fizzle

Ooops - I seem to have fallen off the wagon here. I havent been sewing much at all. Not very creative. : /
Im still finishing the dress remodel.  I made some silk veils. Have a long to do list, I suppose theres nothing like having a bunch of stuff you have to do to curtail any fanciful thoughts of making anything just for the hell of it.

Thursdays creating was long lengths of fringe for a fancy designer dress I'm remodelling. Not so impressive but very time consuming.  Wednesday evening I drew and scanned in a design for my other blog.

Let there be pants

Still no photos to prove my industriousness.  Yesterday I made a new poster for the rec where I teach. Today I made 2 pairs of dance pants for me. Yes I know I now have 4 new pairs of dance pants.  This is a good thing all my others have holes on the right Buthigh area and look quite bedraggled. 

A new plan for the old stuff

Or in some cases the new stuff too.  A photographer friend on Facebook is taking part in this http://365project.org/cmisplon/365/2011-01-16?ref=nf project. Im no photogrpher, being more of a point and clicker but the idea of creating every day appeals to me.

My 365 started a little late - on Sunday to be exact, but Im catching up fast!  I made a pair of gypsey pants, finished a pair of wrap pants and made 2 fringed shawls.  Yesterday I made a pair of dance pants for class.

So the rules are make something every day, the something has to be needlework  inspired, so I can sew something, draw a design or pattern, make jewelry or headresses.  As long as I end up with a finished article that I can photograph. Im to use fabrics and materials that I already have where at all possible.  And thats it! On the cards for today A red velvet.............something. : ))

Photo's will be up as soon as I can get my old camera to talk to my new computer.

In Memory of Casey

So, today is the aniversary of a friends death. She has been gone a year. She died suddenly last year of stomach cancer.  The last time I heard from her was an e-mail to a discussion group where she said she'd be fine.

  So what does this have to do with creativity?  It is the flip side of my coin. I am always pushing the notion that creativity, atristry whatever needs no audience that artist should create for themselves and the joy of it.  And here I am - I create Dance costumes for a living, and yes there is some joy in that.

BUT:  The clothing I created with joy was worn by Casey. It was she who got me to submit clothing to Alternative Design in Cape Town, she took the stuff there herself!  She encouraged me a lot. 

Copy cat country

Fab - here I am sewing away making things for tribal girls.  One such girl buys 2 alice bands from me. Then she goes home and makes them for her mothers emtire troupe. Then she comes here today to have some pants made and says  "Oh Ja, Im selling these now"  I tell her that that sucks, Im trying to earn a living here!  She says "If you see a good idea go with it".  I was gobsmacked and did my usual keep quiet and stew about it.  Now hours later I want to burn her fabric and send her the ashes with a note "copy this bitch!"  *sigh*  Then I pop past my other competition's page (Same one who has photos of dancers on her page without their permissions as "examples" ) on facebook and Lo and behold a new album full of hair stuff - just like mine.

And what is the answer to this?  In the short term - I tell miss copy pants that I will not make her pants In the long term I decide that whatever I make must be so recognisable as mine that no one can copy it without everyone knowing its a copy.

Hello Kitty Costume

For a while I have been thinking about sewing a silly costume for myself.  I fould a bag of  metal hello kitty charms for R20 at the bead shop in Linden, a while ago I bought a bit of hello kitty fabric with large motifs of her face and on Saturday I found bags of pink buttons and another kind of hello kitty fabric - this one is a check with tiny kitty faces. I also have lots of pink fabric scraps, feathers and sequin dot.  I might also get some fo the pink and black stripped fabric to make pants - those Im not sure about - dunno if my legs can carry that off!

I began the belt - its a 2 piece Mardi Love style belt which will have hello kitty faces as the hip accents and the check fabric as the band.  I began beading it on saturday whilst watching the saturday afternoon Bollywood movie on TV.  The hip accent faces will take quite some time - I only managed to finish 1 that afternoon.  I did the charm fringe on one piece and got half way on the other.  Today I will carry on with it and perhaps finish the front of the belt.  I forgot about the buttons and edged the lower front with other beads which I will have to  replace with buttons.

I havent decided on the the style of the top yet.

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