Recent Projects + Some Ramblings

Most of the time, I feel like I totally fail at blogging over here. I swear, it’s for a combination of completely legit reasons:

1. I really haven’t had much time this last year (gulp!) to make much stuff. Sadly, both Josh and I are slammed with various work projects, and so it’s hard to make the time to do much creative stuff.
2. Since we had to move into a smallish rental condo near downtown last year (which completely and totally sucks), we just don’t have a lot of space to do stuff. When we were living in a regular house with a garage, yard, etc, it was a whole lot easier to make stuff and experiment creatively. Fortunately, this isn’t a permanent living situation.
3. Similarly, we don’t have a great space for staging photos. We always enjoyed taking most of our project photos outside, using trees, etc, as props, so the project photos have kind of sucked this year.
4. I blog about fabric-y stuff for my work, so it’s hard to feel motivated to come home and blog about fabric-y/sewing stuff for fun. Even though I enjoy it, it’s still odd when work/hobbies collide. Furthermore, this summer I also wrote some crafty roundup posts for PNCA’s Summer of Making, so I kind of feel like I’m already everywhere, more or less.
5. I’m bored with writing about projects, unless it’s something that’s new/different or featuring a designer or company with which people may not be familiar. I’ve spent quite a bit of time mulling over what direction–if any–we should take this site.

All right, enough navel-gazing, let’s get on to some crafty goodness… Continue reading »

Wanted: Dead or Alive (Size 7)

I need these Chuck Taylors. Need. Them. Unfortunately, the Converse website only has them in a size 12.5! And I wear a 7. This is a freaking tragedy. Because they’re meant to be my shoes. They’re red. They’re patchwork. They’re Chucks. They’re perfect. I’ve looked high and low online and can’t find them. So, if you see them, please, please, puh-lease let me know and send me a link. Otherwise, enjoy the gorgeous canvas shoe eye-candy.

Sigh…

~Sarah

I’m Still Sewing, I Swear!

I haven’t written a whole lot about sewing projects I’ve been doing lately. I’m not sure why, probably because some stuff just isn’t that interesting to write about. However, one project that I’ve made recently that I’m just loving is the Buttercup Bag, a swell free pattern from craft blogger Made by Rae. The reason I found this pattern is that when Rachel was in town a couple of months ago, she and I went to Bolt. While I didn’t really “need” anything, I couldn’t resist two sewing-inspired fat quarters–one in a scissor print, the other in a measuring tape design (I think they’re Moda fabrics, but don’t quote me on that!). The thing is, I really didn’t have a clue what to do with a couple of fat quarters, so some googling led me to the Buttecup Bag pattern.  I whipped mine up in literally no time at all. Check it out.

This is a really useful little bag for me–I keep my wallet, phone (the rad G1) and lipstick in it and then just chuck it into whatever random bag I’m carrying that day (I have a lot of them–as has been well-documented here). It’s also pretty handy if I am carrying one of my bigger messenger-style bags and just want to grab this little bag to run in and get a coffee or whatever. I’m sure this will be the first pattern I will think of if more fat quarters wind up in my possession.

A couple of quick notes on this bag:

• I omitted the tab on the top section–it just seemed like it would be a bit much for such a busy design.
• I elongated the shoulder strapped a bit, so it would be  a bit easier to tote around–I probably added about three inches, which is what I’d do if I made it again.
• I enlarged the entire bag just a smidge, probably by a half inch total. I just needed a tiny bit more room for my stuff and knew that the design as is wouldn’t fit both my wallet and my rather brick-like phone.
• Like I do for all of my smaller, less structured bags (pretty much anything of the size of Amy Butler’s Frenchie Bag and smaller), I used fusible fleece for the interfacing. I find this adds a bit more body–and less stiffness–than normal interfacing. Works like a charm.

I finished it off with a cool little button that my friend Michelle gave me. Can you see the detail in this picture? Yeah, it’s an “I heart sewing” button. And I certainly do.

(This button’s made by Cathy, by the way.)

~Sarah

Ten Things I Heart Right Now (And a Few I Don’t)

Ten Things I’m Really Loving Right Now…

1.) While I was in Pittsburgh, Josh was able to put heavy-duty grommets (Or are they eyelets? I never know the difference.) in the awesome Trail Blazers-ified Gadsden flag he made me and hung it in our entryway, which is looks totally amazing. Yeah, visiting our house is probably a strange experience for newbies.

2.) When Josh picked me up from the airport, after I’d been in Pittsburgh for over a week, he met me with my favorite burrito from Laughing Planet (tempeh, pinto beans, rice, veggies, salsa verde). Some gals get flowers, I get burritos. Reason #817 I love my husband–he knows how happy a burrito would make me (I have lots of food weirdnesses, so Pittsburgh was tough on me with regard to eating). Continue reading »

Support Independent Fabric Shops – Check Out Project 95

I’ve been very fortunate to begin working with The Fabric Shop Network, Inc, the trade association for independent fabric shops. It’s been well documented here that Josh and I are passionate about supporting independent businesses, from Bolt to Powells, so this has been an exciting opportunity for me. Sure, just like everyone else, we can’t avoid or Costco and Fred Meyer trips, but we try to do our best.

One of the most exciting things that I’ve had the chance to work on with FabShop is Project 95. Project 95 is aimed at growing support for independent fabric shops. Why? Because–and this figure shocked me–95 percent of fabric shoppers shop chain stores, and only 5 percent shop independents. I guess because this is so different from my personal reality in which I haven’t been in a chain fabric shop in probably a decade, I had no clue that so few people shopped the independents. I don’t know why this is–probably physical proximity is an issue, folks may not know about independent shops or even some people may be a bit intimidated by niche stores.

But, we’ve got a chance to change that.

So, I’m asking you all to take a minute, read the Project 95 web site (more content is coming–including a map and searchable database) and help spread the word about shopping independent fabric shops. You can also grab a blog button, become a fan on Facebook and follow Project 95 on Twitter, if that’s your thing.

Thanks for your support, everyone!

~Sarah

Book Review: Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross

I have been pretty much over-the-moon excited about Heather Ross‘ Weekend Sewing book for a year–ever since I saw the proofs at an event at Bolt here in Portland when Heather was in town for Quilt Market. Well, it finally hit the shelves, and boy was it worth the wait!

I love that Weekend Sewing is a real sewing book. Not to dog on any of the fine sewing books out there, but many of them are definitely geared toward beginner sewers or are more on the quick craft project or learn-to-sew end of the sewing spectrum. Few are actually down and dirty sewing books. Weekend Sewing is. And that rocks. As a very experienced sewer, I am thrilled to see a more comprehensive sewing book out in the market.

Before I get into talking about the the actual sewing projects in the book, I’d like to quickly touch on one of my favorite items Heather writes about in Weekend Sewing–setting up your sewing space. This is the second book on my shelf that really does a nice job of that (Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me is the other one–although she has a different approach). Heather focuses on utilizing limit space effectively to creative a functional, personalize sewing space. This is something that we don’t have at our house–the dining table is the epicenter of our projects. My favorite method for organizing your sewing space that Heather discusses is using a computer cabinet to store all your goodies–including your sewing machine and ironing board. However, I also really like this compact, yet very function expandable desk set-up. (I definitely need one of those boards like in this photo up on the wall of my home office/someday sewing room, by the way.)

