It's Leather

For the past week I have been diligently working on this Mutton Sleeve Leather Jacket. It has been quite interesting. First time I have ever taken from my own pattern directly into a full leather garment.

Things were not as they would seem...................

I forgot to take the thickness into account so what was originally supposed to be a classic looking crossover front with snaps has turn into a sculptural double collar/mask looking collar. Also due to this everything has come up shorter so I had to add a waistband that included the

pointed backside into itself and cuffs on the wrists.

All in all it has been for sure a learning experience and the next two jackets will go more quickly and smoother especially since I know the limitations of my machine. Designing around limitations makes me be even more creative and to do things I would never of thought otherwise. Like adding extra seaming around the shoulder cap so that I can actually put it through my machine without the bulk of the ruffles in the sleeve itself.

Back on Track

I'm feeling pretty good about where I am right now with everything. I mean I am doing everything I can do to keep on track. I can only make do with what I have. Due to the part time job at Express I have lost all my pretty colors in my hair. It is now as my friend calls it "typical". There is just the one project with the Shoe guy that I am worried about. I just feel very strung out with it since I seem to always be the last person to know anything and yet I have such a big responsibility to keep. The photographer that he has chosen seems to just do and demand to have things done on their time line and no regard to anyone else and that is all I am going to say. It maybe impossible for me to complete this project professionally if at all the way things have been going.

In this outfit I am wearing:
Express Blouse from over a year ago
Untamed Menagerie "Curiouser and Curiouser" Necklace
Tiffany's Flower bracelet from Hyemi
Polka Dot Skirt from Korea
Black Boots from Walmart last year

Listing it all

These are the events that I currently have going on from now till Christmas pretty much. Keep in mind this is all while still teaching and working a part time retail job.

-Craftin' Outlaws October 17th

- 4 outfits for Halloween Highball on October 31st

- Photo shoot after Halloween Highball with Adam Leigh- Manuell

- 12-13 Looks for the Shoe Designer's Photo shoot (possibly also the weekend of October 31st but that is up in the air as of now)

- Tiny Canary November 14th & 15th pending that Lexie and I get in with our shared booth

- Final 4 garments/looks for the Substance Aspiring Designer Award by December 3rd

It seems relatively short but when I break it down further it is a huge mess!

Craftin outlaws

- need to make at least 3 more crocheted cuffs with pearls

- more bubble scarves at least 20 for the show

- sew together 4-6 new garments (patterns already done)

- needle felt some items to sell (sweets and sea creatures)

- re-print Lingerie look book to have on table with Undone Cards

- label and price everything

Halloween Highball

- finish lining leather jacket and closures

- start Costume, drape, pattern, cut, sew

- Get money for costume materials

- Make one large elizabeth collar and one smaller one

- Cast one more model and reconfirm with all the others

- figure out other 3 outfits as a combination of several things

- Make at least one dress over again from Photo shoot dresses

- Finishing knitting anemone sweater or is it skirt?

Photo Shoot with Adam

- Get all models organized and make TIME to do

- Also need to get assistant for Shoot

Shoe Designer Photo Shoot

- need to complete men's Dress shirt

- Make another men's dress shirt with contrast collars

- leather vest men's and women's

- 1 more pair of pants for women's

- 3 skirts of varying lengths and types

- Finish embellishments on one sweater

- Finish knitting sweater dress

- Make at least one HUGE show stopper dress

Tiny Canary (pending that I get in)

- replenish so that I have at least 20 bubble scarves again

- Needle felt more creatures and sweets

- Replenish any clothes that were sold

- Replenish any jewelry that was sold

Substance Aspiring Designer

- Pick up materials September 29th

- start from scratch and make 4 new looks

- draping, sewing, patterns (maybe)

- presentation and contest!

Don't forget I teach and work a part time job. Which may have to turn into No part time because I just can NOT handle the hours it looks like they are putting me on.

I'm also looking into teaching knitting and crochet Locally in Grandview. Perhaps knitting machine lessons as well.

