From The Brown Girl Studio

I always admire people who have the time and inclination to upload photos of their works in progress and completed projects. Though I have the inclination, I almost always lack the time. School, homework, kids, dog, work .... you name it. By the time I even get to the computer, the last thing I have time to do is select, edit, and crop photos. But today I stole a few minutes just to become one of those people and show off a few of the trappings of the Brown Girl Studio:



First up is the dress I've been designing. Here it is just draped around my model. I haven't yet cut the fabric because I need to buy a dress form first. I want to make absolutely sure that I get this dress right because I stumbled on this beautiful fabric over two years ago and only have enough for the dress and possibly a wrap. My design includes darts (of course) and a knitted cumberbund in the center, a simple seed stitch to be sure it maintains the form, made with Empire Silk Karabella Yarn. I love this fabric and this dress. I stumbled on the gold silk/satin at the top when I was in Manhattan. Initially I only bought it as a lining but when I went to drape it I thought, gee, this is a gorgeous possibility to have a band at the top. So I'll make a decision about it once I get it on the form. I plan to order a Singer from Jo-Ann's at the end of the month when they offer the free shipping again.

Here are some other views:










Okay, next up is a simple garter stitch ponchette knit with an organic cotton. This was actually my first knitted scarf that now, looked so incredibly boring, that I decided, Hey let's do something with this. A little asymmetric embellishment and voila! you have a wrap. I like the V shaping on this and am going to add a small little clutch purse to go with it:








Next up is a super-soft scarf done again in a simple garter stitch. Sometimes it's just not about the stitch but the yarn itself. This is Fiamma Cervinia yarn bought in New York over the holidays. I must have kicked myself a thousand times as I was making my way down the Jersey Turnpike to get back home - I had only bought one skein of it, figuring I could always order more from the store's online portal. Yeah right, until I discovered that they REQUIRE a minimum of $40 on every order. Since I am really trying to get my business off the ground this year and am on a tight budget, I decided to check e-bay. Thank God for e-bay. I found more. I plan to make more scarves and simple wraps in this, which I'll be offering in the shop too:







and of course, if you're stylish, you can always fashion it as a belt/band:





and I finally picked up all the super bulky yarn I need for that yoke dress in the Fall 06 VogueKnits:



which I can't wait to get done. Hopefully that'll knit up pretty quickly.


And lastly, I decided against the Sew U book, and accepted this gift that my Mum gave me over the holidays. It's a little dated but it's got everything you ever thought you needed or wanted to know about patternmaking, design, and constructing a garment:




Back to the studio! See you soon ...

ANGEL

...And The Winner Is...

....me! Finally finished what I am now calling The Husband Scarf. A seventy two row pattern that repeated four times!! It's gorgeous and just waiting to be blocked. Will do that tonight and am going to try to whip up his matching hat before Monday. Pictures forthcoming.

Meanwhile, I was in Books-A-Million the other day and picked up this:



and will probably go on and order these two from Amazon:





Neither one are new releases but I like to check things out in the library before I make my purchases since so many books wind up being huge disappointments....from patterns not being written in a logical way to just projects that really look homemade. Not that I'm a whiz kid knitter or seamstress but I figure if I'm spending this much time and money on fabric and yarn, I want my project to look as well made as possible. Plus the fact, I'm kinda past the cutesy age.

I was also browsing around my favorite place and saw this:



the essential "Little Black Dress" and this:



that I want to try to make by spring and this:



by Junior Trends that is just so sexy. Thinking I may just purchase it and then try to deconstruct it so that I can make a pattern and go from there.

Who woulda thought I'd be having this much fun? Friday (school break) can't get here soon enough!

Cheers!

The Amazing Race

Okay, so I've officially decided that next year I will do things much differently than I did this year. I'll do one of two things. I will either A) wear a string of garlic around my neck to ward off any impulse to knit a holiday gift for anyone, ever again or B) just start my holiday knitting in, say, July? Who knew I'd be up against the wall like this? Who knew that the fifth grade teacher would hand out three exams in one week and the husband would decide to do double overtime and the car insurance bills would be due necessitating Mom to pull an extra shift or two, not to mention two open houses for middle schools that Mom and Dad are considering for the fifth grader. Oh, and did I mention the three December deadlines for three seperate journals and an essay deadline for the 31st? Yeah, okay.

So anyway, I've been wanting to upload some pictures of the handbag that I finished, the McCall patterns that I bought for this sweet little skirt that I'm planning to make and the fabric I bought to go with it; been wanting to talk about my plans to go to Philly at the end of the month, to Fabric Row, to do some touching and feeling and buying of more fabric (not to mention my plans to check the yarn shops too); been wanting to upload some sketches I've been working on.....but whose got the time? Right now I've got to finish The Husband Scarf with matching Beanie Cap for the husband who says to the other parents in the pick up line, "Oh yeah, she loves to knit but she never makes anything for me."

