Wall Art and Fabric Craft

Having spent the last year doing nothing but sewing I decided it was time to spend a little time before I forget how to and actually paint. There is no point is showing the process, with oils it is a very slow one. I have however painted a set of Christmas tree decorations for my neighbour, one has a black retriever on one side and a mixed terrier on the other while  the second decoration has a husky on one side and a samoyed on the other. Not great depictions because they are painted on ceramic heart shapes and as such don't really lend themselves to the subject matter. Never mind, the human for the 4 dogs loves them.


Here is the original painting of the terrier I painted on the decoration, this one was done for Christmas before last, her name is Raina, she is a mixed breed and is now 19 years old. She spends her days with us and goes home to her mummy in the evening again.

I have also spent some time and managed to paint 2 out of 5 rabbits (my daughters), both of them deceased. Unfortunately we have also just lost another one, the eldest and she died of old age, so I have found a suitable pose and now just have to paint her. She will, however, have to wait as confirmation season is once again upon us. Last year we had a first communion, the older sister to my daughter's godchildren had her first communion, this year it is the turn of their older brother and it is his confirmation. It is being held mid week and as it it also on the same day as my daughter is in college for the morning (learning acrylic nails) it will be a very busy day. I am left to return yet again to the sewing machine to make the outfits.

This painting is of Fluffy, she died last year (and was painting using acrylics). Unfortunately the photo of the painting of Sparky - a pure white fluffy rabbit who had a habit of looking as though he had stuck his paw in a light socket - is hanging up out of the way waiting for the oils to dry enough so that it can come into contact with the airborn cat and dog hair without the painting resembling a furry blob. Not being tall enough, and because it is behind glass, I can't get a decent photo so that one will have to wait a while.

Hey ho, at least I enjoy both sewing and painting so it is more finding time to fit it all in rather than looking at a chore that needs doing.
Until next week when, hopefully, there will be photos of the clothing made, photos of the children will not be shared, not least as the parents do not believe in social media.

Uniform Trousers for the Desperate

What do you do when medication makes you blow up (OK, not literally but I reckon putting on 4 stone or 56lb in 4 weeks is fairly close) and you no longer fit your uniform trousers. Then you have a big event coming up (St. Patrick's Day Parade) coming up, they don't make trousers with a big enough waistband to fit you, you HAVE to be in uniform and you can't miss the event - due to many of the others being in multiple groups meaning they are in the parade representing other activities.
For me there is really only one simple, and quick, answer and that is to find some grey fabric, hopefully in a shade near enough to the uniform to pass muster. Luckily when I went onto www.vibesandscribes.ie they had cotton poplin in a dark grey. I know on-line photos are iffy but I thought I would take a chance and order it. (Free shipping on orders over Euro40.00 so a quick addition of some buttons and bright yellow bias binding plus some magnetic bag clips and I was away. The fabric arrived the following day - full marks to An Post for quick delivery, pity that the postman keeps putting everybodies post in the wrong letterboxes. On opening the parcel the grey is a near perfect match for my old trousers. Now all I had to do was draft out the pattern on the fabric, remembering to add all the cargo style pockets on the legs.
Luckily I'm rather good at drafting patterns - practice makes perfect and as I've just totally revamped my capsule wardrobe I've had lots of practice. The main problem that I can see is the joy of putting in the front zip, I hate doing this and, to be honest, I don't like wearing trousers that have them. But needs must, and they have to look as much like the real thing as possible. Head Office (and I shall remain silent on which group they are) is very strict on uniforms but they also can't discriminate against me on size so I have to be as accurate as I can, and this includes a front fly zip. (Rats).
The day approached, I cleared my work desk and laid out half of the fabric, folded in half down the middle lengthwise. Some careful measuring, adding of darts on the waistband, marking out for pockets, ensuring the rise is sufficient to make sitting comfortable when on duty for long periods of time (special olympics coming up) and that the waistband is loose enough that I can drink, eat and breathe, not to mention bend over, but tight enough that I can also stand up without them falling down. Holding my breath I finished and tried them on. Oh the joy of a pair of trousers that fit, especially as my husband is in the parade so can't be on duty and my daughter is out at another St. Patrick's Day event so can't help either. Now all I have to do is find the shirt, jumper, hat, tie, shoes, and first aid bag and I'm ready to go.



