It's been a bit quiet on the blog this summer, just imagine the radio silence like the surface of a pool, and all the fish are swarming around under water. My recent side project has been to participate in the MIID Summer School, beginner level. I love color and pattern, and this is just so much fun - and a lot more to learn!
Here is my submission for the beginner track creative brief #1 - tropical paradise
you can see the rest of the gallery with all seven pages of amazing designs (!) over
here
Hello all, fun busy times over here. I'm working full tilt on a project I can't show, and playing with patterns (rather amateurishly by hand) for the class I'm taking. Here's a quick peek:
When my schedule clears up I am ready to learn some computer skills; until then I'll continue to muddle through :)
to be featured in this tropical collection of recipes on TDACs lovely site of talented illustrators! a big THANK YOU to the wonderful brother and sister and team of nate and salli whose creative and genius minds came up with such a wonderful idea for a website that showcases illustrators of all types...illustrating what else but FOOD! all kind of food and recipes can be found there accompanied by some amazing and beautiful art work.
be sure to take a look and find yourself a nice NO BAKE recipe for the blazing hot week ahead ;)
Tropical prints: the perfect subject for the hot weather we’ve been having down here in L.A. (I’m drinking iced decaf Kona coffee too–how appropriate!) Another reason for this post: a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon this delightful article about tropical prints on BurdaStyle and since then I’ve wanted to share some of my Hawaii-inspired dresses with you.
People seem to either love or hate these “kitschy” and bold floral designs. You can already guess how I feel about them–I love ‘em! Always have, actually. Perhaps because they remind me of my Grandma or the ’40s. Or old men in Hawaiian shirts (so cute!).
The above dress is made from this vintage pattern, Advance #9054:
Fitting this dress…ack. The Princess seams are flattering but, if you’re not perfectly proportioned according to the pattern, trying to get the fit right in a pain in the bum. (At least it was for me; this dress took far longer than I would have thought due to sizing and other issues!) Overall though I’m happy with the resulting frock (me in Maui):
I found the cotton fabric at a store on a previous trip to Oahu. I love the violet and turquoise color combination and the huge tropical flowers.
Somehow, I misunderstood the pattern and the tabs ended up on the wrong side of the bodice…since I didn’t have enough fabric to cut a new front piece I had to cut and move the tabs over to the other side–d’oh!
Oh well. I like the buttons anyhow (vintage bakelite with mother of pearl).
I’ve also collected a few Hawaiian dresses over the years, inexpensive smocked tubes you can find at any ABC Store (love) or The International Market Place.
Oh look, my studio is a complete disaster! I feel like such a bad housewife sometimes. Anyway, the dress is cute and super comfy. And I just adore the minty green so much. This is a typical look for me during SoCal springs and summers complete with slip on open-toed shoes and vintage bag.
Here are some swatches of the other dresses I have, in the same style:
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Mahalo for such a gorgeous write up about my book :) May the warmth of the islands stay with you always, me ke aloha, Judi Riley