Posted in Whole new chapter

gimme gimme that GIVY

Posted on by arlee

If you hang around in the part of the world i went back to (sewing clothing), you’ll probably have heard or seen the “GIVY” dress, a duping of an $18,000.00 Givenchy dress, from one of their collections this year (i would assume). Site specific photo, but do a search, you’ll find a plenitude of iterations. I won’t call them variations, because they are all strictly duplicating the original, not adding personal touches other than fabric choice. Some people are drafting their own, easy to do if you know the basics and are working from a pared down garment/design, or buying a pattern derived by SisterMag Patterns.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DZYEiaFPsux/

Actually,this is one time where i would say adding your own “variations” would change the very very simple design to begin with, and thus would be an “inspired by”, not a copy. Nothing wrong with that either.

The design couldn’t be much simpler, but i intend to make some changes because of my anticipated customer base, larger sized, possibly women of a certain age, possibly shy women. None of those terms are meant to be exclusionary, merely descriptive: wear what you like when you like, no matter your size, age or design style.

I want to lengthen the upper part, and the ruffle so it hits more at the knee, because i as the designer this time, “copying” or “inspired by”, do not like seeing someone bend over and all of their more generous lady parts visible. I didn’t like that when i was 16 and wore minis, when i was 30 and wore minis, or into my 40’s when my dresses were longer but billowy enough to blow up in a breeze. Getting dressed shouldn’t mean having to fight wind or gravity.Embarrassment is real, and i don’t think anyone should be uncomfortable about how they stand or bend, or where the breeze is blowing from. That’s another reason for my choice of direction in “re-branding”. I plan also on making the arm”holes” not quite as deep–i don’t like my bra showing. I have some vague idea of fluttery barely attached sleeves on SOME as well: my upper arms are another area of contention for me. (I’m going to make that a custom option of choice.)

I have skillions of yards now of lace/sheers/embroidered tulles/eyelets and will be using them along the line, but first i want to try with a sheer organza  like fabric i purchased 4 colours of, embroidered with my favourite wild flower, dandilions!

I had a dig through the stash too, to find the fabrics that will line these see through beauties.

And then find my horsehair for the hem, and because i can, the pretty little beads i want to use on these dresses.

Now off to clear the big table so i can spread out!

 

 

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Probably talking to just myself, UnknOwn Sister

anniversary of sorts, well, not really, just another day

Posted on by arlee

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

4.

 

 

5.

6.

 

7.

SO.

EDIT: i wrote seven very long heavy weepy sad angry paragraphs above this on Nov 29th of last year. A few things have shifted, mostly in good ways, one in a VERY challenging way: it’s been THREE YEARS AND FIVE MONTHS since i first declared my intention of “re branding” my small business from natural dyeing and embroidery to making wearable art again. Do i have any credibility left after that amount of wasted time? (NOTE: it WAS NOT “wasted time”; it was grieving time for a very very tough two years, and then a year of soul searching, research, buying fabrics, and solidifying what i wanted to to with my life after losing the last of our cats, then my beloved husband, then my one of a kind mother and then my sweetheart dog , all in SIX weeks………………………………………………)

SO. Again.

 

Remember the 70s swirl skirts?

We were still ordering from the Sear’s catalogue, and i fell in love with this pattern. Mom agreed to help pay for the fabric as long as my babysitting money went to paying it back. I ordered the pattern, a pale minty green seersucker cotton and a beige with tiny flower groupings on it , (also cotton) and as soon as it arrived i was spreading it all out to cut on the living room floor.

It took me 2 days i think, to make the whole thing and then Mom checked to make sure the zipper was put in correctly. (Of course it was: she was the one who taught me!). I proudly wore it to high school (grade 11) the next day, with my little beige “poor man’s sweater” and happily twirled for my friends.

The second time i sewed one it was two black florals mid calf length, all done by hand because two months before my 17th birthday i had been booted out of the house and of course had no money for sewing machines. I also got the fabric from the local Sally Ann store for probably a whole dollar.

I LOVED those skirts. Trying to find the pattern has been difficult as there were various iterations from the Big4 pattern companies, and looking now for them the prices (plus shipping!) are OUTRAGEOUS.
So i drafted my own pattern today and it’s as close to this as i can get it. Getting the correct curves for the swirls *and* the right number of swirls had me pulling my hair out, but i can not WAIT to sew the first one.

So far i have pulled a leopard print, a gold lace, a red and black grid and am searching the stash for the 4th fabric, maybe a rose print, also in red! All cottons, except for the lace. Decided on mid calf length again as i am now prone to tripping on long skirts and full pants, much as i love them.

