updates

Well, the Willows by the Watercourses wearable art was not required for the H2Oh! exhibition.
But as they had 521 entries, with space for 34, it isn't surprising.

So, now I will do a bit more to create a bit of texture on the bark. And, with Tears for the Daughters of My People, I am 2 up on my solo show at Lady Sew and Sew in March! Also, I can use them for the fashion show in the summer.
I had been saying I wanted to get ahead so I wasn't always doing something for the last minute!

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In the meanwhile, Pattern Review sent me a pattern for managing the Menswear contest in late Nov, early Dec. (I could choose.)

not sure when I will make a coat not drafted for me specifically...but you never know.

And the current contest is about sewing UFO's. (Un Finished Objects) and I have hopes of getting some of the blouses finished that have been hanging on my cupboard door. We shall see. We are going on a quick visit to York next week for a memorial service for Mum at the care home she used to live. Quick visits have quite a lingering affect on me. 😩

Sky Princess detail

I was asked to show a closer detail of the fastenings and the embellishment.

Sky Princess processes

A few more detailed process photos.

I didn't like the way the collar flopped originally. I thought it would stand the way I made it, but instead, it hid all the beads and sequins and showed the plain inside.

So, I discovered an organza bag that had held chocolates. Made a new collar and attached it to the inside and beaded it well.

Now it stands nicely!
You can just see it round the ribbon and info card.

Here are some steps about the clouds.

I layered the silk metallic tissue over the indigo dyed habotai silk and then put a stabiliser on the back. I used a tear away foundation piecing paper because I had loads of it and don't really use it for anything. Because the back would be enclosed, I didn't have to worry about the bits of paper that remained in the stitching.

First I drew my cloud shapes with a dressmaking chalk pen.
Then I free machined the outlines and curves.

Then I free machine zigzagged over those lines.

Then I removed the paper.

Positioned the clouds.

And then free machined them to the coat following the outer edge of each cloud.

Fun! - or not so much. The inside isn't as nice as I would like because I had made the lining and the outer layer of metallic tissue in one - with french seams. So, by free machining the clouds through the layers, there were several issues with the loose lining billowing inside. But I did manage not to sew any puckers.

And there we are!

Sky Princess revisited

Sorry for leaving you staring at the back of a cement lorry!

I ran out of time for sorting and posting photos because I was right out straight finishing the Sky Princess for her outing to Sandown (National Quilt Championships). But I got all the extra clouds added by Saturday and delivered her on Tuesday.

In between, I was marking student work. I had about 7 modules to mark! They have all realised it is nearly the end of term.

any way.
Here she is!

and yes, that is a ribbon you see. - a Judge's merit. So big smiles happening round here. (Even though England lost in penalties - again.)

It is good to have her off the cupboard door at last. For a couple years now she waited for the rest of the clouds, and then for the last few months, this was all I had managed.

Region 7 - Wearable Art talk

Thanks to Steph, a fine young lady, I have some photos of my talk today in Old Welwyn, Hertfordshire. Basically imagine me babbling on. But they all seemed to really enjoy it!

The line up

 Tudor Glows coat

rust skirt - 2006 winner Student category FOQ

Epic Quest "book" coat

Last Dragoness - Lightning Dragon!

moon silver shoon!

secrets inside the coat

Midnight Dance gown - man/lady dancing

Steph kindly took loads more, which was really helpful with finding the right ones to show what it was actually like.

I also showed off my ribbon.

and got them busy making a bog coat pattern! This is me demoing with a piece of paper. The jacket I was wearing is my adaptation of a bog coat.

Fashion Show

Well, here's a thing!

Yes, I am still here! As you know, I like to post everyday. But I was involved with the Fashion show nearly all day on Friday and got home quite late. On Saturday, I had already planned to go to a studio gallery event with some ladies from the Contemporary Quilt group. So, another day was taken up. But, I am back now.

The Fashion Show was exhausting but such a buzz! We had work from Students and tutors. Some had been beginner sewers and some were finishing up their City and Guilds Qualifications. We had vintage clothes that were being shown. Other categories were Contemporary, Day Wear, Golden Oldies (some of the lovely older ladies in the dressmaking class), Children's, Corsets, Evening Wear, Tudor/Restoration, and Bridal! Some of the vintage clothing was very small. There are several model size ladies who work for the Central offices of the college who could wear them, as well as some of the corsets and other small things. However, it meant that it got a bit frantic at times. They would go off in one thing, go up and down the catwalk, and then run back, some of us would be doing unzipping, pulling down or up and over. Often they would be stepping out of something at the bottom while pulling the next thing over their head at the same time! And it wasn't long before there wasn't even much fuss about getting out of bras and into the corsets then out of the corset back into the bra and an evening dress! We did try to keep the odd man from wandering in and out of the room, but it wasn't always easy! (We have one male student who had made his waistcoat, and he had purchased some vintage kneelength trousers that buckled at the knee, so he could show off his knitted socks!! Quite a few fancy patterns on them, too!)

We had proper themed music and the compere for the show was a man who presents the news show for BBC South Today. He has connections with the college because he took the British Sign Language course. We also were taught how to do the walk...which I think we all sort of managed in some fashion. It did quite help that the audience clapped ferociously as we came onto the stage. It did make you lift your head and strut forward! You really couldn't see much besides just what you were doing due to the lights shining on you!

I had my 2 Tudor costumes there which fit the 2 daughters of one of the students perfectly. So, besides wearing the lovely dresses their mum had made for them, they also wore the Tudor costumes. They loved it!

Here are some photos of the Tudor costumes from when I first made them.

