a few miscellaneous items

First things first: Oliver + S is offering free shipping on all web orders now through July 10! See here for details.


So I'm beginning to think that using the term "sewer" really is simpler than calling someone a "seamstress." What do you think? After all, what would we then call men who sew? Seamsters, perhaps? Sounds a bit threatening, I think. Like someone who carries a pair of very long sewing shears in their back pocket, wears an eye patch or keeps a pack of sewing needles rolled in his shirtsleeve, and you probably wouldn't want to bump into him in the back aisle of a dark fabric store late at night. Hmmm.

But I would be willing to bet the jacket he was wearing would be beautifully tailored, even if it was made of black (Italian) denim or leather...


Anyway, I keep forgetting to call your attention to this post over at the Oliver + S blog. If you're interested in making and selling Oliver + S clothing to be carried in New York City boutiques, please drop me a line at liesl@oliverands.com. I'm assembling a list of interested parties and will pass it along to the shop owners shortly. See the post for details.

Also, thanks for all the reminiscences regarding teddy bears and the like. I really enjoyed reading all your comments!

Back soon.

Al fresco in Manhattan

Outdoor space is a luxury in Manhattan. Any apartment with a little terrace sells for a big premium over another apartment of the same size. And although we occasionally joke about cantilevering a terrace (or an extra bedroom, perhaps?) off our living room wall, we don't have one.

We do, however, have lots of thick green lawns in our apartment complex. With concerts and outdoor movies and things in the summer. It's pretty great. So we have lots of picnics when the weather is nice.

And then there's the East River, which is our luxury.

You wouldn't expect to find much along the river, but sandwiched between the FDR highway and the narrow waterway is the most beautifully maintained, privately funded little park. It's part of an tremendous effort to make the edges of the island accessible to the public.

This particular little river-side park is our secret treasure, with tables right along-side the water. I love the views of Brooklyn waterfront, still a little seedy-looking with its watertowers and warehouses along an under-appreciated waterfront as the sun drops over the Hudson River on the other side of town and sets it glowing.

We tend to forget that we live on an island sometimes, and it's nice to be reminded as we listen to the waves crash over the pilings and watch the water-taxis dash past. Many people take advantage of the biking and walking paths around the perimeter of the island, and it's great to see other people enjoying the waterfront as well.

We admire the variety of plants along the waterfront, and occasionally we'll see someone catch a fish as well.

Of course, Tsia just likes an excuse to eat standing up.



And to smear fresh cherries all over her little face.

summer by stealth

With all the deadlines and work churning around here, we haven't had much time to enjoy the June warmth and sunshine. And I think my subconscious may be trying to coax me outdoors in recognition of that fact; I recently become the owner of several leisure-oriented items that I'm just itching to try out. First there was an irresistable woven project bag I simply had to have from Purl, and then I added a fantastic water lily woven sunhat to the mix. Not exactly something to be taken to the studio for a day at work, hmmm? Clearly I need some time at a park or the beach, for my mental health as well as an excuse to try out the new goods..


This print from Heather Ross's new line of home dec weight fabric for Kokka recently inspired a summery mousepad, too. I cut a piece of Timtex, stitched up a little pocket approximately 1/8" wider and taller than the Timtex, and slipped the interfacing inside before edgestitching all the way around it to hold it all together and close up the opening. About as easy as can be, and really light-weight for portability (in case I take the laptop to the park instead of the studio one of these days, maybe? Wearing my fabulous chapeau and carrying a bit of knitting or embroidery in my new project bag?). If you cut a piece of fusible web the same size as the Timtex, you can fuse the top fabric to the Timtex so it doesn't slip around once it's sewn up, too. Just to be sure, you know; it would work fine without it, but the fusible was there and the iron was hot...



Here are some very basic hand-drawn instructions, if you're interested. Click to enlarge. Seriously low-tech here, just for fun. You'll notice that when I sewed the two fabric layers together I stitched out to the edge of the seam allowances at the opening; it turns out that when you sew them like this, the seam allowances will sort of automatically keep themselves tucked into the opening when the fabric is turned right side out. Try it; you'll see what I mean.

Bear

You never really know which toy your child will latch onto, do you? My money (figurately speaking, of course) was on the Steiff bear my dad brought back from Germany, probably because I still love my own teddy bear so much. Todd thought it would be a custom blanket/sheep (I think they're called a "lovey") given by a friend.


Instead it was Bear. He was a "free gift with purchase" sample developed by my former employer for a perfume line the company was launching. I think Bear was intended as a Christmas giveaway: he was wearing a striped scarf and, if I recall correctly, a hat when he was given to us by one of my former colleagues.


We almost turned him down. After all, we already had so many little soft friends in our apartment at the time of our visit to my old workplace (Tsia was young and probably had six or seven softies; only in retrospect do we realize how manageable a collection of six was! So naive, we were.). But Tsia wouldn't let go, and hasn't let go ever since.


When he first came to our house, Bear was pure white and soft, soft. Despite regular baths and one stuffing transplant (he was well qualified to assist during our friend Big Blue Ted's transplant last winter as a result), he scarcely resembles the bear he once was.

And we love him. I only hope he continues to hold together. Something tells me that the manufacturers of perfume giveaways aren't thinking about heritage and childhood memories when they're selecting fabric and thread.


Bear has been helping us to test out the fall line, as well. It's getting positive feedback on the pajama front. From both members of the short set.

butterfly dress

When we were growing up, our mom always made the best clothes for her five girls. I loved the dresses she sewed for me, but I also dreaded going to the school library because the volunteers there would ooh and ah whatever I was wearing, asking if my mom made it. Of course she did!. But I was shy and didn't want the attention my adorable clothes garnered.

I had a red cotton jumper that always felt very "swiss miss" to me because it had a clever vest closure trimmed with a woven floral ribbon. There was another beloved dress from first or second grade that included a puffed-sleeved white blouse, cobalt blue plaid skirt, and double-breasted blue velveteen vest.


Mom made most of my Sunday dresses and school clothes, but she was up to almost any challenge. During the whole designer jeans craze in junior high she sewed a pair of blue jeans for me. I remember two prom dresses, dresses based on my sketches and ideas, Halloween costumes, mini-skirts, and countless other projects. Mom made virtually whatever I wanted. I can only remember once when she said no to me, the day before my high school graduation when I decided I needed a yellow silk tank top and wrap skirt. It would have been really pretty, but the day before graduation and the party we were having? Not very considerate of me.

I had almost forgotten about this dress. My sister Sharri and I had matching butterfly dresses, made from some squares of printed silk that Grandma sent Mom. Each dress has a butterfly embroidered on its bodice, lovingly embellished by Mom.

This is the smaller of the two dresses. Dr. S loves it, and so do I. I probably shouldn't be letting her each ice cream in it or wear it for play, but she's a pretty neat kid and seems to respect her clothing so that she'll take care not to mess something if she knows it's special. And I can't stand to save it just for Sunday, since she'll outgrow it so quickly anyway.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have this dress. Once it's too small I'll probably display it on a hanger someplace, maybe in her bedroom. I hope that someday she'll be able to dress her daughter in the same dress and can tell her own stories about it.

And maybe she'll add one of the dresses I've made for her, and pass that along to her child as well.