Today is a Day for Inventing Things

 Today is a day for inventing things. I can feel it stirring inside me, just waiting to suddenly BURST out. Fresh ideas, new dreams, a day to just catch my imagination by its tail and follow it down glistening lanes. The first thing I should do is to get dressed. Wearing pajamas is not conducive to an inventive day. How do I know? Look at this face. Does this face look awake?

Note the pouty lip, the confusion; perhaps even slight annoyance in the eyes, which comes from being woken up from a warm bed. Note the ruffled state of the hair. This comes from excessive dreaming. Wearing pajamas alludes to thoughts of cozy beds, and warm covers; these places are not the breeding grounds for innovation. Pajamas are associated with soporific topics such as sleep, and closed eyelids. You are more likely to end up tangled in bedclothes, and not tangled in creative thoughts. So after consideration, I made the decision to shed the nightgown. Believe me, it was for the best.


To-do List: 
1 Find warm clothes to wear from the closet before-I-freeze-to-death-without-my-nightgown
2 Listen to loud music and dance to it shamelessly
3 Invent a new undergarment from all-natural fibers that keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer
4 Sing a new song
5 Write a new poem
6 Invent a new candy bar {the prime ingredient being chocolate of course!}


I had better get to it! So the first thing on my list of things to do today was to scour my closet, the mission being to find some warm items to wear under everyday apparel. After a small amount of rooting through layers of slips, swim suits, and socks,   I discovered a white Under Armour shirt. Textiles being on my mind these days, this caused me to wonder what Under Armour was made from. I had a notion it was of manufactured fibers, and a quick Google search confirmed my suspicions: Under Armour is made out of 'moisture-wicking polyester', what a disappointment. But then I had an idea. What if I could invent a material, a new kind of underwear, made only from natural fibers, let's call it Greenmail, and it would be similar only better for your skin. I have in mind a long-sleeved tunic-like piece with a silky texture and holes in the end of the sleeve for you to slip your thumbs through like fingerless gloves. NOTE TO SELF: I need to research and experiment with different fibers/fabrics and see what I can come up with: Evidently Something for a rainy day.


Ideas to stay warm:
Heat up a ricebag and cuddle in a blanket
Brew some hot tea
Do fifty jumping jacks
wear a sweater
Snuggle with a snuggly person
If applicable, go find a warm kitten [or puppy]
heat up the oven and stand in front of it with the door open
So basically, eat warm things, drink warm drinks, and associate with warm people {or things}. 


Now my outfit for school yesterday:
1 After a quick consultation with my closet, I chose to wear brown Vanity brand cotton jeans, an interesting alternative to bluejeans, and less slick in texture.

2 My choice of tops was a pink/purple striped camisole of some obscure Japanese brand-don't know how that got in there!-

And a rich purple hooded v-neck {deliciously soft!} sweater, also Vanity. 

Can you tell I love Vanity? Realizing that I also needed to shod myself, {despite some of the efforts of the barefooted blighters at DMACC,} I decided upon my personal favorite: Purple Converse One-star shoelaceless shoes-My, what a mouthful that was!
These shoes lend a certain quality of nerdiness to my wardrobe which I find supremely satisfying. {I am a fan of nerds.}

To top it off, I wore my orangey fingerless gloves-

A treasured item of mine, because they add an intriguing flash of color that's perfect for nearly any outfit, and are warm as toast! {Speaking of toast....... ....}

So basically my entire outfit was themed in purple. A cozy choice of apparel for a crisp day! 

Eco fibers: Redesigning fashion

Eco fibers: Redesigning fashion

My Examiner Articles

http://www.examiner.com/user-paigerothfus

Need to be Tided Over?

I ran into one problem today. By the time I got back from work it was much too dark to glue the pages together with the spray adhesive {as it must be done outdoors} so I resolve to do it tomorrow afternoon. Here are some links to what other people are doing with their books to tide you over:
http://centripetalnotion.com/2007/09/13/13:26:26/#more-550

mlhttp://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/09/bittersweet-art-of-cutting-up-books.html

Project Prototype 1-Odds and Ends Redesigned Book Purse-Part I

The first project I undertook was an odds and ends book purse, redesigned from an old book which I got from a second-hand shop. It was to be the prototype for my first NETTLE FASHION design! I took a book and began gluing the pages together. This went on for a while before I finally began to suspect that it was failing. Eventually it was a large swollen, gluey pack. I almost wasn't sure if it had even been a book, it was so in-recognizably mutilated. Needless to say this first attempt was so graphic and horrible and I botched it so badly that I would have had to give it an R-rating if I had posted it, so I made the decision not to. {I try to keep my blog posts at the PG-13 level}

So I abandoned it in the trash, and started over with another book. As bad as this sounds, I actually enjoyed cutting it up! In a way it was satisfying, maybe because it felt sort of naughty.

