sweet, again

S and I have a little tradition when we play our favorite matching game. Whenever one of us turns over the bear on a bicycle card, we both do a little freak-out and holler "Bear on a Bicycle!" And of course whoever finds the match does a mini dance. I've got no idea why we do this. Maybe just because we love the illustration so much.

So when Heather Ross told me that Melissa Sweet, the illustrator of our beloved game, would be attending Heather's Weekend Sewing retreat last weekend, I did a larger version of my mini freak-out. I love Melissa's work, and she would be there in person, sewing with us! (And not only was she sewing with us, she was even making up my Lisette Passport Jacket.)

So that was fun. But what we even more fun was learning that Melissa has just published a new children's book, Balloons Over Broadway, which is a story about the man who made the very first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

As it happens, we were having dinner just around the corner from Macy's one night during the workshop, so a few of us dropped in afterwards to see if we could find the poster and the Macy's shopping bags (!) featuring Melissa's illustrations.

It wasn't an entirely fruitful search. No sign of the shopping bags, but we located a poster before returning to the sewing lab for the evening. I'll go back in a week or so to see if I can find the shopping bags.

S was beyond thrilled to get a signed copy of the book, and she spent yesterday afternoon and evening (parent-teacher conferences--half day of school) happily working away on the fantastic activity pages that Melissa and her publisher assembled. They're amazing! S spent loads of time designing her own Thanksgiving Day balloon, assembling a balloon hat (it turns out she moves quite well like a balloon when she's wearing her hat, thank you very much), and finding the best parade route through the maze. She was busy taping together the finger puppets while I assembled the adorable finger puppet storage box (I'll be making another one for myself, I love it so much). The activities are brilliant and would be a wonderful way to keep excited kids busy while they're awaiting Thanksgiving dinner.

By the way, Melissa will be on The Martha Stewart Show later this week demonstrating what Heather says is "the best project" she's seen for kids in a long time. Guess what we'll be doing on Thanksgiving Day before dinner?

Sweet.

(All these images are from Melissa's website. She's got a great blog, too!)

spotted

There's a wonderful story in the Juillet/Aout (err, July/August) issue of Marie Claire Idees that features some of Denyse Schmidt's fabrics. Here are a few photos:

Don't they look great? I especially like the bottle carrier.

catching up

S and I found these books at a shop the other day. We liked them so much we bought two: one for each of us. They're basically just sketchbooks, but with specific drawing suggestions on each page for things like a tennis racket, the leaning Tower of Pisa, the wild blue yonder, a technical diagram, footprints, and my favorite--luminescent plankton. We work on a page or two a night, just a fun activity to do together.

S draws a mean string quartet, doesn't she? Some of her quartet members dance instead of playing an instrument.

Since I've been such a bad blogger lately, here is a quick list of random bits to bring things up-to-date:

• we launched a new brand a week or so ago. Lisette is a collection of sewing patterns and coordinating fabrics for women's clothing. You can learn more about it on the website.

• Remember when I mentioned the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire a while back? Well, you can watch a documentary about it at the PBS now.

• S and I have discussed it at length and decided that, were we to be given a third arm, we would like it to be located on the top of our heads to hold an umbrella when it rains. We're still negotiating additional legs and eyes.

• my book is out!

• When I'm working on fabric designs I often spend hours staring at a computer screen, and sometimes I'll "watch" old movies and t.v. while I'm working--meaning I'm mostly listening while my eyes are otherwise occupied. Lately I've been watching thirtysomething and enjoying it almost as much as I did when it first came out. Do you remember it?

I'm sure there's more, but I'll think of it later.

welcome home

Really, what could be better than to return home from a trip and receive two gifts upon your arrival? Not only did I get a nice I MISS YOU drawing when we returned home from Quilt Market last week, but I also received a very special handmade book:

(Which, if you don't read 5-year-old, is entitled The Pooping Animals. Complete with drawings of cats and goldfish doing, you guessed it, just what the title says.)

So we're all authors around here. (Sorry, no pooping in my upcoming book.)

checking in

If you're wondering what's become of me, so am I. I walked into a meeting at S's new school (kindergarten, already) last week and was shocked to hear the Principal mention that it was the sixth week of school. Already? It felt like the third week to me. We're still adjusting to the schedule, our new commute, and a lot of projects and deadlines that keep popping up.

