indeed

"Love, I believe, descends. Parents love their children more than children can their parents, so that children can only entier into the fulness of the parents' love by becoming parents themselves."

Bishop King

I think this is so true. What do you think?

baby boom

I could swear babies come in bunches. There seem to be waves of babies around us, and this is one of those high tide occasions. Lots of friends have recently welcomed little ones into their lives.


I'm not able to custom make baby gifts for all our friends these days, but some dear friends who live overseas recently had their first child and I really wanted to give them something special. One of the great things about simple patterns is that you can spend more time on the details, so I made them some Bedtime Story Pajamas in a beautiful men's shirting fabric and constructed it with French seams so the inside would look as finished as the outside.

There's something about high-quality shirting fabrics. Even the sound of the fabric when the sewing machine needle hits it is so satisfying. I don't mind spending a little extra when I find a really great Italian shirting in the garment district. Just a yard or two, and then I always have something terrific to reach for when I need it. And it doesn't take much fabric when you're making clothing is such little sizes!


I've just finished sewing the label into this little outfit, and it will be making it's way to London tomorrow. Meantime, I'm making my way to Vermont for a few days of additional sewing time. See you next week!

found in books

This book was inside a large package of sewing items I purchased at a yard sale in Michigan a couple of summers ago. Since it was right around the time I was getting ready to launch Oliver + S, I never really had a chance to look at it.


I opened the book for the first time the other day, I can't remember why. But I'm freaking out over the photographs inside. Wow, I want to wear these clothes!



Especially this suit. I love the hat, too. Wish I had time to make something like this for my sister's wedding in September, but somehow I doubt it would look quite so stunning on me:

The best part of the book, however, are the scraps of paper and clippings inside it. Here is a newspaper ad I found inside it, along with a few bits I found in another book I have.
Isn't it fun to get little peaks at someone else's life?

summer pjs

Isn't four just a great age? Everything is exciting and worth talking about. And talking and talking about. My goodness, the talking just doesn't stop. I remember hearing my sister tell my nephew, "My ears are tired, so you can keep talking but I'm not going to listen for a little while." Which I thought was about the gentlest way to let a kid keep being a kid without stifling him and without losing your mind in the process.


Anyway, last night Tsia got all excited when I asked her if she wanted to go outside in her pjs for some photographs before bedtime. And barefoot, no less! This was an adventure, and it was worthy of a full discussion during our ride down in the elevator, all about why we were going outside wearing pjs (no, I was fully dressed) and without our shoes.

Well, being photographed when you're four is more about making goofy faces and silly poses than smiling and standing still. I'm fortunate I got something blog-worthy out of our evening adventure. These are the Bedtime Story PJs made in a size 4 for summer. The fabric is double gauze from Seven Islands, our neighbor at Quilt Market. I chose it in part because the pattern comes from the weave itself. I adore how those little white dots on the purple are actually part of the fabric construction. The dots are threads from the second layer of gauze on the inside of the pjs. The two layers are connected only by the threads that cross each other at regular intervals, which means that the inside of the PJs are the opposite of the outside: white with purple dots. Fun, yes?


I almost wish I had lengthened a size 3 instead of making a size 4, just because Tsia is such a skinny kid and the fabric is so relaxed and drapey. In an ordinary quilting cotton the size 4 would have been fine. So I guess this is a good example of how the fabric you select can dramatically effect the final garment. But the double gauze is great for summer, and she's been sleeping very comfortably is these now that the weather has warmed up and we're getting some sun at long last.

backpack patterns on sale!

I'm still here, just working to catch some deadlines. The fall Oliver + S patterns are almost sent to the printer, and I'll be so relieved when they've gone.

In the meantime, we're offering a special summer sale on the crazy-popular Day in the Park Backpack Tote pattern. If you've been waiting to make one of these, here's your chance: they're 50% off for a limited time!


This is a good pattern to try if you're relatively new to sewing. I designed it for my students who had finished the beginning class and were ready to try sewing from a pattern. The instructions are very clear and detailed, and there are lots of fun little details like a simple zippered pocket at the inside of the bag.

You can see many other finished bags in the backpack Flickr group if you're looking for a little additional inspiration.