Okay, so I finally finished my garments. Well, finished? I still had to do the buttonholes and ran out of thread; how silly is that? I've had no time this week to buy any, so I'm off to the Gambia with RTW stuff instead of any of the things I was working on. Too bad, that's what you get when you plan too many things to do in a week...
My WM and I are off for two weeks of bliss in a small family-run hotel, and with the malaria pills we have stacked, I'm hoping to report back to you early October! Take care and talk to you soon! X
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Friday, 12 September 2008
Simply Supreme!
As I've mentioned before, the Victoria & Albert museum is currently hosting the exhibition "Fashion V Sport", and I thought I should check that one out. First, there was an entrance fee of GBP 5 for this exhibition - I'm not used to paying because practically all museums here are free - and then the lady at the counter was friendly enough to also point out the "Supremes" exhibition that is currently showing (for another 5). Oh what the hey, let's do them both!
Fashion V Sport did not give a lot of background information, and although (some) the models on show were interesting, there's only a certain amount of time I can look at a pair of sweatpants with only the designer's name and "jersey" on the descripion panel, when there must be so much more to tell about the actual design. I think in total there were 30 to 40 outfits on show in quite a small area, but I was not allowed to take pictures (I did manage to snap one), so you're just going to have to see for yourself. I then went on to the Supremes exhibition. Oh! The sparkles! The sequins! Sleeves so long you could trip over them, great music in the background, and: a bit of information about politics and racism in the 60s to put the success these ladies had in perspective. All in all a more interesting exhibition (in my eyes), and: I was allowed to take pictures!
After seeing that next door at the Natural History Museum they're getting ready for London Fashion Week, I went on a walk to Chelsea Harbour to have a look at the shops in the Design Centre. According to the online phone book that I used to create my map of London fabric shops, there should be loads of fabric shops there. And there were! All interior design though, and all of them only showrooms, so no chance of bringing anything home. I did see some beautiful fabrics and got a few ideas for future use, but was afraid to ask how much they would cost me...
Fashion V Sport did not give a lot of background information, and although (some) the models on show were interesting, there's only a certain amount of time I can look at a pair of sweatpants with only the designer's name and "jersey" on the descripion panel, when there must be so much more to tell about the actual design. I think in total there were 30 to 40 outfits on show in quite a small area, but I was not allowed to take pictures (I did manage to snap one), so you're just going to have to see for yourself. I then went on to the Supremes exhibition. Oh! The sparkles! The sequins! Sleeves so long you could trip over them, great music in the background, and: a bit of information about politics and racism in the 60s to put the success these ladies had in perspective. All in all a more interesting exhibition (in my eyes), and: I was allowed to take pictures!After seeing that next door at the Natural History Museum they're getting ready for London Fashion Week, I went on a walk to Chelsea Harbour to have a look at the shops in the Design Centre. According to the online phone book that I used to create my map of London fabric shops, there should be loads of fabric shops there. And there were! All interior design though, and all of them only showrooms, so no chance of bringing anything home. I did see some beautiful fabrics and got a few ideas for future use, but was afraid to ask how much they would cost me...
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Measure twice, cut once
One of the challenges I faced when I moved to the UK, was figuring out how inches converted into centimeters and the other way round. Rule of thumb: 1 inch = 2,5 centimetres. Brilliant, I knew that! However, when I asked the guy at the fabric shop last weekend how wide the fabric was and he told me it was 59 inches, I drew a blank. It was probably the excitement of looking at the gorgeous fabric that left me at a complete loss as to how much that was in centimetres. When he told me he didn't know either, I was a bit surprised.
If only I had remembered the conversion table that I had in my bag, it would have been a lot easier (especially since even though he had no idea how many centimeters we were talking about when we were discussing the width, when I asked him to cut off 4 metres for me, he did so without hesitation). Makes you wonder. Well, me anyway.
So I thought I'd better share the following information with you, although I don't know if there are more people out there suffering from brain freeze as soon as numbers come up in the fabric shop (I always feel a slight black-out at the check-out counter, for example...)
Let's have a look at the yellow example in the top line. Suppose you want to make a skirt, and because you're used to buying 150cm wide fabric, you knew you would need 1 metre (= 100 centimetres, I LOVE metric!) for that. Now you're in the fabric shop, and you see the most gorgeous fabric, but it's only 90cm wide. Before you let panic take over, a quick look at the conversion table would tell you that you would need 160cm (=1.6mtr) for your skirt! Cool eh?
