Every Day I'm Shuffling...

to get everything done.  I am still getting caught up on all of the Flower Girl dress orders and I do plan on getting Lucy's dress done for Halloween.  I have also increased my number of shifts at the restaurant (which received a four star review last week!).  The major victim in my life right now, receiving less attention from me, is the laundry.  I'm hoping that soon my husband will wake up to find that he has no clean undies and will then realize that he needs to help out.  But, alas!  He has found his passion, too.

My husband has taken on his own project, which I have aptly named: Project Driveway.  He has procured a 1994 Audi Cabriolet in non working condition that he is determined to transform into working condition. I would rather he would come home from work and declare his desire to play with the kids, do a couple of loads of laundry, empty the dishwasher, etc. so I can sew, sew, sew!

I really don't know where the time goes.

But, I have managed to get my designs done to get caught up with Project Runway. And I would like to give a shout out to Lucy for letting me use her box of 96 crayons to help illustrate these designs.

Enjoy!

So, the first is the challenge where the designers had to design garments for "real people."  They met with a man who would describe a perfect outfit for his lady.  I ended up designing for the woman who wanted something girly and pink for attending a wedding in.  The actual design made for her was the losing design.  My design is a layered, tiered chiffon wrap dress.  I love it and may create it someday:

The second design in this post is for the episode where the designers had to design a garment for a member of a rock band.  Again, I took the losing designer's client and redesigned something.  My idea here was to have a snakeskin leather pant in a deep brown red color and on top a gauze (think thin linen) bottom down shirt over a brick red jersey tank.  

And last week's challenge was to create a look inspired by the seventies, but still modern.  The first look was to be done with $150 and the second with $50.  The second could not be separates.

So, I am caught up on the design challenges now.  I am currently working on a new design (new to me) for a flower girl dress that is almost complete.  I also got my new tags in the mail.  They are really sharp - embroidered silver thread on white that say: Mousebee Couture with Cincinnati, Ohio underneath.  I will do a post on my flower girl dresses soon.

Now off to bed!

Create a Print - Team Challenge

I am finally catching up a little with the show as tonight a new episode airs and I don't want to get two episodes behind.  If I had more time, and I would love to revisit this idea later, I would have actually designed my own print using the website spoonflower.com.  And I didn't have a team to work with, so I just did my own print and one design.

My idea was inspired by my love of toile.  I love looking at the different stories a toile fabric is telling.  And I love discovering new and interesting designs.  My idea was to create a toile pattern based on "Mid Summer Night's Dream."  I have included a close up of the scene where Titania, under a love spell, is in love with the mortal, Bottom, who has had the unfortunate circumstance of having his head transformed to that of an ass.  The idea of my toile would be to have various scenes from the play throughout the fabric.

I thought a simple flared sundress would be the best canvas for this design and I just love the combination of green and blue!

Come As You Are

The first episode of Project Runway Season 9 gave the compete=ing designers the challenge to create something form using the pajamas they were wearing and the white sheets on their beds.  They could use dyes to change colors and trimmings.  The designs were all over the place and I did like the winning design.  The bottom designs were ones the were poorly constructed - jersey is unforgiving.  I am especially intrigued by one designer who has just learned how to sew and has only been sewing for four months.  She is brave and it will be interesting to see how far she goes. Anyway, here is my idea:

The focus would be on the skirt.  It would be whimsical, structured, artistic, and fun to wear.  I may make this one.

Can You Feel A Brand New Day

My 15 month old son slept through the night for the second night in a row last night.  The previous night was the first time that he had slept through the night since his birth.  Only if you have had children will you understand the full implication of what this all entails.  But let's not dwell on how it got to be this way, let's just acknowledge that after two full nights of sleep, I feel good.

And I am ready to get started.  This blog will be threefold.

1. I will follow the design challenges of Project Runway Season 9.
2. I will answer questions on the application.
3. I will read and master the book from the Basics The Ava Series on Fashion Design Construction by Anette Fischer.

 I will follow the design challenges of Project Runway Season 9.  I will take the parameters given, and design my own garment by sketching it out.  I will not, at this point, make the garment due to time and money restraints.  The items I do sew together are done so at intervals, as my life is full of interruptions.   Designers on the show are given the entire day to construct the works, which to many, this may seem impossible. But to me the idea of a day completely dedicated to sewing together something sounds like heaven.  I do promise to make some designs, however, as I progress.  Maybe you can help me decide which one(s) deserve to be created.

The only application for Project Runway that I could find online was from Season 6 as the casting for the show is not currently happening.  But I wanted to have an idea of what to expect.   There are some very thoughtful and some very silly questions on this application and I don't know if the same application is used every season, but it will good practice.   I have never tried to be on any show, let alone one that your performance and talent directly effects your being cast.  I have been paying attention to the previous seasons's designers and their backgrounds, noticing that there is a diverse group of ages, design backgrounds, and experience.  I am 33, which is older than most contestants, but not all.  I have had little formal training and am mostly self taught.  But I am exploding with ideas and have often watched the show judging for myself the final designs finding myself thinking, "That is all that they could come up with?"

However, that being said, I need more training in construction.  My "expertise" is in little girls' dresses, which  from a design point of view, is very different than creating clothes for grown ups.  Little girls do not have a waist line, but a round belly, and they have to chest, meaning no darts needed in the bodice.  Just recently I have had orders for dresses for older girls, which introduced me to creating darts.  But I will need to learn and practice more areas of construction and Ms. Anette Fischer's book will be my guide.

Find your passion

To the point, the object of this blog is to tell the story of my journey toward applying to be a contestant on Project Runway. I will, over the course of this blog, learn how to design and create all sorts of garments, from outer wear to mens' wear to swim wear. I will use the internet and books to build on my current knowledge of sewing and design. I will do all this all while raising two children, ages 3 and 1, working part time as a waitress, and keeping house.

Who am I and how I got to this point will be reveilled over time as my adventure unfolds. But know, for now, that I came late to the game of fashion design, majoring instead in something that I choose to pursue at the age of 17, only to discover after three years of using my degree, that I hated my job. Years and professions later, I sought out someone to teach me how to sew a dress for my infant daughter. One year after that I was teaching a sewing class on how to make dresses and I was creating a label and online store on Etsy.com selling children's wear.

I feel, now, that I missed my calling, but I feel like it's not too late. I also am a Reality TV junkie and always imagined myself in the contestants' place. So, I sew - for now as a creative outlet to keep a sense of self between potty training and baby weaning. But how fun it would be to challenge myself to apply for my favorite show about my favorite thing. I know that I need some more training, so I now will set forth to prepare myself, with projects and with following challenges. Come along. Watch. Or you can join me.