GOODBYE VALENTINO 2014 RTW 365 FAST

Commencing in January 2014 I have committed to joining a RTW (Ready to wear) Fast established by fellow blogger Sarah Gunn from Goodbye Valentino. I do not know Sarah personally but I have been following her blogs for some months and I am inspired by her achievements and obvious creativity which she has so willingly shared with others.  

In Sarah's words " What constitutes a RTW Fast? Refraining from buying ALL outerwear, dresses, tops, pants, shorts, sweaters, coats, exercise clothes, jeans and bathing suits. Shoes, socks and underwear are permitted." So there you have it, no purchases other than shoes and undies for the year, seems a long time really.  Following is the link to Sarah's blog and reading her "about" page was enough to get me motivated to do the same in 2014.

http://goodbyevalentino.com/about

As part of the "fast" and "sew along" I will endeavor to add items to my wardrobe that I like and want to wear and in doing so at least clear some of the stash of gorgeous fabrics. Yes I know, that's every seamstresses dream of course but one casual glance at my fabric stash whilst moving home was enough to send me on a search for a reason to get motivated to get sewing again. On further inspection I discovered in my closet an amazing collection of lovely fabrics and a rarely used good sewing machine (or two) and an over locker. I have no more excuses now. 

I love the idea of the sew along and I think it will be rather refreshing to abstain from the insufferable retail trips trying to find something that might work in my wardrobe. Us creative souls are pretty fussy when it comes to choosing something we like to wear. I know both my daughter and daughter-in-law could attest to this.

'Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied.' 

~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859~

I have always enjoyed being creative and I have sewn many items over the years from wedding dresses, flower girl and bridesmaid dresses, high end artist dolls clothes, ladies suits and many baby clothes.  I've smocked, quilted, embroidered, cross stitched, china painted and various other creative pursuits and without doubt I have a sincere appreciation for the finer things in life which is where most of my inspiration comes from. 

I have a real love of natural fabrics like silk, linen, leather, fur etc. and there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a project come together when everything has been created by hand.  I will, if I must, substitute natural fabrics where necessary but my goal is to create items that have the look and feel of high end couture garments. I aim to construct all of my garments in the same way that the European Fashion houses create their garments with the assistance of a few tutorials from the experts because I do not believe you ever stop learning in life and there are so much wonderful information on the web now.  The garments will be constructed in this way from start to finish.  I can't promise that I will remember to document it all but you will get to see the end product and I will give credit where credit is due to others who have assisted in my learning and my creative process.

So here is my commitment, now to get started.