a few designs

For the past few days I've been sick with tonsillitis (and it's a whole lot of fun) so I've been taking it very easy. Now that I'm done with school, I can actually do nothing now! Which is exactly what I needed this week. But now that I'm feeling better, and can do more than just lay around, I wanted to sketch out some ideas I've had in my head for a while.

Since I will be co-oping next quarter, I will have the luxury of no homework (so free evenings and weekends) - which means I can start sewing for myself again. I brought some fabrics from home, mostly ones I've had for a while and still can't figure out what to make with them. The other day (while at home, eating soup, and reading Real Simple - the best way to get better) I saw an image of a herringbone jacket that reminded me of a fabric I have and instantly I found a use for it. It's a beautiful lightweight coral wool herringbone, and I'm going to conquer my fear of jackets with it.

Shawl collar jacket with assymmetrical hem, wrap front, tie closure, and bell sleeves. The idea is like a "sophisticated bathrobe". We will pretend any of these photos does color justice; for reference, the fabric looks most like the first.

The second is for a fabric I fell in love with at the store a few weeks ago - I love rose gold in jewelry, and this is basically rose gold fabric ... win. In experimental design, one of my friends had a concept using cardboard boxes constructed with fabric, with a wooden frame inside. At one point she tried on the skirt, but without the frame, and the corners of the "box" collapsed and draped so nicely I wanted to make my own version. So this is going to be a holiday skirt inspired by that very idea.

Cowled "corner" skirt with black waistband and six box panels. In this set, the last photo is most accurate in color. There will be an invisible zipper in the back of this skirt for closure.

I'm pretty excited to get started on these. I will probably do the skirt first, since jackets intimidate me a little - I will definitely be doing a muslin version on that one. I'll keep the updates coming!