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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Spools, spools everywhere

July 22, 2014

Ba-chan made it in one piece to Seattle yesterday, and already she and K are thick as thieves. One of the benefits of having a mother who collects everything is that I can ask, "Hey, do you have any vintage-y thread on wooden spools in assorted colors?" And she brings me this: (one errant plastic one snuck in there, I see). I love the faded, peeling, cracked labels, the silk threads with saturated colors. Sometimes, multiple hues are wound onto one spool, and I can envision someone carefully ... Read more

Filed in: life • by sanae • 14 Comments

Monday Outfit: Nautical Knit Halter

July 21, 2014

Good morning! It's so good to be back. We had a fantastic vacation, but there's nothing quite like home. I'm still suspended somewhere between west coast and east coast time zones, and am feeling a bit foggy, but I'm eager to get into productivity mode. So did you know that it's KCW week this week? I didn't. At least not until late last night. That's how out of touch I'm becoming with the general sewing interwebs. What with frenetic book deadlines and all, I'm barely keeping up with regular ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 8 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

July 18, 2014

As you're reading this, we are most likely flying over several US states and rapidly approaching home. Family vacations can sometimes yield stories that become eyebrow-raising legends passed from one generation to the next, but aside from a couple of mosquito bites, ours was entirely painless. Not boring or forgettable, no, but solidly good. You know that feeling of slipping into a comfortable bed with freshly laundered linens and settling down with an engrossing book? Our holiday in the Midwest ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration • by sanae • 6 Comments

Indy Menagerie

July 17, 2014

It's a bit of a departure from my usual topics (though do I really have a set of usual topics?), but we spent a lot of time at the Indianapolis zoo a couple of days ago, and I have to say, I loved it and went crazy with my camera. I've gone to the Seattle zoo a fair number of times, but I've never been able to get decent photos of the animals. I think they might be introverted. Not so at the Indy zoo. I felt up close and personal with so many creatures, sometimes it was disconcerting. For ... Read more

Filed in: life, photography • by sanae • 9 Comments

2 years + News + Giveaway! [CLOSED]

July 16, 2014

Twenty-four months is how long I've been blogging and you know, if I didn't have an archive of all the posts, I wouldn't believe it. My life has changed dramatically since I started this little online notebook of mine where I collect and share ideas and experiments. I've talked about this before, but I began this blog with the intention of building an illustration portfolio. I'd been through the ringer with my last corporate job, and the concept of leisurely working with pens and paints ... Read more

Filed in: giveaway, life • by sanae •

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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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