Christmas time

At home for Christmas
I was so excited coming home for Christmas, getting to see my family and friends again, but it’s really hard for me to get work done now. Changing environment and work space is really hard for me and it takes time for me to adjust and get used to where I am.
I have tried to do some work, but I have had a lot of distractions, but tomorrow I’m going to really crack on and try and get some things completed.
I have been working on my graduate fashion week project and also my shop report.
For my GFW project the items I brought from the charity shop where men’s ties. I wanted the colours to be bright and exuberant so I dyed the pink, in different shades. I took one of the ties apart and actually used the lining within it for some material as it was a different texture and gave variation. The accessory I have been creating is a shoulder piece that goes over one shoulder from front to back and is framed and held on by lots of multicoloured beads of all shapes and sizes.
I think that this is quite a good idea and the way the piece is turning out seems to really fit in with the style of the river island clothes, with it being sexy, urban and funky.
Working on my shop report has been harder than I expected, I thought that there wasn’t much else that I needed to complete with this, but finding all of the key information for each of the seven market levels has been really tough and I have found myself not finding what I need and having to substitute images and other things with the closest match that I can find. I’m hoping that I will be able to finish this soon so that I can move on and start my trend boards and onto my research into container culture for the other half of this module.
I have also got some jewellery experiments that I need to do so I can start to create a final piece. I am going to try to learn to knit so that I can produce some knitted wire and use this and encase beads within it, or create a knitted bracelet. I’m looking forward to doing this as I think the end result could be really successful, I just hope that there is enough time left at home for me to be able to learn and put it to good use.

Jewellery journal

Getting Ready for Christmas!

Christmas is coming!
The last week has been pretty chilled out, I have been out and about doing research for our new brief, looking at the different trends in store and the different shops which are aimed at different market levels.
Its quite interesting to go into shops that you wouldn’t usually buy in yourself and see the range of items that they provide. It gives you some real inspiration, and allows you to look at things differently.
After discovering what the trends where, you start to see them in different ways in the shops. It is also interesting to see how the designer and upper middle markets use the trends in different ways to the middle, and lower markets.
The upper market shops use a lot more embellishment and hand sewn work, as well as higher quality fabrics and fastenings. This is reflected by the price tag.
You see in the lower middle market and the budget market, the way that they try to copy and manipulate ideas and garments that are in the higher marketed shops. Obviously the garments were not as well made, and out of different materials.
This week we also got set the Graduate Fashion Week competition, to create and accessory for spring/summer 2009 made from charity shop items, using recycling as a theme.
I have been out a few times to find different things, and I think I have a good idea now, I’m not going to say what it is until I’ve done it, Just in case someone tries to steal my idea!
We only have one week left now until we break up for Christmas, there’s lots of stuff going on this week, all Christmas themed of course, so I’m quite excited now, and hopefully should be some fun times ahead.

