Wednesday, September 16, 2015

making clothes, making art

Pattern crafted from Cal Patch's Creativebug class, Stencil from Alabama Chanin
cotton knit from Alabama Chanin
Circle Dress From Marcy Tilton
     The first thing I remember wanting to make is clothes. My mother's family were all sewists. Not so much her - she was more inclined to the Fine Arts while the rest of us leaned more toward the Sartorial.
     But to my mind there is art in the perfectly conceived hand made garment. You do not have to look too far to see this. Recently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, there was the exhibit titled  "China through the Looking Glass" and if you saw the Alexander MacQueen Exhibit at the same place a few years ago-or in other great museums around the world - you have yourself witnessed where fashion and fine art have intersected.
      Lately I have had the time and inclination to re awaken my clothes sewing interests. I have been sneakily adding to my garment sewing stash over the years, waiting I suppose for just such a time,  buying the occasional pattern, or book and have been delighted to find all sorts of support on the internet, from classes on platforms like Craftys, Becreative, YouTube tutorials (tutes)- to name just a few, there is a dazzling array of offerings. Some are free and some not so much. And there is Pinterest, which can get you lost in a warren of distraction and inspiration.
   Currently I find myself with an overflow of fabric and patterns, and I am applying myself to the lofty goal of using them before they are completey obsolete or I am dead.
     I have availed myself of classes which have piqued my interest and even sewed some dresses. It has been a long time, maybe decades? since I have sewn an actual dress. most of my sewing has been quilting or window treatments - a different flavor of fashion.
     I have drooled over all of Natalie Chanin books, I have joined Creative Bug to to take a class from Cal Patch to learn how to draft my own patterns, I have done sewalongs with Grainline Studio and found designers who designing for all women, like Marcy Tilton and Catherine Tilton who make fun and creative clothes for women of all ages.
     So that is what I have been up to. I still want to make quilts. I have one in mind which will take shape over the winter. It is grello. If you aren't sure what that is, stay tuned.

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