Summer essentials

Our current post-swimming, late afternoon hammock reading. At first I thought it was just nostalgia on my part, but I never get tired of the Robert McCloskey books. Both the illustrations and the stories are thoroughly enchanting. They're classics.

Postcards from Michigan #11

Postcards from Michigan #10

Postcards from Michigan #9

Postcards from Michigan #8

Postcards from Michigan #7

(Tsia with her Grandma)

This has been fun! I was planning to do just one week of postcards, but maybe I'll continue it a bit. We'll see.

Postcards from Michigan #6

Postcards from Michigan #5

Postcards from Michigan #4

Postcards from Michigan #3

Thank you for all the Tokyo crafting advice, everyone! I'm making a list and, as it turns out, one of Todd's colleagues is also a crafter (hurray!) and can probably point him in the closest, most time-efficient direction. I can hardly wait! He's coming out here to see us when he gets back, so of course I'll be making him lug his purchases along so I don't have to wait until we get home. I guess I'd better starting thinking of something I can bribe (err, convince) him with...

P.S. Did you see this article?

Last week there was a wonderful article in the New York Times about needlecrafts and their increase in popularity. Who knew we might actually be a cool bunch instead of dorky DIY-ers?

(The dress is from Marc by Marc Jacobs. Of course I love it.)

Postcards from Michigan #2

Postcards from Michigan: Having fun, wish you were here

Yellow watermelon. Verdict? Not as sweet or full of flavor as regular watermelon; it tastes a bit like a cross between cucumber and watermelon, in my opinion. But it looks pretty with wildflowers.

We are enjoying ourselves during our time away. My Mom stopped by for a couple of days, and Todd's parents will be with us this week. We're hoping that Todd will join us after a week in Tokyo. By the way, does anyone have any suggestions for a crafty/fabric shop where I should send him while he's there? He won't have much time, but I might be able to convince him to make one stop for me.


I came across this dress in the Garnet Hill catalog the other day. It looks like I'm not the only one working with multiple prints and wrap-style empire-waisted dresses, hmm? But they managed to iron their dress before photographing it, and my dress would still be un-photographed if I had insisted on pressing beforehand. Isn't it strange that I'm such a stickler for pressing when I sew, but you'd never even guess that I own an iron afterwards? I was so happy to open a recent J. Crew order and discover that everything inside was intentionally rumpled; it was a perfect justification to just keep wearing things straight out of the drier. (Or off the line, now that I can enjoy air-dried clothes for a little while. There's nothing better than line-dried clothing!)


And I promised you a report on thrifting: so far we've found some terrific 60's and 70's printed sheets, some that remind me of the ones Alicia used in her vintage sheet bookbags, but not much in the way of fabric. I think I'll hit some garage sales next weekend, and maybe the local antique shops.

I think maybe next week I'll send you some photo postcards. See you soon!

Away, away

(update: Hmmm. Was the leaf project in the Simple Gifts to Stitch book instead? This is what happens when you leave the book at home and write about it from a distance...)


Six weeks is a long time to be away from home, especially when your spouse isn't going with you. Todd started a new job a few weeks ago and needs some time to get acquainted with his role and to meet a few deadlines. Meanwhile, Tsia and I are enjoying the cooler air and a quiet lakefront cottage in Michigan, where Todd's parents own a weekend getaway. Everyone makes out well in this deal: I get a bit of a break, Todd's parents can spend quality time with their granddaughter, and Todd gets a little peace and quiet (and space for himself in our cramped apartment).


I must admit, the New Yorker in me starts to feel a bit uncomfortable at the thought of being so far from my city, my husband, the sewing machine, and all my craft supplies. I took these photos at dinner on our last night in town, because I had to leave these two new books behind when we packed. And what a shame! Amy's Bend-the-Rules book looks like a terrific beginning sewing book; I'll certainly be recommending it to my students next fall when I resume teaching.


