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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Monday Outfit: Alpine Coat Take 2

December 15, 2014

Good morning! Part 3 of the Debt-Free Life installment is in development, but friends, I was unprepared for how much it took out of me to write part 1 and 2. So I had to take a breather with some Christmas sewing and also put final touches on a coat over the weekend. Turns out, it's far less mentally taxing to wrangle fake fur than it is to look through all of my old journals during that period in my life to form a coherent post. So Wednesday for sure. As K likes to say, I pinky ... Read more

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

Monday Outfit: Recital Dress

December 8, 2014

Good morning! We had such a jam-packed weekend, it's actually a relief to have the quiet of a weekday routine. What with a school ice skating event, K's first ever piano recital, a holiday cookie party (which was as drool-worthy as it sounds) and an impromptu sleepover at our house, I helter-skeltered all weekend. I also whipped up a recital dress because c'mon, how could I not? I received this velveteen fabric in a peachy-pink from my mom years ago, and until this past weekend, I wasn't ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 16 Comments

Monday Outfit: Hooded Knit Cardi + Sew Sweet Giveaway [CLOSED]

December 1, 2014

Good morning, friends! I thoroughly enjoyed the long weekend, and I'm feeling rejuvenated. We ended up at a Chinese restaurant on turkey day after all, and I believe this will have to be our annual tradition because it was so stress-free. I don't mind cooking, but the clean-up is a sore spot for me, so not having to while away time sudsing up dishes was a huge bonus. We also went to see the movie Big Hero 6, and it's an all-ages pleaser (and yes, I cried -- it was very touching)! To add spice to ... Read more

Filed in: giveaway, sewing, sewing for K • by sanae •

Monday Outfit: We’ll Call It A Muslin

November 24, 2014

Good morning! I hope you had a fantastic weekend, friends! I spent a good chunk of it making a puffy coat. Or at least attempted to. After a hackneyed research process, I stumbled upon the Alpine Wonderland Puffy Coat pattern, and it was exactly what I wanted to make for K. But wouldn't you know it, I didn't have quite enough of the fabric that K picked out of my stash, so I nixed the hood and improvised with the collar a bit. It's a take on the chinese collar, and I quilted the piece ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 22 Comments

Monday Outfit: Small Fry Skinny Jeans

November 10, 2014

I did it! I made skinny jeans! For K! This was a labor of love folks, because let me tell you, these jeans required some sweat, blood and loss of sleep (I am very protective of my sleep). Well, okay, mostly loss of sleep. And only because I decided to start sewing this in the late afternoon and once I got going, I was having too much fun to stop until I was done. I opted to go with the no zip, half-fly option, and that was a good move since trying to install a zipper might have meant no ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 29 Comments

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Giveaway time, my friends! So, 2026 is starting ou Giveaway time, my friends! So, 2026 is starting out in a very exciting way. My latest book, SHIBUI: THE JAPANESE ART OF FINDING BEAUTY IN AGING, is already in its second print run — deepest thanks to every person who purchased a copy, then got more copies to give as gifts!! Speaking of gifts, I have a little giveaway today that’s different from my usual kind. Shibui is available in audio format (a first for me!) read by the talented @edelynokano, and I have SIX free Spotify codes. Please note that you do need a Spotify account to utilize the code. Interested? 

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment below. Any comment would be lovely but if you have an audiobook recommendation, I’m all ears! No pun intended. I’ll leave the giveaway open until Friday, January 30th and will DM the winners shortly after. Good luck!🍀 @sasquatchbooks #shibui
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