Hello, hello my friends! I drew some Halloween-inspired watercolor doodles in my sketchbook today, and like this witch, I'm feeling a bit melancholy about this season. My neighbors are going all out in the decoration department, so there's an air of spooky festivity in our 'hood, but this is the first year in a very, very long time that I haven't sewn a costume for K because: pandemic. Trick-or-treating isn't happening, obviously. Then again, now that she's in high school, maybe it wasn't going ... Read more
Tyra Tee by Just Patterns
Hello, my friends! Now here's a rare sighting of me in a handmade outfit...it's been a while, hasn't it? Excuse the crazy escapee hair strands -- my bun skillz are haphazard at best. Let me tell you a little bit about this sweet li'l top I'm wearing. It's called the Tyra Tee by Just Patterns, and it's an effortless pattern to sew up. Perfect for beginners as well as more experienced folks looking for a quick, refreshing project that's certain to become a comforting, gotta-reach-for-it ... Read more
Call for Sewing Testers (Round 2)! {CLOSED}
UPDATE: Amazing! So many people volunteered and I have enough testers now, so I have closed the sign-up form. For those of you that filled out a form, I will send a confirmation email in a few days after I’ve gone through all the forms. THANK YOU!! Hello, my friends! Many months ago, a whole bunch of you tested patterns for my next sewing book, and it was wonderful. The plan was to release the book in Spring of 2021. Then the pandemic happened. We decided to postpone the photoshoot, ... Read more
Summer Celebrations
Just a quick check-in to say, "Hey, how are you?" See that cute li'l girl up there? She's 14 today. Fully a teenager, mature as all get-out, yet still a little kid in so many ways. This is what quarantine birthdays are looking like: (A little overexposed, but I love this hasty snap taken just a few minutes ago. It's so very her) K has a few of her closest friends over right now, enjoying a social-distanced hangout session in our yard. I can hear snippets of their conversation and ... Read more
Nuanced Not Faded
Hello, my friends! I received this luscious bouquet from a dear friend a couple of weeks ago, on my birthday. We did a social-distanced hand-off of the flowers, which was quite funny. As I gazed at these blooms the phrase that came to mind was, "faded beauty." It's what everyone says, right? The faded beauty of dying roses. Although these roses are no longer in the full blush of its blossoming floral youth, I don't think their beauty has faded at all. If anything, it's deepened and is more ... Read more