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Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Father’s Day Free Printable

June 10, 2014

Just a quick printable for you today -- can you believe it's almost Father's Day? K and I are plotting to make this an extra special one for M, though we tend to be better at planning than executing... My own dad will be receiving one of these lovelies that I whipped up in the mail (maybe the hipster one -- my dad's pretty on-trend). I tend to make stuff for my own purposes and then share them here in the off chance others can get some use out of them. I kept things simple and graphic for ... Read more

Filed in: download, gouache, illustration, watercolor • by sanae • 2 Comments

Monday Outfit: Frozen Take Two

June 9, 2014

Good morning! I've been dawdling on this second Frozen dress (see the first one here), but this weekend, I finally completed it. I'm sad to report that it wasn't a stunning success. I used the same pattern pieces as the first one, and this time, I cut into the fabrics specified by K -- all cheap stuff from JoAnn's. One of the things I did differently was to add rhinestones to the bodice like so: That's me, pulling away the plastic film after ironing on the sparkles, happy to see that I ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for K • by sanae • 13 Comments

Happy Friday + Randomness

June 6, 2014

Happy Friday! I've been loving all the coincidence stories from my giveaway! Yesterday, I was admiring the peonies you see here -- I received them from a friend recently and remembered that her husband had the most extraordinary coincidence story: many years ago, he went to Kyoto, Japan via a research grant or some such (he's an art history professor). He was wandering around alone one day and wanted to experience the non-touristy side of Kyoto and there, tucked in a quiet and obscured area, he ... Read more

Filed in: life, photography • by sanae • 10 Comments

Me-Made-May 2014: The Final Days

June 5, 2014

What a great experience this whole Me-Made-May ride has been! I could have done without the daily photo-taking, but now that I have pictorial evidence of carrying out my mission, I'm pleased with the results. I managed to wear a different me-made garment every day, and I learned some important lessons, the biggest of which I yammered on about yesterday. But first, here's another new thing I was able to produce during the month of May: the ubiquitous Wiksten Tank. I've had this pattern ... Read more

Filed in: sewing, sewing for me • by sanae • 16 Comments

22 Months and 3 Weeks

June 4, 2014

I purchased this tank top from H & M the second week of July in 2012. I remember this because I was frantically scouring the mall for clothes to take with me to a family vacation. That's what I always did for vacations; a profoundly unhealthy habit of accruing a whole new wardrobe just for a short trip. Cheap clothes that fell apart in minutes. I haven't bought a single ready-to-wear clothing item since. Almost two years for both me and K! Okay, I've gotten some socks and underwear for K, ... Read more

Filed in: gouache, illustration, life, watercolor, writing • by sanae • 37 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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