Category
Josh the Sewer
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12.25.09Viola’s QuiltSometimes you make things, and you get so invested in its creation that it's a part of you--and when it's intended as a gift letting go of it is a bit sad--and that's certainly true for this latest project. This holiday season, between the two of us, we only made a single gift--a quilt for Josh's grandmother, Viola. Life's just been too hectic to possibly do the uber-sewing dash toward to holidays like we've done the last few years. (Everyone else got gifts of books and shoes--both of which we think are very handy.) But, the one thing that we ...
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06.19.09Another Day Letterpressing…[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Josh printing for the first time."][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Josh's first printing project--some calling cards for his dad."][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Letterpress gears--this one's on "Tony"--the larger of the Vandercooks at PNCA."][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Josh's type. "][/caption] [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="The type in the corner is six point--so tiny, and so lovely. This is from my project."][/caption] ~Sarah No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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04.26.09Cheer Up, Blazers Fans!The loss tonight in Game Four had me in tears. I bet it did a lot of you, too. But, this should cheer you up a little bit. Yes, Josh really made this flag. Yes, it's completely reversible. Yes, he cut and appliqued the felt pinwheel. Yes, he sewed the whole thing together. And, yes, he hand screenprinted the "Don't Tread On Me." Oh, and yes, that's Josh holding it up and he's about 6'2", so it's really, really big. And then he informed me it was a gift for me. Because my husband is just that awesome. ~Sarah Related posts:Josh per a tres! I’m hoping that “Josh per a ...
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04.19.09Josh per a tres![caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Red, black & white banners flying on the stage outside the Rose Garden Arena before the Trail Blazers' first playoff game in several years. These semi-transparent banners are really beautiful rustling in the breeze with the cityscape in the background."][/caption] I'm hoping that "Josh per a tres!" actually does mean "Josh for three!" in Catalan, because that's what the online translator said, and those things are never wrong--right? I thought I'd share Josh's latest screen printing project--an impromptu one, at that. (Although, let's all agree that normal people don't plan and execute a three-color screen print on an ...
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04.14.09Off the BenchIt has certainly been awhile since I posted to the site---sorry about that. It happens... Sarah brought home a really intriguing book called Fabricate that had an awesome notebook computer sleeve pattern in it. I spent a great deal of time thinking of making one, because it involved felt, which I love, combined with the opportunity for silly embellishment, which I also love. When Sarah brought home her little notebook from work, I like the cheetah, and sprang into action. Well, not really that fast since Sarah didn't pick up my felt when she went out to the fabric store without ...
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01.19.091957 Redlegs Jersey – Or, the Reason I Learned To Sew[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="360" caption="Frank Robinson - The Reds should have never traded him."][/caption] One of the reasons I got into this whole sewing thing is that I wanted to make my own baseball jersey. I have been obsessed with having an "authentic" looking flannel for sometime, but I am not the type to spend $250+ on an article of clothing, no matter how cool that I might find it. On our trip to Washougal, I found a lovely piece of white wool flannel (cream might be a more accurate description) and had in my mind a multitude of potential uses. ...
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01.10.09Golden Globes, J-Boy StyleBowing to the unrelenting pressure from Sarah (not really), it is now time for my Year-in-Review for 2008. I think we should do this Golden Globe style: Look! There’s Sarah’s Amy Butler purse sitting at the table getting drunk with George Clooney! And now for the awards... The most useful thing I made myself this year. (This award is presented by Sarah’s lovely blue dress.) And the winner is... [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="337" caption="The orange and blue hat was in heavy rotation most of the year."][/caption] My Baseball Hat! In surprise move that has totally left the producers of the Oregon Camouflage Sweatshirt reexamining, ...
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11.24.08Pimp My RideErrr... Well, "Pimp my skateboard," at least. Do you remember this skateboard? We've used it as a prop few times in photos here off and on. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="337" caption="This is the best "Before" shot we've got--we're always forgetting the befores."][/caption] As you can see, it's pretty darn boring.The stuff on the back that looks like "wood" is actually a big decal printed to look like wood. So, armed with the contact paper stencil technique from Lena Corwin's Printing by Hand, I created a new look for my crappy skateboard. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Cutting out the stencil. (That's our dining room table, ...
