These two are linked, a skirt and embroidered blouse that were supposed to be worn together for 'summer 2012 on-trends' challenge.....but seeing as I found out later that an 'embellishment' challenge was coming up, I postponed the top to get a little more done on it:
The Facts
Fabric: Top: yellow peasant top from Target sale but still $12.58 coming in a few weeks, see below Skirt: yellow & blue floral cotton off-cut $3.99.
Patterns: Top embroidery: self drafted from Googled images coming in a few weeks, see below Skirt: New Look 6106 (adapted).
Year: Contemporary.
Notions: DMC embroidery threads from stash and a few new in JoAnn’s sale $2.97
Time to complete: Still going with the embroidery as holiday project, see below but the skirt took 4 hours before I left.
First worn: Skirt throughout holiday, top not yet…coming in a few weeks, see below :)
Wear again? Absolutely, this skirt has already become a staple.
Total Cost: $3.99 for skirt.
The challenge: “On Trend: Summer 2012 Fashion Trends”.
I’m not here again this week. I’m probably paddling in the sea near San Diego as we speak. But I wrote this post over 2 weeks ago and hopefully I’ve been able to take and pop in some photos of this week’s creations from a holiday setting. Normal service will be resumed next week, promise.
Anyway, summer 2012 trends….
You’ve probably guessed this about me if you’ve been reading my posts over the last 25 weeks (can you believe we’re half way through the year now?!) but I am an avid follower of fashion. That’s not me saying I’m fashionable, because that’s a whole other subjective ballgame, but I LOOOOOOOVE fashion magazines and watching catwalk shows from designers all around the world. I can think of not much more enjoyable than sitting down with a copy of Harper’s Bazaar or Vogue and checking out the latest trends, zoning in on looks I like and then (the fun bit) trying to work out what I like about them and how I can translate a little bit of their style into my life. LOVE IT!
Which is why this week was torture for me. How can you narrow down all the lovely trends at the moment? Fruit & food (ok, I sort of satisfied my itch to make something to fit this 2 weeks ago with a tv character/Moschino Cheap & Chic number but I still want to do a Dolce & Gabbana inspired chili pepper outfit before the year is out), asymmetric hems (I really want to do a low-high skirt hem soon too), under the sea, florals, floral suits and jeans, paisley, 1920′s and Art Deco (saving this one up for nearer the release of the Great Gatsby). Aaaaargh I want to do it all!
But I had to limit myself to something I could either make quickly before the start of my holidays (how will I cope without touching a sewing machine for over 2 weeks?) or something I could hand sew along the way.
I had a plan to fit with 2012 summer trends: yellows / maxi skirt / floral print / slight ethnicy vibe / peasant top……and folky embroidery!
It all seemed so perfect. I quickly made the skirt, which I have to say was an absolute pleasure to make, so rewarding to make something so straightforward (just graded it up 2 sizes past its maximum to fit me) after a few weeks of complicated, hair-pulling-out sewing. I bought a yellow peasant top in the Target sale to embroider (no, that yellow vest isn’t it, read on dear reader), googled some designs, drooled over tops and dresses on Aida Coronado’s website, made some sketches and bought some DMC embroidery threads in the Jo-Ann sale. I was all set.
I embroidered in Vegas, Death Valley, LA, in the car, on the beach (as you’ll have seen on my instagram and absobloominglutely tumblr). I actually found the ‘journey’ rather zen-like and was enjoying ‘slow sewing’ so much I didn’t want to have to rush to get to my ‘destination’.
And then Mena, sensing my chilled out vibes (or a disturbance in the force) put out the next batch of challenges up until August that included not only a whole ‘yellow’ challenge but an embellishment/embroidery week too. Hence why I’m wearing a simple bought-not-self-made (the horror! ;)) vest in these photos…..I’m going to continue embroidering to my heart’s delight to my new deadline in a few week’s time for the Embellishment/Embroidery challenge.
And why the white fake fur coat? Because if I can’t wear every summer
trend, I thought I’d start one…..fur jackets in the summer are the new
black you know…..are you buying this? No? Oh well, your loss ;)
And why’s this outfit called “5 Seconds to Summery”? Because if I ever want to feel Summery, or be reminded of Summer (especially those blissful Summers as a teenager before life and all it’s trials and tribulations kicked in) there’s 5 seconds at the start of a certain record that never ever fail to transport me there on a cloud of peace and happiness. Play me 5 seconds of Johnny Marr’s jangly rickenbacker guitar at the start of This Charming Man and I’m back in summer 1984….and it’s a song I’ve been listening to over and over again whilst embroidering on the beach in 2012, making new summery memories :)
Home next week and the return to sewing with a sewing machine, woo hoo!
The Facts
Fabric: yellow peasant top from Target sale but still $12.58
Patterns: embroidery self drafted from Googled images.
Year: Contemporary.
Notions: DMC embroidery threads from stash and a few new in JoAnn’s sale $2.97
Time to complete: About 30 hours so far.
First worn: For photos, 9th July 2012.
Wear again? Yes, when I get the umph to finish it.
Total Cost: $15.55 (£10.02)
The challenge: “Embellishments: This week, we’re adding a little something to our creations with embellishments.”
So you remember a few weeks ago I told you that I started this embroidery on holiday for the Summer 2012 trends challenge? But that I decided to not rush it and carry on for this embellishment challenge?
Well, this how much I’ve got done.
Blooming heck, embroidery takes a long time doesn’t it? I’d forgotten. I used to cross-stitch as a teenager. I totally under-estimated how much time this was going to take me.
I wanted it to look a bit like the gorgeous tops on Aida Coronado website. But as I say, I totally under-estimated the time this would take, even with doing around 30 hours on it.
This could have been speeded up (and finished by this week’s deadline) IF I hadn’t:
- decided this week that as I’d already started this a few week’s ago, I had plenty of time to fit in a make-over of my blog design….
- done most of my sewing on the beach or in the car….
- been able to find my sewing hoop….
- drawn some sort of design instead of doing it free-hand from pics I’d Googled.
Oh well, you live and learn.
Oh, I probably shouldn’t have spent time doing this either:
Such a doofus I am (thanks Yoda). Displacement and procrastination are my middle names.
So here’s how much I’ve got finished by today. And to be honest, just at the moment, I’m not feeling it. I’m embroidered out and it became not fun. And Sew Weekly is about fun, and when it stops, it’s probably a good point to go and make a cup of tea (I am British after all, and tea solves everything), take a break and chill.
So, no doubt I’ll come back to this and finish it sometime.
And then I’ll do my happy dance.
But as it’s 114F/46C at the moment, I ain’t doing no happy dance for nobody….so ner…..stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
(Tune in next week, when normal Tempesty service will be resumed……and with any luck I’ll have conquered my first ever pair or shorts/trousers! Gulp).
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