One of the benefits of obsessively making excessive amounts of clothes from Japanese patterns books is that the publisher of the English translations of said pattern books will contact you to see if you'd like to review their books. Since "Duh!!!" was not an appropriate answer, I responded with an enthusiastic yes. Now, I have the Japanese version of Happy Homemade vol. 2, but I was curious to see what the difference(s) would be with the English translation, Sew Chic Kids. As you can see, ... Read more
Poppies + Distractions
It's good to be back. Taking a week off of blogging was rejuvenating without a doubt, but I also discovered how much my days are anchored by creating my posts, buoyed by the interactions I have with you. Beyond Tuesday of last week, I was completely in a time warp. Spring break was amazing. So good, so good. Because many of our friends were out of town, K and I spent the bulk of the week with just each other (M made guest appearances in the late evenings and on weekends, but he works a lot). ... Read more
Monday Outfit: A Frozen Kind of Easter
Hello friends, I've missed you! I hope you had a fabulous week filled with a wonderful Easter weekend and other spring goodness. I'll go more into my mini blog hiatus tomorrow, but for today, let's dive into this glamorous number, shall we? Not your average Easter dress, right? As a matter of fact, she was forbidden to gather eggs while wearing the dress due to its ridiculously long cape that was sure to result in injuries, but when K first came out of the house wearing it, the dress ... Read more
Happy Friday + Sewing for Me: Really, More Grey?
Happy Friday! To the question, "Just how many grey dresses do you need?" I respond, "You can never have too many grey dresses". This is dress "q" from the book that I'm giving away (there's still time!), and it's unusual in that it is fully-lined. Most Japanese patterns do away with linings for some reason, and it's always been a mystery to me. This is the same charcoal chambray I used for my first Tova, and for this somewhat vintage-y dress, I cut the size 11 without any modifications. ... Read more
The Joy of Seeing
I was sketching randomly today (sort of my version of a warm-up for the final phase of book illustrating, which is like a creative workout) and remembered when a friend asked me whether I'm researching other children's book illustrators, and I told her that I purposely avoid it. Instead, I look for inspiration in other forms: traditional museum paintings, clothing designs and colors, old school album art, retail store advertisements, interior design, nature, everything. A lot of it has to do ... Read more