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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Happy Friday + SVE Wrap-up

February 24, 2017

  Happy Friday! This is but a small sampling of the 800+ posts when you search the #2017sve hashtag on Instagram. !!!!!! Friends, this year's Secret Valentine Exchange exceeded our expectations on every level. The creative energy, the kindness, the patience (we know that quite a few of you are still waiting...we're doing our best to help loose ends get tied up, so keep us posted at secret.valentine.exchange@gmail.com). Ute and I are experiencing a lot of jaw-hanging and ... Read more

Filed in: secret valentine exchange • by sanae • 8 Comments

My next book! Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet

February 21, 2017

Hello, my friends! I know that updates here have been sporadic and unpredictable these days, but I have a pretty good reason. I've been deeply involved in book-making fun and my hours are spent dreaming up stories and images for the printed page. When I startle back into "real life", I'm amazed to realize that days and weeks have passed. I'm SUPER excited to share the next book in what is now the Little Kunoichi series!!!!!!! Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet is already available for preorder but ... Read more

Filed in: book, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 24 Comments

Dopp Kit with Lining – Tutorial by Ute

February 13, 2017

Hello my friends! Today, I'm excited to share a tutorial that my dear friend Ute created. When she posted her beautifully made dopp kit as part of the Sewing Happiness Winter Tour, I noticed that she added a lining (the pattern in my book is sans lining to make it extra easy for beginners). I loved that and casually asked her if she'd want to do a little tutorial. She agreed and as usual, she went above and beyond and whipped one up in a jiffy, complete with gorgeous photos (that ... Read more

Filed in: guest post, sewing, tutorial • by sanae • 10 Comments

#2017sve

February 9, 2017

Hello, hello! Just a quick update today. If you've been following the #2017sve hashtag on Instagram, the Secret Valentine Exchange is hoppin'! There are so many fun sneak peeks and quite a few people have already received gifts (I was particularly shocked that my gift to Australia got there in a blink of an eye because I was not, um, totally on the ball). Amazing! I'll do another SVE update next week, but Ute and I wanted to send out a reminder that because we ended up with over 400 people in ... Read more

Filed in: secret valentine exchange • by sanae • 4 Comments

Happy Friday + Winter Tour Week 2 Wrap-up

February 3, 2017

Happy Friday! What a fun, fun, fun week it's been! Sewing Happiness continued to wind its way around the world for the Winter Tour and I'm enamored with everything. I love how each participant put her own spin on the projects and the individual personalities shine through. Before I go into the eye candy supplied by this week's tour participants, I wanted to feature the gift voucher that 8 lucky recipients will win from 1000 Stoff. That beauteous origami dress up there? Handmade by Lara (and ... Read more

Filed in: book • by sanae • 14 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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