So onto the projects…

There are basically three types of projets in Weekend Sewing–home decorating projects, clothing/wearables and kids stuff. Being that I’m primarily a garment and accessories sewer, the clothing/wearables projects are by far my favorites. So I’m going to focus on that section here–the homewares and kids sections have been well covered in other reviews, anyway.

This bag, for example kind of rocks my world. In fact, I really think I need to make a sweet red pleather version for myself. (The original uses leather.)

The “Summer Blouse” really is a perfect go-everywhere blouse for, well, the summer. I had a blouse that I loved that was almost identical in design for years and years that finally fell apart last year–I’m hoping that this will be just the pattern to use in its resurrection. This would also be incredibly cute lengthened, with a belt at the waist, and maybe left sleeveless for a dressy, comfortable summer look.

And more summer cuteness (this was a perfectly-timed release, seasonally speaking), the Trapeze Dress is freaking adorable. It’s another one that could be eaily modified–I’d like it shorted to tunic length and worn over jeans myself. (Like everyone who grew up in the Pacific Northwest in the early nineties, dresses over jeans still seem like a totally legit option. I know it looks dorky, but I am always getting the urge to combine those two things.)

Each of the clothing projects continues this theme–easy to wear, highly-adaptable designs. And that makes me very happy, because it really demonstrates that Heather understands sewers. We don’t just want to sew up a cute project out a a book or pattern–we want to make it our own, adapt it to fit our lifestyle and what looks flattering on us. The clothing patterns each provide a great base from which we can become more creative and develop our own unique versions of the patterns in Weekend Sewing. And, from reading Heather’s blog, I’ve got to believe that it’s entirely intentional.

A few more random notes before I tell you that Weekend Sewing is a must-buy.

• The book has large sheets of overlapping patterns. You can’t cut these out. Heather provides instruction on using tracing paper to trace them. For my Burda World of Fashion magazine patterns, I use fused together wax paper, which makes large, transparent sheets. You may want to try this out. I find it is easier to work with than tracing paper–you may too. (Honestly, it’s a good habit to get into–tracing your patterns rather than cutting–because it’s easier to make alterations if you don’t have to worry about destroying your only copy of a pattern.)
• There are a few errors (or helpful notes that should have been included) in the book, please check the errata before you sew.
• While the patterns I was most excited about are the more complicated ones (the shirtdress, bag, kimono dress, etc), there are plenty in Weekend Sewing that would be appropriate for complete beginners–particularly the projects in the home and kids sections. There’s also a helpful “Sewing Basics” section at the end of the book.
• My only complaint is that there isn’t a single men’s pattern in Weekend Sewing (well, I guess there is a little boy’s shirt, but that’s not really the same). I know that the perception is that there aren’t enough men who sew or women who sew for men to justify it, but sometimes that feels like a chicken or egg scenario–I know I would sew more for Josh if there were more good patterns to sew from, and I’m sure that Josh would enjoy sewing more if there were more interesting, well-designed choices. I know Josh struggles with finding good patterns for men, and I find it irritating that if I want to make something for Josh, there are only like five decent men’s patterns out there (seriously–the selection is awful)–that gets boring pretty quickly.
• Let’s give a hand to STC/Melanie Falick Books for continuing to strike a great balance between appealing to casual crafters and hardcore aficionados of particular mediums–they did it with Weekend Sewing, the Alabama Stitch Book, Material Obsession and Printing by Hand; and I hear that their knitting books strike a similar balance as well. This is a tough thing to do, and they just keep bringing it with great offerings.

With all that said, this is one of those books that I think most sewers would want on their bookshelf.

~Sarah

Comeback Covered Button Jewelry Set + Our Favorite Texan Visits PDX

I’ve given up all hope that any of y’all who read this hear blog think that I’m in any way what you’d call, “normal.” Just so you know. I figure I’ll just keep sharing all my weirdnesses and those of you who enjoy it will stick around, and those of you who don’t will head for the hills. Fair enough? So, I’ve got a couple of random ramblings to share today.

We had a great weekend last weekend hanging out with some lovely creative folks who were in town. And we were super-fortunate to have the delightful Rachel staying with us. I took her to hang out with me in the letterpress studio at PNCA and, after I was done working on my project (I have slacked on posting round-ups after each class, because my progress has been slow, slow, slow, but I’m working on an update for this weekend.), we set some type for Rachel and printed her up a little monogram celebrating her and her awesome husband’s tenth anniversary. It was so much fun! Please, check out her post on our day in the letterpress studio. Rachel did beautiful work, and I think she’ll be seeking out a letterpress facility soon–letterpress really floated her boat. On Rachel’s last full day in Portland, we had a get-together with some of our favorite Portland buddies (Caitlin and Patrick, Michelle and Brian, Susan and Pearl, Kellie [who doesn't blog, but should because she's so darn funny] and our other friend Patrick] to indoctrinate her into “real” Portland life–watching a Portland Trail Blazers game. But of course, we also had to spend some time looking through our vast collection of wild Japanese craft books. Because basketball and Japanese craft books are such a natural pairing. Susan aptly described this afternoon as, “Blazers-make-the-playoffs-meets-Japanese-craft-books wind-down.” Where else but at the Casa de Sewer-Sewist will you have that experience? I have to say, it was so wonderful getting to spend time with Rachel again, and both Josh and I can’t wait until she makes her way back up to Portland.

This Denyse Schmidt cotton canvas print from her "County Fair" line is perfect for this super-quick project.

In completely unrelated news, I have actually gotten back on the sewing and crafting train and I’ve got a few sewing projects that we’ll be photographing this weekend and sharing. But, I did make a snazzy new bit of fabric jewelry on Wednesday night, using this tutorial from CraftStylish. It’s a quick project, and it only needs a tiny scrap of fabric. I’ve had some really lovelt Denyse Schmidt cotton canvas from her County Fair collection left over from this project, and the floral motif was the exact size of the covered buttons that we had. It was a perfect pairing. (It’s important to note, I neglected to look back at the instructions and didn’t include the flat button for extra stability. That would have made my life much easier. If you make this project, I’d suggest that you actually look at the instructions. Do as I say, not as I do, okay?)

I love this ring! It's so funky and kind of screams, "I heart fabric!"

So you may have noticed that I called this project the “Comeback Covered Button Jewelry Set.” There’s a reason for that. Of course. You see, on Wednesday, Josh and I were listening to the first half of the Trail Blazers game on the radio. (We don’t have cable/satellite, and this game was supposed to be on over-the-air television, but it was rescheduled without notice to ESPN–errrgg, so we listened on the radio, Old School Style.) It was horrifying. Really, really, really bad. I got all anxious, because all day I’d been thinking that the Blazers would win this game–it’s important for playoff positioning–and I was wrong. They were going to lose. So, I had the finding for this project sitting on the table and grabbed them, cut out my fabric for my covered buttons and started making my necklace and ring. All the sudden, the team starts coming back. And then, Steve Blake makes a halfcourt shot to end the first half. By the time I finished this project, the Blazers were leading. In the end, they won by 12. And, that put the team at the 50-win mark. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the win was a result of some crafty superpowers, I did bring the ring to the Blazers-Lakers game tonight, just in case it was needed. (It wasn’t.)

~Sarah

Coolest Facebook Group Ever

Well, not really. But I know you want to join the Blazers Craft Posse anyway…

~Sarah

More Buttony Goodness

Some of the original projects from "Button it Up." I got to pick a necklace to wear during the event--I sort of felt like Angelina Jolie borrowing fancy jewelry for the People's Choice Awards.

