Yesterday was so busy- organising the photo shoot, making sure the models all arrived on time with the right make up and making sure my outfits and knitting all worked well together and was organised so we could zap through them in as many different locations as possible in our allotted time - the Science and Industry Museum were amazing and lovely (and so was the photographer) and let us have free reign amongst the planes - it was great to be so close to them and the models really fitted in ...
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Whilst back in Bolton I visited the Mass Observation Project being undertaken by Tom Harrisson, he has collected some amazing photos and memorabilia from around Bolton to show the progressive changes throughout history, his presentation and interesting imagery looked amazing and it was lovely to see the transitional changes of a 'traditional worktown'...





 

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I was given a great book by my knit tutor Annie to look at of one of Maison Martin Margiela exhibitions... the simplicity and placement of his pictures and the hand drawn elements being combined together with photographs really interested me and i'm going to explore a little more into this for placement ideas for my own work. Back to my own work and I have been folding up choosers again... I now have quite a collection in the corner of my room hee hee with some giant ones really looking goo...
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Today has been a really busy long (slightly embarrassing) day!!...I got persuaded to be involved in front of the camera (not behind sadly!!) for a side project my lovely friend Emma was shooting for a magazine about Bolton... which consisted of me having to put on a pink wig and pretend to shoot another model in Bolton town centre (to raise awareness for increased gun crime... nothing dodgy!!) Was really fun but embarrassing to shoot (i'm not a natural model heehee!) but the pictures turned o...
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mmm.... look what I found... two of the nicest things in the world combined... knitting and cakes woo!! Think i'm going to have a go at baking them with the excuse that they're 'work' related!! Today I had a knit tutorial with Annie, it was great to feel a bit of pressure to present forcing me to process my ideas in my head, so I can see a little clearer my aims and the progress I have to make to achieve al that I want to!!...A lot more knitting and a bit of organising to present my ideas in ...
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Yesterday my tutorial really helped see what I have achieved so far and also what I want to progress to by the end of this project... it helped to set things straight in my mind and also see strategically where my weaker areas are and how I can improve them to display them to the best of my ability...I have been looking more into my research about 1940's make do and mend fashions - I came across some clothing ration books that you used to collect stamps for to exchange for new items of clothi...
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Freddie Robbins interacts topical issues and her own beliefs with hand crafting knitted objects and almost sculptural pieces of art, creating unique and amazing pieces. I love the textures she creates and issues behind the pieces which may not be apparent at first glance...





