It is done. This summer I am ready to dress up a corner of my home with this paper pieced, water melon motif table runner. Not too bad, right? I’ll keep this a short post so you can just enjoy the pictures. I am thrilled with how the runner looks, and also ecstatic that this… Read More Summer Decor: #Paper Pieced Table Runner Done
Hi everyone! Don’t let the title of this post mislead you. I’m still sewing clothes. I need clothes to wear on a daily basis, you know. I indulged, however, in the type of sewing normally associated with quilting. I paper pieced these watermelons. The process will end in a summery, fresh-looking table runner. Amid this wintry season I… Read More A Break From Garment Sewing: Paper Piecing
The saga continues. At the end of the last post, my first faux fur garment had yet to be hemmed, sides sewn and lined. I plodded along, went through a little bit of ripping out the side seams (which was surprisingly easy, and did not ruin the fur), re-sewing the seams, etc etc. Lessons were… Read More Part Two: Do Not Fear the Faux Fur
I recently decided to make good on a long ignored item on the sewing list: a faux fur vest from this pattern, Simplicity 2285. No fabric is hard to sew if you know how. There are exceptions, of course; it happened to me once. The fabric in question was a weird wiry cloth and… Read More Do Not Fear the Faux Fur Fabric
I am incredulous that until now, I didn’t know about Manuel Pertegaz, a Spanish designer of the 1950s, who – get this – was invited to take over the House of Dior when Christian died in 1957. Pertegaz politely declined. I guess that opened the way for Yves St Laurent and the rest is fashion… Read More Manuel Pertegaz, Fashion Designer, 1917 – 2014
I should stop scoffing at the fashion media for suggesting the “uniform dressing” concept. At the same time they urge people to buy the trendiest clothing! These ladies of the US Navy Women’s Auxiliary in 1918 had no choice in the matter, but I’m sure their sartorial choices every morning were very easy. As it… Read More Uniform Dressing
Hi Readers, Hope you had a great holiday season! The last couple of months were peak travel season and the lovely editor/founder of the online magazine Masala Mommas, published my post in December. Today, I’m going to send you to Masala Mommas to read about how I added a hidden pocket to this otherwise unused pashmina… Read More Travel Scarf, Hidden Pocket
Happy New Year’s Eve! I would like to list very briefly some happy, some devastating, some interesting things that happened in 2015. My personal life was eventful in the first half of 2015. There was a wedding, a birth and a death in my family – in the reverse order, though. My mother passed away, a… Read More Sewing Shenanigans for 2016?
Merry Christmas! Making Christmas cookies and the occasional Christmas craft project is my highlight of the holiday. Technically, I do not celebrate, but that has not stopped me from loving all kinds of holiday themed cooking and crafts, and generally getting into the spirit! I try to bake a new holiday cookie each year. In… Read More Delving Into “The Delineator”, Christmas 1930 Number
I sew daily wear – literally. … Read More I Sew Everyday Wear, Literally. Pattern Review: McCall’s 6996
