Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Fashion Nerve


 I'm writing today to share with you my latest sewing adventure. This project has little to do with my impending departure South of the border. That post is coming soon.  Instead, I'm going to tell you about something I made with my very own hands. My dear friend, Chelsea, is getting married and she became even more dear when she let all of her bridesmaids choose WHATEVER blue-ish, green-ish dress they wanted to wear. This was thrilling news because, to paraphrase from another friend of mine, the "fashion nerve", found directly beneath engagement rings, often gets pinched during these exciting times.  Many a bride, who would otherwise be a very reasonable person, ends up making, ahem, fascinating fashion decisions for her friends. Let it be known: Chelsea trusted her bridal party enough to dress themselves! So off I went to make a dress based on a pattern made by McCall's. Yes, it is the year 2011 and I am following a sewing pattern I purchased at the fabric store! (Shout out to  Ms. Natasha for the guidance in picking the dress pattern.)
 This pattern was "easy" as it could be made with a jersey knit (aka t-shirt material and aka no fraying fabric!) It also required no zippers or buttons...just an elastic band and a million yards of fabric. The whole project only took me (ha-CHOO)# %$@# hours and 34 minutes. EASY!

 No, really, it was a pretty forgiving  pattern because-as you can see-I had sewn two long tails that I could twist and wrap around all the crooked stitching. It's a unique dress in that I can re-twist it into different styles to suit the mood and occasion.

 Which style is the best?! Maybe one for the ceremony and one for the dance floor?
Style #1

Style #3



Style #2



Style #4
Style #5


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Experimenting with iPhone Drawing Apps

I continue my digital drawing journey. This time I used the app SketchbookX Mobile - Free version. Its greatest feature so far is that it makes me want to draw with a pencil.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Art at its laziest.

Here's another good "post-grad school" activity where you don't even have to get out of bed to do it. Draw stuff on your iphone. I made my first painting today and--well--it felt good. I'm ready to tell you that I did it and none of my analog works have fallen off the wall and punched me in my digitally-glazed face...yet. I do believe my oil paintings are staring from across the room, peeling with envy. They smelled an iTunes download. I imagine my paintbrushes and my pencils get together at night (all Toy Story style) and talk about how to win back my love.  I heartlessly downloaded the free app called DrawCast right in front of those fat tubes of paint.
I'm now accepting recommendations for other free painting/drawing applications to download on my phone. But it better be good because in DrawCast you can even mix colors by tapping your finger on two different digital swatches to come up with a new swatch. Who knew you could have so much fun without turpentine?

I'd say the glass is half FULL today. Drink it up, David Hockney!