I'm glad I got up to watch the wedding. I had about three hours sleep and have been up since 1:30 am. Four hours later, the wedding and the balcony scene are over and the couple has gone off to party. They seemed incredibly relaxed and obviously happy. According to the lip readers, when William saw Kate, he said I love you, you look beautiful. How perfect is that. Her dress was beautiful, classic, and very copyable. "They" were predicting it'd be available within four hours of its first sighting. Amazing.
Watching the wedding is a complete abnormality for me, so not something I'd normally do that I've been getting astonished looks and comments from my friends. I hate name dropping. I'm not fond of titles as an assumption of worth or of sucking up, star power, or touch the hem of my garment mentalities. I'm definitely not much for the lives of the rich and famous. So many of them are incredibly sad while "common" folk often live far more varied and interesting lives. That said, I do like a good romance and a happy ending and hope this is one - royal fishbowl and all.
Three packages arrived in the mail yesterday. One was my Vogue order from March 7th. It takes FOREVER for these patterns to arrive. In the mean time, BMV has had two more sales that I can recall plus Vogue patterns are on sale at Fabricland along with Burda. I may pick up a few of those. I like Burda's unique lines and European styling BUT... I have more than enough patterns. I say this as a reminder for myself. As you know, I need frequent reminding - LOL.
The second package was my Mother's Day present which I can't have for another week and the third package was a Coastal Blue bra kit from BraComponents.com - a very pretty color. I also ordered a swatch card only something went wrong with it and all the little bits were loose in the envelope instead of stuck nicely on the card above their names. Apparently, new cards are being made and one will be mailed to me asap. Good. There are some GORGEOUS colors to choose from although - again - a reminder - I need to sew bras not acquire more kits. As I mentioned earlier, my lingerie box(es) are filling up with potential bra scraps. It's a bit like when I quilted and had the Bits & Pieces of Potential Quilts box(es).
Lorrie wrote - I'm not a copycat dresser. But I think that Kate's style is going to influence what is currently fashionable in the same way that Diana's did. I like looking at celebrities clothing and deciding if I like it for myself or not, then adapting something to my body shape, social needs and preference. Seeing clothing on real bodies is so much better than seeing it on models in magazines or on runways.
One thing I noticed when I was in publishing was how often the same idea occurred simultaneously to different authors or pattern designers in different areas of the world. We're all influenced by what's around us even if we think we're not so even though I don't read fashion magazines or follow celebrities, I know that I am influenced by the in color and the in style, what's in the stores, and what everyone else is wearing. That said, like you, I prefer to adapt what's in to what I know works for me which is a lovely advantage of age and experience and the ability to sew.
I'm the most influenced by sewing blogs because - as you said - I can see the pattern sewn and on a body similar to mine and determine if it might work for me plus I see the unique ways in which the pattern was changed, adapted, and personalized and it sparks ideas for my own version. That's what I love about sewing. Even if I'm sewing a popular pattern, I'm choosing my own fabric and my own embellishments and my own accessories and it's highly improbable that I'll run into myself out in public.
I do seem to be staying away from the fabrics at work that are quite popular. That's an interesting awareness and perhaps why I'm so fond of the bargain center. A few years ago, one of the stores in the mall had a gorgeous lime green purse. I debated it for several weeks and then decided to buy it. When I went in, the clerk went to the back room and brought out the purse flat, packaged in a plastic bag with the air sucked out. As she handed it to me, she said "this purse is so popular we can barely keep it in stock". I promptly handed it back. The presentation turned me off and her words killed the sale. I didn't want what everybody else had.
The picture of wide legged jeans above is from Style.com. I think I saw it on AlreadyPretty.com when Sal was talking about wide legged jeans coming back into style although it might have been on YouLookFab.com. Either way, I've known for YEARS that this style looks good on me and I wear it even when it's not in although moderated. I definitely don't wear wide wide legs when skinny skinny ones are in. LOL - I wear skirts instead.
I love skirts especially flippy, fluttery, feminine ones like Butterick 4233 above, particularly View F bottom right. I debated sewing this skirt to go with the top from yesterday only the pattern calls for double georgette, lightweight crepe, charmeuse, or challis which are all considerably lighter than raw silk. I opted to go with Burda 8213 below since I've sewn that skirt several times and know I'll feel good in it. I want to try the Butterick pattern sometime soon. I have a stretch lace that would make a fabulous version of it.
Butterick 4233 is just one of many patterns that I have in stash and haven't sewn even though I really like the styles. That's why the don't buy, do sew reminder is important to me.
I opted for plain purple nails yesterday - a very pretty, blue based, shade. This is nail polish as opposed to gel so I can remove it if I want to and trim and shape my nails in-between manicures. It requires a special solvent to remove the gel nails. I'm not sure if it's possible to buy that product in drug stores. We'll see how I do with nail polish instead. As well as being removable, it's also significantly less expensive which is a nice bonus.
Alexandra wrote - On writing: You said "... all my creativity was for sale and ceased to be fun or soul nourishing. Making the shift was really difficult." It would seem that a shift from crappy to good (or even to less crappy) should be easy. So how come it wasn't? Is it because you're having to hold back the entrepreneur in you? Or because you're essentially working for free (not generating income)? Or one of those creature of habit things? Or something else entirely?
Every negative situation has positive moments. Every positive situation has negative moments. It's impossible to express in a few paragraphs in a few postings the wide range of emotions I've dealt with over the past few years. When I realized my career wasn't satisfying and I was in what I called the "prostitution phase" I changed directions and went on to love teaching the types of classes and producing the kind of art that I thoroughly enjoyed. Even so, that ended partly because of someone else's choices that hugely affected me and partly because of the circumstances caused by our current economy.
I remember reading in Malcom Gladwell's book The Tipping Point some sentences along the lines of it isn't that you didn't try hard enough or that you weren't good enough or that you didn't hang in there long enough, the stars simply didn't align. Sometimes, you are forced to make changes due to reality as I was. I chose to once again move in new directions. This time, instead of re-inventing my business, I decided to explore activities that I'd been putting off for a long time. Although I was doing something I wanted to do, there was still grief, change, and the vacuum of the unknown in the journey to finding a new way of being. I do hold back on anything that might tip me back into that money making mentality because of the entrepreneur in me and because I know what's involved and how it could affect my life. When I weigh out the pros and cons, it's not the choice I want to make. That doesn't mean I don't sometimes miss some of those pros.
It's just after six in the morning. I'm not exactly wide awake. Oh well - LOL. I'm working four hours this morning, and then a nap, and then the skirt and lining are cut out and ready to sew. Have a fabulous weekend. I have Saturday off and am working Sunday. Hopefully by Monday the skirt is finished and you can see it and the top together or at least some progress. After that, the dress.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - restful sleep
I'm impressed that you got up so early. But what a wedding to watch. Kate's dress will certainly stand the test of time. I loved Diana's because it was a fairytale princess dress, rather overdone, but a young girl's dream, fitting for an immature 19 year old.
ReplyDeleteI'm having a bit of difficulty with the new longer skirt length - reminds me so much of the 80s, and the early 2000s. In fact, I still have a couple of skirts in that length in my closet. I do like the first Butterick one you showed - and I have some georgette in my stash....
Enjoy work, enjoy your nap, and enjoy your weekend!
I like the don't buy, do sew reminder. I should write it in big letters and tape it to every door in the house.
ReplyDeleteThat Coastal Blue color looks really scrumptious.