Well, best laid plans and all that stuff. I'm moving my blog and it's taking way too long. But the truth is that I want to do it right, which means going back through all the old blogs here and organizing them - ugh!
Been teaching and I'm still here....in the works are lots of things. I have classes this fall - and what I'm really wanting my students to do is to bring their own project. What I like about this is that everyone gets to do what they really want AND learning from what others are doing. This can give everyone ideas, and not only does class become a place where you can learn about the project you are doing, but it becomes an exchange of ideas and inspiration for ideas. I love this format more than me telling you what to do and teaching only one thing.
For September we're having a couple of gals start the Chanel Jacket (and continuing in Oct & Nov), another is finishing a beautiful jacket in a 50's heirloom pattern with Saville-Row tailoring - it's gorgeous. I think we're going to do hand stitched buttonholes, but we may change our mind - depending on where we are.
BTW, notice the hand ticking on the seam - about 1/4" to 3/8" from the seam! Isn't that cool!!!
Another will be doing a mannequin, and another will be doing the My Label by Bernina.
And then there's no telling what some will be bringing, which is always fun!
Here's the calendar for classes this fall, and as always call the Bernina store (405.840.8911) for reservations:
Additionally, I'm working on an exciting new workshop for Spring that will be with coordinated with other teachers as well.
I'm also closing the old Claire Kennedy Design Facebook group, and will be starting a new one, but in the meantime you can friend me on Facebook, and keep track of things over there.
But alas, all this takes time - at least to do it right, so for now, I'm sort of laying low, but still around!!!
I will post here when I get all the stuff packed up and moved!!!
And enjoy!!!
Suffice it to say that a number of things have thwarted my blogging lately...summer heat (in the southern plains it's been like the surface of the Sun), summer storms (that build up in a second and dissipate that fast causing downbursts of winds and storms causing the interruption of electrical services and there is no such thing as a gas iron or gas sewing machine!), catching up and enduring the last dogs days of August have all plotted to take my most valuable and precious possession - time!
But I saw this article and couldn't resist a short post:
There's rumors that the famous Alexander McQueen show that was in New York is coming to London.
Here's the article, but alas very little exhibit info, just that it might come.
If it does, and let's hope the karma of the universe is with this project, then this is a must for all my friends and readers across the great pond!
Although a common refrain I heard from a lot of museum-goers at the exhibit, was "I would never wear that," or "Why would anyone wear that?" For me this was just the cursory viewer and not really the crux of the show. The show could not have been as popular as it was if it was not important, and folks, I'm here to tell you it is important.
If you are anything close to a sewist or someone who sews, you have to attend this exhibit, and plan to spend at least 3 hours in the exhibit, whether it's crowded or not.
There were so many things that impressed me about the exhibit - not only the way it was set up (which in my mind is an art in itself - displaying and setting up exhibits and museum shows can often be as important as the art itself that is shown), but the massive problem-solving that went on in this designer's head and that we are allowed a brief look into that mind. Problem-solving has always been a highly prized commodity for any market, and McQueen doesn't disappoint, from lace and plaid to muscle shells and butterfly wings.
Although the common viewer's lament of not being wearable is probably true, it's not the point of the exhibit. For any anyone with one molecule of creative and willingness to look outside the box for just a couple of hours, there is so much inspiration to be had here, that you will want to take a small notebook with you to debrief afterwards. I did. I'm glad I did. I like to schedule a lunch or tea or something after an exhibit to sort of let it digest and then write down some of my more emphatic thoughts and ideas after the show.
There's so much to take away here - like McQueen's penchant (OK, maybe obsession ) to challenge himself to ever more hard-to-accomplish/realize designs and materials....then his execution of his challenging ideas not only to see it accomplished, but execute them in such a way as they were attractive and made the wearer and the viewer feel beauty....albeit savage beauty.
So this is heads up - McQueen is probably coming your way, and it's well worth your time and $$$ to visit the show - and when you do - just take a look at this hat and dream of how many hours it took to make it!!!
