bits and bobbins

i mentioned some time ago i was taking a class at the san francisco art institute, on screen printing. what fun that is! it brings back fun and fond memories my undergrad days, when i took many a printmaking course toward the completion of my art degree.

i am planning on making my own fabrics, perchance. this quick and dirty test print may be the beginnings of a fabric print. for now it’s just play. ideas abound…there are so many possibilities with this process.

the granny square blanket is coming along. i’ve decided to use goldenrod/mustard yellow to border each square and join the blanket. it is sort of my homage to the yellow woolen granny square blanket i thrifted a few months back (and dearly love).

the blanket will be 12 squares by 12 squares. i have the center portion of the squares finished, all 144 of them, plus a few extra, for testing purposes. i used up almost all the lamb’s pride bulky yarn i had hoarded for years…the amount resident in my stash, as i have mentioned numerous times before, was pretty sick. i need to get more of the goldenrod/mustard yellow yarn to finish the blanket, about 14 more skeins worth. i’m telling you: after this blankie’s done, i am never using lamb’s pride bulky ever again. not because it’s a bad yarn or anything, but because i am sick of looking at it. i must use other yarns. i must buy enough for an actual garment, instead of one skein here and there.

a question for you yarn wrangers: do you ever find yourself buying the same yarn over and over again? out of habit? compulsion? insanity? something else? or do you spread the love and just buy all sorts of stuff?

so much work got done on the granny square blanket this past week because…my beloved iron broke. the third one of this type (a rowenta continuous steam iron with a big old water tank) that’s bit the dust in the past 7 or so years. i get several years of REALLY HARD USE out of them, and then they just bite it.

the iron is a necessary tool in my fashion design, craft and artmaking practices…so when one dies, it’s a major thing! i use it for EVERYTHING: ironing paper, ironing my clothes, pressing fabric, pressing seams, everything, everything, everything. another one is on the way, but…is not here yet.

what is with products these days? everything is built for eventual and swift entropy. planned obsolescence. why can’t anything last? why are companies so greedy that they have to make something crappily with cheap materials so we’ll dish out more cash at a regular pace to line their pockets with profit? what ever happened to ethically making a product so it lasts at least several years with good care and good use? or is everything just destined to break down? i know it will eventually, but sometimes it seems like manufacturers hasten the process with their chosen materials used in said products or in the way they are constructed.

do you like that things break down? would you rather have them last? do you mind that things are becoming increasingly disposable? fashion, home products, and everything else? where does all this disposed of stuff go?

THE WARDROBE_REMIX(ER) BEING REVEALED:

name: sarah whidden
flickr handle: sjwhidden
age: 31
location: fredericton, new brunswick, canada. moving to montreal in the fall.
website: http://meglomania2.blogdrive.com/

DEEP(ER) QUESTIONS:

what do you do for a living?

i’m doing regular non-creative work-work while saving money and trying to figure out how to balance art, makering, and not being utterly destitute. compromise is a bitch.

what are your passions/obsessions/hobbies/aspirations?

i love:
- thrifting
- hanging out with the spouse and spawn
- the written word
- art
- making stuff
- biking

what inspires you?

i think the thing that inspires me the most consistently is people. especially the awesome crazies who can’t help being themselves exactly.

how do you define “style”?

i think style is a love of being and a healthy appreciation of the absurd.

how would you describe your personal style?

fun and goofy.

how does your background (personal history, passions, culture,
nationality, etc.) come through in the clothes you like and wear, if
at all?

i was brought up thrifting which makes it hard for me to pay for clothing from real stores at normal prices. i’m half finnish which conversely makes it all too easy for me to spend any amount so long as it’s on wonderful finnish quality (marimekko, ivana helsinki, vuokko, nanso, etc.) and i also feel strongly about trying to consume in a sustainable responsible way.

choose one item in your closet that you feel completely expresses
your personal style and/or aesthetic. describe it. what is it and
why is it “you”?