Edit: The parade went off great, cold and windy but not wet for once. No incidences, not even a safety pin needed like last year. Trousers turned out to be the wrong shade but no worries. I have since found what is called uniform grey twill and have purchased enough to make two, maybe three pairs. If this is the wrong colour it will be such a minute difference in tone that hopefully no-one will be able to tell the difference.

Have a happy easter everyone.

Capsule Wardrobes: Decision Time

Seasonal Colours and Capsule Wardrobes

Part 3b

So decide on your dress preference. In many senses dresses on their own are both easy and difficult, easy in that there is only one item but difficult in that you can't mix and match, and the most successful capsule wardrobe is based on a mix-and-match of items. Here is an example out of my winter capsule. I have 4 dresses – ivory daisies with pink centers on navy, teal daisies with dark red centers on ivory, dark tan leaves on light tan background and light tan with a mixed pattern. Then I have 7 pairs of trousers in differing styles, bright red, dark red, navy, brown, green, medium pink, blue. The combinations are many, patterned light tan with brown, red, blue, green or pink, navy with navy or pink, teal with teal or dark red. I also have a couple of sleeveless over-dresses to add layers and more interest in dark red or navy lace plus a couple of maxi dresses which have a multi floral pattern and can be worn over almost any trousers. This means that I have more than enough clothing to take me through a week without needing to duplicate my look and also means that I only need to do laundry twice a week (great saving on energy here). Come spring (and I am doing this now) some of the colours go away and others will come out, so brown, dark red and teal disappear until autumn/fall and blue, yellow and green appear. A bonus is that all my clothing fits in 2 fairly large plastic boxes with the current season's clothing in a much smaller box which sits on top of the others. This means that my clothing is readily accessible, storing it rolled up means that it doesn't get wrinkles, can be kept moth free, no need of smelly laundry detergent/fabric softeners as I use lavender sachets or cedar wood for scents, no need of a space wasting wardrobe/closet as the boxes stack and can be used to display items on top as well.

Please note that I have not included underwear, shoes or other accessories in the above lists. Underwear is personal to each different person, I prefer to wear a number of different thin layers because we don't keep the house at summer temperatures all year round (winter the average temperature would be around 50degF/10degC) and layering means that you keep warm much more easily and it also means that when we go out we don't need to take really heavy winter coats with us which then become a problem as soon as we go into a supermarket or shopping mall where the heat is enough to cause you to nearly pass out when wearing the coat, or you can take it off and then worry about carrying it plus all your shopping which still makes you hot. In my case this means that I have colour matched under-dresses (think mediaeval chemises) which can be worn as a petticoat under a maxi dress or as a maxi dress on their own beneath a slightly shorter kurti/dress worn over the top with trousers underneath. So this part of my underwear box is colour co-ordinated to the season. I also wear scarves all the time so these are also colour co-ordinated to match in with the season but also thickers ones in winter and thin chiffon in summer. Shoes – I have a couple of pairs as they do take up space, and this is in short supply in a tiny house but my daughter has lots of them (again stored in plastic boxes so they don't take up too much space) and they match with the couple of handbags/purses that I have, again different colour for each season. They are in neutral colours and match in with everything I have – navy, cream/ivory, brown (leopard print), plus 2 pairs of boots, one tan and one black. Handbags are leopard print, dk brown, orange for winter and ivory/baby pink/pale grey floral, pale yellow and cream for summer. They all fold down and fit nicely together inside a single box. I also have a couple of faux leather shopping bags that I use when shopping, better than plastic bags or the paper ones that always rip when you are stepping over a puddle of water or spilled ice-cream and when a scarf is tied around a handle in the latest colour for that year they are instantly updated. I have one in mustard for summer and one in tan for winter. I also have a number of those bags that fold up into a tiny ornate packet which are designed to sit in your bag until needed or are simple fabric tote bags, again ideal for shopping and they all fold up nicely into my shopping bag until needed.