Creative Design Realisation

Dress Evaluation
I was asked to find a dress from either a magazine or from the internet that indicated fullness and flair, then create the pattern using a basic bodice block that we had previously produced.
I found several images that I thought were appropriate, but in the end I decided to go for the simplest design, without sleeves as I felt I need to allocate enough time to create a quality garment.
Creating the pattern;
I quite enjoyed actually drawing and creating the pattern, as it allowed me to put together all the things that I had learnt in the previous three sessions, and really understand how they connect together.
I had to create new darts for my dress, as they were in a different place on my dress than on a standard bodice. I actually lost the top dart from my dress as the sleeve curved in before the dart happened, so I just ended closing the original dart and I moved it all into the bottom dart.
I needed to make the basic bodice a lot shorter, as this is what it was like in my picture. I had to still keep the shape of the bodice, but make it so it fitted around the bust area. At this point was my first point of confusion, because I had to move the base line of the front piece round to the side the same amount as I had moved the length up. This was really hard for me to understand, but after seeing how it fitted to the back piece it started to become clearer.
There are two layers to my dress, which are gathered at the top and one of the layers is shorter than the other. I learnt how to create fullness on a skirt now, which will be a really useful skill to have, as I will be able to do this without help but also use it in my designing.
Once I had created my pattern, I cut it out and pinned it to the calico fabric and then cut this out.
I have learnt now that when notching the darts onto the pattern pieces, do not make them too big as it makes it more difficult when it comes to sewing the darts as the fabric is harder to line up, because you are trying to match up fabric that isn’t there because it is cut away.
Making the gathers for my skirt layers also proved quite difficult, when I was pulling the thread to create the gathers, I kept snapping the thread meaning I had to keep unpicking and re-sewing. After a few attempts I finally managed to gather the skirts. Once I had done this I realised that I didn’t think that I had made the skirt panels wide enough to create as much gather as I would have liked. I don’t think working in calico helped, as the fabric is too stiff for it o flow so it crunched up quite a lot. There wasn’t really anything that I could do about this because this was the fabric that I had been allocated and had to use.
There were only two other things that I found a bit difficult when I was making my garment, the zip and the facings. I had never really done these things before so that is why I found it quite hard to understand how to do them, but after being shown for the first time, I was a little more confident doing it myself.
The facings around the strap area, I did get quite frustrated, I found it really difficult not to catch the underneath fabric into the seam. I had to do this several times before managing to get it together.
I did make one quite large mistake which unfortunately I could not rectify. My dress has two layers for the skirt, one of which is fuller than the other and more gathered, the fuller layer was supposed to be the top layer so the dress could spread and flow. Unfortunately I sew the layers on in the incorrect order and I had already overlocked the seam before I had realised this, and by this time it was too late to unpick the layers as it would have destroyed the fabric.
I had to improvise after I had done this. I cut the top layer so that it became shorter than the underneath, so this made it still partially like the starting design. The dress seemed quite long before, so cutting the layer shorter did not really seem like an issue.
The overall design of my dress turned out a bit different from the original design in the picture, and the shape of the garment looks a bit square where the skirt layers are sewn on the wrong way around, but otherwise I feel that it was fairly successful that I actually managed to create a garment like this.
If I was to make the dress again in the future, I would use a lighter, more fluid and more appropriate material, so that the skirt drapes better and creates a better shape. I would also like to make the skirt more gathered so it creates more shape and flow.
If I was to use a colour scheme, I think I would use patterned material, in two contrasting colours, maybe a vivid blue and white. I would use patterned fabric to create different effects where the material moved. I would also make the dress shorter as I feel that the dress I have made is still too long.
The project took me three sessions to make, which I impressed myself with getting it all finished.
If I was to manufacture my garment, it would be quite easy to set up a production line, as there is nothing to difficult or intricate that needs to be done, I believe that the techniques that I used to make my dress were adequate and have securely held the dress together, however if producing for manufacture all of my seams would have been neatened with overlocking and pressed and hung to give the best shape.
I am pleased with what I have achieved, It has now given me the confidence to sew more technical garments, so hopefully this will allow me to design a wider range of garments and help mw to be more experimental.