i think my closet as a whole could maybe express me in all it’s disparity and fluctuations. it’s a more-than-the-sum-of-it’s-parts kind of thing.

do you collect anything? if so, what?

i have descended from a long line of pack rats. i collect art books, old typewriters with funny fonts, little picture frames, keys, anything of interest.

what are some of your favorite places to shop when you want to add
to your wardrobe? online? locally? anywhere in the world? why are
these places favorites of yours?

my favorite place to shop is helsinki. the flea markets are by far the best i’ve been too anywhere and i love finnish made/designed clothing.
but any thrift store, yard sale, or church bazaar will do.

does your location (where you live) affect your style? if so, in
what ways? describe what your city is like in regard to fashion.

where i’m stationed for the time being is small and preoccupied with wearing jeans and t-shirts. which makes for some remarkable thrifting.

what do you think is next in terms of fashion? perhaps something
that is currently flying under the radar, but could be really cool an
popular later, or perhaps something amazing you’d like to see more
of that needs to come back or be the new thing?

i hope more people can get their hands on a sewing machine and reinvent the wheel. it’s fucking exhilarating to make things perfect for you.

you are super creative with your clothes! share a creative tip or
idea about a way people can remix/style their clothing in a fun or
innovative way.

i’ve been eying the bathing suit section of the salvation army. i think they could be turned into fun summer tops or mini skirts with little more than a good wash and a pair of scissors.

style icons: do you have any?

my three year old daughter and crazy old ladies.

how did you come across wardrobe_remix? why do you post there? What do you like about it? has anything positive come about for you as a result of posting to the community?

i found wardrobe_remix through your most excellent blog! i never would have believed that i could meet so many amazing people and get a sense of community from a photo sharing site. i’ve been distressed by fashion magazines and the ambiguities that are inherent in selling things by making people feel insecure about themselves. wardrobe_remix is a perfect alternative to choking down the constant influx of in’s and out’s.
it’s style democracy.

other favorite wardrobe_remix(ers)? who, and why?

everyone on wardrobe_remix garners my admiration and praise in some capacity and inspires me to steal their ideas and covet their clothes.
that said, vasiliisa, liebemarlene, hogan wren, he looks at my dick and then he says goddamn and for/a/heart/of/gold are long time favorites that perpetually delight. they all have their very own distinct style and a diy/thrift tendency/habit that makes real life action adventure muses of them all.

anything else you’d like to say?

while i like flickr, i’m kind of perturbed that we’re investing so much time and effort into making something that isn’t ours. i’m looking to you, Tricia, with great interest to see where you take wardrobe_remix.

thanks sarah!

as for your last comment…stay tuned. big things are in the works for our dear wardrobe_remix.

if you have any intelligent questions you’d like to hear wardrobe_remix(ers) expound upon or wardrobe_remix(ers) who you’d like to see revealed, feel free to send those suggestions my way! thanks!

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THE WARDROBE_REMIX(ER) BEING REVEALED:

name: Jennine
flickr handle: the coveted
age: 32
location: San Francisco
website: thecoveted.blogspot.com

DEEP(ER) QUESTIONS:

what do you do for a living?

graphic design, making things pretty

what are your passions/obsessions/hobbies/aspirations?

blogging, contemporary art… artists, shoes…

what inspires you?

People who do amazing things in life, like being a parent and still going to the gym, or keeping an organized closet.
People who make their dream jobs happen, people who are passionate about life.

My walks to work inspire me, so often when i’m coming over the hill and i see Alcatraz or the Bay Bridge, Chinatown before it gets busy, it reminds me that I have a lot to be grateful for.

how do you define “style”?

I would define style in the fashion sense as the visual articulation of one’s persona.
There is a quote by CS Lewis that says “You don’t have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”
I like to think about that quote when thinking about style, my attire reflects my soul. I was born with my body, I don’t have so much control over that except in the manner I care for myself, but with clothing, I choose what I wear.
Sometimes that’s good and sometimes, well, sometimes it’s good.

how would you describe your personal style?