If you are serious about having a capsule wardrobe so that you always have something to wear while having less clothing and space in your wardrobe/closet then you need to sit down with a pencil and paper and make several columns. See charts below for an example I found in one of my books. Equally there are a number of books out there that will give you a list of the basic necessities for a working girl – Color Me Beautiful to name but one. Fill in the chart, then sit and look at it. Fill in the second chart and then compare the two. Decide what you want to do with the extras (I favour a local charity shop when I decide to change one outfit for a new one, or as a seamstress I recycle the item(s) into something for someone else or something around the house (pillow case, cushion cover, part of a patchwork quilt, tote for shopping). Often a dress can be made into a nightdress or pair of pyjamas with a matching trousers for the bottoms. (My daughter's nightwear collection is all mix-and-match so that she just pulls out a pair or PJ bottoms and a PJ top and she knows they will go together without even having to think about it).

Based on the one found in an old book, please be honest and include EVERYTHING in your wardrobe/closet. You may need to expand the chart to cope.

Items you have	Leisure home	Leisure gym	Work	Dressy casual	Dressy formal
Skirts
Dresses
Jackets
Trousers
Blouses
Tops
Shoes
Bags
Scarves/hats
Wraps/coat/ anoraks
Waistcoat (vest)/slipover

This table below is for my Spring capsule, many of the items were carried over from winter and some will go on again into summer.

Items I have	Leisure home	Leisure gym	Work	Dressy casual	Dressy formal
Trousers	Blue, pink,	blue	Navy, ivory, pink, orange	Green, yellow, ivory	Beige silk
Dresses maxi	Yellow plain, yellow gingham	Yellow gingham		Green/ivory stripe	Navy cotton lace
Kurti midi	Floral misc.	N/A	Navy,	Yellow/ivory, yellow/green	Beige beaded lace & silk
Kurti short	Pale blue, misc.floral	Blue,	navy/ivory floral
Scarves	Plain ninja style	Plain ninja style	Navy, grey, pink,	Pink, grey,	Plain beige ninja
Shoes	Slippers, mules	canvas	Navy, brown	Navy, brown,	Brown leather
Bags	N/A	Gym bag	Navy, brown	Navy, brown	Brown leather
Gloves	N/A	N/A	Navy, brown, black	Navy, brown, mauve/black	Brown leather
Wraps/coats	N/A	Blue hoodie	Brown check, yellow wool, red, dk red lace slipover	Brown check, mauve wool check,	Beige silk and lace
Jewellery	N/A	N/A	Acrylic cross, fake pearls,	Leaf pendant, fake pearls, acrylic cross,	pearls

This isn't everything I included because of the seasonal part, but it is a fairly accurate one for winter last (the 2 brown outfits are new). Include items that you really need but only the basics. Think, do you really need/fit/use/wear this item or is it just sitting in the closet unworn/too large or small/doesn't suit. This table is based on the one I made for myself, yours will be different because your clothing choices are YOURS and not mine.
You ;may not go to the gym (or out running or whatever) but you may spend time shopping, and you may spend time eating/drinking out with friends. In this case you wouldn't have leisure gym but you might instead put casual shopping, casual dressy (eating out, cinema etc.) or if you have kids and don't have time to go anywhere you might instead include shopping with kids, teacher/parent nights, monthly night out with girlfriends, Customise to fit your lifestyle, but remember that to be successful the clothing you have left must mix and match. This means that that bright pink jacket that looked fabulous in the shop but which matches nothing in your wardrobe either goes to a charity shop/sold on ebay or you put it to one side, think about it for a week and then if you can't do without it – because you really really like it – then you go and find something to wear it with. That might be a couple of neutral dresses or skirts/trousers and top that match and can be worn with a contrasting jacket that will really make them pop. If you don't have lots of money to spare for new clothing it is well worth your while – if you can't already – to go to classes or find a friend who can and learn to sew. I was lucky enough to learn at school but my mother could sew as well so both my brother and I were able to sew from a young age. Now I am able to easily update my wardrobe with clothing (especially since I found a great shop which not only has an actual shop but also sells on-line – www.vibesandscribes.ie – and they have a great range of dressmaking and quilting fabrics (and both can be used for either). There are many other good on-line shops out there and the shipping costs are great if they are in your country of residence, otherwise the shipping costs (especially from the US to the rest of the world) are prohibitive. Give it a go because it is very rewarding and you will never again be wearing the same as somebody else (plus the item will last and be cheaper than many items purchased in stores).a

