Crazy about Gudrun Sjödén's geometric prints!

Print fanatics will have seen (and swooned) over Gudrun Sjödén's Cirkus range of geometric prints for Spring/Summer 2013. These bright and bold triangle motif designs are right on trend. As you know, buying new clothes is out-of-bounds for me right now but that didn't stop me drooling over her new summer catalogue and lamenting that for the time being the Cirkus print leggings were hopelessly out of reach...

Imagine then my delight and excitement arriving home yesterday afternoon to find a beautifully packaged Gudrun Sjödén parcel with my name on it. Inside were these wonderful leggings - a surprise gift!

They feel fantastic to wear and fill me with a mischievous harlequin spirit. I put them on immediately and cycled along the seafront to Harriet's house for our weekly ukulele and cake meet up, stopping to take these snaps as the sun went down. What a glorious way to end the day!

Giving up clothes shopping for a year

It was my 44th birthday this week and to mark the occasion of reaching this bingo-tastic age, I've decided to give up buying clothes for a year.

Three things prompted this decision:

1. Finding an abandoned copy of The Guardian on a train in January and reading about Rebecca Smithers doing exactly this last year. I've been thinking about this article ever since.
2. Discovering the Stylish Dress Book Japanese home dressmaking phenomenon.
3. The Bangladeshi clothing factory collapse

Reading Smithers's article I immediately thought it was something I wanted to try too, but couldn't actually imagine giving up the fleeting thrill of a fantastic vintage find, or a root around Primark for a cheap instant fashion fix. I love clothes and always have, but after 28 adult years of acquiring stuff, I think the time has come for me to stop buying and take stock.

I have enough long sleeve tops, cheap vests and socks accumulated in the last few years alone, not to mention rails of dresses and jackets amassed over the decades to see me through at least five winters to come! Of course I can manage one year without buying more.

Two weeks ago a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed killing 1127 people who died while working in appalling conditions to produce clothing for Western high street retailers. I simply don't want to be complicit in our society's need for increasingly cheap, fast fashion any more. Making more of my own clothes this year has reminded me how much work and skill is involved in producing even the most simple of garments and whenever I return to buying clothes I pledge to only buy products produced in fair conditions – whatever it costs.

Until then I'm following Smithers's lead and will stop buying new clothes for a year. I won't buy any new hosiery, no underwear, no shoes or boots or handbags, no 'preloved' or secondhand items and no accessories – this includes brooches and scarves (my weakness). Instead I will make do, mend or make things myself.

I've started telling friends and acquaintances about my mission and already two have also pledged to join me. And we're not the only ones.  

Others who stopped buying clothes for a year:
Rebecca Smithers 
Leona from Manchester
Sarah Peck from San Francisco 
All the folk who've taken part in The Great American Apparel Diet

Or, if you have money to burn (approx £1,933 that is) and no sense willpower, you can enlist a specialist life coach who will take the money you may have spent on buying clothes and in return they will motivate you not to shop! I think that's how it works anyway. Just like this.

Or do it my way and just stop buying clothes all by yourself. I'll let you know how I get on.

Super cute lavender bags available now in my Etsy shop!

I've just listed a whole new bunch of lavender bags on Etsy. I made them from Suzy Ultman's Put A Stamp On It design cotton – another beautiful Robert Kaufman fabric. Regular readers will know it's a favourite fabric in my house!

 

To see more or to buy, visit the Ivy Arch Etsy shop now.

Eclectic Owls in the Ivy Arch shop

I've been busy sewing owls. They started off as birthday presents for my daughter's friends, then seemed the ideal thing to make for Donna's new retro-fantastic flower shop and have been so popular I've made some to sell in my Etsy shop too. Now, you may think the last thing Etsy needs is more owls (according to this highly unscientific study they're the fourth most plentiful creature on my favourite handmade marketplace), but I'm sure you'll agree these owls are particularly lovely.

They're available in two shapes and I made them using up some of the precious smaller offcuts of rare vintage fabric left over from bigger projects, combined with contrasting bold contemporary prints. Original fabrics used include designs by Peter Hall, William Morris, Naito Shoji, Lecien Japan and Robert Kaufman.

