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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Switching Things Up: A Quilt

December 9, 2013

So. When I start posting things from the past, we all know what that means. Take this quilt, for example. I made it three years ago or thereabouts. Possibly the easiest quilt to make as it's two large rectangles sandwiching batting, then stitched with random diagonal lines. I read about this method online somewhere (here, I'm pretty certain). It was a birthday gift for a friend's son, and I was smitten with that Kokka car fabric. The backing is my usual grey linen-blend that is my default fabric ... Read more

Filed in: sewing • by sanae • 12 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

December 6, 2013

Happy Friday! Thank you for all the kind comments about both the advent calendar and holiday tags! I am happiest making things, and wish more hours could be added to each day. Which reminds me, I just read this book and I have to tell you, I zipped through it. It's a coming-of age story about a girl growing up in a future in which each day starts to grow longer and longer as the earth's rotation slows. So good. In other news, my cough is still relentless. I'm prone to bronchial infections and ... Read more

Filed in: giveaway, illustration • by sanae • 12 Comments

Sewing for Me: District 12 Dress

December 5, 2013

I'm a little bit obsessed with the Hunger Games these days. I mentioned in passing that I went to see Catching Fire last weekend, and lamented not having the time to create a Katniss-inspired outfit for K. It so happens, as I worked on my own dress, I realized that it sports a rather District 12 vibe. The more I think about it, the more I'm certain I belong in that fictional dystopian world -- at least sartorially. Give me some drab, downtrodden colors and I'm in my element. I made a knit ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for me • by sanae • 38 Comments

Holiday Tags Downloads

December 4, 2013

I'm trying something new today...a download! Or, downloads, to be exact. I was doodling with my favorite gouache paints, and thought these illustrations might make some usable holiday tags -- what do you think? If you do end up downloading, let me know if anything goes wonky, yes? I printed them up on thicker inkjet paper, and I love them! Here are close-ups of the animal tags: The ones you see above are more Xmas-y and I am especially fond of the deer and the scarf-clad fox. ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration • by sanae • 90 Comments

2013 Advent Calendar

December 3, 2013

Unlike last year, I've been quiet about my industrious advent calendar-making this year. Thanks to a world-class babysitter (what would we do without moms?), I had the luxury of working on this year's calendar at a leisurely pace, and though I'm not sure it packs quite the visual punch of last year's, I'm so so pleased with these itty bitty houses. There's a lot of love poured into them.  Yes, I made 24 balsa wood houses from scratch. Did you know you could cut balsa wood with scissors? Such ... Read more

Filed in: crafts • by sanae • 37 Comments

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I’ve been swimming in nostalgia these past few day I’ve been swimming in nostalgia these past few days, wading through my blog and Pinterest board of the clothes I made for K, who is not so little anymore. what a wild, fun time that was! Remember the old school days of sewing blogs?? I’m back in deadline mode for a number of projects so sewing will have to be put on hold (though maybe I’ll get lucky and sneak in some stitching time). I’m also putting Instagram on hold for the summer, as I do every year. I’ll be back in September with some exciting updates! Have a lovely season, my friends! 💙💙💙💙💙💙
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