Time Turners, Lavender Milk Tea, and Anastasia

This week blazed on through in school. I am definitely ready for spring break. Although it will be spent working mainly. But hopefully I can fit some sewing done.

It was the last meeting for my Careers in Fashion class on Monday. Slightly sad as it was fun, however I have the same teacher for my History of Costume class and so I still get to see her. I finished the final projects early and finished the final in 10 minutes...at a loss of what to do until my next class 4 hours later, I went home and took a nap.  I finally remembered to bring in my pattern for the skirt in Clothing I; last week I only remembered the fabric -__- So I was able to full cut out the fabric. I'm really excited to get started on sewing my skirt, specially since I'll be wearing it down the runway for the spring fashion show.

Here you see my constant inability to share a table with anyone. I always take up double the actual desk space, cuz...deal with it.

I was sorely tempted to ditch my workroom sketching class, but womaned up and went. I'm so glad I did cuz we learned how to draw knits; cable, argyle, etc. My friend and I got called out in class for being at a level to draw our illustrations with shading in them. It's always awkward when a sentence starts with, "Ok so none of you need to do this, but oh! Tara and Tanya, you both should look into doing this for your sketches. You're ready." And when she went over our homework, my watercolors I did in a couple hours the night before she claimed were perfect and I should consider putting them into my permanent portfolio. I often wonder if these people are egging me on, but when she mainly chit chats with me and compliments my work, but goes to the next person and sits for a half hour giving suggestions and some critiques...it does make me wonder if I really am good at this and not being shined on.

My half-assed watercolors that turned out far better than I allotted time for and really feel I could do better but were well-liked anyways.

On Tuesday, I picked two of my besties from LAX as they were just getting back from their belated honeymoon in Ireland. It was so fantastic to see them again and I loved hearing their stories. One of my souvenirs they got was was a freaking time turner!!! Of course, I was elated and elected to wear it to class today as my modern adaptation. ;)

My friend Alex and I are now carpool buddies on Wednesdays so today was just a ball of fun. We both chose edgy lipsticks and the same silhouette for our outfits today. How serendipitous. We learned the Rococo styling in History of Costume and made lame jokes the whole time. Puns are our true nature. Then we walked to a boba place for our break as I've never had boba. I tried the lavender milk tea and it was quite lovely. I may have finally found a slight change from my beloved chai. We took selfies and had tumblr talks and I crashed more than one snap chat. She tried to talk me into getting one and we discovered my phone doesn't have it in the app store. (not gonna lie, pretty happy it wasn't).

Serging class started well and then went downhill fast. I was able to put my reconstructed shirt together pretty fast, specially with some help from my new Vanna, Alex. However, hemming it took the rest of the class period. It was on a different grain line where the hems were needed so of course it just wanted to roll up on itself and refused to keep a press. We ended up somewhat cheating on it. We just hemmed it all with a blanket stitch and then rolled the neck and sleeves under with a basic stitch on a single needle. The bottom hem, we just left in a blanket stitch as it technically is a finished edge XD But 3 hours of arguing and it refusing to stay pressed so we could do a pretty looking hem...we kinda gave up and lapsed into jokes. All the poses for pics for this blog ended into silly poses and non stop laughter.

The pattern in school is easily definable. Optimism, underestimating, frustration, near tears, full steam ahead, non stop laughter.

On our way to boba, I felt the need to take a quick photo op underneath this glorious archway.

A picture of today's outfit as I love it, yet hadn't worn it since my trip to England two years ago.

The backside of my finished reconstructed shirt.

The neckline stretched out greatly while hemming so we made a lot of Flashdance jokes. And somehow the shirt managed to look like a conscious choice in my outfit, not randomly thrown on top of it. Go me.

And ended with, "Grandmother! It's me, Anastasia!!" 

(not pictured, the numerous takes in between the first attempt where I managed to not laugh, until this one. All in between I was laughing like a loon"

Hot Mess to Grade A's

Another hell week down. I managed to get everything done just in the nick of time. And I also got some grades back from my Clothing 101 class. You all remember those pants? The ones that nearly drove me to tears in 3 jammed machines, broken needles, and a hot mess of a waistband before I pulled it together last minute? I got an A. And lots of comments on how ready-to-wear they look. :D I also got back our first test in the same class. I got an A on that as well.

My teacher then proceed to talk to the class about the upcoming fashion show. I've been going back and forth on entering. Somehow by the end of class....I entered into the fashion show. All of my teachers have been bugging me to enter. And now I'm freaking out. I have about a month to to make my skirt, turn it in as my second project for class....then turn it in and model it for the show....thas right....I'm entering an item....AND modeling. Oi....what have I done to myself.

I also sent my teacher for Careers in Fashion and History of Costume (same teacher) the link to my new website for some feedback. I got her email back right as I was walking into class with her, and so right as I was reading it, I got some verbal as well. She was amazed with how talented my photographer is. And loves the name for it. Here's a pic of the email (personal info cropped out):

It's kind of amazing feeling so supported by all of the faculty in the program. All of my teachers approve and encourage my goals. I haven't received anything less than an A in any class or project so far. And they push me to tackle more complicated projects than I feel ready for, and yet I accomplish them and they even look good after. Not a hot mess. 

In other related news, my grandmother recently (as in Saturday) sold her house. And is gifting me with her sewing machine and sewing table. I've been looking for a sewing table that will fit in my room for months, and suddenly this lands in my lap. I can't really believe it and am so grateful to her. It's the perfect height and size for my tiny room and the top folds out into a cutting table. I can't wait to bring it home and get my area set up. It'll be so nice to get things done at home instead of only in class. 