 Above are the materials I gathered to make this project: Some spray adhesive, cloth craft ribbon, a ruler, two clips, and a knife.

So the first thing I did was use the ruler to cut four lines in the paper, leaving a margin, like above.

I kept doing this, cutting as deep as I could, and pulling out the loose sheets from the middle, so what was left looked like a frame:

 As I continued, it became more and more difficult, as the margin near the spine was difficult to hold down while I was cutting. So I used the clips to clip the already cut sheets down, and out of my way. It took about an hour to cut all the way through, and eventually became very painful to my hand and arm to apply the pressure that was needed to keep slicing through the paper. Ouch! Since this was a prototype, I didn't expect it to be perfect. So one thing that I learned about this is that I'll never be doing this project using a box-cutter again. Next time I am calling on a mechanized blade! One amusing thing I noticed after I had cut out all the paper from the middle: The book smells like a book, it looks like a book, but it is unnaturally LIGHT for a book! Even the cheapest books don't come that light! Here are some looks at what I did to the inside flap of the book:

I embellished the outside with some buttons !

And then let it sit out to dry. Tomorrow evening I will finish it, and upload part II. Cheers!

My new [old] little red shoes!

So today I went to a second-hand shop to hunt for some odds and ends for my designing.
By odds and ends I mean:
>Old [thick] hardback books
>Women's belts
>Various women's shirts
>Used women's shoes

The belts and shirts are for a later project, so are the books, which haHA! You will have to wait and see to discover my plans for them. No hints, no peeks.

Anyway, I found this AMAZING little pair of red patterned flats that I just love! I wasn't even looking for this kind of shoe, and they were the first ones my eyes fell upon. I couldn't help trying them on. They were a size 7. They would look very cute with a pair of flared jeans, I think. Jon thinks I have too many shoes, but somehow they ended up in my closet. I couldn't resist them. Tell me what you think by commenting!

Flock of Snapboots

While out shopping the other day at the mall, I saw an amusing sight:
A flock of 4 women-three girls and their mother. Or so it appeared.
The strange thing about this group was their odd boots.
Being eyesores they immediately drew my eyes down to stare at their strangely-clad feet.
They were wearing snapboots. What store sells snapboots I cannot rightly say, but each of them had a pair.  I call them snapboots because they were furry short black boots with metal snaps sewn onto them.


I began to wonder, was this some sort of cult? Or did they all just happen to wear synchronized shoes out shopping? Perhaps they all splurged and bought the shoes while out. What were their problems? What is their story? I will probably never know. Just another set of random people who appears in your life for a brief moment, brushes shoulders with you, and vanishes again as quickly as they came.


I regret to not have a photograph to present with this post, but perhaps the scene is best played out in your own imagination.

Fashion Show

Had an interesting time in class today hearing about everyone's designers and seeing the boards of photos.

Here's mine: Escada is the name of a fashion label, and Margaretha and Wolfgang, the founder of this fashion label named it after their lucky horse in the races. Escada is known for their luxurious styles. Among apparel, they also design accessories, and are still a major fashion presence today.
Today my Professor informed me of a Fashion show on November 4th at 9 PM, on 502 E Locust Street.
Collections will highlight the best of winter fashions and party-wear with indie couture and edgy glamour. Sounds like fun to me!

The Nettle Credentials

The Nettle's Treasure:
10 Good reasons to love nettles:
1-Nettles are a great source of vitamins A, C, and D, potassium, silica, nitrogen, manganese, beta-carotene, iron and calcium, due to the rich soil they grow in. Brew somenettle tea to obtain the healthy benefits.
2 Young nettle leaves have a nutty flavor which goes well with many dishes, they are delicious in soups.
3 Over long usage, nettles benefit adrenals and kidneys
4 Nettles assist in healing and strengthening lung tissue and intestines
5 Nettles are nourishing to the hair
6 Nettles help lactating mothers produce rich milk
7 Nettles help relieve pollen-related allergies
8 Nettles are anti-inflammatory, and they help prevent ailments of this kind
9 Nettle cream is nourishing to the face and helps prevent and heal acne, boils and oily skin
10 Nettle fiber, which is made into fabric for apparel design, is organic, and is glossier than silk and as strong as cotton