Just to get caught up and back into the swing of things, here's a list of random items:

Visiting: We took our bikes out to Governor's Island on the ferry a week or two ago and had a great time riding around. It's so odd to explore an island full of vacant buildings, so close to the city. Eerily beautiful, especially when it's threatening a storm.





Watching: I've been on a little kick, watching documentary and feature films about fashion designers: Valentino, Coco Before Chanel, and Yves Saint Laurent. Loved The September Issue. Have you seen it? Have I missed any? I'm anxiously awaiting Bill Cunningham New York, too.

Reading: I think I'll move on to something different than fashion once I've finished reading Coco Chanel. But in truth I'm just awaiting the final book in the Lytton family trilogy by Penny Vincenzi to arrive from the library. Good stuff.

Listening: Have you heard the most recent Radiolab yet? And here I thought we were being so environmental, living in New York. Turns out that's only part of the story.

Looking: The Abstract Expressionist New York show at MoMA is well worth a trip if you get a chance. The show draws from the museum's permanent collection, and it's both educational and fascinating.

Ok, back soon. I promise.

(Oh, and we're doing a giveaway at the Oliver + S blog to celebrate the release of our fabrics, fyi...)

inspiration: Elegance

Of all the books on the shelves at the studio (pattern-making, sewing reference, grading techniques, etc.), this is the book I refer to most frequently. It's surprising, actually, since I don't think it's directly inspired anything I've designed. But I still come back to it regularly and will probably continue to refer to it over time.

The Seeberger brothers were among the world's very first fashion photographers, working from the early 1900's into the 1970's. They primarily photographed wealthy aristocrats at their places of leisure: the racecourse, beaches, and resorts. The photographs in this book were taken between 1909 and 1939, which was a spectacularly elegant era for fashion. Or at least I think so.

The personalities in the photos are almost as interesting as the fashions, and the photographs are exquisite. I finally dragged myself away from staring at the photos the other day and started reading the text, which is equally fascinating. But I love fashion history, so that's probably no great surprise.

Some of these fashions would look just as elegant today, I think.

blueberries for S

I found a bunch of tiny metal buckets at a gardening store last year and knew exactly what to do with them. I brought them, with a few pints of blueberries and the book Blueberries for Sal, to Tsia's school for snack time.

If you're not familiar with the story, little Sal and her mother go up Blueberry Hill to pick blueberries to can for the winter. Sal's mother picks blueberries and puts them into her large bucket, and Sal likes the sound the blueberries make when she drops them into her own little bucket: kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk. But Sal really prefers to eat the berries.

While I read the story out loud to S and her classmates, they dropped blueberries into their buckets just like Sal. They liked the kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk sound the berries made but, just like Sal, they preferred to eat them.

After a while of picking, Sal gets tired and sits down to eat all the berries she can reach from her spot.

Meanwhile in the story, Little Bear and his mother are coming up the other side of
Blueberry Hill, eating all the berries they can store up for winter. Little Bear gets tired and sits down to eat blueberries while his mother continues along.

But when Sal and Little Bear hurry to catch up with their mothers, things get all mixed up. Little Sal finds Little Bear's mum, and Little Bear finds little Sal's mum. Everyone is surprised, and both mums go hurrying off to find their own offspring. I love the expression on the Little Bear's mom's face in this illustration.

In the end, everyone is reunited, get all the berries they need, and return home down their respective sides of the mountain for a happy ending. Here are Sal and her mother, canning blueberries for the winter.

And at the end of our story, everyone had eaten all their blueberries and had a good time in the process.

stitching style

Last spring I had the pleasure of attending one of Natalie Chanin’s sewing workshops in New York. It was such a lot of fun! We each selected a project beforehand, and when we arrived it was waiting for us in a lovely kit (much like the one that Melanie Falick blogged about recently.) At the workshop, Natalie showed us how to use the same techniques her couture team follows when they stitch items for the Alabama Chanin collection. Then we spent the day stitching and chatting, and a chef came to prepare a delicious southern-style lunch for us. If you ever have the opportunity to spend a day with Natalie at one of these workshops, you’ll find that it’s incredibly rejuvenating and relaxing; none of us wanted to go home at the end of the day, and we made some wonderful new friendships in the process. (What is it about women, sewing, and bonding? I had a similar experience last summer at Heather Ross’s Weekend Sewing workshop in Vermont and am looking forward to doing it again this summer. It’s such a great way to make new like-minded friends!)