Alas, not all of us have the time or will to travel...you can buy the exhibit book, which is a very, very nice alternative (not a replacement) for seeing the show.
My copy is well ensconced with my Chanel, Geoffrey Beene, House of Lesage, Southeby's Sale Catalog of Diana's Gowns, and Jackie K's Exhibit at the Met !
It's not a secret to any sewist who's been at it a while. Sewists are a group of the loveliest people I've ever known. Generous, caring, inquisitive, artistic, adventurous, and most of all friendly. I hardly can think of - much less count - the ones who are not. Maybe it's cause we are always creating and problem-solving our latest endeavors - who knows? But it's true that most are a amiable set!
And now it seems that either our secret is out, or it's just getting to be cool again, cause the famous are taking up our skills as well.
On her tour to publicize her new movie, she explains that she's taking up sewing and taking sewing lessons. Actually it's pretty well known that on a film set, it's work, then boring waiting, work, then boring waiting, and sewing is a wonderful way to fill in the time while you're waiting for the other scene to be set up, shot, or just otherwise waiting.
And even though it's a long shot....what would it be like to have a sewist in the White House....
Although it looks as if she's probably sewn for a while with all those kids and that huge family.
And of course there's the famous dame from the Brits:
I love Issac (he's so natural - what you see is what you get, and generous which is the dead giveaway of a very creative and inherently artistic person), and he either makes people feel so comfortable with his natural way or else this is just a lovely match and he and Helen sew a sleeve head on - yes, which is hard, but we sewist know that already!!!
It's fun to know the rich and famous are jumping onto the band wagon of sewing. They are discovering our love of stitching and the joy of wearing and enjoying the labors of our artistic endeavors!
Now that summer is in full swing, white is all the rage again. (Don't you just love it how fashion discovers white all over again every summer!!!! But it's good no matter what time of year!)
Anyway, there are some things that go along with white that a sewist must remember. White is transparent. More than any other color in the spectrum or in your fabric stash. I had to learn that certain colors on my watercolor palette are transparent - greens, blues, but my reds, yellows and oranges were all opaque - why cause the cadmium in the warmer colors was opaque....why?....I dunno.
Why is white fabric transparent?....it just is, don't ask - just accept it as law!
Here's why!!!
No matter how well you sew or how great your fabric is (or how thick your white fabric is), the pockets, fly, seam allowances and anything else underneath will show. And although they are spectacular for summer, white pants must be lined.
Actually, I'm not really a fan of white pants, and only on certain occasions will I wear them - when I do it's usually with a jacket, tunic or other longer top garment over my bum (as the Brits would say!)
Well, this is a big much, but makes my point.
Lining your white pants completely solves this problem of seams and "other things" showing through. If you can't stand lining, but are obsessed with wearing white pants, you can half line the pants - to the knee, after this, the pants are usually loose enough not to show the lining hem.
And in case you are still not persuaded, then view the following - of course at your own risk, and please remove the children from view of the computer screen. I won't be responsible for blindness or severe emotional damage.
My point made - enough said!
There are lots of fashion exhibits opening and going on right now, so if you are out and about doing some summer traveling you can pick these up.
There's the McQueen extravaganza at the Met....
.....and yes it's crowded.....
............and yes it's worth it......
(Get a Met membership to cut the line wait down - and it's worth the $70 - 'sides you support art too!)
There's Dior at Pushkin (In Moscow).....
.....and if Moscow isn't on your summer travels, there's a great site here to peruse - worth the effort.
Jean Paul Gaultier in Montreal.....
......they all have great sites, here's this one.....
..........but this one is traveling - click here for the schedule.....
Then a real master...Balenciaga and Spain at San Francisco.....
.....even though it's closed, you can still get the catalog - this is a gem of a show.....
......here's the site for this great show.....
All of these shows are worth the effort, and if you can't make it, the catalog is almost as good - I will tell you nothing beats going to the show, but not all of us (including me) can make it to Russia, so alas we have to settle, and the next best thing is the catalog.