If only I had remembered the conversion table that I had in my bag, it would have been a lot easier (especially since even though he had no idea how many centimeters we were talking about when we were discussing the width, when I asked him to cut off 4 metres for me, he did so without hesitation). Makes you wonder. Well, me anyway.
So I thought I'd better share the following information with you, although I don't know if there are more people out there suffering from brain freeze as soon as numbers come up in the fabric shop (I always feel a slight black-out at the check-out counter, for example...)
Let's have a look at the yellow example in the top line. Suppose you want to make a skirt, and because you're used to buying 150cm wide fabric, you knew you would need 1 metre (= 100 centimetres, I LOVE metric!) for that. Now you're in the fabric shop, and you see the most gorgeous fabric, but it's only 90cm wide. Before you let panic take over, a quick look at the conversion table would tell you that you would need 160cm (=1.6mtr) for your skirt! Cool eh?
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue!
Last weekend I managed to "inspire" my friend Vanessa to join me in a ridiculous weekend plan. Friday night: Dinner and a few drinks, Saturday: go to New Covent Garden Market very early in the morning, and then see what else we want to do later on in the day (maybe check out the new exhibitions at the V&A?). The market's website stated they were open from 3am until 10am, so we were smart and went to sleep reasonable early to be able to get up at 7 and be at the market on time. Normally I'm not one to get up early if I don't have to, but the prospect of visiting the largest fresh produce market in the UK somehow got me excited (I miss the farmer's markets from home). After drinking quite a lot of coffee (and me finally realising that Vanessa's clock was 20 minutes early, not just 2), we walked to the market. When we got there it was around 8 and very quiet; a few people were cleaning up...and one of them told us they had finished "half an hour ago". The market starts at 1 am and finishes at 8 (!!). This obviously hadn't been altered on their website yet. Duh! And a good morning to you too!
We decided to make the most of the fact that we had got up so early, and went home for another coffee before setting off to Brixton Market: Meat and fish stalls, fruits and vegetables like I'd never seen before (I actually had to ask what some of the stuff on display was!).
In Electric Avenue and Atlantic Road we found not only the market stalls, but also a few fabric shops (see my map here). Of course I couldn't resist to go in, and in the second shop, S&S Textiles, I found some gorgeous suiting: a wool navy pinstripe, and a brown cashmere. Yes I did. And at £10,00 per meter I couldn't leave it there, now could I? Now all I have to do is finish the Irish linen set (trousers done, jacket almost done, skirt cut), and I'll be ready for some Autumn sewing. That is, if I completely overlook the two tops I still have to make that will go with the linen set, but who would blame me for wanting to get my scissors into that cashmere?
We decided to make the most of the fact that we had got up so early, and went home for another coffee before setting off to Brixton Market: Meat and fish stalls, fruits and vegetables like I'd never seen before (I actually had to ask what some of the stuff on display was!).
In Electric Avenue and Atlantic Road we found not only the market stalls, but also a few fabric shops (see my map here). Of course I couldn't resist to go in, and in the second shop, S&S Textiles, I found some gorgeous suiting: a wool navy pinstripe, and a brown cashmere. Yes I did. And at £10,00 per meter I couldn't leave it there, now could I? Now all I have to do is finish the Irish linen set (trousers done, jacket almost done, skirt cut), and I'll be ready for some Autumn sewing. That is, if I completely overlook the two tops I still have to make that will go with the linen set, but who would blame me for wanting to get my scissors into that cashmere?
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
KNIPmode monthly overviews
I'm still trying to get my KNIPmode delivered in London, but for the moment it's still being sent to my parents in Holland. They were visiting last weekend, and brought me the September copy.
I was not very impressed with most of the patterns, although I did like the felt jacket (#1). But maybe that's just because you don't need to finish the seams...
Have a look trough the overview pages that I have so far. I will be adding more as I receive them. Should anyone have a July '08 issue available: I would like to buy it from you, if you let me!
I was not very impressed with most of the patterns, although I did like the felt jacket (#1). But maybe that's just because you don't need to finish the seams...
Have a look trough the overview pages that I have so far. I will be adding more as I receive them. Should anyone have a July '08 issue available: I would like to buy it from you, if you let me!
EDIT: I was made aware of possible copyright problems, so I have had to remove the link to the files. Apologies for any inconvenience caused!
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