The tag-line says it all. I love to read, and I'm trying to get better at writing about what I've read. You'll see lots of book reviews here. Left to my own devices, I generally stay in the Sci-Fi-Fantasy genre, but I'll read anything anyone suggests to me. And I LOVE getting suggestions, so use that "Ask Me Anything" box as much as you can. I love pies, I think they are vastly underrated as far as deserts go. I am a pie advocate and working faithfully to solve the problems of pie oppression in this cake-centric culture. I work for a fabric company, and I love to sew, and I need somewhere to show off everything that I make. I like random thoughts. I have a thing about hearing people’s favorite words. Everyone should have a favorite word. What's yours? (vb.) To throw out of a window. portfolio("shop", "small", "random", "2", "3", "222090") Insouciantly is currently reading...
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A few months ago I saw a random image on pinterest of a model posing in an artist's studio, and I absolutely fell in love with the dress she was wearing. After searching the internet for awhile, I could find nothing about the dress in question. Even with no information to go on, I wanted to recreate it, so I did. ...[keep reading] ...
So you may remember me mentioning that I actually bought a second loom. Yep. This is the girl who owned 0 looms this time last year. Now I own two. Is this a problem? Nah! ...(read more)...
Every year, spoonflower employees all put their minds to a themed design challenge to rank our skill at speed designing fabrics. And every year I spam my friends and family into voting me up so that I can hopefully make top 10 and win some booze ;-). Though first place gets a custom CHAIR covered in their design!
So I ask you all now, go vote for my lovely abstract water color clouds! They look so good!
VOTE HERE
Don't believe me? Check out how amazing it looks on this dress AND this fabri-mache deer head. (The deer head is a present for reaching 5 years at Spoonflower. Does my company give a clock? A gift card? A plaque? Nope. A fabric covered deer head.)
VOTE HERE
This is unrelated to the staff challenge, but I have a history of, well, dressing to match other things in my scenery. Its one of those things I just find too funny about working for a company that prints their own fabric, wallpaper etc. I can literally chameleon myself into my surroundings. There's even rather a lot of photographic evidence of this happening. In one of the photos, you can see me blending into a couch. If (big IF, but if) I win this staff challenge, I already have my dress prepared. And I could hang a fabric covered deer head above it. It would just be such a beautiful weird image.
Have you heard me rave about Sprout Patterns yet? That place of amazing technology where you can design a dress on the web, see what it looks like in 3D, and have it arrive already printed on fabric?
Well, they’re doing an amazing promotion right now with the Colette Moneta dress. For the entire month of march, you can buy this dress for 20% off! And if you take a picture of your fabric, or the dress, and instagram it tagged #MonetaMadness you could win a $100 gift card!
Not to mention that this dress is super cute, comfortable, and really easy to make! I made the above dress in 2 hours one afternoon.
This blouse was another excellent project I completed from Sprout Patterns. I'll try not to rave about the concept once again, but just link you to my previous compliments.
The biscanye blouse is a simple and elegant pattern. The collar and placket add a touch of interest and detail, without too much complication. The instructions were very simple to follow, and easy to get a clean nice result. [see more photos]
This book was pressed into my hands by a coworker, who swore it was amazing. In case the 5 star rating didn't make it clear, she was right.
This book grabbed me right out of the gate. I started it one evening after work, and didn't come up for air until after 1am. The world in which its set is unique, and complex, and fascinating. I labeled it as "young-adult" because the main character is a girl rising into adulthood, trying to figure out the world around her, and because I would have loved this book as a teen. That said, I love it now, as an adult. This book is in no way simple, or childish, it merely could speak to a very broad audience...[read more]...
This scarf was an exploration into a classic weaving pattern called a "color gamp." The idea is that you do equal strips of many colors along the warp and the weft, that way you can see how each yarn interacts with every other yarn in the set. Most people do them in ROYGBIV order, for obvious reasons, but that's not required. Its another one of those moments where I really appreciate how weaving and math interact... [keep reading]...
...Make pajamas?
Especially if you know you're going to get snowed in for a couple of days and wont need real clothes! I created these pajamas for the release of a new fabric at spoonflower...[keep reading]...
This was probably the hands-down best project I worked on for Christmas. Remember how I said the clasped weft scarflooked kind of like sound waves? I decided to incorporate that into a woven words scarf...[read more]...
I mentioned my involvement in the new Spoonflower project called Sprout Patterns before, but to repeat myself: there is an amazing new thing out there called Sprout Patterns and you really really must go check it out. The idea is that Spoonflower will actually print the pattern for various garments and projects directly on the fabric for you, filled in with your chosen design. They've partnered with a whole bunch of indy pattern makers to bring you a really diverse and excellent set of options. In addition, you can actually see your project before you buy it, projected in 3D in your browser...[read more]...
In the last few months I've lost two roommates, and gained another one. This has meant lots of shlepping furniture, rearranging and cleaning, and not a whole lot of time or space for any sort of sewing or reading. Now, however, that's all changed...
The end result is a spare bedroom, which I have now claimed as a hoity toity fiber studio. Ooooo, Ahhh. I'm so excited, I've never yet had my very own space dedicated to crafting etc.... [read more]...
Well, here's the yearly Spoonflower Christmas Party dress. The theme this year was the 1920s, so of course I had to draft my own pattern.
I found this amazing art-deco-ish embroidered net fabric at Mary Jo's in Charlotte and couldn't really resist. The lining, and the skirt, is a simple navy blue satin. It has a dropped waist, loose fit, handkerchief skirt line, and (my favorite bit) a cowled low back. I also, of course, bedazzled the crap out of it. The skirt moved really gorgeously when I walked and danced (and in the wind), which is obviously why I assume it was so popular for this era. And I had to make a gif of it [see more photos]
This book was a riot. I actually listened to it on audio book, which I think really made the characters for me. Nominally it is a (young adult?) humor fantasy novel following the adventures of Marco Gullwing. He is a messenger boy, who in the course of a mission accidentally boards the wrong boat and ends up in places doing things he never expected. Its a classic coming of age tale as Marco really starts out as a bit of an ass, but starts coming into his own through various trials and tribulations... [read more]...
It's been a good year. In 2015 I lost two roommates, and gained one. I realized a life long dream, took a weaving class, and have ended up owning two full size floor looms. My job has changed a lot, in some interesting ways, and even in some good ways. I wrote my own blogging website! Conveniently, this is actually the 100th blog entry saved on this site (though, that does include the old ones I archived and moved over.) I also went to Canada for the first time! So yeah, it's been a good year... ...[keep reading]
This is a clasped weft scarf in soft wool. I'd seen a similar effect on pinterest somewhere, and just loved the way it looked. Almost like a sound wave pattern, or a city skyline. I read up about it, and discovered the concept of "clasped weft." Its really quite simple, but so striking, and varied depending on how you use colors. I want to do a tutorial for it, once I have another project that needs it, but for now I'll leave you with this cool gif I made. ...[keep reading]
There is a fantastic new website out there called Sprout Patterns. Its basically the coolest idea ever, merging fabric and technology. (Full disclosure, I helped build it, so I might be biased.)
You can read more about why its awesome on my blog.
But for important news, they’re having a promo for TODAY ONLY to get an easy zippered pouch for $2! Get it now!