It was really starting to feel like Spring Break would never get here. Last Friday felt like five days. And I’m definitely not counting, but there are 8 weeks left of school. Eight. 8. E. I. G. H. T. This middle school teacher really needed some time off.
I’m trying to be gentle with myself this break. I have a tendency to over estimate what can be accomplished during a small amount of time off and despite usually getting a lot done, it never feels like enough.
So aside from one project and my PM&D homework, I’m taking it easy. Going to read this book, probably clean some areas of the house, and visit some fabric/thrift stores.
It’s the time of year when things start to speed way up, but also move as slow as mud. Example: Where did March go? But how are there 10 more school days before Spring Break? Anyway, a lot has been happening, but it feels like my productivity hasn’t been keeping up.
Sew News Last summer, the lovely Amanda reached out to me on Instagram and… that’s my mug in a bonafide magazine! You can read the related blog post here.
Sketchbook Sewing Plans I have been impatiently waiting for Sarah Golden’s new fabric collection ‘Around Town’ to be released from Andover. Feeling pretty confident I’ve found the perfect sewing pattern to pair the print ‘Improv‘ with – the cropped Kalle Shirt Dress.
Patternmaking & Design I’ve FINALLY moved on to the second section in my design class, Moulage. I turned in my second skirt design last weekend and will blog about both designs soon, but here’s my first design:
If you’re interested in patternmaking, the owner of Apparel Arts has several Craftsy classes.
Sewing I’ve managed to throw together two simple tops from my 2018 Make Plans. They both need the necklines finished, and the Shirt No. 1 needs the sleeves hemmed. Not sure it’ll happen today since I have SO MUCH PM&D HOMEWORK.
I’m not much of a resolutions person BUT I do think it’s important to ponder what you need more of in your life every once in a while. And maybe what you need less of too. And let’s face it, a new year is a good time to reset. Or, you know… late February ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
Sketches from a visit to the University of Michigan Museum of Art
Goal: Draw More!
For me, I’d like to dedicate more time to drawing and painting. Ever since college (maybe even late high school), I’ve wanted to have a sketchbook practice. It’s been a long, hard struggle to get past the fear of the blank page, but it appears sewing has helped me get there. Having a partner who truly enjoys museums and encourages me to sketch while visiting has also been immensely motivating. And I think age makes you realize no one is looking at you in public, so sketch away!
If you’re interested in sketching out in the world, I highly recommend blind contour drawing. It’s a drawing exercise that, in my opinion, always produces great results. Here are a few I did while visiting the Cantor Art Center at Stanford.
I filled my first sketchbook last year and the one in the video above is almost filled. It felt really good to get to that last page and be able to flip through the whole book. A sketchbook is such a great way to document life.
I’m thinking about doing a 30 day drawing challenge and looping in my co-worker for accountability. We’re still hammering out the details, but I’m sure posting my progress here will be part of it. My parents also started a Drink & Draw evening with friends, which I’d like to join remotely.
Assembling an on-the-go sketching kit has been extremely helpful in keeping up the habit. It consists of my Creative Maker Supply Case made with my favorite Spoonflower fabric, which holds mostly pens and markers. This kit comes with me almost everywhere now.
As a birthday gift to myself I attended one of Case For Making‘s watercolor making workshops in December. I now have a beautiful, high quality portable watercolor set. THAT I MADE!
This weekend was a good weekend to reflect. I took some time to make some long term plans (moved this lil blog over to my swanky new domain name), did some deep cleaning and organizing (purged our closets), and started a new book: The Hate You Give. I’m still trying to read mainly women authors and this particular book feels very relevant to where we are as a country. Hoping we can drive out some of the darkness soon.
I did make what I was hoping would be a quick trip to Joann’s. It was packed and took close to an hour to get this linen and lightweight denim cut, but the coupons more than made up for it. I’m planning to use these fabrics to make the FINAL version of my culottes.
The Patternmaking & Design certificate program I’m pursuing is split into sections, the first being skirts. At the end of each section, students are required to design, draft, muslin, and sew two designs in fashion fabric.
I’m not a huge wearer of skirts so I was thrilled that my teacher allowed me to draft culottes as one of my final designs. The pockets are heavily influenced by the iconic Clyde pockets of Elizabeth Suzann. I wanted to see if I could take what I’ve learned and puzzle out their construction.
The first draft’s pockets (pictured above) were a little too droopy so I decided to hike them up in the final production pattern (I didn’t like having to bend over to reach the pocket bottom!). My goal is to finish both the production pattern AND sew them in fashion fabric this week before class next Saturday. Putting those words out in to the world to hold myself accountable!
Another thing I reflected on this weekend is how slowly I’m moving through the PM&D program. I really need to buckle down and figure out a system for completing the homework throughout the work week. I think documenting my progress and what I’m learning here will help.
I started taking classes at Apparel Arts in May of this year. My goal is to obtain the Patternmaking & Design certificate, a 24 to 30 month self-paced program. The bulk of the program is a 3 hour weekly class in pattern drafting and design with 10 shorter classes such as Construction, Textiles, and Manufacturing. The first of the “electives” I took was Fashion Illustration.
As a former art student, the class was lovely. It opened me up to a new style of drawing, introduced me to many fashion illustrators I otherwise wouldn’t have discovered, and got me into the habit of drawing more regularly.
The class used the text Illustrating Fashion: Concept to Creation by Steven Stipelman. It’s a really fabulous book if you’re interested in learning to draw the fashion figure. The class was structured to start with a short lecture which moved through the history of fashion illustration and ended with the work of contemporary fashion illustrators, followed by several hours of drawing.
Here’s some of my work from the 10 week class:
10 head croquisSide Profile | Turned FigureClothing the figureRendering prints from multiple viewsSide profile practiceDrawing from magazinesSome exercises included copying Stipelman’s workRendering texture with colored pencilQuick gesture drawings from magazinesRendering fabric printsSeveral figures on a pageAce & Jig musesWalking figure, rendering fabricMore Stipelman inspirationMuse study (Nykhor Paul), several figures on a pageFashion faceSilhouettesSketching for finals
Our final projects required us to draw 4-5 fashion figures and create a corresponding mood board. I had a hard time designing my own line and chose to depict some of Vika Gazinskaya’s Spring 2018 Ready-to-Wear collection.
Early in the year, I decided I was going to read mainly female authors, or books about bad-ass women. I think this idea to focus on women came from the extreme disappointment of the election. Who isn’t still feeling that.
I finished the book Charlotte by David Foenkinos this week. Charlotte Saloman was a German Jewish artist during WWII. She and her unborn child were gassed shortly after arriving at a concentration camp. It was a quick, depressing read, but introduced me to an artist I’d like to learn more about.