The New Brief

The new brief.
This week we received the brief for our new module; creative design practises. There is two halves to the brief, we are working on one before Christmas and the other half after.
This module is about trends, different market levels, fabrics and designing for a specific purpose. When I first read through the brief I was a little apprehensive, this was an area that I was quite worried about and I feel is probably my weakest point.
After discussing the brief further and with other people I did feel a little more at ease but still slightly hesitant. We were asked to use trend websites, such as ‘trendsetter’ and ‘WGSN’ to find out the four main trends that are occurring in this season; Autumn/ winter 2008.
I started doing my research and reading about the different trends, and you do start to realise that this is what you see in the shops, you just don’t tend to realise it.
We were asked to go into different shops, for different market levels, and identify these trends in the shops. I went out to some of the high street stores and sneakily took the things into the dressing room to take photos, when you know what you are looking for it is easier to spot the trends occurring. In the designer and higher market shops, taking photos of the window displays and doing quick sketches of what I had seen in the store felt more comfortable as the staff are more aware of what I was trying to do.
I am going to go out again some point this week to see if I can take some more photos in different stores just so I have a wide selection of different things.
I am also going to use some of the things that I have bought recently and I feel fit with this season’s trend and take some photographs of those. I am also hoping to find some prints/ material and textures that I can use. Using this research I am going to create a trend board for each of the four main trends and also a shop report on the different market levels and different things that I have found out.
After doing this research I do feel a little more confident with the brief and hope to make some real progress with it in the next couple of weeks.
On Fridays sessions this week, we were continuing with creative design realisation. I had finishing making my dress pattern and had cut out the material with the pattern pieces still fixed. I had a really stressful day; I had not had much sleep the night before where I had been quite ill in the week, and was very tired the next day and kept making mistakes. I did have to adjust my dress as I was going along to make sure that it all fitted together ok, I am pretty much just over half way there, so hopefully I can finish that off in the last session next week, and get all the other things that I need for my technical file completed.
I am now really looking forward to Christmas and spending some time with my friends and family, and having a bit of a break, which I really think I need now.

Questionnaire

Results to the questionnaire.
For the start of our new module we started with a small questionnaire. We were put into different groups so that we could mix with different people and where then sent off around the college and town to find out different things.
We started in the college library, starting with finding the reference number for all of the fashion books, which is 390.9. Also looking things up in the magazine archive, and recognising the magazines that cover different topics such as colour and fashion trends. We found a total number of 16, including vogue, collezioni, the hat, drapers, and nylon.
We were asked to take a trip to the indoor market so that we could find the stalls which sell fabrics. The market is the best place in Leeds to buy fabrics as there aren’t really any fabric shops. We found three fabric shops, B&M fabrics, Jacks cloths and MK fabrics. Some fabrics are quite fancy dress but you do come across some really interesting fabrics and quite reasonable prices.
There are also a lot of small bits and bobs stalls selling accessories and decorations that could also be useful.
One of the graduates from the Fashion course now works in Harvey Nicholls on one of the concessions in there, we were asked to go in there to find out her name and who she was. We wear asked to do this so that we felt comfortable going into this type of shop even it is just to look round to see what’s going on in the shop, the trends or to just look around for inspiration.
We then were asked to find out which shops were next to or in-between other shops, or opposite a street. This was so we know where different types of shops are and what market levels they are aimed at.
Also we were asked to find out some things about the shop borders and the magazines and books in there, this will be to help us with our research for future reference and projects.
Our last visit was to the city museum, something that was not related to fashion per-say but showed us different things that appeal to different ages and different people.
I found the trip useful for finding out where things are and the best places to go for the information that I am trying to find.