Things not found in NYC

Even though everyone else's fashion blogs are hyped up with all the Fashion week I am in quite the contrary here in Ohio.

Yep you read the banner! A WOOL GATHERING.

Maybe they have something similar in New York City but I can assure you it does not have the same charm and horror as an Ohio Fiber Festival does. Shearing sheep live and even letting you have a go of it! People dressed in Renaissance costumes taking the wool to card, spin and weave and also breast feeding a baby in the public eye. This event happened this past weekend. The next one in Ohio is in May at Wooster, Ohio.

But the Best part for me of course was the VENDORS!

Great goobs of colors, yarns, spinning wheels, knitting machines, computer knitting programs, drop spindles, raw wool roving, silk, alpaca, cotton, angora, hemp, bamboo and much more!

Both of these Are Angora. One is a Rabbit and the Other a sheep. I learned that Angora is a reference to the region they are from NOT a specific animal. I should of known that but alas there is too much knowledge in the world to be ascertained by just little ol' me.

The Rabbit whom I seriously considered taking home. How wonderful would it be to spin my own rabbit fur, have a companion for my Demon cat and have another loving pet in the home? Plus I can think of OODLES of combinations for long haired cat/angora rabbit and wool yarn to sell at craft fairs!

A less amused Angora Sheep

This Alpaca was just not having it. He was not spitting but he also was just wide eyed and refused to move from his central bin location where no one's arms could reach him.

My load was about 5 ounces of art dyed Roving

Top whorl drop spindle

2 skeins of worsted weight art Dyed wool yarn that is swathes of indigo and white

Hiya Hiya circular brushed steel size 9 knitting needles about 6" long

2 cones of Habu Textiles wool/steel mixed yarn for a great price!

I swear I am not turning into a Granny before your Eyes.............

Also for once in a blue moon I feel inspired and not so shy as to make a comment on other blog's. Today I touched only Galadarling and Doe-deere. I just read some things that made me want to post. I felt like sharing a little bit of myself more directly then my empty little posts in the the abyss of the internets where maybe someone is reading or maybe it is all just rambling into emptiness and pixels.

Also for those of you out there who do read me, I promise things will get infinity more fashion related in the next weeks. My wonderful Boyfriend Andy is bringing home another Digital camera and I have my work cut out for me in projects. Tomorrow I list them and maybe cry a little to myself about not enough time in a day to accomplish it all!

Catching up and on

This is how I wake up everyday. Why can't I just be paid to stay like this?

My cat is not really Huge. She is actually small only 8lbs but I am equally a small being of only 4'10" proportions weighing in around 105 lbs so I make her look big and ferocious.

Anyways onto reality! I've been accepted as one of the 3 finalists in the Substance Aspiring Designer contest that I applied for several weeks ago! Below is the acceptance Letter!

"Dear Esther,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as one of the three finalists in our 2nd annual Aspiring Designer Contest."............... and it goes on from there with the myriad of details.

Along with that I also got a piece accepted into the OAL (Ohio Art League) 100 leagues under the C exhibit going on right now at the Metropolitan Library Downtown. We were to submit work based on the number 100. I choose to work with what I know best, knitwear and did 10 swatches of 100x100 stitches each and draped them and hand sew them together to make this top.

I was pretty please with how it turned out and am going to continue to try this method using larger swatches for one of my pieces in the upcoming High Ball. I think the way it all curls upon itself is very much the feeling I have looking at anemones. They are so fluid looking yet introvert to rest and protect themselves. I feel like that personally but I introvert to Video games and fantasy fiction books

To make matters all the more difficult to Blog my Camera is pretty much KAPOOT! It won't hold and charge and I have no extra bones to buy a new one. I am in this very bad in-between place right now.

All I want to do is teach. It makes me happy and I feel accomplished as an artist too because I am still working in my craft. I thought I would fake it and do this retail thing but honestly I hate it and it tears my soul up. I am going to look hardcore for new employment this week and talk to several yarn stores about setting up a class or two for them. I want to teach advanced knitting into pattern and Crochet. Things I also want to teach for CCAD and start up a fiber department/program as a part of Fashion.

