FO: Ephemera Lookbook, Spring Collection 2013

 

 

Ta-da!  I picked up my lookbooks from the printer this afternoon, and they are exactly what I wanted.  My presentation is tomorrow, so I've been running around trying to get my ducks in a row.  I'm really glad I did some planning ahead and took these to the printer last Wednesday - that way I have them in hand the day before I need them, and it's one less thing to worry about.  No matter, though - my brain has resorted to stress dreams in order to both consciously and subconsciously torment me.  Last night I dreamed that I showed up to our silent auction, which is raising money for the fashion show, and didn't bother to bring the items I've collected to auction off.  Thanks for the reminder, brain!

It's kinda silly, actually, because I've already put so much work into planning this collection that presenting it is simply the last step.  But I'm stressing out about it anyways, because the collection has become my baby in the last few months, and I really want to do a good job.

So about the line: it's called Ephemera, and it's nine pieces including separates and dresses.  I named each piece after an inspiring woman in my life - some are friends of mine, some are real people whom I've never met, and some are fictional characters.  I really wanted the collection to feel like it could fit into the closets of real people, so it was fun to think about who would wear what, and why.

And as a sneak peek, here is my swatch (in prototype yarn) for the cable and lace pattern for the two cardigans.  I'm not happy with the ribbing beneath the cable, so I'm going to be swatching again soon, but I am in love with the garter stitch background and the transition from the ribbing into the diamond lace pattern.

Progress

  

It's just about 1:30 on a Friday.  So far today, I've cleaned the bathroom, washed a load of laundry, gone to the printer's to check my lookbook proof, put together some important paperwork, taken pictures for this post, and surprisingly, not collapsed on the floor from sheer exhaustion and relief.  I have a headache and I haven't had a cup of coffee yet today - perhaps the two are related? - but I've been working so hard for so long, and things are finally starting to come together and it is so frigging exciting.

So what about the pictures?

Well, they are two things that I find amazingly beautiful right now.

First:  the yarn is a skein of - yep, you probably already guessed it - Prairie.  A few weeks ago when I went to Churchmouse with my friends to get some Loft for the sweaters in my line, I also came home with this beauty.  The colorway is called Spectrum, and it makes me think of galaxies and Impressionist paintings and my aunt and uncle's lake on a summer day.  I have no idea if this color works with my skin tone, but I think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

And the second?

The other day I went up to meet Lumberjack after work, but before that I went to Blick to pick up some paper for my technical board. My technical board and lookbook are based on the same content, but my board needs to have all of my looks, ordering, sizing and color information on it, to use as a visual aid during my presentation.

Basically, I wanted a nice heavy paper that would show the true, saturated colors that I'm using for my line. I also worked really hard on the illustrations, so I wanted the layout to be really simple and pretty to look at. I had printed out the pages on regular copy paper and was disappointed with the colors, so imagine my delight when Lumberjack helped me print all nine looks out on the nicer paper, and the result was this.

The paper is Canson Infinity BFK Rives, and I would absolutely recommend it for high-quality printing. 'Cause damn. The colors are perfect. The type is crisp. The layout looks clean and professional, to toot my own horn. I have to crop a half an inch off of each side, but other than that, these are exactly how I envisioned my looks. And it feels pretty awesome.

Happy Friday!

Pre-Blocking: Flower Market Shawl

  

Well geez.  I blinked and all of a sudden I had finished Flower Market!  This is probably because after four or five days of very little progress, I knitted up a storm all weekend.  I knitted in the evenings while watching Arrested Development.  I knitted after finishing my articles for The Glamour Wire - which are here and here, if you want to read them.  I knitted during Thesis class, and then I cast off during Thesis class, and I felt very proud of myself.

The shawl is very crinkly right now, but it's still about 18.5" at the spine.  I'll be interested to see how big it blocks out.

I'm also feeling a little better about my stash after finishing this shawl.  In only two months, I've knit two whole large shawls, and my momentum has kept up so far.  Which is good, because I've lusting after (and occasionally buying) Prairie with reckless abandon ever since knitting this fast, addictive Ene's Shawl:

Which was now about a year ago, I think?  Man, time flies.  Anyhow, I loved Prairie's twist and hand, complex colorways, and amazing airiness so much that I've picked up a skein whenever I get a chance.  It's one of the less-common Madelinetosh yarns carried in stores, so it's a treat to find a shop fully stocked with lots of colors that I can drool all over.

In other news, yesterday I spent the whole day at school working on my lookbook for a presentation I have next week, so hopefully I'll get to share the physical copies soon!  I've learned so much about computer illustration, graphic design, and layout from working on this project, and I'm excited to have an end product.

Wedding Dress

  

So during my trip to Ohio, I went thrifting with my friend Sparkle, which has become one of our traditions when I visit.  We covered two Goodwills, a Salvation Army, and a great little shop called New to You, which always has a good selection of vintage shoes, hats, dresses, and separates in addition to its contemporary resale items.

And it feels a little like fate that on that particular day a few weeks ago, I decided to go upstairs at New to You to look at their gown selection.  There were two different rooms, and the first had a few racks of recent prom dresses and general eveningwear - nothing super special.  The second, smaller room had a big rack of petticoats and a half-off rack with some older wedding dresses, sparkly poly dresses from the seventies, and somehow, miraculously, this pristine sequined Emma Domb gown from the early sixties.

Sparkle encouraged me to try it on, and I barely needed convincing.  She closed the door to the second room and I sneakily changed out of my shirt and tried the dress on.  And oh man.  It fit perfectly, and the print and sequins were just enough to make it really special, and the neckline was classic but flattering.

So I've tried on a few dozen wedding dresses, and although I looked pretty in some of them, none of them ever made me feel.... bridal.  All of those bridal shows have this whole story about how you'd cry when you put on the right dress, but I remained skeptical of this phenomenon, because big poofy beaded satin princess dresses just don't get me that worked up.

But while I was standing there in that little crowded room full of old plastic-wrapped wedding dresses and racks of giant petticoats, I looked at myself in the mirror and I could imagine standing in front of all of my friends and family in that dress on a hot August afternoon, about to marry my favorite person on the planet.  And I started feeling a little choked up.  (Sheesh, I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.)

And then I looked at the price tag.  $180.  Nope, not even that - half off $180.

My wedding dress was frigging $90, and since I decided to go to Oberlin on a whim less than a month before, it was a total fluke that I was in Ohio at all, much less the second story of that resale shop, on that day, to find it.

Long story short, I called Lumberjack to tell him that I found my wedding dress and that I was going to  probably buy it, and I put my clothes back on and marched downstairs with My Dress and I bought the shit out of it.

A little less than two weeks later, and I'm still enamored with it.  I love that it's vintage, I love that I bought it with one of my best friends from Oberlin, I love that it's non-traditional.  I love that it has a great story.  And I can't wait to wear it for real.