The DEADLINE

Meeting the deadline.
This week we gave in our first project. It felt so good to have given it in and have it finished. I’d finished a couple of days before, so it did feel quite weird not having to do any work in those few days.
I really enjoyed doing my project, and I felt that by the end of it, that I had really developed and progressed with my work.
I think that I found a way in which I like to work. Using a figure and the same material and doing a variation of that material on a figure three times, gave me the most potential ideas.
I really liked working with different materials and manipulating the fabrics in different ways. I think this gave the most realistic idea of what an actually garment would look like.
When it came to working on the stand with my three garments, it was a bit difficult to take ideas from a page and transform them into actual garments. After working for a while I started to create shapes and a silhouette and felt more comfortable with actually making my top.
When I had got the shapes all cut out, I pinned them against the top and made sure that it all fitted together before I started sewing them all together. When I had done this, I stitched around each petal so that there were no raw edges, and then stitched each petal together and then onto the base shirt.
I then started on the back of my garment, plaiting the fabric was the most time consuming, getting the plaits all of the same size and then twisting them in so they were tightly compacted and well stitched down was really difficult. I really wanted to carry on going though, because it did make the garment look really good and gave it a different texture. This was something that my designer did in his work.
I put a large bow on the front, like I had tried previously in my sketchbook and then had curled material falling from the bow, which was also like something that I had tried before with curling ribbon. I really liked my top and if it was to be manufactured I would try in a material that had a lot of lustre and a nice flow and continuity to it. The collar would still be stiffened as this gives a nice contrast.
For the next part of that day we started on our new project with just some questions and some research. We are looking at designing for different markets and fabric properties which are appropriate to these. We had questions to do with different shops and different audiences; this will help us when we actually start with our project.
Also this week I had my jewellery elective again, I really liked what we were doing this week, there were only a few of us in the lesson, so we got through things a lot quicker but also in more detail because we had more one to one tutoring. We used wire and twisted them with a hand drill. This made such an inventive pattern and you could use different tensions to create different effects. This would definitely be something that I would consider to use for my final piece, and it would also fit into the theme of my other work which is something that had to be considered.
On Friday we started the second half of our design realisation module. We had to find an image from a magazine with creative darts and fullness and flair.
We started to create our patterns from the previously made basic bodice block. We adapted the block to create the pattern for our dress.
I felt like I learnt a lot on this day and if I had to adapt a pattern in future I feel that I would be able to do it more independently. I finished my pattern on this day so our group was quite far ahead; I also completed my working drawing so I was really satisfied with what I had done. At home I pinned the pattern to the fabric, so next lesson I can start with the construction.

This is the A4 image that I had to produce for the final part of my project. We had to use the theme 'It fell from the sky' for the photo, and the person in the photo had to wearing the garment that we had made.
I chose to use the town hall for the back of my photo because it is such a beautiful building, I chose to use a red balloon as it contrasted with the blue sky and really stood out.
I used photoshop to put the figure into the picture, and make it look as though she was falling to the ground. I am really pleased with this photo, I think that it really captures the theme, and fits with the style of the garment, and has really helped me with my photoshop skills.

Making my top.

Making my Garment.
This week has been really enjoyable. It has been really hands on and really hectic, but I have felt like I have really got somewhere and feel comfortable in the position that I am in.
This week we started making our garment. I spent most of my time unpicking my shirt, trousers and bag, to find the pieces that I wanted to use for it. I decided to use the shirt as a base, but I needed to make it so that the wearer could get the top off and on without any buttons and just pull it over the head. To do this I added a panel of material where the buttons would do up to make it larger and easier to get on.
I based my top on the idea of using the shapes of flower petals to create the shape of the top. Before I was using the flowers on a sting and using it to tie and wrap around the body, but it was too much like embellishment, so making the shapes larger and more exaggerated and using them to create the top was a lot more exciting.
My theme was tied and twisted but my top has not particularly ended up like that. I have developed my ideas further so my ideas have moved further away from where they started. I have used plaited material around the sleeves and on a back panel and as an embellishment on the front but that is as far as it goes.
I spent most of my time this week making my top, I really wanted to get it finished so I knew that it would be ready for the deadline and I could get it to a good standard.
I have also spent some time this week creating my pieces using Photoshop. At first I found it really hard to understand how to use the programme but I think now I have used it a bit I have started to get used to it. I have created some interesting pieces and am actually quite proud of what I have produced.
I have nearly finished my project now, which is quite a relief and I feel like a weight has been lifted. I worked really hard to get everything finished; there are just a few things that I need to finish off in my sketchbook, which I will complete in my last session on Tuesday.
I have also now completed my A4 photo with the theme ‘it fell from the sky’. I went into town and took some photos of some attractive buildings and scenes. My final photo that I chose was one of the sky and of the big clock tower on the town hall. I then took a photo of a balloon on a string and used Photoshop and placed it to it was in the sky. The day that I took the photos in town was quite a dull day so I had to brighten up the sky and make it bluer to make it look more cheery and appealing. I got my friend Christine to put on my top and took some photos of her as if she was holding the balloon. I then used one of the photos and cut her figure out of the picture and put it into my other piece. I got it so it looked like she was holding onto the balloon and falling down from the sky.
Doing this picture made me feel a lot more confident with the use of Photoshop and I was really happy with the final photo outcome. I am also very happy with my top now and overall very pleased with this project.

