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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Happy Friday + Randomness

October 2, 2015

Happy Friday! I was going through some of my old photos, and I found this image I'd snapped of a cardboard sign someone had tacked up near a construction site. It's an iphone shot, so it's not stellar in quality but the message more than makes up for it, don't you think? I had an interesting conversation with a couple of friends the other day about how the internet's anonymity seems to breed meanness. I wonder what kind of world it would be if the philosophy above was widespread on and offline? ... Read more

Filed in: life • by sanae • 2 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

September 25, 2015

It's been quiet around here, which means things are bustling in the background. I have much to share, but one of the highlights of last week was a Little Kunoichi event. It was my last scheduled event and was held at a beautiful Japanese gift shop/gallery called KOBO. There may be some more events in the future, but that particular book reading capped what I considered the launch season. My book has been out for almost five months, can you believe it? I just found out that someone's seen it in ... Read more

Filed in: book, digital, gouache, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 12 Comments

Friday Outfit + Randomness

September 18, 2015

Happy Friday! The teachers' strike finally ended on Wednesday of this week, and it's funny how almost every parent I ran into on the first day of school commented how looooooong this summer vacation was. All told, the start of school was delayed for six days, but when you don't know what's happening each day, every passing moment can feel like an eternity, you know? Anyway. K thoroughly enjoyed the extra days of lounging about with friends, and despite my best efforts, I wasn't as ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 12 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

September 11, 2015

Happy Friday! Lately, I've been spending a few minutes every morning with my watercolors, painting whatever comes to mind. As a way to chronicle my daily paintbrush musings, I've been posting them on instagram, and it fills me with tiny bubbles of joy to have this little ritual (don't roll your eyes!). There's really no rhyme or reason to what I paint and I don't know how long I'll continue this. As I'm wont to do, I've been thinking a lot about this whole "follower" culture that's the norm ... Read more

Filed in: illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 22 Comments

Wednesday Outfit: Ottobre Marja Top

September 9, 2015

  As you know, I'm devoted to my Japanese sewing books, but K is starting to outgrow the 130cm size which is usually the largest size offered. Luckily, I happened to be organizing all of my sewing books and patterns and discovered that I'd purchased quite a few Ottobre issues back when I'd first caught the DIY bug. Look, the sizing goes up to 170cm! I decided to try the simple Marja knit tunic in 134cm from the Spring 2009 issue. This was my first experience with Ottobre patterns, ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 11 Comments

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your loved ones! Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your loved ones! I’m spending time with family in the Midwest and there is much to be grateful for, not the least of which is the slower pace this week. Sending big hugs to you! 🧡🧡🧡🧡 Incidentally, this ikebana floral arrangement is one of the illustrations that didn’t make it into my book SHIBUI — I painted a lot of extra illos!

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