Lastly, below is another gem found on Pinterest. This is a very basic capsule wardrobe, pared back to the minimum but there is enough there for both work and entertaining (at home or out). You can go shopping, spend a day in the country or a main shopping street, go to work and then add a couple of items before going out for the evening, basically a simple everyday selection without any specialist items eg: for the athletic type or the gym afficionado or the person who spends their spare time mucking out the stables and riding ponies.

Until next week: take care, have fun, enjoy life, look out of the window and see the new shoots springing up as the weather slowly warms up for the new season (in the northern hemisphere. Southern hemisphere the trees are slowly losing their leaves, the mornings are getting darker and cooler and autumn/fall is in the air with winter following on behind).

Capsule Wardrobes, Ideas

Seasonal Colours and Capsule Wardrobes

^{Part 3a}

Sorry for the gap last week but yet again weather intervened. This time we had snow, and whilst it wasn't enough to take out our power or internet (although many parts did lose both, we did have frozen pipes so water was from large plastic jerrycans filled at the house of a friend who had water (but no power). Luckily we have a fabulous neighbour who loaned us 3 20 gallon jerrycans plus a very large electric radiator (he was worried we might get cold but the insulation in some of these old places is quite amazing and while it went down as low as 6degC/42.8degF overnight most of the days were spent around a very pleasant 10degC/50degF. At present it is a warm 16.8degC/62.24degF with no heating on, just the warm air outside coming in through the vents plus whatever the uv heating bit is that comes in through glass. Luckily our heating bills are virtually nothing which makes a very nice change, (we spend about Euro10/£8.86/US$12.30 per week on all our electrical needs – heating, lighting, fridge and 2 freezers, charging phones/laptops etc. - with gas for cooking, we couldn't spend less if we tried and it makes an incredibly lassez faire difference knowing that there are no huge bills coming in the post cause we just put a tenner on each week – pre pay – and we're done.) I can't recommend living in a tiny house highly enough, although we would be better in a couple of tiny houses given we have 4 adults in one tiny house, problem when we all have different work-at-home needs and more office space really would be good but hey, tiny is cheaper living expenses so can't complain.

And this brings me nicely into this weeks topic which is capsule wardrobes. I have been researching into capsule clothing wardrobes for a couple of months now and the first thing I have noticed is that everybody has a different definition of 'capsule wardrobe'. Some encompass everything under the one heading, others split work and leisure into 2 different groups, others split things up even further by adding in going-out, staying-in, working-out, sports and so on. So I have gone for a relatively painless version of my own which includes regular change as part of the collection. Basically I have 4 capsules, one for each of the seasons. I freely admit that some items change between all seasons, these are my neutrals that cover almost any occasion, but I have tried to take the colours from my seasonal chart – deep going into warm autumn – and split them into colours that epitomise, for me, the different seasons. So here goes:

Winter - navy, ivory, dark red, green, teal, brown, pink

Spring - navy, ivory, green, yellow, blue, pink,

Summer - navy, ivory, green, yellow, orange, blue, pink, misc. floral,

Autumn - (or fall for the Americas) navy, brown, orange,green, blue, pink, dark red, teal.

If some of the colours seem to keep recurring it is because some of my dresses have several colours in them, for example I have ivory daisies with pink centres on a navy background, this dress is worn with navy, ivory or pink. Equally one of my tan dresses has red, pink, baby blue and green in the pattern so again this can be worn with any of these colours. This means that I have some new items every season while equally others get put away until needed in another 3 months or so.

Colour chart below (courtesy of Pinterest) shows the basic colours for deep autumns, there are many more in more detailed charts, plus the all season neutrals have been omitted – navy, grey, white (pure, winter or creamy) etc.