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10.24.08Dayton Triangles Redux HoodieWhat do you get when you combine screen printing, applique, sewing, refashioning, vintage sports uniforms and a little bit of crazy? Me. With autumn bringing cool weather, I needed a new hoodie to wear (by the way, sometime we'll have to ask Sarah to write about her hoodie addiction). For inspiration, I wanted it to look like the old Dayton Triangles jerseys from the 1920s, because I am from Dayton and I like stripes and appliqués. And I really like any excuse to screen print just about anything. Why the Dayton Triangles? Well, my dad remembers them playing at the park near his ...
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09.15.08Run With ItYou may have noticed that Josh hasn't been doing much sewing lately. While that can be partially attributed to his new obsession--screen printing--it's also because he's been running again. Which means that he's been losing a far amount of weight (his goal is to run in the Shamorock run in March) and he doesn't want to sew new clothes, for fear that they won't fit in a few months. However, has has continued making the occasional hat. In particular, he made a special hat to run in. Most of the hats he owns were too hot, but he still needed ...
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06.14.08ShoeberriesJosh's latest handmade shoe creation. This version is high-tops made using old Vans soles and Joel Dewberry's new sateen canvas fabric line, Ginseng, from FreeSpirit. Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. Related posts:Josh per a tres! I’m hoping that “Josh per a tres!” actually does mean... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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05.29.08It’s Gotta Be the ShoesIt has taken me ten days, but I think I am finally able to discuss the shoes. The combination of frustration, old shoe funk and the massive loss of brain cells from working with Shoe Goo had rendered me unable to rationally explain why and how I made these things and their deeper meaning (not really, they don't have one). I had been thumbing through the most recent issue of Craft Magazine a while back and noticed that there was an article on making shoes using an old pair of Chucks. Honestly, I thought this was pretty sweet, but wanted ...
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05.18.08Rough DraftJosh made his very own custom shoes. Check out the process! Amazingly, this is just his rough draft... Related posts:Josh per a tres! I’m hoping that “Josh per a tres!” actually does mean... Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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04.24.08Ladies and Gentleman, please welcome “The Velvet Overcoat!”This is it, the first jacket that I have successfully made, well not made, as in made on my own, because this was truly a Sewer-Sewist co-production. I did most of the framing and Sarah did most of the finishing, to borrow from the construction vernacular. As you may have read Sarah has had some sewing mojo issues lately, which have somehow worked their way down the line to myself (or maybe it is the weather, I am officially rejecting and denouncing this crappy rainy spring). I had no confidence in my ability to set in the sleeves and ...
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04.18.08Almost FamousIf you're not familiar with Diane's fantastic podcast and blog, CraftyPod, you should be. And what better time than right now to check it out? Josh is one of four crafty guys that are featured in CraftyPod #73: Men Who Craft. You may not know this about Josh from reading this web site, but Josh is actually pretty shy, so I'm very proud of him for being interviewed for CraftyPod. When I told him I was going to post the link to the podcast, he said, Just make fun of me or something. Well, I'm not gonna. It's a very interesting and thoughtful ...
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03.28.08Big Printin’Sarah made me a lovely Burda raglan sleeve knit T-shirt (8827) for the Christmas Day Blazers vs. Super Sonics game, where the crowd was encouraged to wear red. I didn't have anything red to wear, so she whipped this one up for me (it literally took her like an hour). Let me say that while it is really comfortable, how often does someone need a plain bright red shirt? If you are me, not often. I must admit that I love t-shirts with things printed on them. I am not much for the logo wear, that acts has expensive ...