No, it hasn’t gotten to be all buttons, all the time here, but Josh and I have both been sick with various bugs–again–so we still haven’t had much of a chance to do much in the way of projects or photograph a few (now) oldies for Sewer-Sewist. I’ve also not had a chance to take pictures of my progress on my colossal project for my letterpress class through PNCA’s Continuing Education program, but I’m going to go to some printing tomorrow, so hopefully, I’ll have an update for you soon! (Hint: My big project is looking like it’s going to be bad-ass.) Anyway… I just had to share some of the pictures from last night’s awesome event in support of Susan Beal’s new book, Button it Up. (Yeah, I’ve mentioned it once or twice.)

Three of my button hairclip creations. I love these. They also reminded me that I need to accessorize more often.

Susan’s event was at the Best Bookstore in the World (aka Powell’s Books here in Portland) and was loads of fun. Not only did we get to hear all about buttons and check out the original projects from the book, Susan brought along the supplies for a really marvelous little project–hairclips embellished with buttons. It was so fun getting together with folks and working on this simple project. I honestly think I could have made button clips all night–if I’d had my way, they probably would have had to kick me out of Powell’s, clutching the tube of Dazzle Tack in one hand, vintage buttons in the other.

I love the clip on the right--Michelle snagged those buttons out of the pile and said, "These so look like you." And she was right. I wore this clip around today.

It was also lovely getting to catch up with some cool folks from around our area–and it reminded me how fortunate we are to live in a community that really fosters such creativity. In addition to Susan, I got to chat with the undeniable Queen of Craftiness Diane, Knitter Extraordinaire Lee (who also took the crown for “Best Dressed”–check it out), Baking Phenom Caitlin and my fellow member of the Blazers Craft Posse (yeah, we definitely need T-shirts), Michelle. (Y’all know about my love of assigning random nicknames to people, right?)

Three different sets of fingers digging into a rainbow of buttons.

Oh, and Caitlin and I “styled” this part of the display.

It's sort of hard to believe all these beautiful pieces are made with something as simple as buttons. It kind of blows my mind, even though I've seen a number of the items before.

I totally think that we knocked it out of the park–we could totally get jobs doing window displays at Anthropologie based on our skills here.

It was loads of fun, and reminded me of the importance of taking a bit of time to do something simple, like make a little hairclip for yourself. I felt a nice bit of creative revitalization, and I think everyone else did as well.

Don't you just want to plunge your fingers into all those buttons and play with them?

You can check out all of my pictures from the event over on this Flickr photoset.

Also, there’s still an opportunity to come do some buttony crafting with Susan and pick up a signed copy of her book. The Best Fabric Shop Ever (aka Bolt in Portland’s awesome Concordia neighbor, right on Alberta Street) is hosting a book event where you can also make a bit of buttony goodness to take home next weekend. As a double-bonus, everyone who buys the book at the event at Bolt will get their own sampler bag of vintage buttons to take home–so you can get started with your own button projects right away. Get the details here and here. As a triple-bonus, Bolt is a unique independent sewing shop, so if you haven’t been there before, you’re in for a real treat.

~Sarah

Another Reason to Love Buttons

What’s this? Two posts in one day? Be still my beating heart! (Although the first was definitely “unplanned posting,” so I’m not sure if that really counts.)

In case my review of Susan‘s new book didn’t give you enough reason to love buttons, here’s another–this really charming necklace that the aforementioned Susan dropped off at the house last night. But, before I get into the awesomeness that is this necklace, I have got to say that this is one of the reasons Susan is such a gem–she’s always finding or making things for other people–and they’re always things that are just “perfect.” For example, shortly after we met Susan and her lovely family, she gave us this awesome cocktail trail with a New Mexico motif on it. She’d purchased it before she met us, and said something along the lines of, “When I bought it, I didn’t know whose it was supposed to be, but then when I met you guys, I knew who the tray’s owners were.” She’s also the queen scavenger of vintage Trail Blazers paraphernalia as well–and I have definitely reaped the benefits of that. You can check out a couple of her finds that she’s passed on to me here and here. Or better yet, you can admire her own handiwork right here. My point is, that’s just the sort of exceptionally thoughtful person Susan is, and I really, really appreciate it. So, I’m reciprocating in my own way, by encouraging you to check out her book.When she gave me the necklace, she had no idea I would post it here, she just said that when she was making it that it looked like me. (Which is totally does–it has an almost Marimekko element to it that I love, love, love.) It even perfectly matches my favorite pair of spectacles.

Anyway, back to this necklace–which is definitely one of the the coolest things ever. Sure, it’s made from buttons, which rocks. But, not only is it made from buttons, Susan made the freaking buttons herself! Which might be a little crazy, but is also awesome. You can learn how to make your own buttons just like this over on Susan’s post on CraftStylish, and then get the instructions for making the necklace, plus two other styles, on this post. It looks like loads of fun–plus, how long has it been since you’ve played with shrinky-dink?

So, as you’ve probably noticed, I’m going to continue my little one-woman campaign to encourage you to buy Button it Up (it would make me super-happy if you’d consider buying it from your local, independent bookshop, too).  I can’t help it–I’m a “public relations professional,” promotion’s ingrained in me, I guess. (Although, if I can be introspective and random for a moment, I rarely ever promote myself–I’ve been trying to more lately, but it’s really hard.) I know economy’s crap–trust me, I know–but it’s a relatively inexpensive book, with great bang for the buck, since it includes some 80 projects. And, as I mentioned in the original review, the vast majority of the projects can be created with things you have on hand–since I know we sewers and sewists love to hold onto our favorite buttons!

And, since I’ve got a captive audience here, a reminder that Susan’s also got a couple of events coming up here in Portland in support of Button it Up. You can get the details here. There will be lots of crafty fun–you can be sure of it!

~Sarah

Sewing Heritage Sunday – Sew for Victory

First things first. Something’s been bugging me. Most of you probably read my last post. What you probably didn’t read was Ben’s post over on BlazersEdge (the most comprehensive and active Trail Blazers blog out there)–because I doubt many of you avidly consume Blazers’ news (despite my best attempts to convert you into fans). In that post, Ben references my story about meeting Channing Frye and linked to my post. Wednesday morning–when I saw that post on BlazersEdge–I stupidly thought that he was mocking me. I would like to publicly apologize to Ben for assuming that he was making fun of me in his post, and accusing him of such. His intentions were quite good–he thought it was a nice story, that BlazersEdge readers would enjoy it and that I would appreciate the extra traffic over here. (BE is a much bigger deal than this here sewing and crafting blog.) Even though we cleared the air, I still feel badly that I rashly accused someone of being a jerk. That was crappy of me.

Alright. On we go to some Sewing Heritage goodness…

From the Library of Congress Image Collection

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted one of my favorite “Sewing Heritage” items, hasn’t it? At one point, I thought I’d do it every Sunday, but life–and Sunday brunch at Cadillac Cafe–has interfered.

This image from World War II had all the makings of something I wouldn’t like–it’s aggressive, intense and violent-feeling. But, it’s actually one of my favorites related to sewing that I’ve found in my digging. It’s a poster encouraging women to sew, to do their part to help with the war effort in the 1940s. The message of us all doing our part feels particularly timely, and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. I certainly don’t have the answers, but I think this is a good reminder that in these difficult times, where it seems that we’re constantly bombarded by bad news, that Americans have together in difficult times in our past and been victorious over tough challenges.