Next you need to decide on what you LIKE to wear, not what others think you should wear. My own personal choice is a dress and trousers (based on the Indian salwar kameeze/kurti look, but loosely classed as Indo-western), and the dress can be knee length or ankle length, have slits up the side, the center front, off-center at the front – single or a pair – or an A-line with no slits at all. This started when, in decades past, I used to run a backyard smallholding and while I am adept at digging and mucking out the chickens or rabbits in a maxi dress it is undeniably easier when wearing trousers. However I am also larger than I used to be (lots larger as in double my body weight) and find that a dress or kurti over trousers is more flattering, plus I have never really lost the love of maxi dresses from the 1970s when I was growing up (first maxi skirt – 2 of them, both in paisley, one green and one red aged about 7/8 years old), and while I have often had a pair of jeans – first pair aged 12 – I have never found them to be really comfortable or practical. How many others have their current dress sense rooted back in childhood fashions I wonder? I also prefer to dress modestly although I hold that you can reveal as much or little as you like, but it should be YOUR personal choice and not the choice of some fashion editor or a group of peers who decide. I also suffer from lymphoedemia and find that wearing trousers fitted to the ankle, similar to so called hareem trousers but not elasticated by choice, and long between ankle and knee mean that most of the swelling is hidden and stays hidden when I sit thanks to the longer leg length allowed by the fitted ankles. I freely admit my styles are based on several salwar patterns which can easily be found on YouTube, although I stick to the plain churidar or pyjama styles when possible, many designs only really look good if you have super long legs (size not a decider, one of the best wearers of mini-skirts I have ever known was a size UK20 because she had legs up to her armpits whereas another friend who was the same height – 5'8” - looked terrible because she was a skinny size 10 with normal proportion legs and they just didn't suit her at all).

To be continued next week. Capsule wardrobes part 3b, what you have versus what you really need.

Wall Art and Fabric Craft - Seasonal Colours and Capsule Wardrobes

Part 2c

I had just about finished writing this weeks offering when by chance I discovered a website which said everything that I had just written, complete with even more than I could write in a month, about seasonal colours and your style personality. So instead of putting up the questionaire that I have written, I will point you to her website http://www.thechicfashionista.com and I recommend that you visit. She has a quiz that will help you to discover your clothing or style personality, plus pages on the four seasons and the 3 sub-seasons within each of the four groups. She, like me, uses the Color Me Beautiful theory (http://www.colormebeautiful.com) and has some marvellous diagrams to back up

Seasonal Colours and Capsule Wardrobes Part 2a

Illustrations mainly courtesy of Pinterest

First of all seasonal colours. I am fairly certain that most of you will have heard of seasonal colourings, if only to do with make-up which is often sorted into cool and warm. At the very least I hope that most of you will have heard of people being sorted into the four seasons, spring, autumn (warm) and summer, winter (cool). This was made popular by the Color Me Beautiful team and the book they published back in the 1970s/1980s was freely available and extremely helpful (as mentioned in last weeks post). 

This was later multiplied up and you were divided into not just a season but also the depth of colour within the season, bringing the number of possibilities up to twelve. My daughter and I were both treated to a consultation with a Color Me Beautiful consultant here in Dublin, Republic of Ireland (www.cmbireland.com or www.colormebeautiful.com - the official site for all) and we discovered that while I was a deep autumn my daughter is a soft summer. (There is also a system out there to help men, my husband being a summer). As part of the consultation we received a folder with all our colours in it, small pieces of fabric on a cardboard backing with the colours named and whether they were neutrals, contrasts, only to be worn as part of a pattern or sparingly etc.

Make-up examples for the four seasons:

 There are many other consultants out there and I have had a consultation with another group (part of a 'party' at someone's house, sort of like tupperware or Ann Summers but with colours instead). Again I was grouped as an autumn but they only used the basic four. Nowadays they have a lot of different groupings, the seasons have been forgotten and trying to work out for yourself what your best colours would be is, at best, problematic. I know mine but as deep autumn no longer exists I decided to try and work out what I am now. I filled in the different questionaires (not just Color Me Beautiful but a couple of other ones as well) and must confess that I have no idea of what I should be. It could be deep and warm, or it could be warm and deep (both have different colour charts) or it could be deep and soft (nothing there suits me with regard to colour). As I was originally told that I would gently fade from a deep autumn into a warm autumn as my head slowly gained more and more grey/white hairs I am now thoroughly confused. Therefore if you are seriously interested in wearing your best colours I cannot recommend strongly enough that you visit a colour consultant and ask their opinion.