Developing ideas and Jewellery elective.

This week has been interesting, I only had one full day of college this week, so a lot of the things I have done have been at home. I have worked on my sketchbook, and have now got some more defined ideas for my top that I am going to make.
In our Tuesday session, I had an image that showed a string of flowers and leaves wrapped around an object. I thought I would try and do my own version of this, I used a piece of ribbon, and I had used faux flowers and leaves, I stitched these onto the ribbon, and I thought I would wrap it around the body to create interesting shapes. However where the leaves and shapes where on such a small scale, it made it look more like embellishment rather than something that you could actually use as part of a garment. So to change my idea, I use colour photocopier and place the ribbon of flowers on it and enlarged its size, I then used the shapes created by the flowers to dress a figure. The shapes came away from the body and gave a really interesting and defined silhouette. To take this one step further, I tried to transfer the shapes I had created and cut them out in calico for a full scale figure. The shapes looked good pinned to the manikin, but they needed to be attached to something underneath so that they could move away from the body. This is what I think I will do for my garment. Use the shirt as a base for the shapes, attach them to this and then it will give movement to the top.
I started to unpick my garments and take parts of that I think I will use in my top. I have pinned the neckline so that I can change the shape, I have also added a panel in the front of the shirt so that it can be put over the head rather than being button up.
This week I also started my elective; jewellery. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and it did feel quite weird going into college at half 4. I really enjoyed the session, and it was good to just get stuck in straight away and start making things. We did one process in the night, and learnt how to use different tools and instruments. We used a small sheet of copper, and using a piercing saw, we cut balloons on a string into it. It was really difficult to get used to using the saw, as they were quite flimsy and easily breakable. After a while I had cut my shapes, and also cut the square copper into a circle. We then took another piece of copper, heated it, and then put it into a solution known as ‘pickle’ this softens the copper and makes it bend more easily. Then using a piece of lace we layered the pieces that we had, and it made and indentation and a texture on the surfaces. Then the final stage we used or circular piece of copper and we hammered it and pushed it into a 3d shape, and made it more of a like a half sphere. I’m looking forward to next week, but I think it will be quite strenuous and hard work, but hopefully I will enjoy it.

Reading week

This week, I took the time off, to go home and spend some time with my family and friends at home.
While I was at home I was able to show my family the work that I had been doing in my first few weeks at uni.
It was nice for me to see what they thought of what I had done and to get their feedback on it.
I spent most of the week working on my portfolio of 30 sheets, of different textures and line and proportion.
I got quite a lot done, so hopefully will remove some of the pressure for when the deadline is coming up.
I have also been getting some good ideas for my garment that I have to make from shirt, trousers and bag. I have worked on my sketchbook, and worked with materials over the week, and I have found that this has really helped me develop my ideas.
I also purchased a manikin this week, I'm hoping that I can use the materials that I've got and try using them to create shapes and ideas for my garment.
This week I have to focus on my Critical studies presentation that I have to do next Monday. I found it really hard trying to create the presentation. The texts that we were given were really quite complicated and I had to work for a long time trying to get some meaning and understanding from them.
In the end I took the things that I did understand and have incorporated those into my presentation.
Tomorrow I have the tutorial with my critical studies tutor, and hopefully he will be able to give me some feedback on what I have done, and I can improve on it after that.
Since coming back to Leeds, I have found it really hard to get on with my work, I think going home and then coming back again has made me miss it quite a lot, But hopefully will get back into the swing of things when I go back to college on Monday.