(By the way, don’t y’all think it’s been way too long since that husband of mine posted anything on here? I sure do.)

~Sarah

Completely Off Topic

If you’re weary of my Trail Blazers posts, you’re welcome to stop reading right now–you won’t hurt my feelings, I swear. But as you know, I’ve documented extensively here on this web site about my whole Channing Frye thing. So figure that I owe it to y’all to keep you up-to-date on any breaking news. If you’ve been paying attention here you know that he’s my favorite Blazer not named Brandon Roy, that I was worried that my “Buffet of Goodness” screenprints that I made for Susan and I might be cursed, and that I think it would be awesome if he were Mayor of Portland.

And I think I’ve shared the back-story here before, but here’s a recap. Back in summer 2007, it was pretty obvious that the Trail Blazers weren’t going to re-sign my then-favorite Blazer, Ime Udoka (local guy). They also shipped off two other local guys to New York as part of a deal to get rid the nightmare that was Zach Randolph. I was pretty tweaked out that I didn’t have anyone to root for–I love the star players, but I’ve had a lifelong habit of rooting for some player who is not a star that I really like (who will then, in turn, get traded sooner rather than later). It’s not intentional, it just sort of happens organically. Anyway… In that aforementioned deal, Channing Frye came to Portland. I was listening to the radio (I’m old school that way) when he did one of his first interviews where he was being very funny, slightly weird and actually mentioned a couple of neighborhoods he wanted to check out in Portland. Like actually in the city. Not the ‘burbs. I decided this guy had potential to be kind of cool. A few days later (my memory for the timetable here is foggy), we saw him wandering around the Pearl District (he’s very tall, so kind of hard to miss), staring up at the new buildings over on Lovejoy. I thought it was really cool that he wasn’t full of crap about being excited to check out the city, and wanting to live actually in Portland–a rarity for any Trail Blazer. I like to claim that I was the first Channing Frye fan in Portland (probably inaccurate, but whatever). Continue reading »

Letterpress Class, Part 4: The One Where I Admit to My Classmates That I’m a Bit of a Nut

It was inevitable… You know, when you’ve sort of let people believe you’re a relatively normal person, but you know that time is coming when you’re going to have to say or do something that will give people a glimpse into the fact that you’re a bit weird? You’ve all had that experience, right? Right?

I’ve mentioned in my previous posts about my totally amazing letterpress class through PNCA Continuing Education that part of the class is coming up with a large project, for which we have to write a proposal. I didn’t really this about this when I started the class, because I was just all gung-ho about learning how to use a letterpress, set type, etc. I somehow blocked it out of my mind that this is a college class, not a DIY workshop type situation, so it’s got to have some academic rigor. I really hadn’t thought about it. I mean, there’s nothing I really need, nothing that I’ve been dying to make, no deep, meaningful personal writings that need to be handset in Grimaldi. Nothing.

So I thought about it for a couple of weeks, and starting thinking about creating a project that could be a bit ironic, or funny. Because, you know, in my world if you’re not laughing, there’s a serious problem. (Lately, I have been having a problem where people thing I’m serious when I’m making an outlandish joke, which is kind of weird. Hopefully I’m not getting too old for humor and irony. That would suck. Big time.) One of the funnier things in my world is this super-tacky stack of basketball trading cards that we having sitting on out bookshelf. Josh picked them up at Freddy’s a couple of years ago, and they’re hilarious. Here’s one of my “favorites,” it’s Steve Nash.

Front.

Back.

You see, these cards appeal little to me. Sure, there are some good ones that have holograms on them (I think holograms are incredibly funny–which I’m sure has something to do with my being a kid in the ’80s). There are a few good pictures. But, honestly, they’re boring. The photos are uninteresting, the text on the back is very small and impossible to read. The stats aren’t that interesting, since I can google current ones more easily. The narrative on the back is painful. Here’s some from the Nash card,

After winning back-to-back MVP awards Nash was once again poised to win his third in 2006-07 but was slightly edged out by friend and former teammate Dirk Nowitzki. The Canadian point guard is known most for his undeniable speed and flashy passing skills.

(The lack of commas is straight from the card, by the way.) Not only is that possibly the most uninteresting two statements about Steve Nash I’ve ever heard, it belies nothing of who Steve Nash is, and why on Earth I should care about Steve Nash. The most interesting part is that he’s good friends with Dirk! And everyone knows that. (I could also split hairs and argue that Steve Nash is not actually particularly fast, but he’s so crafty and agile that he finds space where others do not, which leads to the illusion of speed, but that’s for another day and another blog, I think.) As a writer, that bothers me. It’s just straight-up lazy. Continue reading »

Letterpress Class – Week Deux

Photos of letterpresses and letterpress tools from around flickr. Click through for links to the original images.

Why I felt the urge to call this post “Week Deux,” I cannot explain…

Last night was the second installment of my letterpress class through PNCA’s Continuing Education Program (and, no, I’m not pushing PNCA just because I’m teaching a class there this summer–it’s an awesome place, I swear). We got to fire up the printing presses and play with inks and actually start printing. Well, by “we” I really mean the collective “we,” rather than actually “me.” You see, when I pulled out my project from its drawer, I set it down with the other side facing toward me and noticed a big, huge gap next to the large “7″ I had in the middle of group of wood type. The “7″ seems to be fairly old, and the type slopes down and is significantly worn on one side. What this ended up creating was very loose type that would be a mess once it was placed in the press bed. So, the TA helped me fill in that large gap, which then affected the structural integrity of the entire thing. We ended up spending probably an hour and half filling in each little gap (they were odd-sized, too, since my type was going all different directions) to create a nice rectangular design that could then be placed on the press for printing.

A nice clean, tight rectangular shape, ready for printing! Finally. All of those little pieces of leading, word spacing and reglets (the odd-shaped wood pieces) were items we used to fill in all the gaps created by that funky "7."

While I didn’t get the chance to start printing my project, it was really helpful watching several people lock up their type–a much more complex process than I ever imaged. Many of you probably know this already, but you can’t have any movement in the type, so you used furniture (wood blocks), reglets (funky-sized, smaller wood pieces) and leading (thin pieces of lead) to “lock up” your type. You then use quoins (our instructor pointed out that this is a great word with which to zing someone in Scrabble) to tighten everything.

The inking process is really interesting as well. I sort of regret not taking pictures, but I think that would be a bit obnoxious to those folks who are in the process of inking their projects. We used rubber-based inks (some people use oil as well–rubber dries through absorbtion, oil through evaporation) and they’re mixed according to a pantone formula guide. (Sidenote: I would love to have one of these formula guides for screenprinting–but they’re so expensive.) Since I love inks and colors, I’m really looking forward to my turn to mix. The rubber ink is so different from what I’m used to in screenprinting–it’s the exact opposite consistency.

Once the type was set, and the rollers were inked, people started printing and experimenting with adding more color to their inks (we used rather transparent ink on very transluscent paper). I think everyone who printed tried layering by printing repeatedly over the same sheet of paper–which created really beautiful effects.

Finally, clean up took a good twenty or thirty minutes with mineral spirits and three different people. Geeky me, I really enjoyed the chance to see the “guts” of the printing press.

