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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Books! Books! Books! Pre-Order Time!

June 30, 2022

Hello, my friends! It's a crazy thing, but I have three books launching in a few weeks. All three are available for pre-orders now, and I am beyond excited to share the covers with you today! Snag your copies early!  First up is the one above: Sewing Love: Handmade Clothes for Any Body. My editor called it my "magnum opus," which is high praise though I suspect she's being too kind, as she generally is. I was delighted by the review in Publishers Weekly that called the book "uplifting" ... Read more

Filed in: book • by sanae • 6 Comments

Life Goals: 13,000 Books

May 31, 2022

Hello, hello, my friends! How are you? I'm doing well. I have a birthday coming up soon, so I've been reflecting on life more than usual. I've been thinking a lot about what inspires me. One recent and great inspiration is the author Alan Bradley and about a month ago I finished reading his Flavia de Luce series. I read all 10 books over several weeks, one right after another, transported to the 1950s and soaking in the mysteries. Flavia, a brilliant 11-year-old amateur scientist and sleuth, ... Read more

Filed in: book, life • by sanae • 11 Comments

Creativebug Classes!

April 30, 2022

Hello my lovely friends! A while back, I mentioned that I filmed some classes for Creativebug, and hooray hooray! A couple of them are now up and available on the site. More will be added over the next few months. The newly added is class is from my first sewing book, Sewing Happiness, featuring the Triangle Eco Bag. I'm going to daringly say that this would be an excellent Mother's Day gift -- I have a bunch of these Triangle bags around the house and use them for various purposes. ... Read more

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A simple offer can lead to so many things

September 30, 2021

Way back in 2014, back when sewing blogs felt a little different from the current vibe, I was approached by a marketing person at Tuttle Publishing about reviewing a couple of Japanese sewing books that had been freshly translated into English. I said yes, of course. As I was corresponding back and forth with the marketing person, I offhandedly mentioned that if they ever needed another translator, I was happy to help out. A single sentence in a short email. A few months later, an editor from ... Read more

Filed in: book • by sanae • 2 Comments

SUMO books giveaway [CLOSED]

September 7, 2021

Today is the birthday for my newest book babies SUMO COUNTING and SUMO OPPOSITES! I’m doing a little giveaway on Instagram, but in case you’re not on the ‘gram, I’m offering up the chance to win a set of these darling sumo books here on the blog. These bright, cheery board books are ideal for babies, toddlers and beyond! I loved every moment of creating them. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment and I’ll select a winner this Friday, September 10th. On IG, I asked about favorite ... Read more

Filed in: book, giveaway • by sanae •

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your loved ones! Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your loved ones! I’m spending time with family in the Midwest and there is much to be grateful for, not the least of which is the slower pace this week. Sending big hugs to you! 🧡🧡🧡🧡 Incidentally, this ikebana floral arrangement is one of the illustrations that didn’t make it into my book SHIBUI — I painted a lot of extra illos!

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