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Just a quick update of some more websites i've come across whilst researching into eco-friendly and ethical fashion... they all look great as well as inspiring and letting the customer know where exactly the clothing has come from, who it has affected in the process of manufacture and showing them how to be stylish with a conscience...
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Saturday and Sunday are always overtaken by the job so its only when I snatch time in the evenings to finish off odd bits that I make any progress (and it always has to be a sit down activity as my legs are like jelly after 8 hours of standing!!) so odd jobs it was... finishing a couple of layouts... and thinking of progressing the idea of creating a little magazine/catalogue to include all my layout work... although this is a major task and its a matter of finding the time in-between everyth...
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Today is all about layouts!!....To keep all my processes and development neat and tidy I have decided to create a selection of sketch books/layout books to hold all my photographs... so i'm going to be spending a lot of time on photoshop today (good job the weather is not so good today!!) ....I'm also putting my arty skills to good use by decorating our living room like The Cavern Club (brick walls and all!!) so should be a busy busy day!!...heres some sample layouts...
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Today I have been experimenting with different ways to get across the idea of my clothes being interchangeable and the knitted pieces being able to be used in many different ways...I thought back to when I was younger and had paper doll books which you cut out and change the outfits on the doll depending on the background. I wanted to transform and update this and stumbled upon a type of magnetic paper that you can put through a printer...I thought I could make a really unusual set of promoti...
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Some of the websites that have helped me change my perceptions of the fashion industry and also encourage and empower the customer to change their shopping habits a little at a time without sacrificing style are below...I love their high fashion feel and their stylish look that isn't easily distinguishable as fair trade or ethically sound until you look at the process of making the clothes - style isn't sacrificed for slavery...
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For a long time I have been knitting up my own pieces... sometimes I make them up as I go along or start a pattern... and then wonder what would happen if i did it this way or twisted this part or added that rib there... I love creating something completely unique - even if it came from me reading the instructions wrong and ending up with something utterly different from what it was supposed to be!! So anyway yesterday I got my book of scribbled pattern writing out and tried to decipher what ...
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Bit of updating on my research today...i've found some great websites across this project so heres a few snapshots of them, they are really stylish and well presented and not the typical eco-friendly sites you may expect, they really inspired me and widened my vision for what is possible to achieve in the fashion industry without harming workers or the environment...
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Yesterday and today combined heehee due to the delightful job (and extra pay incentives for it being a bank holiday!!) anyway...I did a small photo shoot with my amazing model sister with the pieces more focal than previous ones to use in my pattern sheets - i'm creating for people to create their own interpretation and bounce ideas off others, so as to make a small community of clothes lovers!! Heres a sample from the shoot...
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Todays Easter Sunday (no eggs for me though... darn old age)...i've been working on ribbing a knitted belt, so today I was finishing it off... tying in the ends and checking that it fitted on me (and the models!!), I'm also working on creating a new blog page that visualises different people showing how they personally would wear and interpret the different pieces in my collection and how they would customise them along with hopefully a comment type box that visitors can write in...i'll post ...
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No knitting today!!...everyones got to have a day off work!!...so yesterday was Good Friday and in Horwich we have a (slightly weird) tradition of everyone walking up to the top of Rivington Pike and touching all four sides of the tower (most exercise I get all year!!) so all our friends got together (some special ones were let off due to sick/work!!) and set off for the epic walk...it managed to take us a good couple of hours before the next tradition of everyone meeting in the much apprecia...
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Chocolate eggs and bunnys eh?? And lots of work of course!! Just ploughing on with knitting through my checklist (yes I actually have a checklist of knitted pieces I need doing!!) I'll try and remember to post some progress pictures up here later but in the meantime i've found the best fancy dress hat ever for you to look at!!(And wear Lotty at a party!)...
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I love the designer Amy Twigger Holroyd and her knitwear label Keep and Share... her design philosophy "we offer unconventional - yet infinitely wearable - knitwear for both men and women. Each piece is designed to satisfy over time, and is lovingly knitted in the UK" really inspires me and I love the ethos of cherishing a much loved item that does not follow conventional trends. Her website is lovely with a simple layout really letting the photographs speak for themselves. She has recently b...
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Today and yesterday i've been looking into developing my labels and tags for different pieces of clothing... by including different words and phrases on them I hope to personalise them and relate them to different seasons and clothing choices so as to give the wearer ideas and inspiration to keep them looking fashionable without having to buy a whole new outfit. Here are a few templates i have done so far...
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Catching up on some knitting today... found a really cute old childrens' knitting book in a charity shop in Horwich today which has great illustrations! concentrating on adding small sections of colour to create a more personalised look to the individual pieces and make them look more unusual! I've also been experimenting with felting and made a lovely looped belt and continued to experiment with volumes of layers with the looped knitting...
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Today is about experimenting. With all the knitting samples I have done cluttering up my room i've gone on an organising spree and got them all labeled and pressed nicely (tidy is not something I do well!!) and have been using my imagination to transform the pieces into unusual garments on my old mannequin - with some surprising results... some of the pieces i wasn't entirely happy with turned out to look quite nice once hung on the silhouette! here are a few of the results...
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Today i've been thinking of ways to present my collection, using tags and labeling to display how my product is made, the fibres it is made from and options of how to wear it. I remembered back to when i was little and used to love making 'choosers' (like an origami thing where you pick a colour then a number then it says something underneath...??!!) and loved the idea of the wearer choosing how they wear it on a particular day. Here's a few pictures of my process... and also a bit of sample ...
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