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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Alternative Exercise

February 25, 2014

I've been slowly incorporating yoga into my exercise routine. I can't say that I'm a complete convert yet and K likes to mock me while I attempt the different poses ("You're doing it wrong, Mommy!" screams my yoga coach from the sidelines. It does dampen the serenity a bit), but I'm definitely warming up to the whole concept. When I made my 2014 list of non-resolutions, my aim was to do yoga at least once a week. Surprisingly, except for one week, I've kept it up. Some lovely readers recommended ... Read more

Filed in: digital, illustration • by sanae • 16 Comments

Monday Outfit: Pink Cityscape A-Line Tunic

February 24, 2014

Good morning! We survived the epic teeth extractions (four!) on Friday, and K was her happy old self by Saturday. Her lips swelled up a bit, but she's no worse for wear and I'm constantly flabbergasted by kids' resilience. I was a class-A whiner when I got my wisdom teeth pulled. So I made a few things this weekend, powered by who-knows-what. I turned to my sewing machine for relief many times this weekend and in an effort to make my life easier, I decided to show you one thing today and ... Read more

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

Happy Friday + Randomness

February 21, 2014

Happy Friday! Mid-winter break is about to end, and K and I have been having a grand old time. It's been a great blend of relaxed lounging around, quite a few impromptu playdates, tons of arts and crafts, and a couple of bike rides thrown in. I tend to dread these school breaks without any structured activities planned because I'm type A like that, but this time, it was no problemo. Because I had to do a lot of painting, it was a handy excuse to keep K occupied with assorted art supplies. I've ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration • by sanae • 18 Comments

Sewing for Me: The Sumo Wrestler Top

February 20, 2014

I had such high hopes for this top. It's from this book, and you can see how stylish it looks when professionally photographed below - I've shared this image before, and it got pinned like crazy. It's clearly a cute garment, but I'm guessing you can't have curves to pull off this look. The curves, oh the curves. They are accentuated in a way that I can't say is flattering. Hence the name of the post. So let's talk details: the fabric I used is a shot cotton, I believe. I've had it for ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for me • by sanae • 50 Comments

Secret Valentine Exchange Recap

February 19, 2014

It's time to highlight the utter loveliness that was the Secret Valentine Exchange! In total, we had 39 participants including me and my indispensable co-organizer Ute - amazing! There were ladies from the U.S., Germany, Canada, Australia, Singapore, India, France, Spain, Ireland and Italy. So international, right? I'm overwhelmed that these are all -- in some capacity -- readers of this little blog. One of my favorite aspects of this project was that I got to know the various folks that stop ... Read more

Filed in: Community • by sanae • 26 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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