They're upcycled toys and I love making them as every different fabric combination seems to give each one a distinct personality. Ivy Arch vintage/modern owls are available to buy now.

A Bigger Splash at Worthing's New Swimming Pool

With just one day to go until the opening of Worthing's brand new swimming pool emotions in my house have reached a state of fervour. 

   Twenty long years in the planning (we do things slowly on the Sussex coast) and a reputed £19.7 million later, the pool is about to open on the evening before West Sussex County Council elections – what better feel good publicity for our camera-ready councillors?

    Wilkinson Eyre architects won a RIBA competition to design the new pool but their execution of the project met with much local muttering. The final building is different to the initial publicly exhibited design (see it here) and the entrance and café aren't on the seafront as originally planned. However, the new building does look splendid from the outside – a streamlined homage to modernism, all boxy outlines and gleaming copper walls reflecting Worthing's plentiful sunlight.

Worthing's new swimming pool viewed from the beach

Superb exterior of Splashpoint pool

We went down to take a look at the finished building on Sunday and peered enviously in through the tall glass windows as lucky fitness club members enjoyed a private swim before the rest of us are allowed in tomorrow. It was lovely to see familiar faces from the old Aquarena manning the front desk and my daughter squealed with excitement when she saw the big yellow slide and fountain in the children's fun pool.

Sneak preview - inside Splashpoint

With an abundance of bicycle racks outside, Splashpoint swimming pool is another great thing for Worthing and I can't wait for my first swim! 

Count those cycle racks! It's a cyclist-friendly pool.

Screen and Screen Again at Ink Spot Press

On the second day of printmaker Jane Sampson's Thursday morning course at Ink Spot Press I experienced the absolute magic of printing an image onto a piece of paper. The six session course at Brighton's open-access printmaking workshop takes us through screenprinting step-by-step. Last week we looked at some of the inspiring work of printers and artists who'd previously passed through Ink Spot including Jane's own beautiful artwork; learnt how to prepare a screen with photo emulsion; made up a sample stencil; and exposed an image onto a screen.
 

Outside and inside Ink Spot Press HQ

A simple paper-cut tree seemed a good starting point for my first print, with the idea of exploring mark making and printing texture on top of the leaves. I roughly drew and cut out a stencil from stiff black paper then laid a piece of acetate on top and experimented drawing cross hatches, swirls, dots, patterns and making grainy marks. 

The two pieces – black cut out stencil and scribbled-on acetate were then laid side by side onto a prepared screen and put in the screenprint exposure unit. It was a thrill to press the start button and wait for my images to appear on the screen.

A big moment as my first screen emerges from the exposure unit!

This week Jane showed us how to set up, secure and register the screen in preparation for printing onto paper. It's a much more exacting process than I remembered from my previous improvised attempts at printing onto fabric more than 20 years ago! I began using the tree stencil shape part of the screen, and will try printing with the textured/patterned leaf part next week.

Screenprinting is physically demanding but also hugely rewarding – my dormant biceps were put to work in attempting to apply the correct pressure to the squeegee to evenly distribute ink across the screen. I could've happily carried on mixing colours and printing trees all day. 

Seeing my simple first image reproduced in different tones on variously coloured backgrounds was so exciting and the euphoria hasn't faded yet. I can't wait for next week's class...

Spring sewing: Easy-sew girls' skirts

My daughter has a lot of home-made elasticated waist skirts in her wardrobe. They're probably the easiest garment to sew, are comfortable to wear, and can be run up in one evening. For these I used a Simplicity sewing pattern bought years ago as a starting point (adding a couple of centimetres to this well-used age 2-6 pattern to fit my growing 8 year old) then cut a contrasting border panel for the hem.

One is made from Put A Stamp On It fabric designed by Suzy Ultman for Robert Kaufmann and trimmed in pink spotted cotton to go with her kimono, the other is cut from Tape Measure print fabric trimmed with Cotton Reels patchwork/quilting material by Makower UK. 

She loves them both and doubtless they'll soon be seen worn with leggings for climbing trees in Homefield park...