My favorite aspects of her book? Well first of all, I like her approach. She gives a good introduction to sewing and takes time to explain all her tricks and favorite techniques. And then there are all those lovely vintage fabrics she used in her samples! Apparently if you live outside NYC you can find fabic at thrift shops and garage sales? I'll be sure to do a bit of hunting for these bargains while I'm away; keep your fingers crossed that my textile stars will be aligned.


Amy has also included 30 projects in her book, and several of them are especially sweet. Like the adorable leaf pillow, which gets it's veins through the clever piecing of corduroy wales.


The hand-drawn sketches also bring a sweet level of charm to the book.

But I'll tell you what I like best about this book: I listened to Amy's interview on CraftSanity the other day, and she mentioned that the title might be a bit misleading. This isn't sewing without rules; it's about sewing with full knowledge of the rules. Once you understand how to sew, you'll know which rules can be broken under which circumstances. I like that approach.

I somehow expected this book to be much smaller in size, but it's a full-sized (um, 11" x 14", I think?) paperback, with folded flaps at the cover that add some durability without the bulk of a hardcover. All in all, I like it.


And guess what? Simple Gifts to Stitch actually makes a nice companion to Amy's; it's filled with fantastically creative, clever projects, many of which are twists on traditional techniques. Truthfully, I didn't take much time to examine the introductory materials, so I can't recall whether the author went into detail with instructions for the beginning sewer. But I certainly saw many appealing projects inside. Wouldn't this rain poncho be a fun project for a stormy day? You could even try it out right away!


I particularly like this bib, which reminded me that Grandma's friend recently gave me several books on chicken scratch after she heard how much I love my apron. The bib is a quick project but still gives the full impact of, and opportunity to try out, chicken scratch. I love how this project has updated the technique for appeal to today's aesthetic.


And here I thought that I had cleverly invented a method of binding for my picnic blanket, but it was in this book the entire time.


Here is another really clever project: by pulling threads in a chambray, you expose the two colors of the warp and the weft threads and create a simple decoration on a coaster.

The book is filled with unique ideas like these, and I'm sure I'll be coming back to it for inspiration.

Meanwhile, you may be hearing a bit less from me over the next few weeks as we enjoy a little sunshine and a little less time online. But I'll still be checking in regularly to fill backpack pattern orders and the like. See you soon!

After all, I grew up in America's Dairyland

There's a common practice within the design industry called doing a "rub off." Essentially, when you find something you love, you have it copied exactly by pinning muslin over the original garment to duplicate the pattern, shape, and fit. It's not an exact science, but it usually gets you really close within a much shorter time than starting from scratch might.


A couple of weeks ago I found a dress I just love at a boutique near our apartment. It's a vintage dress, obviously well loved and quite worn in, and the boutique owner altered it a bit before selling it. It fits beautifully and is extremely comfortable, plus I can dress it up (to a certain extent) or down depending on my needs.

So I made a rub off. It wasn't difficult, but I've found that the first draft of a rub off nearly always requires modification and tweaking. I didn't have time to mess with modifications--this had to be a fast project--so I rubbed off directly onto the fabric I wanted to use and stitched it together as quickly as I could. I'm quite pleased with the results, but I would love to have time to make it again so I could alter the fit slightly.


I really like the two prints together: I found them both at Purl one day while I was teaching. I've mentioned before how I really don't like to use prints that are intended to match: for example, prints from a single collection. These prints are just cheeky enough together; they clearly aren't intended to sit together, but the varied scales, color intensities, and vintage feel of them both make them perfect together (in my eye, anyway).

I keep getting compliments on the dress, and the other day a stranger told me it was very "Anthropologie" (which I thought was amusing, since I wondered how she know it wasn't from the store?). So I guess it works. Although something about the paneled skirt feels a bit Milk Maid to me.

It's the East Village. I guess Milk Maid can sit with goth, grunge, hipster, or anything else that I might find out there, right?