Wish me luck in getting my reconstructed shirt done in time for next week. Spent the entire class period yesterday trying to get a serger to work. The beginning of class had my teacher fighting for the title of being Murphy's Law incarnate, the end of class she ceded the title to me. The first machine we couldn't get a balanced stitch no matter what we tried. So I moved to an older model, spent forever threading it, only to find out the light turns on, but not the actual machine. Luckily, we traded the pedal out and got it to work with a perfectly balanced stitch from the get go. Which left me only 10 minutes to try and bust some work out. I got the seam on my sleeves and center back done. Then I hid the machine in the far back of the cabinet with a note begging to not change the threads or tensions. XD

Another Week in the Life

Proud to announce that after a lot of hard work, the website is almost totally up and running! I can't wait to share it all with you. Since we were last all here, I had the chance to do the first of what will be many photo shoots for the site. And I had so much fun. My photographer is a friend from school and church and we hadn't had a chance to really talk or catch up in years. So we just wandered around Downtown Fullerton, joking around and getting to know each better. 

When two up and coming professionals work together for the first time, it often feels like a first date. We get to know each other personally and professionally. And at the end, someone asks the awkward question of getting together again. Everything went fantastically, we work together really well. And when you guise see how wonderful the photographs look, trust me. More shall be happening. Her link is already up on my website. Support local artists and businesses. I can never emphasize that more. We have the passion, the talent and skills, and we're far more ethical. 

Putting together the site with my web developer/lady love has been entertaining. She lives in Vegas now and works graveyards, so trying to find time to work on it or even just talk on the phone to go over the knitty gritty....hilarious. So lots of late nights and early mornings for us both. But she's doing a fantastic job and is learning that working with me means having lots of things be more difficult than they should be. But she's a trooper, and honestly gets all the credit for the site. Right off the bat it was better than I had hoped it would be. 

I'm still putting that nose to the grindstone and churning out the good grades. It's a lot of work, but I love it all and wouldn't give it up for anything. I finally got my reconstructed pattern finished and can cut it out and get the shirt started. 

I really hope it turns out well, cuz I loved the shirt it came from. And I've never made a pattern before, so it was nice to get a better idea on how they work to get what you want. Obviously in basic terms and not very complicated....but still. 

Last Wednesday I, as usual, dressed up for class. It obviously was an attention grabbing outfit as everywhere I walked on campus I had people staring at me. But I looked good and knew it. So I just stared everyone right in the eye until they looked away. They all knew they couldn't have me, and were jelly of my confidence. I'm over not wearing things I want to because I'm afraid of getting attention or that it's too dressy for something. I'm just so over jeans and t shirts. I like to walk the line between adorable and risque. Just enough cuteness that no one can call me a hoe. ;) 

I also went on a nice, long walk between classes and snapped this pic. It was gloriously overcast that day and everything looked so pretty. 

And on that note, I have to leave you dolls again. No rest for the weary, and there's a pile of homework to do. Luckily, I did get an email stating one project's due date was pushed back a week....after I had finished it. XD Until next time. :)

First Hell Week Is Over

So many things have been happening it's ridiculous and extremely exciting. I'm noticing that all of my classes tend to have the bigger projects due all at the same time. And after a couple of presentations, I'm noticing that no one seems to have practice with public speaking. And because I am so comfortable with it, I will be forever grateful to my mom for having me in Rainbows and all my years in theatre and choir. Everyone takes me and my plans/goals far more seriously just because I can speak in coherent sentences without filler words (like, so, ummmmm). It's pretty great to not have people talking down to me on anything.

I have no had two tests in my History of Costume class, and I got 100% on the first test! Shibby. I also brought in a lot of my garb and my uncle's for a little show and tell. It was a massive hit. And the girls in class told me that it sounds like I already have a huge market for people wanting garb and that I should work on the skills needed to make those kinds of clothing. Which basically confirmed my plan to have a link on the website/shop for medieval garb/cosplay kinds of things. I just worry about making the website too confusing in what I'm doing/selling...I may have to run two different websites.

I finally finished my linen pants. It was a nightmare and a half. While trying to finish them, 2 different machines jammed on me, the third snapped my needle, and the fourth finished my garment but constantly unthreaded itself. However! They are finished and my teacher said they looked wonderful. I did have to turn them in without ironing them, which slightly bothers me...but I can always iron them again when I get them back hopefully on Monday.

My birthday was last week, and one of my presents was the light table I wanted!! Huge thanks to my sister for that. It instantly was a massive help for my sketching class and now for my serging class while making patterns. We are currently deconstructing a garment in that class and making a pattern from it. Because my knit sweater was stretched out, it's becoming a pain just to make the pattern, but I just know it'll be great as I'm not rushing it and moving at a slow and steady pace. A lot of people rushed through and now the pieces aren't matching up at all. I got back the first project we turned in for the class (the maxi skirt if you remember from the last post) and I'm excited to say I got a 97/100 on it!!!

Because it's such a tangible thing to be graded on, I feel incredibly validated and so excited to keep moving forward.

We just got the dates on the fashion show for the year and I'm trying to decide if I want to enter something in or just model for it. No matter what, I want to be a part of it. I'm just nervous as so many problems crop up last minute lately...I wonder if I should develop my skills a bit more...

Big changes are coming to the blog/site soon so keep your eyes peeled! Until next time, here are some pics from the last week!

Feels amazing to finally finish these pants and see that they are definitely wearable. :)

French curves are quickly becoming my friend in my serging class. Just started learning how to recreate a pattern.