An update on the outfit mentioned below...I'm working on the sweater now. I was going to do a faux twinset, the kind with the cropped and tied outer "shrug". However, while draping on my mannequin I decided to forego this style and do an asymetrical, one-sided wrap atop the shell instead. It will cross the body and attach into the side seam on the other side. Cropped and slightly lettuce-edged. Just something a little different. Different is good.
It will be embellished with folk art flowers and primitive hand-embroidery. I just love felted wool work and have always wanted to embellish a sweater with such. A similar batch of flowers will ramble on the bottom band of the skirt as well. The flowers are roughed out right now. I have yet to detail and refine their shape and embellish with embroidery.
The outfit is turning out SOOO much cuter than these pics show. The sweater knit has some subtle threads of yellow, blue, green, brown, etc. but they were picking up the light and causing a terrible glare. It's going to be difficult to capture in the Ebay auction photographs.
Happy Thread Trails to You!
Charity
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Red and Brown
Brown has been the "hot" neutral for the last few years. Popular color combinations were brown and pink, then brown and blue, and most recently brown and green. Yesterday I read on the James Girone website that brown will continue strong this fall, only this time paired with red! I haven't yet seen this new color combo showing up in our local fabric stores, but am eager to see what develops. I did, however, find this beautiful Tracey Porter print recently which featured warm fall colors of brown, red, orange, yellow and green. Taking my cue from Girone, I decided to pair it with some red coordinates to make the girl's skirt below. It's not quite finished yet. I still have to sew on the ribbon and finish up the hem. I will be creating a tie-front faux twinset to go with it - in a lovely red sweaterknit. And I still have enough of this fantastic Tracey Porter print for one more design!
Charity
Charity
Friday, June 09, 2006
And Now For Something Different
Sigh. I don't know why I try to be what I'm not in the sewing arena. The consensus on being a successful Ebay designer is to do custom designs and then churn them out factory style. And if you won't do that, to at least mass produce the same style in different fabrics by stacking fabrics, cutting multiple garments at once and then producing them factory style. Each summer, I find myself giving this the ol' college try. And each summer it drives me crazy. It's so not me.
It is beyond tedious to sew the same thing over and over. I currently have in my sewing room the last of 6 renditions of the same simple sundress. And I decided to grant myself permission to throw it out. I cannot bear to sew this design one more time. The whole point of sewing to me is to CREATE. To express myself through fabric. Yes, I realize that I am also running a business and it should be about the money as well. But if it's all about the money and never about the passion...well, then I've sold out my talent. It makes me feel like a Sewing 'Ho.
So the Quilting Cotton Sundresses are going the way of the dinosaur. I cannot do this anymore. Marketing strategy might dictate that you find out what sells and bring it to the market. But I will create what I love, create what my imagination envisions and let the chips fall where they may. I'm reclaiming my creative integrity.
Last night this meant sweeping the slate clean. It was extremely refreshing to free myself from market demands. Out went everything that was started simply because it reflected current market trends. Instead, I began work on a soft, plush sweater knit in a warm red sparkling with subtle strands of blue, yellow and green. Yes, I know it's June, but this is what my heart demanded. I paired it with an ethnic batik. The play of the feminine knit against the funky batik was so totally unexpected that the customary brightly printed summer cottons (soooo "Tom, Dick, and Harry", as my Mom used to say) began to recede into distant memory.
To Thine Own Self Be True...
Charity
It is beyond tedious to sew the same thing over and over. I currently have in my sewing room the last of 6 renditions of the same simple sundress. And I decided to grant myself permission to throw it out. I cannot bear to sew this design one more time. The whole point of sewing to me is to CREATE. To express myself through fabric. Yes, I realize that I am also running a business and it should be about the money as well. But if it's all about the money and never about the passion...well, then I've sold out my talent. It makes me feel like a Sewing 'Ho.
So the Quilting Cotton Sundresses are going the way of the dinosaur. I cannot do this anymore. Marketing strategy might dictate that you find out what sells and bring it to the market. But I will create what I love, create what my imagination envisions and let the chips fall where they may. I'm reclaiming my creative integrity.
Last night this meant sweeping the slate clean. It was extremely refreshing to free myself from market demands. Out went everything that was started simply because it reflected current market trends. Instead, I began work on a soft, plush sweater knit in a warm red sparkling with subtle strands of blue, yellow and green. Yes, I know it's June, but this is what my heart demanded. I paired it with an ethnic batik. The play of the feminine knit against the funky batik was so totally unexpected that the customary brightly printed summer cottons (soooo "Tom, Dick, and Harry", as my Mom used to say) began to recede into distant memory.
To Thine Own Self Be True...
Charity
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