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03.06.08Things to Make & DoAfter finishing my baseball caps I started working on another "idea hat" for Sarah. This was much easier after going through the fit problems of the earlier models (it involved only sizing the main panel which wraps around the head). Taking inspiration (those are the pictures at the top of this post) from my winter head wear, my very nice wool Borsalino Fedora (thanks babe!), I interfaced this model with fusible fleece (which really is the gift that keeps on giving) and underlined it with lining fabric. The result is a really nice quilted look from the inside and ...
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03.03.08Spring TrainingAs you may know, I love baseball and I especially love old school baseball uniforms and hats (oh yeah and jackets and sweaters and stir-ups, oh my). While I am happy for spring training to have started, I do feel a little distant from my favorite game. Another bad year for my Reds is definitely on the books, and goddamn, I am sick of steroids. With my newfound love of the Blazers, I don't need baseball to signal the new year. After working diligently to make Sarah's idea hats realties I decided to tackle making myself a baseball cap. Using the ...
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02.11.08Oregon CamouflageBurda, Burda, Burda. Such nice looking in the pattern books, and so damn difficult to actually finish. This sweatshirt is my first attempt at sewing in a little while. I have been so frustrated trying to finish (or to be more accurate “move forward”) on my Burda jacket I have been having a hard time getting motivated to start something new. While at Bolt a couple of weeks back, I saw this lovely Italian (and I mean Italian in that italics way denoting some sort of exaggerated coolness, like Italian Sports Car) microfiber fleece a very nice charcoal color. Anyway, this ...
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01.14.08Sew Together: How We Got StartedSo, we sew together, right? We thought we'd let you know how this whole thing got started. This is the first in (hopefully, no promises) in ways you and your sweetie (or best bud/mom/brother/unrequited crush) can get started working on sewing projects together. When we first started this little adventure Josh really wanted to make something sporty and retro. A pair of shorts seemed to be a great way to make something he would wear and also something that he could actually make (with lots and lots of assistance from the Sewist). Oh, yeah, and Josh also expressed a keen ...
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01.04.08Doggy FashionAs you may know, it rains a lot here in Portland. The dog really needs a walk regardless of the weather. Last month, as a another storm was barreling down on us here (incidentally, we have just been hit with another one, with two more on the way) I decided to use some of the the leftover fabric from Sarah's raincoat to make the dog her own protection from the elements. To get the basic shape I traced out on of her "ready to wear" jackets on a piece of paper (after folding in half) and added a ...
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11.19.07Happy Birthday, Sewer!from sarah the sewist Happy birthday to Josh! (We won't mention that your birthday present is still a work in progress.) No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
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11.01.07Velvet(een) Rabbit (nope), Elvis (no), PANTS!from josh the sewer Yes indeed, I have made some velveteen jeans. I am pretty damn excited about them (can you tell?), but will have to wait until the winter air blows through these here parts. As you can imagine they are a little bit on the warm side. A while back the Sewist and I were at Bolt buying something or other when under the main counter a shelf of 50% off pinstripe velveteen called to me. After spending a couple of days thinking about what kind of pants I wanted to make, we decided that ...
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10.03.07More Than I Can Chew?from josh the sewer I think is would have been appropriate to start this post with "Dear Diary" because it is really whiny (or whingy in Ireland), many apologies. Piles, that is where I am (or "piles and piles of demo tapes by the miles," if you want to quote an obscure lyric or two). I think I thought (sounds clumsy, but it is really the best description) I was ready for Burda Pattern 8135 and my attempt at making throwback sportswear. I am having trouble easing the fabric into the curve to make the contour (the Sewist just articulated ...
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10.01.07Oops!from josh the sewer The dog and I got a kick out of this. The Sewist accidentally mixed up the back piece and one of the arms on her current rain coat project. She did fix it quickly, though I thought it would be much cooler to leave it with the trunk opening. I am sure she will have more to add shortly. We sewed quite a bit during this rainy and cold weekend. I am working on another pair of pants (this a pair of jeans made out of velveteen, I love Bolt, because I always find the ...