Manikin Fun

Barbie Fun

Barbie fun
This week has been really good, and I have been able to see what people think of my work and been able to give comments on others which has been the first time we have done this.
Tuesday’s session for this week we had to bring in a Barbie doll and lots of different fabrics of different weights and textures. It was pretty obvious that we were going to use the fabrics and dress the Barbie.
We had to use the theme that we had chosen mine being tied and twisted and manipulate the fabrics to look like this and to create interesting shapes.
I found it really difficult to work on such a small scale so I switched to using a half size manikin which made it so much easier.
At first I started out using ropes and string and tying them with knots to make shapes that covered the body. I then started to layer fabrics over and through it, twisting them and changing the shapes. I felt that this was successful but it didn’t quite gel together as well as I thought it would. So I decided to take a different approach. I used contrasting fabrics and twisted and entwined them together and wrapped them around the manikin. I then had strips of material that I twisted with each other and then placed them over the other fabrics. I did this in many different ways, creating lots of different effects. I really liked this and felt that it was the best way of expressing my theme. I found that this idea worked with both contrasting and complementary fabrics. The contrasting and clashing materials also worked really well with the style of the designer that I had chosen; Martin Margiela.
Friday we had the last of our three sessions, this session was about drafting out a pattern block using the correct measurements. It was really fulfilling to complete the block, once I got my head around working out the dimensions, it was really good to stand back and look it. I also did a sleeve and we looked at facings and where they go on the pattern block.

In my own time I have been working in my sketchbook trying to create interesting designs for my garment that I am going to make. At the moment, I have a few ideas that I want to try, using an image of snakes all tied together, trying out materials – stitching and tying them, Using bows and over exaggerating them, Using curling ribbon and draping it over and also using interesting a different materials such as plastic bin bags and leaves and flowers.
I have also been working on my A2 portfolio, sewing and using inks and pens and drawing over the top of them. These pieces have turned out really well and I am going to try this sort of style with some different images. I will then try and manipulate the images using CAD to see what different effects I can create.

A better understanding...

Starting to understand

This week has been full speed ahead with everything. The first thing this week was the critical studies lesson, I think I’m actually starting to understand the concept and themes now. The text we were given was really difficult to understand and I didn’t really know where to begin with it, but luckily we were given a more accessible text on that day so hopefully that will have a clearer meaning and I might actually be able to understand it.
I learnt about connotation and denotation and taking how taking subjects and things out of their context will change the meaning entirely. This was quite interesting to know, the class got into quite a debate about this topic, I think this was good because we got to hear what everyone was thinking and think this helped us to understand it more as well.
Tuesday was a really interesting day, we had been asked to find an image and photocopy it ten times. I used one of my own pieces of work that I had already completed for my sketchbook as i felt that this would carry the idea on further.
Using this image we had to use the shapes within the image to dress a figure. At first I started to use the image but cut it into shapes to make actually garments, but then I realised that we needed to use just the shapes in the image to create a garment, even if it was unwearable. After doing this, the figures came out looking really creative and I really liked what I had done. Also we looked at different techniques and styles to make the images more interesting;
Distort, twist, rotate, reflect, bleach, digitally manipulate, collage, layer, rip, fold, burn, scratch, stitch, filter, deconstruct, enlarge, reduce, deco’ page, repeat, mould, shred, pierce, puncture, pleat, segment, cut up and reassemble, gather, blend and bind.
I think that I am going to develop what I have done by using different images, or combining images together to see what effect I get.
Wednesday was a really good day and I felt that my drawing skills have really improved. We started off by using different media and people just doing a 5 minute pose and we had to draw the best we could. At first when I started it was really awful and I found it really hard to get the proportions right, but after a while I really started to get it and did a few good pieces. Some we had more time for – 20 minutes, I found that these drawings came out a lot better. I preferred the drawings where I used mixed media as I felt it gave it more depth and more interest. I am going to try and do some more drawings of different people so I get used to drawing different shapes and sizes.
For the rest of this week I am going to try and develop the ideas that I have come up with this week and keep researching. I have found some books on illustration that I am going to look at which I think will help even more and maybe give me some inspiration as well.

