current crushes and new favorite things

A little late, but here it is:  Crusade No. 12: Current Crushes

Crush #1:  Reconstructing Clothing - Making me want to neglect the kids and spend the day online doing "research":

~ New Zealand artist & crafter Debra Dorgan's gorgeous designs: here and here.

~ Blossomnbird's funky yet strangely elegant designs. I want everything in her Etsy shop! You can see more of her work at her flickr site.

~ Renaissance woman Charlotte Self's romantic creations at her shop Blue Butterfly Art.

Crush #2:  Wardrobe Remix flickr group. From the group info: "wardrobe_remix is a DO IT YOURSELF street fashion community. I believe the best stylists walk the streets, not the photo sets, nor the backstage of the runways. the real innovators are you and me: real, fashionable people, men and women alike. How do *you* put it together? where did you get that item of clothing from? is there a story behind something you wear? Whatever you wear, wherever it's source (designer, mass-market/high street, thrift/charity, handmade--it's ALL good): show us how you CREATIVELY put your everyday duds together! post your photograph in wardrobe_remix, and tell us about what you are wearing and why."

There are other similar groups, but right now, this one's my favorite. And way bigger than I can actually keep up with. I'm challenging myself to begin to take and post my own pictures when I can. More as a daily diary or self-portrait experiment. You can never have too many pictures of what you really look like. So, here's yesterday's shot:

• Top: New shirt I made this weekend from vintage fabric (ebay) and New Look pattern #6483
• Jeans: Ralph Lauren, Steinmart
• Necklace: Target
• Daughter: of course she has to be in the picture, too

I'll be doing good if I can get a picture once a week. You see, when you stay at home with kids or work from home, you don't necessarily "get dressed" every day. Ahem.

Crush #3:  BurdaStyle.com - Open source sewing. The most fantastic idea. They have tons of great patterns available to download for free. And you are encouraged to alter the pattern, make it your own, make it better. Then post the pictures and even a how-to if you're up for it on the site to inspire others. Brilliant.

Now all I need is to get over my fear of knits so I can start working on variations of Lydia 3197 for the cooler weather coming.

Comments

[melissa@yummygoods]

dude, we are so on the same wavelength.

[Michelle Ward]

debra - thanks for sharing your crushes with the team! you picked some good ones and have us running in all directions looking at the provided links and making us wonder what we can do to our clothing! anytime is a good time to share a crush :)