Spincycle Yarns + The Fiber Gallery: Pink Panther Custom Colorway

 

A few months back, The Fiber Gallery owner Mary, the Spincycle gals, and I started talking about developing a custom colorway for the shop to showcase at Madrona this year.

Thinking of Art Deco and floofy '50s dresses, I helped create a mood board, and Mary, my coworker Cathy, and I brainstormed a name for the colorway. Then we sent it off to Kate & Rachel at Spincycle HQ to work their magic - and oh my gosh, friends, it really is magic. Because yesterday afternoon, Pink Panther hit our doorstep, and when I opened up the box, my heart stopped with happiness for just a second.

Local folks can can come visit it at Madrona next week, exclusively at The Fiber Gallery's booth, where - let's be real here - I will probably be sitting in the corner petting and talking to it like a cat.

Happy Friday! Happy Yarn Day!

<3

Cory

Ballgown: Days 29-30 (Or, Adding It All Up)

30 days





15 yards of silk

64 buttons





And 250 hours

And we have achieved ballgown.

Thank you for following along with me on this journey. It's been an amazing 30 days, and I'm so glad that I was able to share it with you all. Thank you for all of your comments, support, and love this month - I appreciated your positive feedback and energy so much!

The next few days are prime rat snuggling, House-watching, pizza-eating, relaxing and knitting time. Then, onto the presentation - which is public (and free!) this next Saturday, August 9th, at 7:30 pm, at NYFA, if you're local and would like to come see my gown on a real, live person.

Happy Saturday, and happy ballgown!!!!
<333
Cory

Behind the Scenes

It's been almost a week since my spring collection debuted at New York Fashion Academy's 9th Annual runway show, and I'm just starting to recover from all the excitement - and let's be honest, from the complete exhaustion!  I couldn't be more proud of my models, dressers, and hair & makeup crew for making everything come together so perfectly.

Here's a few behind the scenes outfit photos - professional runway photographs and video to come!

Hair: Ngoc-Hien Nguyen from The Makeup Session

Makeup:  Andrea Chin from The Makeup Session

Shoes:  John Fluevog, graciously loaned by the Seattle Fluevog store.  Huge thanks to Brenda, Willy, and Roland for all of their help.

Hair flowers: Nancy's Sewing Basket, unless otherwise noted

Emma Dress: Boatneck dress in Liberty of London Tana Lawn.

Model: Erika Ray

Shoes: Fluevog Desmond in Ivory



Ondrea Cardigan, Natalie Camisole, and Stella Skirt:  Hand-knit lace and cable patterened cardigan in Brooklyn Tweed Loft [colorway Soot].  Fitted jersey camisole with rosette.  Silk crepe de chine flutter-hem skirt.

Model:  Amanda Sloan

Shoes:  Fluevog Marvel in Green

Hair flower from boutique in Kyoto



Betty Dress:  Silk/cotton damask cocktail dress with oversized pockets.

Model:  Katy Flynn

Shoes:  Fluevog Desmond in Yellow



Katy Blouse and Angelina Skirt:  Colorblocked sweetheart blouse with lace edging.  Silk charmeuse skirt with parasol lace overlay.

Model:  Kaelynn Brengman

Shoes:  Fluevog Marvel in Yellow




Christina Blouse and Alicia Skirt:  Silk charmeuse cowl-neck blouse.  Wool skirt with oversized pockets.

Model:  Nicole H.

Shoes:  Fluevog Caravaggio in Caramel Tan



Krista Dress:  Wool crepe sweetheart dress with gathered bodice and shoulders.

Model:  Philicia Jacques

Shoes:  Fluevog Paris in Beige Devilfish



Andi Cardigan, Natalie Camisole, and Gala Skirt:  Hand-knit lace and cable patterned cropped cardigan in Brooklyn Tweed Loft [colorway Hayloft].  Fitted jersey camisole with rosette.  Sueded silk crepe skirt with draped georgette overlay.

Model:  Nicole Yvonne

Shoes:  Fluevog Laura Evans in Black and Cream

My girls with Ngoc-Hien and Andrea, our fantastic hair & makeup team!

I can't thank everyone enough for their hard work, humor, and sheer awesomeness.  This has been an amazing experience!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Not-So-Still Life With Rat

I've been stalking my local Humane Society's webpage for weeks, waiting for the day that they would have a rat or two up for adoption.  A few months ago I put a shoebox in the backseat of the car and made sure the deluxe apartment cage was clean and ready for some rats to come home with me, but alas, it was not in the cards.  Ever since then I've been keeping my eyes out for a little boy rat or two who could come live with us.

And two days ago, lo and behold!  There were not one or two, but three rats at the Humane Society!

I went to check them out yesterday and came home with this little guy - I do wish he had a cagemate to keep him company, but it can be really difficult to introduce male rats to each other as adults, since he and the other two rats were all in separate cages.

Lumberjack and I have named him MacGyver, since we've been watching old episodes on Netflix.  Mac was super bouncy and inquisitive in his cage at the shelter, but he was very polite when I held him.  Right after I brought him home, I tore off a small piece of sharp cheddar cheese to share, and he sniffed it before gently taking it from me.

Om nom nom, indeed, little guy.

He is, however, a holy terror to photograph.

WIP: Pashmina Hat... and Fashion Writing!

The Pashmina Sockhead Hat is merrily rolling along.  It's been my car knitting for the last two weeks or so, and it's been really great to have during class.  I've been knitting an inch or two at a time, and switching to something else when I get bored.  I should really try to have mindless stockinette knitting around all the time... I think it really helps to have a project to work on while watching foreign movies or while really tired and unable to focus on complicated patterns.

I've been sort of thinking about starting a Plain and Simple Pullover to fill that role, out of this great color of Isager Strik Alpaca 2, a fingering weight merino/alpaca blend I bought specifically for that purpose.  Perhaps I'll do a gauge swatch soon, hmm-hmmm...

In other news: I got a fashion writing gig last week!  I reviewed Seattle University's Fashion Club's annual show for TheGlamourWire, a Seattle-based fashion news blog.  I had a lot of fun, got to work my writing-on-a-deadline muscles (thanks, college!) and overall, it was just a great experience.  Major thanks to Rachael from TheGlamourWire for the opportunity, and also to my friend Palomino, who went to the show with me, took a ton of pictures while I was furiously writing notes, and generally helped keep my brain from doing too many backflips.

You can check out the post here.

Appreciation, Both Stash and Life

So I've been a little laggy on posting this week, but I have a totally good reason why: I had a fashion job/internship interview today!  So Tuesday and yesterday were spent getting my resume and samples in order, and today I had the interview.  It went well, and I'm really excited to start!

So in the meantime, here's some eye candy.  This is a yarn called Verve, by the Unique Sheep, and I picked it up over Christmas on the Washington coast.  That electric purple was what really grabbed me - I'm a total sucker for jewel tones.

I'm thinking that I want to use it for something pretty simple, to showcase the color changes.  I gave my original Multnomah to Smith's in Oberlin as a shop sample when I left, but I did really enjoy making it.  It might be time for another!

Alright, now it's time to kick off my heels (literally), eat some leftover Korean food for dinner, and do a couple of rows on Harbour Lights.  Hope everybody is having a great week!