The black and white roses in this photo are slated for another project.

Another interpretation, the way we used to buy patterns as well, by mail through a newspaper or more rural “ladies magazine”!

I also bought myself not one but TWO toys, though they are the same except in size. Since my days at Capilano College’s Textile Art Program in the early 90s, i have lusted after a pleating machine. Through the years i’ve looked at them periodically and realized that $1000+ AND shipping AND currency exchange from far climes apparently, at horrendous prices was beyond my means. On June 14th for whatever reason i was looking again–like they were gonna get cheaper as time passed?????? HA, they did. I found a lady IN CANADA on Etsy who had JUST what i wanted for a third of the price AND very reasonable shipping from Manitoba, so i immediately hit BUY. AND guess what? Several hours later, an online friend down in Texas offered me another one, for the cost of the postage!!!!!! So now i have machines that are a 16 needle, and a 24 needle models! That mean i can do small, medium and large swathes of fabric depending on how many needles i use on each.

Above 24 needle capability (THANK YOU SARA!), below 16 needles (THANK YOU, MERMAID TAPESTRY):

 

Both came with extra needles which is fabulous because they are decidedly NOT cheap. Once you see the shape of them, you know why though…………!

I am NOT looking forward to practicing on them because i remember them being temperamental and fiddley, BUT i AM looking forward to being proficient on them and creating some marvellous pleated pieces . (By the way these are used by Smockers as well, something that at this point i have not much interest in.)

 

So, again, so i have decided that while i am still working on creating apparel for my re-branded wearable art business, of which you have cheerily seen none, and just accepted my word for, i will come back to blogging. I realized just today that i really miss it and i’m ready to get back in to it after starting 22 years ago in the blogging world!

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Collision: the work begins, Crafting Art, journal: lessons to learn, Not so ordinaries, UnknOwn Sister

Bear with me please

Posted on by arlee

Still been a hell of a year and 8 months, but i promise i am getting my ass in gear finally. After this amount of time and all the sadness and anger, i “caved” finally signed myself up for counselling, not talking to a friend counselling but the real deal with a therapist. Probably should have done 40 or more years ago. Whatever. I’m in.  Part of this is a combination of fear, anger and grief and part a dread of dementia. (Which i DO NOT have, but worry about anyways. I have made it clear to those who care that if that happens, i will not stick around to live through it. My decision.)

Anyways, i promised back in July to give teasers of fabrics for what i’m doing. It begins:

Above, from top: all cottons, Vermeer print layer 1, Gold striped pale coral underlayer, terra cotta jacquard pants.

Below: raspberry linen and Boho style gridded rayon–one top combined, one pants or skirt combined.

 

Below, Crushed grapes print Ankhara cotton with loud striped Ankhara cotton, pinny and pants!

Below, Glacier themed 20s flapper frock with ramie, stencilling and cracked ice lace.

Below, floofy top of some sort, full and fluffy, cottons, lime green linen (which will be coupled with apple green waffle cotton) for pants.

Below, combining plaids in colour, scale and feel for fun and funky tops, cottons.

A small collection below of cotton co-ordinates that can be mixed and mixed (HA, thought i was going to say mixed and matched, didncha?)

And there will be a line/collection/series of more feminine patterned items as well: lilies of the valley, roses, tulips, irises, wild flowers in cottons, rayon, cotton rayon blends and silk.

And laces and embroidered tulles and eyelet synthetics, rayons and cottons, because of all the fabrics i bought, my inner FouFou self took over and indulged herself in all the fripperies she could get her greedy little hoofies on!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I actually did one of my first social media “stories” for FB and IG but alas, the visual part got pretty much covered with the “caption” and even i wasn’t impressed with myself. Have to try that again, and may post it here as well  if i can remember how.

And a retirement of sorts after 15 years: i sold all of my natural dyes and assorted accoutrements that went with (pots, tools, gloves, etc etc etc) because i decided that if it had been sitting for almost 3 years in my studio and not being used, it would be better to get to someone who would love it. I have plans still to sell my dye books and HALF of my white dyeables. I’ve kept my Procion as i have plans for it. I will also at some point have the remainders of my naturally dyed fabrics for sale, economical small packs to tempt and tease. I originally had planned to do all this art wear WITH naturals but soon realized care of them and the bitching that would ensue (because no one listens to/reads the instructions) made it a foolish proposition. I’m not in this to fight anybody or try to solve problems caused by casual ignorance.