If no catalog is available (I didn't see one for Dior), the site is the next best thing, and the site on the Pushkin Museum (it's sorta hard to find, but here's the link), it's worth the time to go through.
I really find all these exhibits fascinating, as Dior, Balenciaga, McQueen and even Gaultier to an extent, all favored the upcoming trend of femininity.
There must be something fun in the air!!!
I'm a fan of history - possibly because my state is so new that any history is so fabulous that I enjoy it. It wasn't that long ago that my grandparents settled here.
And it's even more fun when you know your vocation or hobby has a history as well.
So many sewed so many flags of our country that they are fun to explore, especially those around the civil war. Why? because there were no hard a fast rules other than red and white stripes and a blue concord and white stars. The rest was left to the imagination of the sewist.
Most of these are from jeffbridgman.com a collector of antique flags and the history about them.
After Kansas was made a state (in 1861 before the Civil War), were the most prolifically creative. The stars were in all different shapes and sizes and designs.
After 1912, the flag was standardized after Arizona became a state, and then again in 1959 when Alaska and Hawaii were made states.
So while you're sewing this holiday weekend, remember all the creative sewists that went before us and their patriotic expression!
Happy Fourth!
This may be like preachin' to the choir, but one of the gazillion advantages of sewing is that we can turn our style and fashion on a dime, whereas when you're stuck being at the mercy of the store clerks, buyers and fashion designers, you're pretty much stuck in that style till the store starts carrying the new trend.
Sometimes this can put us at a disadvantage, because we can turn so fast, sometimes those new trends look a little more weird and we're not ready for them - another advantage, we're not on anyone's time-table but our own.
So what happens when trends change - we're going through that now as we're moving away from a columnar type style to a more hourglass emphasis on style and fashion.
That's why this looks a little strange to us.
But this is coming.
I remember when shoulder pads first came in (in the 80's and not the 40's - I'm not that old....yet!!!)
No one could be Joan Collins aka Alexis Carrington (on the series Dynasty), and I thought "No one will EVER wear that stupid thing!"
Yep, I remember that real well, and remember how long that lasted!!!
The point is that when these new fashions and style trends come upon us, it takes a while for our eye to adjust. And that's what will happen in the next couple of years...we will go from the androgynous look of the 90's to this more hourglass with shoulder accentuation, and no matter how strange it looks now, believe me don't say you won't wear it!
Some of the more interesting patterns are the one above (the Vogue 1248), and there's a new Sandra Betzina pattern out that uses this same line.
See the more hourglass shape, and the fuller hip to accentuate the small waist. This is a fresher take our our bodies, and will take a while to get used to, but it is the trend.
Here are some others from BurdaStyle.com (and don't get me started on the site...like Miss Celie and Slapdash say!!!)
Anyway here are some ideas.
This is a great skirt, although if you have a few years (like decades) on you, make the skirt longer (add another ruffle, or graduate the bottom ruffle to the length you want), but it has a lot of movement and with the hip fitted, accentuates the waist. Also if you make it in white - always line it (that's a law, not an amendment or idea - a law!!!)
Love, love, love this skirt...perfect for summertime sheer fabrics, particularly if you use this hemming technique.
One of the greatest way to transition from column to hour glass and shoulders is through a bateau (boat) neckline....this is a great classic pattern that has lots and lots of fitting seams that makes fitting a lot easier.
OK hope that gives you some ideas and some for thought. Like my clients, I like pressing my students to think a little more outside the lines!
Enjoy!
I've really tried to do these more often, but there was so much information that came out of the Royal Wedding that I couldn't do a series, so did them all at once.
This is THE reason I love watching these things as they are full of ideas and problem-solving designs for all sorts of figure types.
If you're not subscribed, sign up for free Click here. .
Rose is SV, one of my subscribers asked a very observant question about seeing or not seeing a side seam. And my feeling is that there almost has to be, because the side seam flares out at the side of the dress when Pippa walks.
See how it flares delicately on the side....that can only be done if there's a side seam. And from experience I can tell you that the dress needs to have side seams to have this good of a fit.
Thanks Rose for that question, and very observant!
