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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Monday Outfit: A Frozen Kind of Easter

April 21, 2014

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

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 23 Comments

Happy Friday + Sewing for Me: Really, More Grey?

April 11, 2014

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

Filed in: life, sewing, sewing for me • by sanae • 20 Comments

Monday Outfit: “Artist” blouse + Cargo half-pants

April 7, 2014

Good morning! We hit a milestone this weekend! K had her very first non-relatives sleep over, and it was a roaring success. My friend and wonderful neighbor took it upon herself to entertain five girls on Saturday night and generously offered to captain K's maiden voyage into the land of sleepovers. Since they live only two doors down, I fully expected a call or knock in the middle of the night, but nope. K made it! You could see the confidence brimming in her when she returned ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 15 Comments

Monday Outfit: Necessities

March 31, 2014

Good morning! I hope you had a delightful weekend - ours was busy but happy. What you see above is a small segment of K's wardrobe, "small" being the operative word here. There is a dresser stuffed with more knits and pants/shorts/skirts, and at least one large basket brimming with K's outfits, waiting to be laundered. It's becoming a situation. A quasi-problematic one. I'm all for slow fashion, but I have a feeling that I'm slapping that whole concept in the face and upside the head (have ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 18 Comments

Sewing for Me: The Easiest Top

March 27, 2014

Picasso and Mondrian would be proud of me for my abundant usage of blue and color-blocking. I'm calling this the easiest top ever because it's literally four rectangles plus two ties. This top was part of my pre-spring plan, and hey, it's solidly spring now and I'm finally ratcheting up my sewing mojo to make the plan a reality. After all that body-hugging business with the Lady Skater dress, I'm back in my comfort zone and frolicking in loose, hospital/maternity garb. Here's what the top ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for me • by sanae • 18 Comments

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I just realized that this week marks 10 years sinc I just realized that this week marks 10 years since my first craft book Sewing Happiness was published. I’ve sewn literally thousands of garments and other textile projects in the last decade! I included a Sashiko primer in the book, and I’m delighted that this humble Japanese embroidery practice has stood the test of time - if anything, I’ve noticed that there’s an ever growing enthusiasm for hand stitching. Fun news: I’ll be teaching a virtual Sashiko workshop for @tatterbluelibrary on Thursday, April 30th at noon ET. Link in profile! Would love to see you there! 💙💙💙💙💙
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