I never showed you what I made in Natalie’s workshop, but at last it’s time for the big reveal.

from Alabama Stitch Book

Back when Natalie and I first met, I sent her some Oliver + S patterns and one of her seamstresses made a darling Tea Party Sundress using the Alabama Chanin methods. The dress made an appearance in Cookie magazine’s profile of Natalie, and when I saw how wonderfully it turned out I just had to make one for S. I selected two colors from her organic cotton jersey fabrics: silt and light pink. I used the stencil provided in the Alabama Stitch Book (which I reviewed here) to transfer an all-over pattern onto the traced dress pieces, and once Natalie got me started with stitching I just couldn’t put the project down—I stitched all the way to Pittsburgh and back when we went to Quilt Market, and it was finished in time for my sister’s wedding.

Tea Party Sundress a la Alabama Chanin

As Natalie explains in her new book, Alabama Studio Style, cotton jersey relaxes when you wear it. Which means that it’s a good idea to start with a snug fit when you select the size you’ll be making. I made Tsia’s dress in her regular size, and of course the finished dress was too big. (I should have started with a pattern two sizes smaller and lengthened it following the methods I just posted on the Oliver + S blog to fit her height.)

So we’ve waited a while, and the dress is starting to fit. Tsia has worn it all winter with a turtleneck and tights, and I love how the fabric edges are starting to soften just a bit with each washing, giving the reverse appliqué a patina.

Alabama Studio Style

I had so much fun making this dress, now I’m planning to make myself one of the dress patterns from the Alabama Studio Style book . I still need to decide which style, size, fabric colors and stencil pattern to use. Any suggestions? (I really love the Angie’s Fall stencil, which is new to this book.)

Alabama Studio Style

If you’re interested in trying out these techniques but aren’t quite ready to take on a complete dress (and it is a commitment to make a full dress), there are lots of other terrific smaller projects in both books. I love the Small Medallion Placemats and the Medallion Boudoir Pillow in the new book (both of these projects use another new stencil that is included in the book), which look really contemporary and minimalist. There are so many great projects and recipes included, and the book feels very much like Natalie’s warm and relaxed personality, with some of her wonderful southern hospitality thrown into the mix. With both books, you’re only missing the companionship of a group of stitching women like we had at the sewing workshop.

And maybe a chef to cook you some delicious southern food at lunchtime while you relax and stitch and chat.

Alabama Studio Style

Natalie has included instructions for many different embellishment techniques like relief appliqué, backstitch reverse appliqué, and the beaded embellishments that have graced recent Alabama Chanin clothing collections. I’ve had an opportunity to admire these details during Fashion Week every season, and they are so inspirational. Each of these embellishment techniques look very different from the others when completed, and you could use them in many different ways to suit your own purposes, even if you don’t make any of the specific projects in the book. I particularly love the starburst “eyelet” stitch, which you could embroider by itself or bead for two very different looks.

I love how these two books can stand independent of each other but also build on each other. They're both absolutely beautiful, informative, and inspirational.

what we're doing

Here's what's happening at our house these days:

Being inspired


all of us: The Bauhaus show at MoMA. Two visits and two books later, we're all still talking and thinking about the show.

Reading


Me: The Pushcart War, by Jean Merrill: Remember this book? I'm enjoying re-reading it and catching the vocal inflections of the characters this time around. I keep thinking about the Essex Street Market in our neighborhood, which was apparently started when the pushcarts were moved to a permanent location to get them out of the way on the streets. It's still a great place to shop.

Tsia: Socks, the last of our lengthy Beverly Clearly list. Now that we've reached the end, can anyone suggest other books for us? We prefer non-scary books that a four-year-old can relate to.

Todd: catching up on old issues of The New Yorker, which is also next on my to-read list.

Listening


Tsia: They Might Be Giants, No! This is a fun CD, in part, because she can play it on our computer and enjoy little games while she listens. I keep singing the little ditties to myself, too.


Todd and me: Radiolab. So interesting and thought-provoking. But we're public-radio geeks, I guess. Musically, Miriam Makeba is currently at the top of my want-to-hear list. Can anyone suggest a favorite album to try?

Watching


Doc Martin on Hulu.com. We want to visit the little fishing town in Cornwall where this British TV series is filmed. Gorgeous. And a very funny show in that wonderful understated British manner. If there were more programs like this, we'd probably get a TV!

Helvetica documentary. I've been meaning to see this for quite a while.