Part of posting all this is that i agreed to the therapist suggestion of setting achievable goals for myself. The above planned garments won’t all happen with a week or even a month, mostly because i have 11tybajillion other ideas as well. If i set myself on the track though, that’s my first step, and yeah Me. My BIG goal is to make enough coin to go to Europe next year, or maybe South America with my son. It’s also time to travel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Onward and upward. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Posted in Probably talking to just myself

Hello, hello hello!

Posted on by arlee

Well, hello there! Fancy you dropping by after so long!

This has been one hell of a year and 5 months and i am so bloody exhausted by being exhausted and not appreciating what i have and what has been given me. In the grand scheme of things, i will always miss my Beloved, but it is time to move on, and he would certainly want that. Grey Man treated me like a Princess, and it’s time to start acting like a Princess, the kind that is happy, balanced, creative, engaged productively with the world and ready to charge into the future with her eyes open, aware of the gifts of love and hard work that have brought her to this place, from her own hands and heart to those who have lent their caring hands and helping hearts, from Memory to Etherwaves to Real World.

My son has come back to me and i am thrilled to re-connect with him. He has helped, is helping me in enormous ways, physically, emotionally and spiritually. We have covered a lot of ground in talking and will keep on talking. I NEED him in my life. We are not going to dwell on the past because all we have is the now, though we have spoken of old days and n0w are past that point, because the future will take care of itself if we take care of the now, no WooWoo intended or expected.

Keep on keeping on, keep on trucking, as they used to say in the “olden days”!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have gone back to the REAL basics, ones i never learned in all my garment making years. Since i decided to re brand as a wearable art business: learning to draft my own patterns or adapt others and how to make slopers has been one hell of a curve. (Especially when some of the teaching aids haven’t been translated into English…) One really important thing i have learned from it is that there is no point in me jumping into the “sell a PDF pattern” as an adjunct biz. As much as i’d like to, A. i haven’t the patience to learn how to use Adobe that extensively (too freekin much math and i prefer the hand drawn aspect anyways of drafting) and B. i haven’t the patience to chart EVERY step, no matter how small, to write as instructions, and C (the most important) there is nothing new under the sun.

From studying the flats online of new pants patterns for example, they are all pretty much the SAME. Seriously same. Of course they are! I mean come on, we’ve got 2 legs, an ass, a crotch and a waist fitting in there, torso sticking out one end, feets out the others. That’s all that pants are. The world does not need another pants pattern from me. Kudos to the pattern makers out there already, but i’m not going to be one of the Club.

In a sense too, i didn’t HAVE to do all this new brain stretching work BUT my focus this time too is for curvier women than i clothed before (most were probably in the size 14-20 size range), and you can’t just add more seam line to a pattern to change a size 18 to a size 34. (I’ll be talking about that peeve/bugaboo/insult called “sizing” in a future post.)

Even if people never notice this, or don’t care, or i never get it perfectly, it’s wonderful to be making the brain work. My body is shit right now ( brace, knee operation or new knee in the not too distant future?), but the old vasty skull still has a sharp tenant keeping the lights on and the stair rails firmly attached.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have also discovered that the “style” i am doing/using/re-inventing/making with  in *my* way, is known as “dopamine dressing”.  I LIKE that. Big loud colours, huge scale florals, stripes, polka dots, bold graphics, simple shapes re-interpreted, nifty details (dare i say “nifty” without sounding bumpkin or disingenuous?), peculiar and idiosyncratic mixes of motif, colour and texture. OH YEAH BABY.

So, over the next few days, 2 weeks at most, i will be blasting photos of colour, pattern, mixes there-of and shapes, hopefully intriguing you to shop when i make my first “Drop”. (SHUDDER. I do not like that term: i am not dumping food, water, blankets or medical supplies from a “Helo”. I will be, as usual, posting listings.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, i will go dance, my new relaxation and stress release!

 

 

Posted in FybreSpace the shop, Studio Realities, UnknOwn Sister

I’m late, i’m late, for a very important date!

Posted on by arlee

Please forgive me, Blossoms! I need five more days to get my act together due to some lingering Things and Things 🙂 I had planned on re-opening tomorrow, but it will be midnight of the 15th in reality. The Things and Things should have settled down by then!

And it’s kind of funny, i’ve seen this movie many times over the years (it’s my all time favourite of any movie 🙂 ) but didn’t realize there was more to the song. So, while i’m off to shave my fuzzy ears and whiskers, and finish getting ready, enjoy this!