Just get creative :)

Get creative!
This week has been really exciting, we’ve started getting really into things now and I’m really enjoying it.
The start of the week we had the briefing for another one of our modules – creative approaches to fashion. This was what our summer project was preparing us for we had to chose a designer or artist and a theme from a selected list and create ideas and images using both of these. For the one part of our project we have to create an exciting sketchbook using the ideas and themes that we chose for our summer project.
Looking at other artists and other peoples work from this project was really inspiring and gave me many ideas of what I could start to work on.
I have started with some ideas for my sketchbook, but it is hard to refine them and think what will actually work and fit with the theme that I have chosen.
The theme I chose was ‘tied and twisted’ and the designer that I am looking at is Martin Margeila. i felt that this dinner mostly related with my style of work and was closely fitting with my theme.
The second part of our project is mainly about experimentation. We started this on the Wednesday and we have been split into groups. I found it a lot easier to work in a small group as i felt that you could get feedback from other people and it was more personal and I felt more comfortable with it.
Wednesday we looked at Line and Proportion, using different materials and ideas – drawing with your eyes shut, tapping pens together, tapping a pen to a paintbrush, using a continuous line, using more than one media for one drawing and also listening to music and drawing from your response to this. I really liked to do this and it really fitted into my style of learning which was mainly aural, so I felt really involved and interested in this.
The second half of the day we focused on mark making, this was really interesting, trying to create different textures using different objects and things. We looked at making the surface more interesting and creative, how to put a texture onto a fashion illustration and the proportion of the texture and what looked good and what didn’t. Overall it was a really enjoyable day and I hope that it will be like that next week.
Thursday we had a much needed day off, after months of not really doing anything, the longer days was starting to kick in, so sleep was definitely what I needed. I sat and did some brainstorming of ideas for my project as well this day.
Friday we used the machines all day, trying out different types of seams and learning how to put zips into garments. I found this day really helpful as it got us used to using the industrial sewing machines properly and also what different types of seams you use for different garments and fabrics. Learning how to put zips in was also very helpful, although I had done it before, i found being shown what to do being a lot more helpful than being told step by step what to do, as this just made me forget the process and having to keep ask.
I’m looking forward to the other sessions that we are going to have on Fridays, drafting patterns and using half size blocks. Bring on next week.

Getting stuck in!

Getting stuck in!

This week is when the real stuff starts to begin; Friday we started using the industrial machinery that we have in the studio. Just using paper, we had to sew along the lines, keeping it straight or following the lines of the shapes that were on the paper. It was different from using a normal sewing machine, it was a lot more aggressive and a lot faster than what I was used to, so it took quite a lot of trying to get the lines straight.
We were shown all the machinery that was available and had demonstrations on some of them, showing how they work and what their purpose is. It was quite confusing seeing all the different machinery as there were so many different machines for specific things, some machines were only to be used on certain types of fabrics or certain pieces of a garment.
I’m looking forward to being able to use this specialist machinery so that I know that when I produce a garment it will be of a high quality and it will then be something I can be proud of.

It was my birthday at the weekend, so my sister came up to stay with me for the weekend which was really good. We went shopping both days at the weekend and spent all of my money on clothes! Whoops!

Today I started Critical studies, it was pretty much what I expected, a bit confusing, but I suppose that will be something that I will get used to.
I started to read through the text ‘Blue is in Fashion this year’ it’s really hard to understand and I am struggling with it quite a bit, but hopefully we will be going through it in the next session.

Manchester & Matthew Williamson

Manchester meets Matthew Williamson

These photos are from the Matthew Williamson exhibition that was at the Urbis. I found his designs very inspirational and would most definitely consider him as one of my favourite designers.

