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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Monday Outfit: Small Fry Skinny Jeans

November 10, 2014

I did it! I made skinny jeans! For K! This was a labor of love folks, because let me tell you, these jeans required some sweat, blood and loss of sleep (I am very protective of my sleep). Well, okay, mostly loss of sleep. And only because I decided to start sewing this in the late afternoon and once I got going, I was having too much fun to stop until I was done. I opted to go with the no zip, half-fly option, and that was a good move since trying to install a zipper might have meant no ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 29 Comments

Happy Friday + Giveaway! [CLOSED]

November 7, 2014

Here in Washington, grocery stores and many retail stores charge five cents per bag if you don't bring your own to carry out your produce or miscellaneous household items. A pragmatic and environmentally sound move, but I'm constantly forgetting to bring my handy nylon eco bags because they're always filled with library books. Between the accumulating nickel charges and overdue library fines, I'm sure I'm frittering away enough money to feed a small country. I've been thinking that I need to ... Read more

Filed in: giveaway, sewing • by sanae •

To be Shiny

November 5, 2014

Last week, when I shared the Hudson pants, I was surprised by the number of people who commented on how harsh I was being about my (let's face it), um, strong calves and other body parts. Of course, I appreciated how kind and encouraging the commenters were being, so I've done some thinking about that since then, prompted also by a conversation I had with K a few days ago. Here's how the conversation went: K: Mama, when you were a kid, did you have certain characteristics that you thought you ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration • by sanae • 29 Comments

Monday Outfit: Werebear?

November 3, 2014

Good morning, friends! I present you the down-to-the-wire, who-knows-what-the-heck-this-is costume. I cut out the main faux fur on Halloween eve, then petered out after an hour, and finally put it all together with additional fake fur trimming after school just in time for a 6:30pm trick-or-treat meet-up with friends. Despite my attempt to make a werewolf ensemble, when K tried on the in-progress costume, she exclaimed, "Oh, it looks like a bear! I love it!" I've decided to call it a ... Read more

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

Happy Friday + Randomness

October 31, 2014

Happy Friday! I'm dragging my feet on the girl-transforming-into-werewolf costume for K and my pleas for her to wear the ninja costume tonight are falling on deaf ears. I obviously need to re-evaluate who's the boss here. ************************* A random comment on the age-old game of tag by K: I'm not that into being "it" these days. I'm totally over it. ************************* Alright, I better see if I can muster the energy to focus on assembling faux fur...Have a great ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 4 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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