our friend let us have her beautiful boxer Barney for a visit and such fun was had by all.

This is them having a chill out after a morning of play.

I have had a great week too, getting lots done and working through the "Artist's Way" I can't believe it is week 4 already. This weeks chapter is "Recovering a sense of integrity" and there are some interesting tasks too. One of things we have to try this week is avoiding reading, to allow ourselves time and space to think for ourselves. This will be an interesting challange so I'm going to visit all your blogs this evening before I start my deprivation!

Here are some photos of my little sewing projects I have been working on at night (as promised!). They are ACEO sized (2.5 x 3.5"). More to come soon.

x

Share a little something

"Sail on the Clyde" by Emma S Davis

I found this image in a book I am reading at the moment and wanted to share it with you. The artist Emma S. Davis was born in Paisley (the town where I now live) and she went to Glasgow School of Art, (the same art school I went to, I started there the year Emma graduated!)

I think her work is beautiful, rich layers of texture and she captures landscapes that I am familiar with in such a colourful and positive way.

I couldn't find a website for Davis's work but here is a link to more of her work and other talented Scots!

I am still plodding away with the paper work and there are piles and piles of it to get through, but I am getting there. I am still keeping focused and sticking to my three things, well almost. I have started sneeking in a bit of sewing at bedtime, to shut my mind down and I'm having so much fun, photos are on the way I promise. Last night I started a new piece of cloth and I'm kind of doodling on cloth with thread if that makes any sense. A few months ago I started noting down proverbs and I'm going to incorporate them or use them as a base for some new work. So far my favourite is

"home is where the heart is"

what's your favourite proverb?

x

Day 10 - I have set the date for a shop update

It's true, it is, the date has been set for the Yibble Liberation!

This Friday at 12.30pm Grenich Mean Time

14 Yibbles will be set free, off find new homes in foreign lands. They vary in size from 7cm (70mm) to 11cm (110mm), will have their very own valid passports and birth certificates and be ready to hit the high seas!

I have been really busy lately and things keep getting added to my lists, but nothing much is getting crossed off :( So over the next couple of days I am going to work really hard and get on top of things. Usually I get loads done at the weekend, but this one was spent reading and chilling out which I needed and really enjoyed. I am so enjoying my little donners with Pablo through out the day, there are so many little bits of my street which bring us so much pleasure, my favourite being a beautiful cherry blossom tree. (Pablo's is a tree stump surrounded by long grass and dandilions, which he seems to hide in!) So although my little routines have all changed, I love the fact that I am out in the fresh air, admiring nature.

Things to do this afternoon

1. finish 2 yibbles

2. check out all you blog folks pages

3. package up some goodies heading of to far off places

4. make up batch of cards for Mum

5. make up bracelet for fashion design and lifestyle debutant ball (I mentioned a little while ago that I joined this cool etsy street team and we are having a virtual Debutante Ball on the 1st of June, and the colour theme is turquoise and red, so I better get making and I will keep you posted on the teams etsy shop.)

Happy Monday to you all :)

Day 9 - Help is at Hand

Della's Yibble Cottage

Made using satin, silks, aqua beads and silver glitter glue

Yesterday the Yibble Liberation Front gained a new member, my little cousin Della. She has been the inspiration for the Yibbles from the start. She is currently working on a little book about them too, creating characters, their cottages and lots of other fine details. So yesterday we met up to do some making with fabric, beads, glitter glue and PVA and she suggested that we made some collage Yibble cottages! She was very clear on how they should look, 1 door for the Yibbles and 2 extra doors for foxes and mice! I had a wonderful time, it has been so long since I just cut and stuck. And I think Della enjoyed it too!

Close up of Della's "Button Collage"

This was my attempt. I have been struggling for weeks to come up with ways to creat the Yibble kingdom and 10 minutes with Della and it all becomes clear! So keep watching, when the Yibbles are Liberated you may well get a little cottage for them too! I would like to say a big thank you to Della for a fab day and all her Yibble help. She asked if I could post her pictures for you all to see and she'll be checking it out very soon, so hello Della P!

I would also like to introduce you all to Eleanor, the wonderful mind behind A good idea on paper. She is a fine artist who specialises in Book art and has a really interesting post about sharing a page from your sketch book. I think this is a great idea, getting to nose into a page of other creative minds and to share the different ways that we all work. Head over and take a look at her beautiful paper dress up doll pages, leave a comment and she'll post up your pages. Get going, I'm sooo nosey and can't wait to see what you are all up to!

This is one of the pages from mine, it is little Olive in Paris! I still love doodling about her and find the different surfaces of the book to really lead me in starange directions. Well I'm off now to walk my pup and get sewing and I'll be back and let you know the date for the Liberation and some more little details. Happy Wednesday x

Day 8 - The Yibble Liberation Has Begun!

I have been drafted in to assist in the YL Front's mission. To liberate and free all Yibbles trapped in my studio. They came to me armed with lists of jobs to do at the weekend and I have agreed to help out, (much needed help, they don't have fingers!) So my post in the movement is creative pioneer. This role was voted on and decided by a majority and my tasks include.


1. Cut, sew, design all Yibbles taking part in the movent.
2. Provide names and identities for all participating Yibbles.

3. Do everything in my power to find them loving new homes where they can begin their next adventures.

4. Set a date for Yibble Liberation Day.

I will be back tomorrow with a progress report and a date for the Liberation. So keep watching and consider if you could give a new home to one of them.

A stitch in time

I've had a very exciting day organising and packaging up a special delivery which could possibly hold some great new oppertunities, but mums the word for just now. So when I finished my work work I decided I would hide away in the studio and ignore the housey things needing doing and give this a go.I found this tutorial for Glove Animals on Martha's website and it was so easy to follow. II used an old pair of gloves, one of them was missing a middle finger tip and for the stuffing I used an old cushion filling which I have also been using for the Yibbles. The tutorial came from Miyako Kanamori can be found in her book, "Sock and Glove,"

What should I name him, any ideas?