The Archives
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09.28.08Sewing Heritage: More Stitching Up Old GloryAs a follow up to last week's sewing heritage post, this photo is quite striking. In sharp contrast to the highly-mechanized sewing of the American flag in the factory of the Brooklyn Yard, this woman, in 1917---which is about the same time as last week's photo, is hand-stitching an American flag. As Josh said, can you imagine the intense work that went into sewing this by hand? Photo credit: DN-0069332, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society ~Sarah Blogged with the Flock Browser
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09.14.08Sewing Heritage: Women, Sewing & the WPAFolks, it's time for a little sewing history lesson... The Works Progress Administration (rename Work Project Administration in 1939) was created in 1935, and employed millions of people--especially in the rural West and Appalachia and other mountain regions--following the catastrophic downturn of the U.S. economy resulting in the Great Depression. What many people don't know about the WPA is that a sizable number of people put to work during this time were women, around fifteen to twenty percent of WPA-participants. They were considered unemployed heads of household for a variety of reasons, including abandonment or a husband's death or disability--and the ...
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08.26.08InkedI've cooled down a bit on my complicated garment sewing lately, partly because I don't really have anywhere to wear dress, etc, and partly because we're stuck in that weird time of year when I know it's not going to be warm much longer, but don't want to actually admit that I need fall clothes. But I did recently have the opportunity to wear a dress in good weather -- since my hairstylist recently had a lovely wedding on the rooftop of the Ecotrust building in Portland's Pearl District. It was motivation to get the Amy Butler "Lotus" dress that ...
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08.18.08A Giveaway!(Note: Comments are now closed. We will announce the randomly-drawn winner shortly.) But you gotta work for it a little bit. Remember The Alabama Stitch Book that I reviewed back in June? The one that I used to make the skirt that I wore to that get-together with some old friends? Well, the lovely folks at Stewart, Tabori & Chang sent me a copy to review as well, so I have two copies. So, looks like I need to get rid of one of them... I think that whomever gets the copy of this book will really enjoy it. There are lots of ...
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08.15.08Oh so pretty…It's settled. One of us is going to have to learn Japanese. Because all of the goodies that we keep finding at Kinokuniya are getting a bit out of control. This time, and innocent trip to Uwajimaya has resulted in quite the find -- The Pretty Bag Collection. I have such a weakness for bag-making, as you've probably noticed (it's funny, too, because I have only been making bags for a year or so). And this book has some really awesome projects. It's, like many of the Japanese sewing books, brokenn down into thematic sections, this time by fabric type: Silk ...
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08.10.08Behind the TimesWhew! I'm still trying to catch up blog-wise since our computer crash (we lost 100+ photos through that whole mess). So, we're a bit behind the times with posting some completed projects. My mom's birthday has come and gone once again, and once again, I made her a new bag (the woman used to just have one bag and carry it until it died, so I've taken it upon myself to ensure that she has an appropriate wardrobe of bags for various occasions). Last year, it was the Amy Butler High Street Messenger Bag. This year, it's another Amy Butler pattern ...
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06.24.08Pintucks > PleatsThis is about the only math I remember, the ">" sign, meaning "greater than." (Yes, the world breathes a sigh of relief that I was a liberal arts major and not a rocket scientist.) I cleaned up the horrific mess that was on our, er, dining table (which sees more thread, needles and fabric than plates, cutlery and food)... (I'm thinking the dire situation with our workspace may have been adding to my creative funk caused by my impending unemployment. Just maybe... I'm also thinking it would be a brilliant competition to see who could name the most items in this picture. ...
recent posts
- Sewing Heritage: More Stitching Up Old Glory
- Train-Inspired Screen Print
- Sewing Heritage: Stitching Old Glory
- A Little Late to the Whole Apron Thing
- Wear a Dress Week & Another Amy Butler Lotus Dress
- Run With It
- Sewing Heritage: Women, Sewing & the WPA
