Monday 31 March 2014

on our own schedule now!

I passed the proposal defense with flying colours!  I managed to get four outfits completed for showing, a powerpoint slide presentation and answered questions like I knew my shit.  Yeah!
Outfit number three had a sweater I'm really not happy with, so I am reknitting it.  The yarn I chose originally didn't hold up to softness once it was washed for blocking.  it feels like plastic now.  I went rooting in the textile bins at school though and found a fairly nice worsted wool and I am working on reknitting now.  I donated a bag of yarns to replace the cone I took, so I'm still working within budget.  The fourth outfit was a shirtwaist dress with full 1950s skirt in black cotton and a bought moto jacket in pleather that I am reworking with ruffles and such.  I had planned to have one made in leather, but then this season they became "fashionable" and I bout the pleather one for 70$ at Reitman's.  Last Thursday I spent the day inserting a grosgrain ribbon frill into the collar.  Red on black.  It's striking.

Today I am taking the day off, working on housework, like laundry and such.  I'll knit for a bit, then it's off to a Cultural Studies party this afternoon at the Mount.
Tomorrow I am back on schedule!  I have five outfits left to complete, and a major paper to write, the first deadline being mid May with my intro and historical background and political art movements that contributed to UK punk.  I want this project finished by end of August.

Friday 21 March 2014

One week until Proposal Defense

I finished the second outfit yesterday, the tailored suit took a lot longer than planned.  The third outfit, I am not quite happy with, but I'll finish what I have and deal with it after next week.  Tuesday I start the fourth outfit, which I will wear on Friday.  It's a cotton day dress with a bought jacket that I hope to rework a bit with some trim.  I just couldn't pass up the deal, 75$ for a pleather version of the one I sketched out, and the pleather matches skirt fabric I bought for another outfit.
Today I did some last minute revisions to the thesis proposal, changing dates around really, to better reflect the current timeline.  Looks like I will be finished in September if I stick to the plan.  I think I can do it if I really apply myself and keep writing.  That would give time for edits and I could graduate in the winter...not too far behind.

I've been looking at schools for the PhD, I'm not sure where I really want to go, or what I want to study, other than fashion.  I don't want to be having to take courses completely unrelated to my chosen path again, it was hard enough for the MA.  I really want to work with a school that agrees that fashion is important...Now to find one that I can financially deal with.

Feeling like I should have gone down to the studio today and gotten some work done.