 They usually have a number of different options ranging from just telling you your colour group through to adding in samples of your colours through to helping you work out your body shape, preferred style of dressing and even what items you should keep in your closet and what items should go to the local charity/goodwill shop and what you should replace them with. The choice is yours and is between you and your bank account. I would only say that my recommendation is that you visit in person instead of doing it over the internet. There are no shortage of consultants offering to give you a consultation using only a photograph, all I can say is look at your passport or driving licence photo and ask how realistic is it when it comes to your every day look. My daughter's passport photo makes her look as though she is just coming round after a heavy session involving alcoholic drink or drugs the previous night, in reality the printer just did a lousy job, plus she was wearing colours that don't suit her (black). If this photo had gone into a consultant I dread to think what the answer would have been but I very much doubt it would bear much relation to reality. Many groups have trained consultants, certainly in the big cities. I know that even Dublin has three different groups all with trained consultants who can give colour consultations. It is certainly worth it if you want to look your best, and besides it's the greatest excuse for throwing out half your clothes and having to go on a shopping spree to replace them. If your bank balance won't stand that they will help you to decide what is the most pressing purchases that you should make and which will truly make you look great. Just visit your local library and take out some books on the subject, read them and see if you can work it out for yourself. I would recommend one of the books published at least 10-15 years ago as it was a much simpler task back then. At least you will have a basic idea of your season, which is a great way to start off slowly changing your colours over.

Next week - what is your style of dress

Seasonal Colouring and Capsule Wardrobes

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF PINTEREST

Seasonal Colouring and Capsule Wardrobes 

This weeks blog is, in a way, a continuation of last weeks when I mentioned your season/best colours and also the idea of a capsule wardrobe. Both seem to have been in the fore at Pinterest recently, no doubt because of the onset of the holiday season. However, what the many articles don't seem to explain is just how the concept works on a daily basis.

I have found a marvellous example on Pinterest which covers just about everything you could need including underwear, nightwear etc., but even this one doesn't explain whether or not it is just for a single season or whether it is a year long venture. (Incidentally, the earliest capsule wardrobe idea I have found comes from a book written in the 1960s by the then fashion editor of a national UK newspaper. Her name was Jean Rook and the basic wardrobe she suggested will actually take the user through the entire year. Even better, she has suggestions for capsule wardrobe collections that are based on income so will appeal to both the student/basic hourly wage up to the wealthy/well paid at the top of the earning tree. Many of the items mentioned would need to be updated given that both colours and fashions have changed over the years but these are still far and away the best suggestions that I have ever found, and cover both work and play.

I have downloaded a number of other suggestions from Pinterest for simple capsule wardrobes, and while many of them would apply for a holiday or even for a specific event (example taking a 3/6 week break over summer or Christmas because it's the school holidays) but very few, if any, would cover the user for the entire year round.

As a result I have been going through my seasonal colours (I am a deep autumn) and have decided that the best way to make the capsule wardrobe theory work all year round is to have 4 basic capsules, which will overlap with each other to a certain degree. The names of the four capsules are rather obvious, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and a couple of items or so from each capsule will cross the divide into the next one. Each season will also rely heavily on those colours from my seasonal bests that correspond as closely as possible with the season in which the clothes will be worn. For example, Autumn will be browns, oranges and deep yellows, while Spring would be greens and yellows.

Over the next four weeks or so I will concentrate on one of the seasons and quickly go over the colours I have decided to use and the wardrobe items I am making for that capsule of my wardrobe. I hasten to add that the items I have chosen would not appeal to everybody, I prefer to wear a dress (known as a 'smock top' when I was growing up in the 1970s) over trousers or a maxi dress or skirt with a top. I freely admit that I still prefer an updated version of that style of dress, only now I ensure that the sleeves are at least ¾ length instead of short.