Lots of fun again this week. While I didn’t make a huge amount of process on my project, I felt like I really accomplished something, because I spent so much time problem-solving. I’m looking forwarding to sharing photos of what I’ve printed and (hopefully) what other folks have printed as well. We have two weeks to come up with our proposals for our personal projects, and I have a pretty good concept formed in my mind. But, I’m not quite ready to share it yet.

~Sarah

P.S. We’ve got several sewing projects to share with you, but our camera has been acting up (these pictures were with the camera on my phone), so we haven’t had a chance to photograph them–hopefully, this weekend. Also, plans are in the works for an upcoming Video Threads episode that we’re very excited about.

Letterpress Class – Week 1

Some of my favorite images of letterpress type from around flickr. The lead and wood type is so beautiful in and of itself. (Click on the photo to get the links to the originals.)

I’ve wanted to try letterpress printing for ages and ages. I remember back when I was a kid we went on a school trip to some historic site or another  and someone was printing on a old printing press and thinking it was absolutely amazing. I think it appeals to me much in the same way that sewing and screenprinting does–there’s something simultaneously challenging and rewarding about creating something in the Old School way. I take a special pride in being able to look at something sewn, for example, and knowing how it was made and that I could replicate that myself.

I was fortunate enough–thanks to Josh’s work–to get to enroll in a continuing education class in letterpress at the Pacific Northwest College of Art here in Portland. This is a ten-week class that’s actually intermediate level (they were cool with my never having done letterpress before, though) that is three hours long every Thursday night. I started the class this evening, and all I can say is that it was totally geektastic.

One of the great things about PNCA’s Continuing Education program is that the classes are very, very small. This is great for me, because I have never been in a large class of any sort (I know, I’m spoiled, and I’ve got the student loans to prove it!). My college was very committed to small class sizes, so I think my largest course was fewer than twenty people. Something hands-on like this, I really need a small group. While not everyone could make it to the first class this evening (it was First Thursday, so there’s a lot happening in the Pearl District), I believe the total number of student was fewer than ten. And there is a TA, in addition to the instructor. Needless to say, that’s an excellent student-teacher ratio. (A sidenote: I was struck by how many of the students had taken this class before and loved it so much that they were taking it again–one person said it was her fourth time. These folks were very happy to help out us newbies, which was great.)

This evening we learned how to navigate the printshop (it’s HUGE) and the basics of setting type. Additionally, while we were doing this, the instructor (who is from Albuquerque and was more than happy to talk green chile with me) talked to us about the history of printing, showed us examples of what previous students had created and got us up to speed about what to expect over the next couple of months. It was pretty intense–but in a good way. Then we were given the assignment to play with the type (there is both lead and wood type available) and set it in our composing stick or tray to create a design only using type. This is going to be printed into a class book–a collaborative project to start out the course.

That pound symbol was my big score--I love how thin it is.

I was immediate drawn to the wooden type, partly because it doesn’t weigh nearly as much as the lead type, but also because I love large, graphic elements in design. It was really interesting looking at the letters, numbers and symbols not as what they are functionally, but what they are in terms of their visual impact. Believe it or not, in that jumble of type, there was a lot of thought put into my design. The three hours just flew by.

Next week we’re printing our collaborative project–I can’t wait to see how my page, and everyone else’s, turns out!

This is similar to the presses we'll be using--they're Vandercook cylinder proof presses. PNCA's have names--I think one of them is called "Tony."

Once we’re up to speed on how to use the presses, we’ll be able to use the print studio to work on our individual projects outside of class. We’re each expected to develop a concept for a project for the class, and work on it in the studio on our own time, in addition to the classroom instruction we’ll receive. I am actually at a loss as to what I’ll come up with for a concept for my “big project.” People have done anything and everything, but we do have to put together a brief proposal and have the instructor approve it, so I want to make it thoughtful and something that will be meaningful… I don’t even know where to begin developing an idea. Hmmmm… Tips on where to turn for inspiration are always appreciated.

My plan is to keep sharing my letterpress adventure with y’all… It’s pretty exciting for me–I hope you’ll find it fun to follow along as I learn this new/old craft.

~Sarah

Buffet of Goodness (AKA The Mysterious Case of the Cursed Hoodie)

I have a terrible, sinking feeling that my latest screen printing project may be cursed. Which is truly unfortunate.

This cool hoodie can't be cursed... Can it?

Before you continue reading this post, I do want to make an important point: I’m not a Fan Girl. And I’m certainly not a Channing Frye Fan Girl. If I were going to be a Fan Girl of any of the Trail Blazers players, it would have to be Martell Webster. Yes, I know Rudy Fernandez is the flavor of the month, but, for me–if I were to become a Fan Girl in a parallel universe–it would have to be Martell. (Now you may click through to the rest of the post, and settle in for a lengthy post.)

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2008 In Review, Part 1

I’m labeling this post “Part 1″ in hopes that I can persuade Josh to do a similar post. Right, Josh?

I thought I’d do a bit of an informal, unstructured, year in review, highlighting some of my favorite project Josh and I have finished up, some stuff that wasn’t so successful, etc… Here we go.

Favorite Project by Me, for Me: Amy Butler Sophia Carryall

The AB Sophia Bag--sans bottom piping.

Hands-down, the sewing project that I’ve gotten the most use out of was my Amy Butler Sophia Bag. I love, love, love this bag and carry it more days than I don’t. It was a colossal pain in the ass (err… finger) to sew, but was so worth it. In tattoo-loving Portland, Oregon, a lot of folks comment on the fabric. It’s funny because this bag is likely the closest I’d ever get to ink myself.

Favorite Project by Me, for Josh: Pintucked Floral Shirt

Ahhh, yes, a great shirt for my great husband.

As Peacock Chic said, “Perfection…thy name is Burda 7767.” And it’s true. This pattern was absolutely perfect for Josh–he looks great in it. Which reminds me, I have to make him a couple more of those…

Favorite Project by Josh, for Josh: Skateboard Redux & Dayton Triangles Hoodie (tie)

I love that both of these are 100% original--Josh just got a creative flash and came up with these two.

I love both of these so much because they really exemplify the way Josh’s creative brain works. The skateboard revamp was a wild, ten-day process that involved way more wood stain than you would think; the Dayton Triangles hoodie was another long, drawn out process because of the effort involved in screenprinting the arms.

Favorite Project by Josh, for Me: Black Denim Idea Hat

Josh made this hat from a Japanese hat-making book.

I love my black “Idea Hat” with gold and red metallic stitching. Josh worked his butt off on this hat for me, and it’s one of my favorite hats–and I own a lot of hats, both home-sewn and mass-produced. Whenever I wear this hat, I get loads of compliments on it, and people are so surprised to learn that my husband made it for me.

Favorite Sewing Revelation: Dresses Rock

This vintage-style dress is one of my faves, thanks to the awesome Pendleton wool.

I really like sewing dresses, which is weird, since was never a dress person. Skirts, totally, dresses, not at all. But this year I discovered that I’m a big fan of dress, since not only does it mean that I don’t have to match anything else with a dress, but I also get to challenge myself sewing-wise because there are a lot more complexities to fitting a dress properly than there are for skirts and blouses individually. The blue dress above was a big winner (made even better by the fact that it cost around $5 to sew), but both of my versions of the Amy Butler Lotus Dress got a lot of wear in late summer.

Best New Hobby: Screenprinting!

Two color screenprint? Yes we can!

