Nick and Nora PJs sacrificed for dog scarf

It is national dog day today!  

My husband is a cat lover but I prefer dogs.  
Hmm... unconditional love v.s. "You may exist in my presence.....for now" is an easy choice.

In honor of national dog day I have a project to share.  
I was thrifting (surprise!) the other day and found an adorable 
Nick and Nora pajama top. 

I can always spot Nick and Nora PJs because the graphics are so great.  I bought the top thinking I could embellish a scarf.

I've been finding really nice viscose and pashmina scarves at my local Goodwill lately.


So while we were driving to LA a few weeks ago I harvested the dogs using pinking shears.

It looks like a dog chewed it, LOL.

Then I hand sewed the dogs onto a white viscose scarf
 using a running stitch.

Totally adorable.
The small circle is to cover a stain on the scarf.





Love it with  black outfit.

I'm going to have to step away from the computer and go out in public to show it off!  Happy National Dog Day!

Fruits of Advanced Illustration last semester

Last Semester I had the pleasure of taking my second illustration class with Professor Kathleen McCarney at Canada College in Redwood City, CA, USA.  I've been using what I learned to revise my pattern covers and make sure there is some uniformity between them. 

Here I am revising the Patti Cover. It initially had flat renderings 

and I want a bit more lifelike representations.

I generally start with a photo.  

Which I then reduce to a line drawing.  It can look quite different than the photo but I find it helpful to start from a photo.  Here I added in some shadowing for a more 3D look.

I then started to audition color combinations

Not liking the blue and brown much.

This combo wasn't bad.

The pink and brown is a bit more appealing to me. The numbers written on the pages are the pen color numbers.

The final (I thought) version.
Then I realized it was too long,
not representative of how
 the pattern would turn out.

So I shortened it. Subtle
but more accurate.

It is wonderful to have control over the process. Some of you are laughing because you know I am a control freak, albeit a messy control freak.

The downside is it often takes a tremendous amount of time before I am satisfied with a drawing.  Thank goodness for the training I received!  The more I exercise my skills the faster I become and hopefully better. 

No I'm not actually at the beach now, but in honor of the (almost over) summer I've posted one of my favorite ever vacation photos from a couple of years ago.

We were in Mexico, warm sand, lovely breezes and the hotel cooked up a fish feast.  

I found this lovely dress at Goodwill right before I left.

It was on this trip that I started seriously thinking about an upcycling business.  A friend strongly encouraged me and I felt like I was not ready yet but it got me thinking about what it would take for me to be ready.

Thank you Pamela for your vision for me.  Thank you to all my other encouraging friends and family!  

In progress, the Rebecca shirt dress

I've always been partial to shirt dresses. 

I think they look great. When I feel cranky about what to wear a shirtdress is my go-to item. I feel polished and they are comfortable and easy to wear.

I've been experimenting for a future pattern (The Rebecca Dress).  So far I like knee length which looks good with flats.  I don't know about you but I can't do heels anymore. 

I'm using sleeves for the skirt and most of the sleeves are not quite long enough to go from waist to knee so I'm supplementing the length at the bottom.

Check out the price on the shirt!  ($5.39)

Most dress shirts in my area sell for between $5 and $9.  So for a three shirt dress - $27 max, such a deal!  

Upcycle sewing is green and economical. Plus, you get a garment that is unique, almost guaranteed. 

Happy Upcycling!