Oh dearie me!

My posts have been as infrequent as my Snail mail. Sorry for that. The new part time job at Express really poops me out. I think I am getting too old for that kind of a job. My search will continue but for now at least I have a job.

Along with my hand written planner I also love to penpal to friends. I think these kinds of letters are much more precious and special. They are keepsakes all on their own. Sometimes I write letters to my friends that never even write back. Just the process sometimes can clear my head. I know for sure that someone out there is reading and is getting my thoughts. Sometimes this blog seems pointless yet I continue anyways.

This Letter is from my Friend Stephanie Bracciano who also keeps an Etsy store called MidWest Vintage. We met randomly through another friend who basically told us both that she knew someone else that liked to penpal and we both wrote.

I actually got a decent photo of my outfit from a few days ago. The camera is still on the outs. This is me in my basement studio between patterns and pattern table.
Skirt is Express from several years ago
Shirt is a new Graphic Tee from Express "love shirt
BCBG gladiator jelly sandals from the outlet
Wide elastic belt from target

FAIL

I had the cutest outfit on today and I was so excited to share and my camera FAILED. The battery on the Casio Exilim apparently is known to fail completely. You can hard wire jump the battery with foil and 9V battery. That gets incredibly geeky and hardcore. My boyfriend does this. I try not to be ask geeky as I know I am capable of. I'm actually very adept to solving all my own computer/software/hardware electronic problems I just don't like to announce it all.

Anyways! Tomorrow there is going to be a give away for one of my fingerless gloves on my friends blog "The naked red head"

I even curled my hair! It was so cute............ errrrang...........
Anyways to make up here are some pictures of my planner, crappy as they may be since they are done using the blackberry.

I loving using a planner that you still need to write in. Helps me remember things better, and it's like a mini traveling scrapbook. I have a hole puncher in it to put movie stubs, notes and receipts into it. I can also decorate the months with stickers and such. It's a fun little project to do on a rainy weekend is updating and decorating. I've been keeping a yearly planner since High school so 14 years.

This particular Planner is from Muji In NYC. It was a plain all aluminum variety with very plain recycled sheets. I liked how simple it was so I could expand on it. Unfortunately it is only for sale in the store.

If you haven't heard about the movie 9 you should watch this Trailer. It comes out tomorrow and is AMAZING! I can not wait.

Reboot and begin again

I feel like I change this thing around so much.

First of all I hate the layout and picking the color themes is a pain to change them all around every time I pick a new template. I've resolved that on top of now 2 custom orders, finishing things for the shoe photo shoots, 3 new looks and costume of Halloween Highball and at least 1 craft show if not two, I will be adding "Making a new Blog template" to my list of things.

I know I am crazy.......... I have been without inspiration for so long and now I am bombarded with everything at once. Also getting my new phone upgrade dumb as it sounds has made me

inspired also to create new work so that I can share it with everyone. I need new things desperately to shoot and also for contests and for when I audition for Project Runway whenever that is going to happen.

It is amazing how many devices I now own for sharing and photo taking.

DSI

Blackberry storm

Casio Exislim digital camera

Poloroid Pogo printer

Today is day two of "eat the meat" We had a grill out yesterday and heavily overestimated out appetites when throwing in a "bacon log". I am taking today as my final day of not sewing a single stitch before I dive headlong into my intensive creative program and upcoming life.

Also to add to it all I start my new part time Job at Express so the wearing everything I make motto is going to have to go on pause or be extremely creative. Maybe it will be "How to wear only express and not look the part" It was kind of amazing that they offered me a position the day after I did the interview. Gave me warm fuzzies that I was not totally overqualified for a retail job which is all I can handle right now. My main goal is still to be a Full Time Instructor over at CCAD.

Under the Sea

My current inspirations. All photos were taken by me at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.