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09.22.07Whale of a Jacketfrom josh the sewer I have working on another big fall project. Earlier in the summer (and summer lasts for about 4 more hours as I write this), I found this St. Louis Americans jacket that I really wanted to replicate. The Sewist and I decided to use Burda Pattern 8135 and gray corduroy. For the trim I found braided, folded-over cording in navy blue. This project is not going to be solo, it is by far the hardest sewing project I have undertaken. The pattern has twenty some pattern pieces! Instead of doing a straight replica ...
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09.06.07The Vinyl Countdownfrom josh the sewer Pictured here is the Sewist's birthday gift. My Dad likes to say "Vinyl is Final" when explaining his choice of house siding; this phrase stuck with me as making this. Being somewhat limited in my sewing skills, my choice of projects are small. The Sewist loves bags so I decided to bust out the Amy Butler Messenger Bag pattern again. Instead of doing something that I could get through easily and quickly, I decided that she NEEDED a pink sparkly vinyl bag, to deal with the wet winters here in Oregonia. For the interior ...
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08.21.07Oh Shirt!from josh the sewer Last week was my week of shirts. My first project was this pictured short sleeve “chillin’ shirt” that I made using the Kwik Sew 3422, my first attempt at making a men’s shirt using a pattern, as opposed to an old cut-up shirt (which worked well enough). For the fabric I choose this Joel Dewberry “Sunburst Pattern.” I picked this up at Fabric Depot, while I was getting the sewist-in-law her cutting mat (which was deeply discounted). As an aside (which I think you can probably tell I use a lot of) this was the trip that ...
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08.16.071908 Americans FabricLast weekend we found the right color and drape of fabric for Josh's 1908 St. Louis Americans jacket. We considered going more authentic, but the right color, weight and drape of wool flannel is just too expensive for such an experimental project (have we mentioned that we're kind of cheap?). Instead, we found a stretch corduroy that's very fuzzy and really has the look that we want, even though it's not straight up authentic. This is as far as we've gotten in the project. We'll keep you posted. A big "thank you" to Nancy of Sew West for her input on the fabric. ...
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08.12.07Bag: (fake) Pig (skin) in the Cityfrom josh the sewer I did it. I made a bag and it isn't too girly. When the Sewist and I started (well, mostly the Sewist) making her mother’s bag, I also cut out the pieces for my own bag attempt and sat it I aside until I had some time to put toward it. Earlier this summer when we were looking around the Mill End Store, I noticed a bolt of pleather football upholstery and thought it would look kind of cool (almost made pants, but that would not work too well and, really, I ain’t the type for those ...
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08.06.07Dude, Here’s My Pantsfrom josh the sewer My first attempt at making pants is Simplicity 3891. As you can see, I decided that all of the accouterments were kind of goofy, plus I already own a pair of Costco cargo pants and I really need pants with fewer pockets. I went with a blue canvas from Bolt and blue thread; if I had the skills it woulda been orange thread…. Anyway the fit is great, except I hemmed them a little higher than I like, which is completely my fault. I really need to accept the fact that I like ground draggers when it comes ...
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08.02.07InspirationWhat you have here is a 1908 St. Louis Americans Warm Up Jacket. That's baseball. We're looking at trying to replicate this as our big fall project. We're perplexed about the fabric choice, though. What do you think? Corduroy? Flannel? Boiled wool? Nothing seems just right, and all we've got to go on is a photo in an auction catalog Josh picked up at Powell's. The plan we're thinking about right now is to go for a gray corduroy (because it's relatively cheap) for the first one, pretty much copying the styling as much as we can---with the exception of ...
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07.28.07The SewERfrom josh the sewer Here is a little bit about me and my sewing (I don't have, at the moment, any great projects to share): 1. I can use the sewing machine well and even sew straight 2. I suck at pinning 3. Patterns still don't make much sense to me, I can make a garment but I need my co-host to help me figure out "what's next?" 4. I have a problem cutting the seams to close, this has resulted in having to re-sew the seams on the raglan shirt I am working on and a hole in my pants (errrrrrr) 5. I like ...
