OWOP 2016

I have enjoyed taking part in the One Week One Pattern for the third time and this year it has been hosted by the lovely Hannah from I am Cindrellis blog.

If you have not heard about this challenge it gives sewists the opportunity to explore the same pattern many different ways / or give you the chance to wear some of your tried and tested (TNT) patterns for the duration of a week.

I pretty much knew I would be using my many beloved Grainline Scout tees as I have now got about eight in fairly decent rotation in my wardrobe.

Here are some photos of my Grainline Scout tee's out in the wild and then by outfit!

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five

Day Six

Day Seven

Conclusions. I still love the Grainline Scout tee and I can see more versions in the future! The comfiest version is the knit followed by the viscose / silk ones.

Did you take part in OWOP? What were your findings?

Life Drawing at Pearl & Groove

My third visit to Notting Hill's Pearl and Groove for a life drawing class did not disappoint. A very warm and humid day turned into an evener warmer evening broken by a huge thunderstorm mid-class.

Bella Franks the artist who runs the class under the heading Bits and Bobs was as sweet and organised as usual and the model was lovely too!

Here are my charcoal studies from the evening as well as some photos of the delicious cakes we got to sample.

Summer Sketchbook

I have really been into painting and sketching recently and I decided to make a scrapbook to document my holiday this summer.

Sketching by the pool

I spent a week with my friend Mel in Mountain View, San Francisco which was awesome! Rather than just relying on holiday photographs I took time out every day for sketching, painting and collaging my holiday experiences.  Art equipment I packed for the trip were sketching pencils, Windsor and Newton watercolours, Chromacolour watercolour pencils, a few black pro-markers, scissors, a glue-stick, acrylic paint markers and a range of brushes.

Sketching on Mel's sofa

It was the most relaxing and enjoyable time and I pretty much sketched / painted everywhere starting out in the airport lounge and on the flight over to the USA.  The most indulgent was next to the pool, on the sofa at Mel's house and finally on a train ride to my next holiday destination in Wales last week.

Things I included in my journal were maps, leaflets, tickets and receipts of my adventures alongside traditional sketches and watercolour studies plein air of food, city scenes and landscapes.  I chose an A5 Seawhite concertina sketchbook which comes with a rather cool hardboard case. It is not quite finished yet but here are a few little snippets for you to enjoy.

Painting on the train to Wales last week

The many cool California signs found around Mountain View

Sushi and Santana Row a beautiful palm tree lined shopping street

Mushroom and leek omelette home cooking, film night on the sofa and the lovely Steven's Creek Trail walk

Ice lolly pool inflatable and the amazing graffiti of Clarion Alley in the Mission, San Francisco

Mel standing in front of a Frank Stella painting at the SF MoMA

Dusk at Pier 39 and Pier 23 neon sign from Fisherman's Wharf, San Fransisco

The concertina sketchbook laid out next to the pool before my return to the UK

I am enjoying putting the finishing touches to my journal and hope to finish it before my return to work in September. I also want to include my mini break to Wales in the remaining pages of the book.

What have you been doing this summer to relax and unwind?

Me-Made Rejects #2

I try to regularly edit my wardrobe. I have noticed the more confident I have become at sewing the easier it is to pass on any home-made garments to the charity shop. My first few hand-made garments, despite their imperfections were saved from the charity shop bag on several occasions for sentimental reasons.

As I am getting better at fitting clothes for my body shape I feel happy to pass on my hand-made garments for somebody else to enjoy or at the very least get re-cycled. Also, having a blog means I have an electronic record of my achievements / learnings / disasters which makes the process much easier.

Here are the hand-made garments that hit the Cancer Research Charity shop last week:

Free-style Circle Skirt

Previously un-blogged on account of the fact I never wore it. I made it in a splurge of industrious sewing in April 2016 before this years Me-Made-May. I pretty much just free-styled the cutting of the circle skirt by folding the fabric down the centre and re-folding from the corner and cut out a circle. I then guestimated the waist-line cut too and attached to an elastic waistband.

The elastic waistband was re-claimed from a circle skirt I made in 2007 for a school pantomime performance and the fabric was a stash-bust polyester affair I bought from Goldhawk Road. The remainder of the fabric (about 1.2 metres) made it to the fabric swap on the 4th June and was picked up by Tamsin from Pimp my Curtains so watch that space for another make from this abstract fabric.

Hand-sewing the full-circle hem was a nightmare, even though I left it for two days to drop. It's a bit wonky in places! Hopefully somebody will find it and have a bit of fun wearing it this summer.

Black & White Scout Tee

As you know I LOVE the Grainline Scout Woven Tee but this version was made without really thinking about the weight of the cotton I was using. I think when you first start making your own clothes some of the most obvious things (like comfort) get over-looked when we fall hard for an amazing printed fabric. I adore this abstract monochrome print but as mentioned earlier it is much too stiff (even after lots of washes) and restrictive as a comfortable top. I had to say adieu.

Matisse Dolores Pocket Skirt

This was lovingly made as part of my art-work for a course at the Tate Modern during the Matisse: Cutting into Colour exhibition. I was inspired by his bold lines, architectural shapes and colour. I wore this on the final evening of the course when we had a group exhibition showcasing our art-work inspired by Matisse. 

You can read more about the construction here. The pattern was machine appliquéd with hand embroidered elements to pick out delicate details. It was such fun to make but I have not worn it for two years so it was time to share the love!

Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde Blouse

My Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde was a hard one to give away. This blouse was a result of a weekend workshop at Ray Stitch taught by Tilly herself not long after her debut on the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee in May 2013. It symbolises my renewed interest into garment sewing after a 20-year hiatus after art college.

Last year I re-fashioned the sleeves to make it more versatile as I did't wear it with the original blouson sleeves. Even that didn't help!

The main reason this lovely little top didn't get worn was again, due to poor fabric selection. The rather heavy-weight cotton just didn't drape and was too heavy for a blouse. A lesson learnt! I really should re-make this top in some lovely light voile or viscose.

I have passed on my me-made garments to the Charity Shop with a hope they may be re-worn or re-cycled into something more useful. Previous me-made rejects blogged about here. To date I have passed on or refashioned 16 me-made garments.

Have you given away or re-fashioned any of your me-made clothes?

Missoni Art Colour at the FTM

I think the Fashion and Textiles Museum in Bermondsey has definitely upped it's exhibition game for the Missoni Art Colour event. I have a feeling they were influenced by the outstanding Alexander McQueen at the V&A and thought they needed to get more dramatic and atmospheric.

This exhibition certainly is bold, dramatic and atmospheric thanks to some creative lighting, interesting displays and a 'white-noise' soundtrack especially commissioned for the exhibition. Recordings of the knitting machines used to make Missoni fabric were looped together to create a soundscape that certainly added to the exhibition experience.

As a trained textile designer I found the sketchbooks and technical notes for the knitted fabrics really interesting. The most striking aspect of the show is the wall of mannequins wearing a vast collection of amazing Missoni garments.

In addition to the beautiful clothing there is an impressive collection of artwork bought by the Missoni family over the past 60 years which links their fashion inspiration to a range of fine art pieces by Giniani Severini and Sonia Delauney amongst others.

This exhibition runs until the 4th September and I would highly recommend a visit to this stunning little museum if you get a chance this summer.