Goldenrod & Marigolds - Fall Feelings

My dear friends,

These past two weeks have been a challenge. Fall has officially arrived. And with transition comes growth, and the shedding of old ways. I'm relearning how to be in a colder time again, pulling sweaters out from drawers, only to find they no longer feel like who I've become. We have been here before, and yet this time is different. I've found that since my time in London and New York I feel more stable and sure of myself. And yet old habits come creeping back. Being back in school, deadlines, and comparison find their way in, and I find myself holding two different realities: Who I am today, (who I aspire to be, my goals, what I want out of life) and who I have been (my pitfalls, where I have struggled, and what I want to leave behind. It's a slow process becoming... I'm finding beauty in the pace, and the satisfaction I get from feeling the growth after a long time coming. I'm choosing myself first sometimes, and it is glorious. Other times, I help others all day until its dinner time and I feel drained from the inside out. Sometimes, I wake up at 7AM and read while I drink my coffee. Other days, I sleep in past my alarm and wake up in a rush to make it to class on time. I am not perfect, and I am learning to be all of this and more. 

Flowers Katy and I picked Sunday morning for our bundle dyeing.

Collection Progress:
*I've fit 3 of my 5 models for their foundation blocks (Below you can see one of my models, Bayli in her muslin block). Blocks are essentially a "second-skin". They inform the pattern maker on what the shape of the person is, and we then use them to draft off our patterns. I've made a few blunders so far in terms of incorrectly measuring my models, but I'm actually quite grateful for these mistakes, as they taught me more about how to visualize when something is off and how to go about correcting it. This week I plan to finalize corrections and do final fittings before moving on to patterning my first look next week

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*This past week I successfully created and printed my first tiled PDF pattern. It was just simply for my blocks, but I am still so proud of myself! I cannot wait to start moving over my blocks into Adobe Illustrator to start the digital pattern-making process!

*This weekend I spent obsessing over pockets, and jacket details. My first look is inspired by my lovely neighbor Joan, and features a waterproof chore jacket, and a free-flowing Kala cotton top, tucked into a durable pair of ripstop cotton pants. It is meant to be bike-worthy, practical to commute to the grocery store, and cute enough to wear out and about.

*I'm starting to get excited about fabrics! I've found a handful of small independently owned fabric shops that source their fabric slowly and with thought to the creators and the environment. My current favorite is Handa Textiles.

In other News:
* I'm slowly learning how to natural dye. This weekend I experimented with bundle dyeing with my friend Katy. We used marigolds (from Katy's garden), goldenrod, morning glories, and black-eyed Susans, overtop champagne silk charmeuse that I scored at Fabscrap a while back. Katy and I made silk scarves out of our fabric, hemming the edges with a baby double-turnback-hem. It was a nice way to spend a lazy rainy Sunday. It was Katy's first time using a sewing machine, and it was so fun getting to teach her.

I'M CURRENTLY:

LOVING: My home studio space. Having a large desk and a shelf to put things away on has completely changed my life, (no joke!) Photos to come soon.
READING: This New York Times article for a research project about "post-covid" (what a laughable phrase given the reality) consumer behaviors. 
SUBSCRIBING to: The New York Times. I feel like a grown-ass adult.
LISTENING to: Mike Birbiglia's "Working it Out" podcast, episode 1 with Ira Glass. I am late to the party, but I am really enjoying it. I love the intimacy and getting to see the reality of celebrities' lives through such a comical lens.
LOOKING FORWARD: to two weeks from now when I will be on Fall break, visiting Minnesota, relaxing from the stress of school, and getting to see my loved ones.
FEELING: so cozy in these "new to me", "old to the world" baby-blue L.L bean pajama set that I found in the $1 section at the Thrift. The elastic is stretched out, there is a hole at the knee and a rip on the bottom hem, but I feel so warm and comforted in them. I'm excited to mend them soon! But I will definitely be wearing them every day until then.

I'll be peeping my nose into your inbox again soon, but until then, much love from me to you.

Your Nosy Neighbor,
Nat