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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Sewing for a Fifth Grader!!

September 7, 2016

Holy moly, what is going on with time?? I used to crow about my time management skills, but I've got nothing to crow about now. So summer is officially over, and K is a fifth grader! In the Seattle public school system, the new year begins the Wednesday after Labor Day (except for kindergartners -- they start a few days later). K's been nervous. About a month ago, she asked me to make her a school bag. This caused me to do a double-take because she doesn't ask me to make her stuff anymore. ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 20 Comments

A quick pop-in and a change of heart towards knitting

August 29, 2016

Hello! I didn't mean to stay away for 3 weeks, but life has a way of creating a vortex of activities that then turn into more activities...but enough with the excuses. I am, in fact, still in retreat mode and haven't really been online much. Instead, I've been spending more time making things and it's been restorative. I have to say: knitters, I finally get it. After years and years of balking at the craft, citing inane things such as "I can't seem to count!" or "I just don't have the ... Read more

Filed in: life • by sanae • 9 Comments

Gone on Vacation

August 8, 2016

Good morning! I am actually still here. In Seattle. Or rather, as I write this we are preparing for an overnight "trip" to a suburb for the last of K's birthday celebration. We will stay in the new-ish McMenamins Anderson School, which should be quite the experience. It's possible that we've gone a tad bonkers for our only child's 10th birthday, but...well, I don't feel too bad about it. We only live once and who cares what other people think, right? I have a feeling she's going to remember her ... Read more

Filed in: life • by sanae • 8 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

August 5, 2016

Happy Friday! Keeping it super duper short today since we're attempting to get out of town this weekend. Above is one of the projects I worked on recently for the Seattle Japanese Garden that I believe is already printed by now. I had a wonderful time painting this, and it will be part of their self walking tour brochure. Fun! I hope to work on more maps in the future. I recently saw this book and this book in a store, and deliberated long and hard about purchasing them, but in the end, I left ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 7 Comments

Health Food Experiments: Kombucha and Spiralizer

August 3, 2016

Yesterday, K and I had an epic playdate with some friends (gotta keep the kiddos entertained), and I was introduced to homemade kombucha. Have you ever had kombucha? The fermented tea can be easily made at home if you have a starter SCOBY, which is an acronym for "symbiotic 'colony' of bacteria and yeast". My friend has been brewing up a batch regularly and kindly sent me home with my own jug to ferment. I had a sampling to taste, and it has the tang of apple cider vinegar with more sweetness. I ... Read more

Filed in: cooking • by sanae • 8 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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