Quirky, over the top and understated

how does your background (personal history, passions, culture,
nationality, etc.) come through in the clothes you like and wear, if
at all?

I tell people I moved to SF so I could wear winter accessories, without actually needing to wear winter accessories.
People like to complain about the weather here, but I love it, the layering mostly. Oh and the jackets and scarves.

Also, I have always struggled with my weight, and I have a very feminine figure, for some reason I think that keeps me grounded with my fashion choices because I always have to try things on, before I buy it…

choose one item in your closet that you feel completely expresses
your personal style and/or aesthetic. describe it. what is it and
why is it “you”?

My yellow slip. You know, I thought it would be the thing I never wear when I bought it, but I wear it ALL the time. It’s an unexpected surprise I love it. I kind of feel like that’s my personality, people are constantly surprised by me for some reason, but then again, people constantly surprise me.

do you collect anything? if so, what?

Parking tickets?

what are some of your favorite places to shop when you want to add
to your wardrobe? online? locally? anywhere in the world? why are
these places favorites of yours?

Believe it or not, I rarely buy clothes online. I need to see it and try it on. Also, I like to buy lots of things, and rarely do I get super nice items.
And almost all the shops I go to are within walking distance to my apartment…
Mascara Vintage, Out of the Closet (thrift shop), American Rag, Loehmann’s, and H&M.
My new favorite is Painted Bird.

does your location (where you live) affect your style? if so, in
what ways? describe what your city is like in regard to fashion.

Oh heck ya. Lest we forget clothing is for protection from the elements!
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how my neighborhood (Nob Hill/Middle Polk) affects my style. It’s a very eclectic nieghborhood in San Francisco, where we get a little bit of everything. We have a reputation for being elitist (‘Snob Hill’) but, it’s not the case. There are wealthy people, poor, crazy, transgender, fratboy, sorority chic, young, old, beautiful and horrific. No families though…it’s a real urban environment, and there is no real stream of a particular kind of person living here, so I think it allows for me to be a little edgy, or conservative or whatever parts of myself I need to express, and you know, I’ve never felt judged or ’sized up’ in my neighborhood, which is a very liberating feeling.

what do you think is next in terms of fashion? perhaps something
that is currently flying under the radar, but could be really cool an
popular later, or perhaps something amazing you’d like to see more
of that needs to come back or be the new thing?

I think reconstructed vintage, eco fashion will be ‘next’ in terms of fashion. Consumer culture (I’m saying this as an active participant) has produced so much volume of clothing that we don’t use anymore, but is still good to wear. I’m seeing some really interesting designs done by people like Cristalette and Andrea Crews. Environmentalism is proving to be more necessary than some of our predacessors had thought. There will come a time when we have to be smarter about the clothing we wear.

you are super creative with your clothes! share a creative tip or
idea about a way people can remix/style their clothing in a fun or
innovative way.

wear what you love. do what you love. who cares if anyone doesn’t like it.

style icons: do you have any?

Frida Kahlo, Björk, Jackie O, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly

how did you come across wardrobe_remix? why do you post there? What do you like about it? has anything positive come about for you as a result of posting to the community?

From flickr. I don’t know, perhaps in my general browsing…I love the idea. It’s a wonderful project to see how people get influenced by each other on wardrobe_remix. I know I have.

At first I posed there to promote my blog, The Coveted, but after a while I kind of felt like part of the community, and besides, it’s nice to get compliments.

other favorite wardrobe_remix(ers)? who, and why?

Oh that’s easy…
becktress: i love her rockabilly edge
vasiliisa how does she do it
sjwhidden is so much fun, and i just like her style.

lebonbonmulticolore has great details
nemrešpobjećodutorka is just lovely

anything else you’d like to say?

If you’re not having fun with your clothes, you’re missing the point.

thanks jennine!

if you have any intelligent questions you’d like to hear wardrobe_remix(ers) expound upon or wardrobe_remix(ers) who you’d like to see revealed, feel free to send those suggestions my way! thanks!