This was sort of the logical next step, wasn’t it? Josh was the one who was initially interested in screenprinting, but I have to say, I’ve gotten just as addicted. So much so that I’m most likely taking a class at the local art college this coming semester. It’s completely and utterly addictive. I’m constantly thinking of new designs and ideas, and am fascinated by the way that the prints look so different on different mediums. It’s a really challenging and rewarding and a hell of a lot of fun.

Most Disturbing Trend Here on Sewer-Sewist: Trail Blazers-Inspired Crafts

Obviously, the Trail Blazers sewing & crafting has escalated, since I now feel compelled to report on other people's Blazers crafts.

I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one, but I don’t see that trend changing much for 2009. Sorry, folks.

Most Rewarding Crafting Endeavor: The Obama Craft Project

My Obama party banners, which still hang in the window of my home office.

Developing and managing the Obama Craft Project site this summer/fall was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Not only was I inspired on a daily basis by all of the amazing work I featured, but I also got to know some totally awesome people as a result–particularly Caitlin and Susan. I also have to say, several of the projects that I featured ended up in Time’s Man of the Year issue, which was totally awesome! I had no idea when I got the idea to start chronicling people’s Obama-related craft projects that it would end up being so personally meaningful for me. Thanks so much to everyone who participated!

Other Random 2008 Reflections

• We totally had fun with our first Video Threads post, so look for more in 2009.
• One of the most awesome things to come out of 2008 via this blog was getting to meet Rachel in person. We had a great time hanging out with Rachel, Diane and their guys at Thatch this past summer–Rach, you better get your butt up to PDX this year!
• Lots of good sewing/crafting books came out this year, we’re hoping this is a trend, and that we’ll see more growth in that genre toward crafters and sewers who have established their skills, rather than just beginner-focused books. I can dream, right?
• 2008 taught me never to make sewing-related resolutions, because that’s just a recipe for none of them happening…

And there you have it–2008 in review. Bring on 2009! Look for a similar post from J-Boy soon.

I hope you have a wonderful 2009! Thanks so much for your readership, your comments and your thoughtful emails throughout the past year.

~Sarah

Book Review: Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner

Anna Maria Horner's first book, Seams to Me, is exactly what you'd expect from this popular fabric designer.

One of the sewing books that I’d really looked forward to much of this year is Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me: 24 New Reasons to Love Sewing, which was released by Wiley in October. Anna Maria is one of my favorite fabric designers–I love the highly artistic graphics she utilizes in combination with vibrant colors. The result is a rich, bold and distinctive aesthetic that’s modern and fresh. When Seams to Me arrived in our mailbox, I was not surprised that the cover practically screamed “Anna Maria.” And the contents follow suit.

The first section, “Getting Started,” is a great introduction for new sewers and offers lots of tips and reminders for those of us old hands. For example, there’s an excellent page and a half of guidance on choosing and buying a sewing machine. My mother happened to be looking for a new machine after killing hers in a very abusive fashion right around when I got Seams to Me, and she found this advice very helpful:

The best machine for you is the one that keeps you inspired to try new things but doesn’t overwhelm you.

While that’s fairly simple advice, it is also advice that really holds true–and it proved helpful to my mom as she was making her decision about a new machine. This section also contains some excellent thoughts on setting up a comfortable sewing area, particularly making sure your setup is ergonomically appropriate. Anna Maria also covers some important concepts often overlooked in sewing books that are geared toward a broad audience (as this one is): good pressing, cutting tools and importance of using the right tools for your pinning, sewing and marking needs. Even advanced sewers and sewists need this reminder every so often. She even shares her clever trick for making perfect circles–which she dubs “Super Circles.”

A page from the "Cooking with Color" section of Seams to Me. Anna Maria explains how three basic formulas can create wildly different effects, depending on the tone and pattern of your chosen fabric.

The final piece in this first section that really stands out to me as unique is her Anna Maria’s focus on combining colors–which she calls “Color Recipes.” She has three basic formulas for “Cooking with Color”–Monochromatic, Monocromatic with an Accent and Multicolored–and demonstrates quite well how these recipes can be applied in various ways to create radically different outcomes. While my initial impression was that these formulas would primarily benefit quilters and home decorators, after reflecting on it some more, I can definitely see some applications in the garment sewing that I do–especially when planning trims and accents.

Of the twenty-four projects in Seams to Me, seventeen are for home accessories or decorating items–only seven are garments or fashion accessories, two of which are (extremely cute) little girls items. As primarily a garment sewer, this is somewhat disappointing, although not surprising. This seems to be about the ratio in every general sewing book. It’s much more difficult and expensive to produce patterns for clothing with all the sizes required, and much more room for error in pattern drafting. With that said, the items in the “Stylize” chapter are really quite attractive, with one notable problem that I’ll discuss in a minute.

First, both bags are über-cute. (Because you can never, ever have too many bag patterns.)

Taxi Tote: I really like the simple shape of this bias tape-trimmed shoulder bag. (I also think that the model in this photo may have stolen one of my outfits. That so looks like a combination I would put together.)

I'll Have One of Everything Bag: This bag is constructed using small pieces of eight different fabrics--a great way to experience with the "Color Recipes" in Seams to Me.

I was also happy to see that the skirt “pattern” in this book is actually a formula, much like that in Sew What Skirts, for making a custom A-line skirt for your exact measurements. This is one of those things that really everyone who sews with any regularity should know how to do, in my opinion. I cannot tell you how many times I have witnessed someone at the pattern counter who is wanting to learn how to sew who is asking the (often grumpy) salesperson for recommendations on an A-line skirt pattern so they can learn to sew. The custom skirt route is so much more forgiving fit-wise (since you draft it for your measurements), and I think that the investment in time creating a well-fitting skirt pattern can potentially encourage people to keep at sewing. Whereas so many of the big pattern companies have so many crazy fit issues that a beginner is fairly likely to get frustrated–especially when they find out that their measurements equal three or four sizes larger in sewing pattern sizing than they do in ready-to-wear. Two big thumbs up for this!

With that said, however, Anna Maria should have either 1) omitted the “Smashing Smock” or 2) given it the attention it deserves. It’s a very cute sleeveless yoked top, but it only comes in a medium (no size chart included, that I could find). As we know, one person’s medium is another’s extra-large is another’s small, so the label “medium” is essentially meaningless. Also, while Anna Maria included very comprehensive and methodologically-sound instructions for enlarging and shrinking the pattern, it’s such a fussy maneuver that I fear it will turn most readers off of this particular pattern. And, while the pattern will be modified successfully using those instructions (since it’s a loose, boxy style), it bothers me that the modifications don’t include a discussion of the fact that for most pattern you would need to grade the pattern to modify it, rather than just enlarging it. I would hate for someone to apply this technique to a fitted blouse because it worked for a boxy smock. You would end up with gaping armholes and a neckline that folds over onto itself.  The child’s “Prairie Blouse” (which is adorable) is modified the same way, and measurements are also omitted for that pattern as well. I realize I’m far more advanced and particular about fit in garments that most people who will be using Seams to Me to make either of these tops, but it’s still somewhat disappointing. (I also wish that the “Prairie Blouse” was the adult blouse because I love raglan sleeves, but that’s just me being wistful.)

The “Organize” chapter is really fun, with loads of items that would be great to make for a sewing room especially, including organizing cubes, a magnetic inspiration board, wall pockets and even a garment bag. These projects would be particularly rewarding for a new sewer who could simultaneously work through these projects, build his or her skills and organize and decorate a sewing space. There is one item in particular that I absolutely love–the “Pin Cushion Caddy.”

