Sewing from Drape Drape 2

I love books so much that I often treat myself with them^_^
And when my new Drape Drape 2 book arrived I couldn't wait to start sewing! I chose something simple to start- my first piece of clothing is a vest.

It's a lovely 3 piece draped vest with oversized pockets. It's very comfortable and the fabric I used (heavy weight cotton jersey) it's so soft and warm too.

Pictures from the book itself:

And here is my vest:

I'm standing on top of the roof  where the lighting is great to take pictures. But although the sun was shining so brightly that evening it was quite windy and I was very cold.. Just putting a brave face, am acting as if it was hot cause the vest looks much better with bare arms^_^

Finding my path..

Finding my path...

I love being creative and there is noting as relaxing and therapeutic as an expressive form of art, right?^_^

Recently I started working with mixed media again and there is no other feeling this good!
I found  my long forgotten box of magic-as I call it. It was hidden under the bed amongst other things for so long that I forgot it existed! My magic box filled with colourful, messy arty stuff-  acrylics, watercolour, paint brushes, gesso, charcoal, inks,pencils,oil pastels..
My hand printing materials seemed to fit right in this new field too.
I use my ink pads, hand carved lino and rubber block as well as Mylar stencils to make marks, my Gelli plate plays an important role too in creating backgrounds.
I draw- well learn to draw faces too and incorporate them with my mixed media backgrounds. I LOVE it!

And at the end of the day after having sat at my desk for a while- working, creating, experimenting I find satisfaction by looking at my stained fingers, black nails, palms covered in paint, inks, and smudges of pencil or charcoal on my face. I feel fulfilled in a way.. It's crazy!

I haven't touched my sewing machine in a while and I feel bad about it sometimes but as much as I love sewing, creating fashion garments, dolls, home decor- they don't give me the same kind of fulfilment, satisfaction and freedom. With expressive art there are no rules to follow, no plan of action needed, no boundaries, there is only that need to create that drives you far outside of your comfort zone.

I am trying to find my path in all of these. I learn. I express. I experiment. And I hope I am improving with each piece of paper that gets splashed with paint or sprayed with ink.

These are just my experiments. We shall see where they take me!^_^

We Should Wear Dresses All year Round

Hello,

Lately I became a big fan of dresses. I want to wear them all the time, even in colder seasons.
How to wear dresses all year round? Choose them made from slightly warmer fabrics!
My newly sewn dresses have been made from warmer fabrics such as cotton drill and wool blend. On top of that both dresses have been lined.

They look great with cardigans and jackets. I like to wear them with belts too.
Depending on kind of accessories, shoes etc used- these dresses can be easily styled into either day or evening look.
I used the same pattern for the bodice with panels mixing in black drill with red tartan and blue cobalt.
Skirts have slightly different shapes though.
Cobalt blue skirt only has two pleats in the front and two in the back that have been stitched in place along the hem line, this creates slightly round/ oval shape.

Red tartan skirt has been evenly gathered/ pleated around the waist creating a very flattering A-line shape. Adding a belt here really emphasizes a slim looking waist.

What do you think?

Malgosia

xxx

My new discovery with an all favourite technique

We all love to feel warm and comfortable in this cold season, don't we?^_^
I LOVE the look of woollen cardigans or jackets but often find them too warm when I need to run my errands during the day, wool also feels too prickly without anything underneath it which only adds up more layers.
I like and need something soft on my skin that would keep me warm and comfortable throughout the day but also would look nice and stylish.
 When I first saw the fabric I immediately fell in love with this knitted, heavyweight cotton jersey. It's of an amazing quality and just a bit stretchy. I came up with a very simple slightly longer tunic pattern. To vary the shape it can be worn either with or without a belt. I love my belts so it has to be WITH A BELT FOR ME but there is a loose version here too. 

In my opinion the tunic dress turned out pretty nice, it's soft, warm and very comfortable but also quite stylish. Yes yes all of them in one!^_^


Before sewing the pieces together I decided to add hand printed details in contrasting yellow and orange colours.

What do you think???

Gosia
xxx

Fabric wrapped bead necklace

I've had this box full of beautiful fat quarters for a while (mostly Tilda's collections). I've only used some of them in 2 or 3 small patchwork projects. I find them too pretty and can't bring myself to cut them,  plus they look so nice all together, silly I know!

However, this last weekend while experimenting with fabric necklaces I decided to be ruthless! My fat quarters just seemed ideal for the kind of necklace I had in mind!

I chose two different patterns for each necklace. I cut them in a lot of small strips, then stitched together creating one long strip that then got folded in half and stitched into a tube. The tube was filled with plastic beads with knots between each bead.

Here are my fabric wrapped bead necklaces.

I think they look quite nice, don't you?

Gosia
xxx