Answering

Lots of questions (sewing-related and other) on formspring. Anything you want to know?

handmade #1

Handmade gifts for Tsia's teacher and grandparents: felt glasses cases from Kata Golda's book, Hand-Stitched Felt. These are fun and fast to make. Unfortunately, the ones we mailed to my parents (the two on the far left) were lost in the mail, darned post office. They have a terrible track record with me, no matter how I insure or track my packages. We'll have to make more cases to replace them.


I used wool felt and a few pieces of overdyed felt from Weeks Dye Works for the cases themselves, and the embellishments are from felted sweaters and wool felt. Stitched with Valdani embroidery thread because I like thicker thread for sewing on felt.

book week: Amanda Soule's Handmade Home

I'd like to tell you that Tsia and I made this paper mache bowl together as a family project the way Amanda Soule does with her children, and the way she intended it to be done in her book, Handmade Home. But I have a confession to make: I got a little carried away and completely took over this project.


You see, we started out doing the paper mache part together, but Tsia decided the paste was too messy and she didn't want to get her hands sticky. So we compromised, and I did the pasting while she handed me the strips of newspaper as I needed them. We did lots of chatting during this time together, but the crafting was being done my Mom, not kid and Mom. (I was expecting her to really get involved in this part--any tips for overcoming the goopy factor?)


Well, once I got this involved in making the bowl, a vision emerged and I knew exactly how I wanted "our" finished bowl to look. I thought it would be really pretty if we covered the outside of the bowl with brown craft paper and then painted the inside a bright color. So of course when it came time to paint the inside I wanted a neat edge (that was part of my vision, after all!), which meant that I had to paint the top portion and Tsia was left to paint only the bottom (under my very close supervision).


And then I just had to touch it up a bit. But I didn't get too weird about it, did I? Oh no, not me. I mean, at least we spent time together while I got my obsessive-compulsive groove on, right? Or that's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

The instructions for making the bowl and the recipe for the paper mache paste are both in the book, and I really had no idea how simple it is to make the paste! Tsia and I are still marveling that our bowl is made out of only paper, flour, water and salt. Sounds almost edible, doesn't it? Oh, except for the paint. But that's it!


Anyway, I admire Amanda's dedication to her family and the crafting she does with her kids. They spend lots of time creating and exploring and just being together. I admire Handmade Home for inspiring us all to spend time making things together, being together, and making things that will be useful when we spend time together as a family.

For our next project I'll try to loosen up a bit on the control aspect. Maybe we'll do a little repurposing, the way Amanda encourages you to in the book, and make something that we can do together.

Without getting our hands too messy, that is.

book week: Ramona and friends

I mentioned that we've been reading the Beverly Cleary books to Tsia. They're the first real "chapter" books (as opposed to picture books) in which she's been interested, and when I say interested I mean captivated. Before this she was frightened by the rat in Charlotte's Web, and my beloved Paddington Bear is still a bit old for her. But Ramona! Well, the girl couldn't be more enthralling, could she? And the books are as good as I remember them. Maybe even better. I can't stand to miss a chapter, so when it’s Todd’s turn to read, he reads to both of us.


This fall we obsessively made our way through every Ramona story, and then we exhausted most of the Henry Huggins books as well. But Ms. Clearly is right when she says that children want to read "books about kids like us;" Tsia is definitely more interested in the stories about girls than boys (although Ribsy is pretty cool, too). Right now we're hoping that Ellen Tebbits will repair her friendship with Austine, and suddenly ballet classes sound appealing, when two weeks ago she responded with a big "NO!" upon being asked if she was interested. (Ellen and her friend Austine take ballet classes together.)


We've been borrowing Ms. Cleary's books from the public library, and I've been surprised to see that the newer copies of the books have "updated" illustrations. I still visualize Ramona as drawn by Louis Darling, the original illustrator of many of the books. From what I can gather, Mr. Darling died quite young, and several other illustrators were hired for later books. But it’s the Darling illustrations that have stayed with me, and I’m sorry that they’re being replaced. I really don’t think the newer illustrations do the books justice. When I think of Ramona, I still see her with her printed dresses, fuzzy cardigans and oxford shoes with floppy bobby socks. I completely agree with this blogger, who says that Mr. Darling’s illustrations are appealing to children and adults, in part, because of their nostalgia. They were also just beautifully composed and compelling in the way they captured the expressions and personalities of their characters. Call me whiney, complain-y and old fashioned, but I really do think the illustrations are an integral part of the books.