This is from the Early Tudor Period - Henry VII... I made it when I worked with the children at a Primary School.
This is made after the Portrait of the Young Princess Elizabeth. It was made for my Formal Wear Project for City and Guilds.

Marianne asked me about showing more detail from the coat I made (and modeled!) which was inspired by Tudor fashion. You can read more about it here. But here are a couple closer looks at some of the embellishment. Some of the photos were taken during construction.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about our Day Out from Saturday.

Coat - Tudor Glows

While I am working on assignments, I will show you one of the garments that will be in the Fashion Show tomorrow night at the Novotel in Reading. You can still get tickets through any of the New Directions college centres.

I use the above photo for my profile. My friend Gill Gee was doing a photo shoot for me and I got in the way. I call it "me pfaffing about"...a British Term, perhaps not spelled that way, but I sew on a Pfaff!

Anyway, here is a better photo.

This is the coat I made for the Coat project for City and Guilds Part 2. Actually I was making it in similar weather to what we had last week! However, it is meant for winter and besides being velvet and brocade, it is interlined with domette. It is warm! I did wear it for a while in the winter. Now I am back to that size, I think I shall be wearing it this winter.

It is called Tudor Glows because it is inspired by the highly embellished velvet and brocade garments of Tudor times. I split each side - left and right, front and back into 6 parts. And then made a plan so that there are 6 embellishment techniques, but in different positions on each side. Also, the sleeves are made in one with the yoke.

Although it was warm work in the summer, I really enjoyed making this! It has been on exhibit at the Festival of Quilts and also shown in the -“Made To Wear” Fashion Show , Nov 2006, A Quilter’s Gathering, Nashua, NH, and featured with Student Work in the “Popular Patchwork Magazine”, October, 2005. Now it will have the chance to dazzle another audience tomorrow night!

Midnight Dance by Moonlight - detail

Seeing that I haven't worked any more on the jeans from the workshop last week, I thought I would post some close-ups of the Bernina Garment. Some of you have asked for a bit more detail. Some of the details were hard to photograph since the light shone off all the sparkley bits.

Coat collar and star sequins - these are sharp! the coat is very heavy and when I tried to lift it up to Mademoiselle's shoulders I kept getting stabbed!
(Mademoiselle is the thin dummy's name; she is adjusted to suit the Bernina model shape. Curvy, thin, and tall...the other is M'Lady; she is adjusted for me and we won't go any further with that description!)Beaded tassels at ends of release darts.
Darts covered by line of blue bugle beads whipped with silver beads.
Beaded stars on "Shoon" moonbeam edged with silver metalic cord whipped with blue bugle beads. Some detail of the paterning for the beaded moonbeams.
Detail showing two of the beaded moonbeam patterns on the lower part of the coat.
Even closer detail of one of the six beaded moonbeams. I used the diamond pattern of the coat to guide me with the pattern. I only used one or two beads or sequins in more than one pattern.
Fuzzy view of one of the foiled moons on the skirt. I used circles of Misty Fuse which I fused to the skirt and then foiled with holographic silver foil.

Close-up of the front jacket where the man and lady sides met. The lady's bodice was done with another fused technique, stitched and then zapped with a heat gun and embellished with sequins and beads. The vintage brooch at the waist was a charity shop find. I knew it needed something so I went out on a mission and found just the right thing!!Detail of the boa before I overlocked the edges with royal blue thread from Sulky.

Midnight Dance by Moonlight

Well, here I am back again. Exhausted, but a brain full of ideas and memories.

Here are some "unofficial" photos of my Bernina Fashion Ensemble. The theme was Rendevous, so I wanted to depict lovers dancing by moonlight. The model is my friend Aimee. She just had time to try it on before I sent it off in June and before she moved off to Dubai. Although she isn't as tall as the models, she has been very helpful, since the gowns fit her in the torso area.

First is the hat and coat. The inspiration is Walter de la Mare's poem Silver. The hat, of course, is the moon. The coat is inspired by medieval design and sparkles with moonbeams of crystals, beads and sequins.

Down the back of the coat is a large silver moonbeam train of silver tissue metallic organza. For me this is the "moon's silver shoon" as from the poem. Just the beading on the coat took 7 weeks (sort of 9:00/10:00 AM to 10:00 PM every weekday!) and 7 reels of Nymo beading thread!!

Inside the coat on the lining is the scene of the couple dancing by moonlight.

Here is the gown.

It is realy a bodice section and a skirt.

I wanted to realistically show the man and lady dancing. So, one side is the "man" with a "tuxedo" - tailcoat, waistcoat, and straight skirt/trousers. The lady's side is a bustier and full circle skirt with circular ruffles on the hem and a circlular ruffle boa.

The moon shapes on the skirt are cut from Misty Fuse and then foiled. I like the etherial effect the Misty fuse gives. It is more web-like so doesn't give a solid "spot".

Here is part of the commentary on the gown.

Perhaps this ensemble would inspire de la Mare to add yet one more scene to his silvery landscape!

And, lo, beneath Moon’s silvery light,
Hidden almost out of sight,
Lovers lost in their delight
Whirl and dance throughout the night.

When the "official" photos come, don't be surprised if the skirt is round wrong! They didn't seem to read the label saying BACK or to look at the photos I sent. (Both these things we were asked to do.)

I have a head full of things I could say about this project. but if you want to know more, please leave a comment and I will respond. Just click on comments and it should take you to a screen where you can fill in what you wish to say. If you haven't got a google account, you can comment as a guest. If you put your email addy, I can reply to you privately if you wish.