Ok, so. Firstly I'll start by stating how weirdly uncomfortable this is for me. I've never been one for talking in any great length about myself and addressing this to no-one in particular and the world in general feels so... pretentious?? Maybe a little pretentiousness is a good thing. Maybe not. But anyway, I figure this might be (or at least become) cathartic in a way, but mostly I want to use this space for logging my attempts at creating new things, practicing old techniques and learning new ones. I'm hoping it'll provide me with a stimulus to actually get me doing things with my spare time (because I've been known to waste my time. God forbid...). And so, we come to the first reason for all this...
I bought new books.
I love books, can't explain why, always have. The books in question are 'Draping for Apparel Design' by Helen Joseph-Armstrong, 'Pattern Magic' by Tomoko Nakamichi, and hopefully soon to be followed with 'Pattern Magic 2'. I have plenty of books about flat pattern cutting and although I sometimes struggle with the practicalities of drafting a pattern on paper I can cut and construct a decent enough garment, but there is something I love and miss about applying fabric onto a form and physically seeing how it falls and the possibilities it can create. And I love making beautiful things.
The second reason is I have finally saved enough money to buy myself a decent tailors mannequin and I couldn't be more excited! Because of the tax increase this January, it's now more than I had originally saved, and for some reason the resistance to parting with that amount of money for something not strictly necessary has prevented me from actually purchasing the damn thing. Until now. NOW. Ok, tomorrow... But the impulse I felt when I first decided I was going to buy it is back, and the twitching in my hands is telling me I should just go for it.
Aside from the materialistic reasons I figure it can only be a good thing to get my brain working again in a creative manner, it's so easy to get caught up with the mundane routine of everyday life and I'm sure I've heard creativity breeds creativity, right? Or practice makes perfect, or something. Maybe one day, if anyone actually reads this thing I'll get comments and advice on how to do things, improve on things; constructive criticism is the way forward.