 

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Days of Honey, UnknOwn Sister

more teasers

Posted on by arlee

I am having so much fun putting prints together! It was never something i thought of before, or even figured i could do. Trust your gut though: i’m loving these.

I’m waiting for selfie stick (Did i EVER EVER EVER think *I* would say that? NOPE.) A. My hands are too shakey for my camera, always have been. and B. *MAYBE* i would like to pose myself in some of the stuff i’m doing. Well, at the very least a Swathing or Three might happen. And C. Greyman was the one who took photos for me, of me, and he’s busy now with all the the babies Upstairs.

 

Posted in Probably talking to just myself, UnknOwn Sister

presumption averted? subverted/reverted/inverted/diverted

Posted on by arlee
 Sigh. Due to the postal strike in Canada, i have decided to put off the re-opening and rebranding of my small business until January 10, 2025. I can neither in good conscience charge my customers more for shipping by using more costly courier services, though i am not the one who benefits from this, nor can i absorb the costs myself. And quite honestly, the logistics involved is ridiculous. I support worker’s rights to strike and for a fair wage, but i am unwilling to trot my old body all over town laden with parcels, getting stuff to a drop off point/courier who then has to pass it off onto another courier  in my now common method of travel, an Uber! Those drivers are great but can easily become confused i find when you have multiple destinations, some of which seem to be nowhere in sight from the road you travelled in on…..
I will be uploading listings as i can before Jan 10th, but any order you make, should you do do in good faith, will be held until Canada Post is back on track and fulfilling their duties.

I’ve decided to use this 🍋 as a time to make more lemonade 😉

 Part of that reality is the fact that i kind of went bonkers buying fabric. (You have NO idea what i’ve spent, washed and folded and bundled into neat baskets on sturdy shelves.) I’ve bought only white for so many years now (for the natural dyeing), that i had no idea about the sheer scale of colour, motif, style, mood, even ethnicity of what is available now. I HAVE to use it up, or my end disposal will be a huge chrysalis of fabric bundled around a grey shriveled up old me hanging off the tallest tree in Kananaskis Country or plopped into a hole that could be misconstrued as the foundation space for a very very tall building, way in the middle of gawdz unknown for privacy, as you know that type of mysterious hidden structure is. OH MY GAWDZ, this is going to be fun!
By the way, while the URL (online address) will remain the same, that is FybreSpace at https://fibrespace.bigcartel.com/ but the header/banner will show ON the site as UnknOwn Sister. (That should be around Dec 1st as originally planned, and yes “o” is actually a zero “0”), just to confuse things. Never mind that unless you need to write the Brand  😂
Posted in Probably talking to just myself, UnknOwn Sister

presumption

Posted on by arlee

I have so many beautiful fabrics now in my “library”. I still haven’t found *exactly* what i was/am looking for. I could keep on buying and buying and while i love what i’ve amassed so far for Unknown Sister, it’s not going to be complete until i can do /find/make/buy what i precisely want.

But i did figure it out. And that’s what i’m doing, hoping it’s not going to slow me down too much for a Dec 1 “opening”. Some will be used as i bought them, perfect storm combinations. Others will be what i “see”.

HA.

WHY was i so dumb as to not think about the Annual Canada Post strike at Christmas season, which started today? I had planned a grand “Re-opening” of my shop, but with a new old slant (Used to do wearable art 20+ years ago) and of course, now, do i not only have to have enough to make it worth loading the shop, but not enough that it gets stuck in the mail. Trying to find alternate carriers is exhausting. Ah, the Joys of Small Craft/Art Business…….

Going to keep on, but not holding  my breath. I shot myself in the foot to begin with by waiting until too close to Christmas, but this kind of puts the gangrene in the first aid box, doesn’t it?

 

Posted in a collusion of ideas, Not so ordinaries

inkling #3

Posted on by arlee

I wish it were still summer, though winter is a good time to really buckle down and get some work done. I’m feeling that heavily this year: age, health and emotionally charged issues will do that to a person.

If they are lucky.

Did i tell you too that 2 days before his birthday on Sept 8, my darling son “divorced” himself from me?  This year has had enough of its way with me. Except for 3 lines from him then, i haven’t seen or spoken to him since June end. I miss him, i love him. The door is ALWAYS open, Honey, no matter what.

I say to this year “Your balls? My boots.” (To paraphrase the best response to a certain American asshole’s comment about women’s bodily autonomy. Who’s scared now, Asshole?)

Never mind that though and what’s South of the Canadian border (except for a few friends). I am sad for that, but very very happy in my happy lonely place.