button down shirt to mini dress

i took one of j's large, oversized shirts and made it into a mini dress. now that i look at it in the photos, it looks more like i'm wearing a large shirt than a dress. oh well. anyway, to make it, i cut a lot out of the body of the shirt on either side and reattached the sleeves, making them into puff sleeves (gathered before i resewed them on). the final product looks really simple, but i did try variations that i didn't like (elastic at the waist---made it look puffy and unflattering; a back panel to run a belt through along the back---didn't gather smoothly enough) to try to get it more fitted looking (but not too fitted). in the end, i just took in the sides even more and added 2 darts in the back. i plan to wear it with leggings and boots (as pictured) or over jeans, and i like it b/c it's cozy and comfy. i'm always on the lookout for mini dresses, long tops/tunics that i can wear over yoga clothes or just to wear out.

small blue quilt

I finally finished one of many partially completed sewing projects. It is a small quilted wall-hanging made using the method shown in this great tutorial. It was easy and quick to make the small strip log-cabin-style blocks with this method. The challenge was trying to get them to fit together in rows that were aesthetically pleasing, and then the rather laborious job of quilting each block. This was a fun way to use up a few colorful scraps, and I tried to challenge myself by using only scraps and not cutting into any large pieces. If I make another one of these quilts, I'd like to try a simpler, more freeform type of quilting (all-over wavy lines or stipple quilting) instead of the straight line quilting that I used. By the way, the size of the finished mini-quilt is about 15 x 20 inches.

Spoonflower fabric designs

I recently came across a website called Spoonflower.com, which enables people to upload and print their own fabric designs. Instead of working on my numerous sewing projects, I've been obsessively experimenting with fabric ideas in Photoshop, trying to figure out how to make things tile. I ordered a few of my designs on small test swatches on the Free Swatch Day last week, and am looking forward to seeing the fabric.

Here is one design based on a drawing I made of ginkgo leaves:

For Timo

For Timo
Originally uploaded by adelie

Bastien and I worked on this together during our stay in Japan. However, I must say that he did most of the work, especially all the conceptual sketch and the details in the landscape. I only dabbed at the sky and the borders. We are happy with the way it turned out and gladly share it with you.

August 2009

Dragonfly Diaper Changing Pad

I have been wanted to try sewing baby stuff as gifts and decided that a changing pad would be a simple easy first project. The changing pad is a layer of patterned cotton (to make it pretty), PUL (for waterproofing), and minky (something soft for the baby to lay on). There is a strap to keep the pad folded in the bag.

Japanese doll

Japanese doll
Originally uploaded by adelie

Konichiwa, minnasan!

Here's a bit of dabbing to commemorate my summer in Japan. It turns out that with all the traveling and Japanese studying I've been doing, I haven't had much chance for more.

We saw this doll in a glass display case of a hotel lobby while waiting for our bus in Sakunami mountain village where we enjoyed some great Japanese outdoor onsen. There was the picturesque setting of a quiet brook spotted with playful fishes, flowing next to the bath which was well kept hidden by a crowd of tall pine trees. The doll was about the size of Barbie, carrying a blue cocktail umbrella, and dressed in a lovely silk kimono.

We don't have access to a proper scanner here, so I don't think the color is true to the painting 100%, but you get the idea.

Joanna

photowhispers: 12.08-05.09

here are the results of the photowhisper chain that we did. each person had a week to complete a photo and pass theirs along to the next person. due to unforeseen circumstances, the project took much longer than we anticipated, but better late than never, right? mouse over each photo for photographer and caption.

figure drawing class, week 3

some drawings from this week's class (full set):

3 min pose

3 min warmup

3 min warmup

3 min poses

15 min pose

we did a series of 1 min drawings where we observed the figure for 3 seconds and then drew from memory for 57 seconds (not pictured above, but included in the full set). that was a challenging but interesting exercise.

we also had our longest pose so far for 15 minutes. i feel like the longer i draw, the worse my drawing gets. but that was good for me to try too, the idea is that you spend more time on tone---trying to model the figure with light and shadow.

figure drawing classes

i started to take a figure drawing class and have been going for a couple of weeks now. here are some drawings:

week 1: 1-min gesture drawings

week 2: 5-min pose

for more details, please click on the drawings/links for my blog posts for weeks 1 and 2.

lavender & cherry

lavender & cherry
Originally uploaded by adelie

The spring is finally here in the south of France! We have cherry, peach, and apricot blossoms everywhere now. It's a bit early for the lavender, but soon they say. I celebrated the arrival of spring with a few dabs of painting.

Joanna

self-caricature (again)

i tried another version of a self-caricature based on this photo, taken by jrmyst.

i like the pencil version better than the color one---something seems kind of unnatural around the mouth/lip area for some reason---maybe it is overly-pronounced? anyway, i feel like it resembles me less than the pencil version. in the pencil one, i scanned in the original drawing and made a few tweaks/adjustments in photoshop, including adding eye/hair color and playing with proportions/angles a bit.

cross-posted on my blog.

tad 2009 highlights

tad 2009 is over now, here are some of my highlights:

self/rose
drawings
felt
yarn
photos

for more images/details, please see my tad posts, my blog, or my flickr. i hope to keep making things and will try to post to itb semi-regularly too...