Pin Cushion Caddy: This is fun project requiring small bits of fabric to create a pin cushion that also helps contain clutter in your sewing space.

I also absolutely love the items in the “Domesticate” chapter, which range from beautiful appliqued and embroidered dishtowels to a fun patchwork ball (which our dog has requested I make for her). Each of the items in this section would be thoughtful wedding or housewarming gifts, too. (I always keep in mind simple projects that would make good gifts for various life events.) These are my two favorites:

The "Doggie Dreams Bed" (which you make using a formula based on your dog's size!) and the "Full Contact Cooking Apron" (which I need to make ASAP). Both of these designs from Seams to Me would be well-received housewarming gifts.

You’ve often read me gripe about how hard it is to read the print in many sewing books and how their design often doesn’t think about the end user. I have to tell you, I am 100% thrilled with the readability and usability of this book. It has sewing-friendly spiral binding, clear, dark print on a light background (yay!) and clear, understandable instructions with appealing, clear drawings. And, even better, they haven’t sacrificed the book attractiveness to make it accessible. It has loads of color on each page, beautiful photography that really shows the projects in detail (and you can get a good sense of the size of the items, too, as they’re shown with other items in each photo). Also, the people used throughout the book look like real folks, and the settings feel very familiar–like the pictures were taken at your friend’s very stylish farm. This total package makes Seams to Me one of those sewing books that’s really fun to flip through and admire.

An example of an instruction page from Seams to Me (this page is for the "Right Off the Cuff" project. Each project has easy to read text and clear drawings and most have multiple photos. Finally someone who really understands sewing designed a sewing book!

Playing Along Quilt: This is an example of the attractive, yet familiar, nature of the photography in Seams to Me.

Seams to Me is a fun book, and if you’ve followed Anna Maria’s blog and are familiar with her designs, you’ll see her mark all over this book. There are definitely enough projects that have a special twist that make it worth the $24.99 price tag, and the introductory section really stands apart among the rapidly-growing catalog of sewing books that are on the market. With the holidays coming up, this could be a nice gift for a sewer or sewist in your life–especially if they’re an Anna Maria Horner fan. It’s also another one that would be a quality addition to a “learning to sew” list, because of the clear instructions, variety of projects, tips and techniques and the fact that it doesn’t appeal strictly to the younger set–to me, Seams to Me has a wonderful universal, ageless appeal.

You can check out projects people have made using Seams to Me over on flickr. There’s also a free pattern download available from Wiley, if you’d like to take Seams to Me for a test drive before purchasing.

~Sarah

More Blazers Craftiness

Obviously, I’m in need of a cell phone with a better camera, because I’ve spotted some awesome Trail Blazers craftiness at the last three games and my pictures suck, suck, suck. First, on Monday versus the Sacramento Kings, Susan and I were behind this guy on our way to the Fan Shop:

This dude cut strips of black, red and white felt and then sewed them to a patch to create a wig fit for a true Blazermaniac.

Next, the lady sits in the row in front of us, and sewed a great blouse out of Trail Blazers branded fabric (they sell it at The Despot) that she wears as a jacket to the games. Her collar points are a work of art, and I wish this picture was better so that you could see them in all their perfectly pointy glory.

This woman is a hardcore fan. Not only does she wear this awesome home sewn Blazers blouse, she simultaneously listens to the to games on the radio and keeps a stat sheet while watching the games. Impressive. She's kind of my personal hero now.

And finally… Josh and I got to sit in a suite in the game versus the Miami Heat because I was on the 2008 Fan Advisory Board and it was our last get-together. (This was a nice upgrade from our upper bowl seats.) The wife of one of the Board members made the most amazing sign ever. Ever. Check it out.

For those of you not in the know, "G.O." stands for Greg Oden, the team's 7 foot center who was out last year (his rookie season) due to knee surgery.

The sign was created by Michelle, who is another Crafty Blazers Nut. She made this sign using glitter and installed a battery pack (battery pack!!!) to illuminate the basketball. The glitter letters pulled the whole thing together. Needless to say, her sign is unchallenged in its awesome. However, the geniuses who operate the fan cam thing that put people’s signs on the giant jumbo-tron thing obviously didn’t understand this and failed to feature her sign. Personally, I think this is a travesty of monumental proportions. My theory is that they didn’t want all the other sign makers to feel bad because their signs didn’t involve battery packs. It’s just a theory, though.

~Sarah

Sewing Heritage Sunday: Boy Sewing

From the Life Picture Collection, by John Pillips, Ohio 1942.

While I couldn’t find out any details about the boy in this picture and why he’s sewing, I think this is proof positive that Ohio boys have been sewing for a long, long time. Right, Josh?

~Sarah

Original photo link on Google Images.

Bingo, Bango, Bongo!

That post title doesn’t really mean anything, but it’s a quote from the great Bill Schonely, the best play-by-play announcer of all time. When someone would do something really awesome, The Schonz would randomly shout, “Bingo, Bango, Bongo!” There were other things, too. Like, “Rip City!” or “Ocean to Ocean…” or “Lickety Brindle up the Middle.” I listened to him call Portland Trail Blazers games on the radio my whole life, and no on will ever be as awesome as The Schonz. Seriously, Josh and I saw him walking down the street last year and I literally started hyperventilating. He’s that rad of dude.

Anyway, this post is about a T-shirt I screen printed and embroidered, but you’re going to have to humor me a bit while I digress…

I'm not a crazed fan! Really. I'm not. I swear.

It’s been well established that I’m a crazy fan of Portland Trail Blazers basketball. And keep in mind, Trail Blazers fans are a special breed of crazy in general, so that’s saying something. This season, we are actually season ticket holders. We have seats waaaaaay up in section 322 to each and every game this year. This is going to sound cheesy, but this is actually a life-long dream of mine. When I was a kid it was nearly impossible to get tickets. When Josh and I moved back to Portland, no one was going to the games, because of the whole Jail Blazers thing, and we were able to score all kinds of free or deeply discounted tickets (great seats, too). So we went a lot. (An aside: for the longest time, I thought that if I was at the game, the Trail Blazers couldn’t lose–it wasn’t until Portland played the stupid Clippers that season that I attended a Blazers’ loss.) That year, 2006-07, was Brandon Roy‘s Rookie season–he eventually become Rookie of the Year, Ime Udoka made the team (he’s a Portlander) and Nate McMillan was coaching. The vibe was changing, and fans kind of knew that it was Zach Randolph‘s last season before he was traded. Portlanders knew the team was changing–and something good was going to happen. Then Portland won the #1 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

It was amazing.

Blazermania was back.

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Book Review: French General Home Sewn

Cover of Kaari Meng's French General Home Sewn, published by Chronicle.

Chronicle Books’ latest sewing offering, French General Home Sewn: 30 Projects for Every Room in the House, is a unique sewing project book from Kaari Meng, owner of the well-known store in L.A., French General (you can visit her blog here). (I figure it’s pretty well-known, since I’ve actually heard of it.) Part tour of the vintage French aesthetic, part sewing book, this is an appealing book for folks who are Francophiles or fabric collectors, in addition to those looking for unique designs for sewing useful and decorative home items.

Every sewing book should include a pet bed.