Some of his designs reminded me of dancing costumes that I have seen or worn. I like the very theatrical and Latin American salsa style. The cut away leg, and one strap shoulders, along with the bright colours and heavily beaded and sequined fabrics was what reminded me of this.

Manchester -Buildings

Manchester

I really enjoyed my time on the Manchester trip that we went on earlier last week, I've got a few photos that I took whilst I was up there. The photos I have chosen I think really reflect my perspective of what the town is like.

These photos show the contrast in buildings and the culture that surrounds the Manchester area.

It was really strange to see such different types of architecture in such a small space, even though most of the buildings were of different styles and built in different time periods, the mysteriously fitted together to look like part of the same town. As there were so many different buildings, the contrast in matter of fact made them the same.

LCAD - Freshers week

Fresher’s Week
Half seven in the morning, haven't been up that early in about 4 months, so that was so hard to get up, and I didn't realise how long a walk it is from our halls to uni! So I have had to make sure that I'm leaving enough time to be there on time. I really hate to be late so I will be running to college if I'm ever a bit late.
I was really excited to get stuck into college, we haven’t done much stuff this week, just all the normal sort of form filing out and the boring but necessary stuff.
The trip to Manchester was amazing though, it was such an interesting place and such a different sort of town to what I’m used to.
I'm looking forward to going to the vintage fashion fair in town, it will be something to use for inspiration.
today we started looking at our first module and brief, which was quite daunting but looking forward to getting started.
Also we started looking at the way that we learn, I thought I was a visual and solitary worker but when I actually did the test it turned out as something completely opposite.
My highest score was Aural, showing that I like to work with music and listening to sound as I’m working. Certain music evokes strong emotions and you are very influenced by music and this changes the way in which you do things.
After seeing this description I know that it fit’s me exactly, another common feature was bursting into random tunes or songs without prompt or listening to it, and that’s something I’m always doing.
My next highest score was only one mark down which was visual. This style of working means that images, pictures and the use of spatial awareness are very key factors in helping develop skills and progress in different work areas. I would also agree with this description of me for the type of learner that I am.
It was really interesting to find out these results, as I would have thought that I was something completely different to what I turned out to be, so hopefully now I can use these styles of learning on this course and this will benefit the work that I do.

London to Leeds

London to Leeds
I moved up to Leeds on the 12th of September this year, at first I was so excited to be moving up to Leeds, then when I came to it, I was beyond scared and didn't know if I would even like it up here.
Well after the train journey and the annoying walk from the station with the suitcase that just wouldn't roll straight I arrived at Liberty Park, and met my dad with the truck load of stuff that I had bought with me.
After the thrilling un-packing and furniture moving, my new flat mates arrived back from college. I'd met the girls before at the mixing day that we had in the summer, so I knew who I was going to be living with, which was really nice, otherwise I think that I would have been even more nervous than I was.
I'd spoke to some people that i met over the summer just on facebook and msn, just to get to know people a little bit before i got, that was something really good as it felt like you knew some people that were there and you weren't just being thrown in at the deep end.

When I first got here it was a really strange feeling, being away from things that you knew and people that you knew was quite hard to get to grips with at first, but after a while i settled and felt more comfortable living away from my family and being in a new place.

My first food shop I went with my parents while they were still up in the area, I wouldnt have had a clue what to buy if they hadn't have been there. I was really lazy at home, so cooking, cleaning and doing my own shopping and ironing did not come naturally. I think iv'e got the hang of most of them now though, although I did shrink my jumper in the tumble dryer!

I think that I wanted to go to uni so much was so that I could get the qualifications that I need to get a good job and hopefully one that I will enjoy. I can't stand doing nothing with my time and I wouldn't want to waste it doing something pointless or that I don't want to be doing.

Well i've been up here for just over a week now and i'm absolutely loving it, I've loved meeting new people and have had such a great time making new friends and getting to know a new place.