Happy Friday! There's a new player in the indie pattern circuit, and I was excited to be invited to try out Brooklyn Pattern's brand new offering: The Franklin Dress. Erin, the creator, has such a fascinating background (circus, ballet and opera costume designer!) and because I worked in theater for a while, I feel a kinship with her. The Franklin dress has a vintage-inspired feel with a pleated yoke and puffy sleeves, and it actually reminds me of the many Japanese patterns I've pumped ... Read more
Cashew Milk
As I grow older, I've noticed that I have a harder time digesting cow's milk and end up with a bunch of weird reactions. In particular, my monthly PMS breakouts are worse and painfully cystic when I've consumed too many dairy products, so I've been trying to find tasty alternatives. I love soy and almond milk, but I've been reading about some scary additives (like carrageenan) and though I usually pshaw those types of hyped up warnings, I figure I should stay on the safe side. A few weeks ... Read more
Sewing for Me: Wool Zip-Up Vest
Good morning! Since I'll be sharing a K-sized outfit on Friday this week, I thought I would change up the routine and post this wool vest I made a few days ago. I haven't sewn much with wool, and this fabric is actually a polyester blend full of slubbiness and stretch. I'm not sure if that made it easier or not, but oh, the shedding...don't get me started on the shedding. There is a thin layer of dark grey dust all over my sewing area at the moment, and it's looking rather ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! "Mama?" K asked the other day, "How is it that I have both your DNA and Daddy's DNA? I don't get it." I gulped. At her eight-year wellness check during the summer, our pediatrician warned me that the questions will start. Not MY little girl, I thought smugly, I still have all the time in the world. But here we are, just two months after the warning, and K has been peppering me with some variation of this question almost every day. So I ordered a book recommended by the ... Read more
2014 Fall Sewing Plans
It's like clockwork. The frenetic start of the school year eases into a predictable routine, the air tingles with promises of cozy sweater weather, and then, M or K comes home with a cold and BAM, I'm laid flat on my back, sniffling and coughing up a lung. Due to my wimpy immune system, even the mildest cold tends to hit me hard. I'm determined to not get sucked into the illness vortex this time (last year I was fighting one ailment after another from November to February), so I've been ... Read more