By the Bug

....so as I was saying, I've been seriously bit by a creative bug this fall. Not only have I been buying way too many magazines



and way too much yarn and knitting more than I can keep pace with (in terms of photos to show you), I have also been struck with an urge to design my own patterns. For everything. I've been teaching myself to crochet (1/4th of a scarf done !!!) and have turned back to my absolute passion for sewing and designing. Yeah, Spouse added fuel to the fire when he surprised me with a brand new sewing machine for my birthday. Yeah, he's just that kind of guy. I had only said in passing, Gee I would love to have my own sewing machine one day to get back to my sewing and bam! there it was, next to my desk in my wee-little room that I call My Space with a card and a note that reminded me to make something for him too. It's not a Serger, it's not fancy, but it's enough to get me back on track to where I always wanted to be. I've been buying fabric and cutting shears and sketching my little butt off, too.




I have a sketch that I'm working on now for a halter dress in a beautiful fabric that I found almost two years ago and put aside for that One Day. At the middle of the dress, just beneath the breast, is a seed stitch knitted band, cumberbund style, designed to cinch the waist and to add a little sexiness. I'm going to cut the pattern in muslin first, just to make sure I get the right fit and shaping, sew it up and see what I get before I cut the real fabric. What I'm hoping to do is blend the three disciplines in my designs -- sewing, knit, and crochet. I absolutely love clothing that has just that one little added touch that makes it special. A simple blouse can be turned into something entirely different if it has beadwork or some kind of enbroidery or an interesting collar or border. I'm also working on several girly-girl purses. Some for my daughter and some for me during the summer, when you just want a little flirty something, just enough for the wallet, the book, the phone and maybe the planner. I even stumbled on this little joint here, that'll has lots of really nice handles at good prices.

So anyway, that's where I am now, if you've been wondering ....

Music to Knit To

...in case you haven't already discovered it, there's a juicy little spot called Pandora that lets you create your own listening station. music you can knit to.

i'm stuck on:



for obvious reasons. It ought to be a FEDERAL CRIME to be this fine.

Lock me up
Make me do time
for my black on black crime ....

Don't You Just Know....

....when you need a change? That just about sums up how my Fall has been. Full of 360 degree turns, hard turns left, then right, then left again. A sewing machine for my birthday, a big black sketchbook, colored pencils, and more ideas than I can handle in a day. But it's good. It's so damn good to feel my Self coming back to me again.

Anyone who's spent the lion's share of their life working in a profession that they really don't like will know what I mean. The hustle, the bustle, the putting up with people and personalities that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. The worriation (I know, I know....that's not a word, but I like it and I'm using it) about whether or not you're making enough money and whether or not you should do that corporate jig to move up the ladder to make more money to spend on stuff you don't really need. That profession you picked because you're the direct descendent of women who burned their bras and told you that you better not even THINK about wasting time or money - you were going to get a REAL job (read: something that involved a suit and too-tight stockings). Or that profession that you picked for money, not for love.

But soon enough, if you're paying attention .... if you have just the SLIGHTEST understanding of what it means to be mindful....you start hearing that little voice inside you getting louder and louder and louder still .... the voice of your wildest, childish dreams .... that AUTHENTIC you just waiting to find its rightful place back in your life. Front and Center.

You know when it's time to make a change.

Return On Investment?

Okay, so is Addi the ONLY one that makes size 19 circular needles in 47 inch? That's what the Yoke Dress in Vogue Knits is calling for. And the Addi's are $25.95 - for ONE friggin pair of needles. So I've gotta either a) check my LYS to find out if they have any (the online places are adding an extra $10 to the price of $15.95 and I don't know if that has something to do with shipping) or b) decide if I really want to make this Yoke Dress cause I can't imagine when I'll need another 47 inch cable. There are lots of others that have 19 inch needles but none with a 47 inch cable that I can find. Argh!

I know, I know....it's an investment .... but hey....aside from my winter knits...am I really gonna get a lot of mileage out of those needles?

Just thinking ....

Perfect-itis

Necia commented on the previous post and said something that my knit friend, JM, at work repeated....."Angel, come on out of that shell!"

I was telling JM how much I'd love to make this:



from the Fall Issue of Vogue Knits. And JM's thing is, "Well, what are you waiting for? You've gotta come out of that shell."

See, the issue with me is that I have a serious case of Perfectitis. My problem is not that I don't want to make beautiful and amazing and intricately designed beauties, it's that I want those beautiful and amazing and intricately designed beauties to come out RIGHT.....the first time. I absolutely hate making mistakes because I don't always know how to even fix the mistakes ... I have to schlep off to the LYS for help ... which is beyond annoying and, if I'm honest, intimidating. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one still stuck in first gear. Not only that, I'm not the best with selecting yarns. Some of these patterns call for yarn that's just a little bit beyond my budget (well, beyond my budget because I spend too much on books, but that's another story) and let's face it, it's not the design that makes it beautiful, it's the yarn.

So, take this Fair Isle for instance. I don't know a thing about switching yarns from one color to the next, which is why I really want to do it in a solid first. Second of all, I've never knit off of a chart and some of these charts are just downright confusing. You'd think a person who works in an Intensive Care Unit with wires and cables and tubes and I.V. lines all over the place could figure out a damn pattern....but no. I'm just one of those visual people who has to see things, has to have it laid out and clear as water.

So, needless to say, I'm gonna look for a KAL for this one. A group of folks who'll put up with my thousand and one questions. Let me know if you find one.