Todd’s parents recently sent us his copies of the books which they had saved for him, signed by Ms. Clearly herself. I’ve enjoyed paging through them to reminisce, and I’m putting them away until Tsia is old enough to read and enjoy these copies herself. I’m sure our first reading of the books was just one of many for her. But I hope that future printings of Ms. Cleary’s books will include those original illustrations so that more children can enjoy them as well.

book week: Cal Patch Design-It-Yourself Clothes

I wish Cal Patch was older than me and wrote Design-It-Yourself Clothes about 15 or twenty years ago, because when I was 23 years old I would have stalked her. I think she's probably relieved this was not the case, but this is the book I went hunting for when we first moved to New York and I wanted to make my own patterns. Nothing like this was available back then, and if you've been wanting to design and sew your own clothing you're going to love it.


Since this book wasn't available back when I wanted it, I purchased a set of patternmaking textbooks at FIT instead and was immediately overwhelmed by them. Terms were used and not defined, previous experience (or classes) were assumed, etc. I quickly realized it would have taken at least two of me to get started: one to stand still and the other to take measurements and do fittings. It also would have required many hours of work just to get started. I didn't know where to begin.


Later I went to school for fashion design and it all became clear, but that didn't make the whole process any less complicated and time-consuming. I did eventually manage to develop my own set of slopers, but it shouldn't have taken more than a year of fashion education to develop the skills to make simple skirts and blouse patterns for myself. (Fortunately, the advanced education was been put to good use elsewhere....)

Anyway, I really like Cal's approach to making patterns. Instead of following the more traditional (and convoluted, although very technically worthwhile) route, she shows you how to draft a pattern using a set of measurements you take from your body. You'll still need to test the pattern (she explains how to make a muslin, or prototype, which is a simplified version of the garment used to adjust the fit before you cut your actual fabric and spend a lot of time sewing it), but with her method you've removed several steps and brought yourself that much closer to having a sewing pattern.



Having said all this, however, I need to add a few cautions before you run off to get the book and whip up a fall wardrobe for yourself. First of all, patternmaking takes time. Just drafting the pattern is rather time consuming, but it's the fitting and adjusting (and fitting and adjusting) and then determining how to assemble the pieces that really takes a while. So don't get the idea that you're going to stitch together a suitcase full of clothing for yourself before the holidays. Start with a simple project (the books start with knit tops, but I would suggest starting with a woven shirt since knits can be a little tricky to sew with good results) and take your time. Enjoy the process. From start to finish, drafting and finishing one garment might take you several weeks or more than a month. On the other hand, if you stick with it you'll have a pattern with which you're really happy and can sew again and again.


Additionally, in order to adjust your muslin and get a proper fit from your pattern you're going to need to learn how to make adjustments to the pattern. A number of good books have been written about this topic, and I would suggest that you purchase one or two because proper fit isn't always intuitive, especially if you're a little curvy. Either that or find a friend who has lots of experience with alterations and adjustments, because fitting something on your own body can be frustrating or impossible. (And boyfriends or husbands aren't always helpful or willing assistants. Trust me on this.)

You'll also need a solid grasp of garment construction in order to make good use of this book. The sewing instructions in the book are minimal (I'm sure space was a consideration here, plus the title says "Patternmaking" and not "Patternmaking and Sewing"), so once you've finished drafting and fitting and correcting your pattern you'll need to understand how to assemble the pieces. I would recommend that you practice by following a few sewing patterns to develop a solid understanding of construction techniques before you attempt this at home. (In other words, this is not something to attempt immediately after you've finished a beginning sewing class. Give yourself a little time to develop your skills before you attempt this book.) Once you have a good grasp of the steps you need to take and the ways to make a garment look finished, you'll have fun designing and making your own clothing.


(On a side note, I was amazed while reading this book to find how similarly we both feel about a large number of issues and areas. For example, I've never seen anyone else apply bias binding using the same method that Cal and I prefer. So I feel especially good recommending this book because we obviously think along the same lines in many areas.)

and speaking of books

I'm so excited about this event! We don't get to get together as often as we'd like, but in just a few weeks not only will Heather, Denyse, and I get the chance to hang out in one of my favorite places, but we'd like you to join us:

The wardrobe opportunities for this event, thanks to Heather's amazing poster design, are potentially endless. What to wear, what to wear...