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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Stitched Together for Rachel: Boat + Sheep-ish

July 28, 2014

rachel-mobile1

Good morning — greetings from Portland! At the last minute, my mom, K and I decided to make a whirlwind trip to the City of Roses. I was lucky enough to finally meet up with a bevy of the sweetest sewing blog friends, and it was a grand treat and much too short. More on that later, because today, I have a special project to share.

A few weeks ago, Victoria of As It Seams reached out to me with a sweet idea: the lovely Rachel who creates the most beautiful clothes and takes some of the most stunning photos in blogland is ready to welcome her fifth child — how about if we each made her a small sewn item that would then be part of a baby mobile? I adore Rachel, and loved the idea, so of course I was in.

rachel-mobile2

Sadly, my first attempt looked nothing like what I sketched out. I call it my mutant ninja sheep, though it resembles a turtle, so I suppose I could keep the original moniker. K thought it was a dog with a pillow on top of it. I do like its closed eyes…

rachel-mobile3

Attempt number two is a fabric origami boat. It took a few tries for me to get the hang of folding the fabric, but I refused to let it beat me. I sewed two nani IRO scraps together to make it double-sided, and it was sort of like wrangling a temperamental fabric coaster. Again, K inserted her opinions and said it looked more like a hat. That works too. Incidentally, one side of the boat is a lighter colorway than the other side, though they’re both the same print. The sheep is made from the lighter colorway as well, and the head and legs are felt.

Victoria was inspired by a similar handmade mobile she received from her friends when she had her son, then her daughter. It’s such a personal and thoughtful gift — I think it’s brilliant! I remember receiving so many baby goods when I was pregnant with K, and I appreciated them all, but the handmade ones always pulled extra hard at my heart strings.

Dear Rachel,

Though not perfect, these little mobile pieces are crafted with the best of intentions — not unlike what motherhood feels like on a daily basis. Wishing you a smooth and joyous transition from a family of six to seven! You are super mama!!

xo,

s

************

These awesome gals also created additions for the mobile — Rachel is much adored!
An at Straightgrain
Suz at Sewpony
Heidi at Elegance and Elephants
Gail at Probably Actually
Kristen at Skirt as Top
Nat at La Gang a Nat.
And of course, Victoria of As It Seams, who also made a great mobile frame hoop:

Filed in: sewing • by sanae • 26 Comments

Comments

  1. Jenya

    July 28, 2014 at 3:29 am

    A dog with a pillow on top and a hat… Haha it really is funny 🙂 The ornaments are lovely.

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:19 pm

      I thought that was pretty darn funny too, Jenya 🙂 Thank you!

      Reply
  2. kristi

    July 28, 2014 at 6:14 am

    I love the boat! Using fabric for origami is a good idea. btw- sheep would have been my first guess.

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:20 pm

      Excellent! Glad that you would have guessed sheep, Kristi 🙂 It looked so much cuter in my sketch, though.

      Reply
  3. carolyn

    July 28, 2014 at 6:23 am

    I love that you gals did this! Rachel is definitely one of the kindest people in blogland!

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:21 pm

      Rachel really is so kind. I’ve had some of the loveliest email exchanges with her – she’s the real deal 🙂

      Reply
  4. Victoria As-it-Seams

    July 28, 2014 at 7:05 am

    You’re ninja sheep is soooo cute. I love his sleepy eyes too, he looks like a dreamy, cloud sheep! And clever, clever boat. Thanks so much for joining in. I love that the final result will be so quirky and original…

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:22 pm

      Thanks Victoria! And thanks for including me in this fun project – I loved it!! I thought of the boat when I saw your fish, which is so, so sweet!

      Reply
  5. rachel

    July 28, 2014 at 9:51 am

    Sanae! I just can’t believe this! I am so touched that you would do this for me and our new baby! Really, I can’t tell you how much it means to me! I am so surprised. I saw the posts while waiting to see my midwives this morning and I literally got teary in the waiting room! (Do I get a pass on public crying being almost 40 weeks pregnant?). The ornaments are so perfect! Thank you so, so much for taking the time to make this for me. I just really feel at a loss for words in describing how special this is to me! Thank you. <3

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:24 pm

      It’s my pleasure, Rachel! I had so much fun working on these, and it speaks volumes that you inspire such a collaborative project 🙂 Hope your appointment went well, and I’m looking forward to hearing baby updates!

      Reply
  6. kristin

    July 28, 2014 at 10:33 am

    hehe i love it, sanae! the sheep/dog/turtle is adorable and funny, and the origami boat is really great! i’d love to see how you made it. hey and now i can actually picture K saying that stuff, haha! 😉

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:30 pm

      I absolutely love YOURS, Kristin – so beautiful and thoughtful! I might do a tutorial for that little fabric boat…who knows? 😉

      Reply
  7. Lucinda

    July 28, 2014 at 10:59 am

    What a precious gift! I can’t get over how perfect this is . . . clever Victoria for thinking of it! Rachel will adore it. And you are spot-on in your note Sanae – motherhood is a daily journey of non-perfection but with the best of intentions!

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:30 pm

      Thanks Lucinda! I wish mine had come out more that way I envisioned it, but as always, it’s the thought that counts, right?

      Reply
  8. Natalie

    July 28, 2014 at 11:09 am

    Ahhhh… So sweet Sanae! I love them both! I have to admit that I struggled with my ornament as well, hahaha! It took a few tries to wrangle up my little guy. But the idea behind it all is so precious and beautiful!!! Enjoy Portland…

    Natalie
    XXX

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 5:41 pm

      Thanks Natalie – your little cloud is so charming! Kudos to Victoria for coming up with such a unique and heartening idea. I agree that these types of projects that connect us is what make blogs worthwhile! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Jane

    July 28, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    such a sweet idea!

    Reply
    • sanae

      July 28, 2014 at 8:36 pm

      Isn’t it? I just love it!

      Reply
  10. gail

    July 28, 2014 at 10:30 pm

    oh they’re adorable! and such delightful fabric! thanks for your sweet comment on my post – i felt the very same way about meeting you, it was such a special treat and it just cemented everything i already loved about you! plus, seriously, watching L and K play together kind of tugged at my heartstrings 🙂

    Reply
    • sanae

      August 11, 2014 at 8:55 pm

      🙂 We’ll have to plan a longer get-together next time, Gail, it just wasn’t enough time! I loved your mobile ornament as well — a linen dress! How perfect!

      Reply
  11. Asmita

    July 29, 2014 at 2:25 am

    beautiful!

    Reply
    • sanae

      August 11, 2014 at 8:56 pm

      Thank you, Asmita! It’s headed to Rachel now, I hope it makes it in one piece!

      Reply
  12. gita

    July 29, 2014 at 2:43 am

    I absolutely love the quirky quality of handmade! What a sweet and thoughtful baby gift. And what fun to collaborate with so many lovely, talented ladies! Rachel’s blog is *amazing*, and of course I got a little teary reading about Tarikua’s adoption story. What an inspiring family!

    Reply
    • sanae

      August 11, 2014 at 8:57 pm

      Rachel is so incredible on so many fronts! I’m a huge fan and consider her a friend. And yes, the other women are so talented and it makes me feel so good to have discovered this community, you know?

      Reply
  13. Fiona

    July 29, 2014 at 7:01 am

    These are such delightful, sweet ornaments! What a fabulous idea! I love your origami boat, and the sheep is so very sweet.

    Reply
    • sanae

      August 11, 2014 at 8:58 pm

      Thanks so much, Fiona! They were fun to make for sure!

      Reply

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