The end of July is full of festivities in our family: birthdays, trips and reunions, and just an overall celebration of summer. As you read this, I’ll be in the Midwest on the tail end of exploring college campuses and connecting with extended family. Can you believe that K is a senior in high school!!?? We are relishing this summer before things heat up with academics and college applications. Anyhow, I’m just bopping in and scheduling this little post before I head out on my trip. July has ... Read more
Summer!
From my book SUMO COLORS - I was thinking of my parents when painting Mt. Fuji, which is in the Shizuoka prefecture where they live A while ago I had mentioned that if all goes well, I will be traveling to Japan this summer. Unfortunately, all has not gone well and the trip won’t be happening. The reasons are innumerable, and I won’t bore you with the details. I’m disappointed, but we’re tentatively looking into going during winter break. Has anyone traveled to Japan during the holiday season? ... Read more
Shibori Book Giveaway! {CLOSED}
{The giveaway is now closed and the winner is Christina Derwee! Congrats!!} Is it just me, or is the year passing at an alarmingly swift rate? I'm deep in deadline mode behind-the-scenes and when I looked at the calendar today, I refused to believe that it was already the end of May. Anyway, last week I received a mysterious extra copy of this book, Easy Shibori Tye Dye Techniques by Studio TAC Creative, which I translated. I always get one advance copy for my translation work (the book ... Read more
Helmi, Owyn, and SEWING LOVE Patterns
Happy almost May! I'm still sewing. I'm also comparing other patterns to my own. They say comparison is the thief of joy, but this is actually a joyful kind of comparison for me, and I've been thoroughly enjoying myself. This month, I've been sewing a bunch of hush-hush things for my upcoming trip to California because I'm leaving next weekend to teach more Creativebug classes (if you want a couple of months free, check out this post). Very excited. Earlier this month, in order to get into ... Read more
Tops: Matcha and More
By the time I submitted my final draft of Sewing Love back in late 2021, I had sewn hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of test and photoshoot-ready muslins and garments. You know that my tendency is to overdo things, and boy, I overdid the overdoing. I hate to admit it, but I was well and truly sewed out. I developed an uneasy and complicated relationship with my sewing machine (I still loved it but felt resentful of how time-sucky it had become, tethered to seemingly never-ending ... Read more