For a long time, butternut squashes intimidated me. The size, the shape, the armor of seemingly impenetrable skin. Inspired by lovely Lucinda's suggestion in one of the comments, however, I tentatively bought a medium-sized butternut, hacked it in quarters, scooped out the seeds, sprinkled salt and pepper, and stuck it in the oven for about an hour. I admit I was a little spent after cutting the thing. It's time to get our knives sharpened, it seems. Fifty-some minutes later, gourd-shaped ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Oliver + S Hide-and-Seek Dress
Happy St. Patty's Day! There is a marked dearth of green in the images I have to share with you today, but we'll let that slide. You've heard the buzz, right? Oliver + S has several darling new spring patterns out, and I was lucky enough to be included in the sewing fun. There have been some amazing outfits popping up, and on this celebratory Monday, I'm adding my own spin to the Hide-and-Seek dress. One of my all-time favorite tops that I made was this stripey pullover, and for a long ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! More digital painting fun: I got this visual dictionary of plants from the library and have been admiring the shapes of leaves. So many variations exist, and I love examining the details. ******************************************************* On the way to piano lessons yesterday: Mama! I absolutely want to be a singer when I grow up no matter how much stage fright I get. I love it! Listen to this song I made up: "We want to be wild and freeeeeee // Please don't bother ... Read more
My Fave Sewing Tools
So, not a lot of sewing is happening this week, though that's going to be changing as soon as I turn in my sketches by Saturday. In the meantime, I rounded up some of my favorite sewing tools, just because. When I first started sewing about six years ago, I didn't really know what supplies to gather beyond a sewing machine, iron, ironing board, pins and shears. I had fabric too, of course, but the whole world of notions was a mystery. Because I didn't know what to get, I got everything. I saw ... Read more
Enough
There is a Japanese word, mieppari, that means a person hung up on maintaining appearances or caring too much about status and wanting to impress others. Keeping up with the Joneses, if you will. Ah, keeping up with the Joneses...are you immune? I am not. I still vividly remember feeling mortified whenever my dad drove up in our jalopy of a Chevy Nova to pick me up from one middle school event or another. I even asked him to park at least a block away so no one would see me duck into the back ... Read more