This book was on my radar initially because I did judge a book by its cover. It looked so incredibly attractive, and visually very distinctive (I am slightly obsessed with design). In that area, Home Sewn did not disappoint. From the cover, which has an unusual fabric-y texture, to the hand-sketches of the project instructions, there is no doubt that this is a book inspired by the French aesthetic. Each project is even named in both French and English.

Floral cocktail coasters made from 5-inch squares of fabric--a perfect project for using up remnants.

However, the sewing projects and innovative use of special fabrics are really what make Home Sewn stand out. Kaari Meng is a collector of vintage and antique French fabrics–and she has been doing so for years, “whether they are small scraps or large panels.” You may have noticed that I love Japanese fabrics, especially those designed by Etsuka Furyura. Sadly, they’re also quite expensive, and so it would be more cost-effective to purchase small quantities. This book is full of ideas for small pieces of fabrics, from the coasters pictured above, to small lavender-filled cushions. So, if you have an affinity for distinctive, and expensive, fabrics, there are a number of projects in Home Sewn that could fit your needs.

My favorite project in Home Sewn--simple wall hangings and a shaped banner.

There are several projects that I haven’t seen in other sewing books, such as a shower curtain and a bath mat. While these are very basic projects, it’s the discussion of the usage of materials that really shines here. She recommends using natural hemp. Why? Because hemp fibers are naturally absorbent and fast-drying, which makes it ideal for bathroom projects. What a nice alternative to the plastic-y stuff that dominate mass-produced bathroom textiles.

Quick-Dry Bath Mat: The striped ticking adds a bit of style to this simple project.

And that speaks further to my earlier point about Meng’s book–it’s definitely a book that’s written more with the fabric-lover in mind, rather than a more sewing focused work. While the projects are generally quite clever unique interpretations of really useful everyday items (the fact that the projects are focused on items that you actually need is a huge bonus in my mind), fabrics really take center stage in this book. Even when the projects utilize very simple, unprinted textiles.

Scalloped tablecloth made with hemp fabric.

I was thrilled to see a different interpretation of “Party Banners” in this book—these are lined and, in the beautiful vintage French fabrics used in the book, could really be a wonderful decorative addition to a home office or guest room. (Full disclosure: I have party banners hanging in my home office.)

Hooray for party banners!!!

There is an added bonus to Home Sewn if you’re mad for embroidery (I’m looking at both of you, AverageJaneCrafter and my mom). There are many intricate, vintage-looking embroidery patterns included with the patterns in Home Sewn. They’re meant to mimic the look of the embroidery on antique linens. There’s also a perfectly respectable step-by-step of basic embroidery stitches.

Directions page.

A note on the book’s design and presentation: As much as I really love this book (I will probably make a number of the projects as I need housewares), this is another book in which I wish there’d been a bit more attention to the way in which the book is designed from the user’s perspective. Like so many craft books, the font is rather small and lightweight, which is difficult when you’re sewing. I generally glance down at the directions while I’m doing other sewing prep, and if the font were one point larger (which would make the book longer, and therefore more expensive, which isn’t a good thing either), it would be much easier to read. My other gripe is that, despite the absolutely stunning photography, some of the projects are hard to see completely in the photos, and it’s hard to get a sense of the scale and how some of the projects should look when finished. But would I trade the almost coffee-table book look of Home Sewn for boring pictures? Nope. Also, beginning sewers and sewists should be aware that there are not a large number of drawings accompanying the projects, although there are a few for each one. This doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, for straightforward projects like these, they’re just a bonus. However, if you’re used to the beginner-level books that have a lot of detailed illustration and instruction, be forewarned. Personally, I think you don’t need a lot of illustrations once you’ve got the basics of sewing down.

Despite those relatively minor criticisms, Home Sewn is really a winner of a sewing book. It is very, very different from anything else out there. It not only educated me about the French aesthetic, it got me thinking about new ways to utilize my favorite fabrics, about the benefits of collecting small pieces of really special textiles and about the beauty in elegant touches added to simple, everyday items.

If you’re a stationary fan, there is also lovely stationary that’s been developed as well. You can check it out here. Also, during the month of November, Kaari Meng is hosting a stash-busting contest with a really swell prize. You can get more details right here.

~Sarah

We’re Still Here!

We both just managed to each have a case of what will now be referred to as “The Worst Flu Ever.” First I was sick, and Josh was so wonderful taking care of me, and then I started to get better and Josh got hit with it even worse that I. But we’re on the mend, and will hopefully resume our regularly scheduled programming here at Sewer-Sewist shortly.

Meanwhile… Before our untimely case of the flu, I was busy being frustrated with my attempt to make this lovely kimono-style robe from a Burda World of Fashion from this spring.

It’s adorable, right? I think so, too. And it’s a very simple pattern as well.

Unfortunately, I totally lunched when I was measuring and cutting all the bands for the sleeves, hem, neck and front and neglected to add the seam allowances. I discovered this when I was sewing the sleeve bands together. I know, a totally bone-headed/dumb-ass/nitwit move. I did, however, manage to get the bands together on the sleeves, but the rest of the garment, no dice. So, I was in the midst of contemplating whether I wanted to re-cut all the bands (I have enough fabric, but, come on, it’s a robe) or piece together a few squares and call it a day. (Can you tell which way I’m leaning?)

Either way, I think it’s going to be a pretty darn cute robe. It’ll go nicely with the snazzy Amy Butler Lounge Pants from In Stitches that I made out of the same fabric combination. (I haven’t posted those yet, because I wanted to share the whole “ensemble” together.) Here’s a preview:

Last year, I was on quest–a serious quest–to find this gnome fabric from Heather Ross. It was out of stock everywhere. I had seen it once, and there seemed to be a citywide run on the stuff. So I did something I never do–because I don’t need to, we’ve going sewing resources like crazy here in Portland–and ordered five yards online from ReproDepot the second they got it back in stock. (Yeah, I went a bit crazy. No one really “needs” five yards of gnome fabric.) Since I don’t quilt, it took me all this time to figure out what the hell to do with my gnomes. Pajamas seemed like the logical choice.

Hope y’all are staying healthy this fall! Take care of yourselves!

~Sarah

Sewing Heritage: More Stitching Up Old Glory

As 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

Sewing Heritage: Women, Sewing & the WPA

Folks, 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 lack of jobs caused many men to seek jobs far afield, thus allowing women to participate in WPA programs as their only source of family income. Almost every single female WPA participant, with the exception of the very small Professional Division, was involved in a sewing project of some sort. Later in the program, bookbinding was added to the WPA program, and women were engaged in that activity as well. Interestingly, while the WPA made the intentional decision to pay women and men the equally for the same work, sewing–and eventually bookbinding, were the lowest paid positions available. Since most women at that time were still sewing by hand, they received training in using sewing machines. Once they became skilled with the machines, they were put to work making clothing, bedding and supplies for hospitals and orphanages.

The poster above, from the Library of Congress catalog, was used to advertise the positions using sewing skills available to women in Ohio via the WPA. Note that “Power Machine Operator” is highlighted at the top of the poster.

~Sarah

Note: I am likely going to make “Sewing Heritage” a semi-regular series here. I’m personally interested in the subject, and have been for some time—even prior to our post of the same title. I have both a B.A. and an M.A. in Women’s Studies and my focus was on history (at one point, I seriously considering getting a PhD and going into academia)–and for a long time I was very interested in women and the small craft and big-time garment industries, both in the U.S. and abroad, past and present. Anyway, I figure that this is as good of place as any to share both a bit of my knowledge on this topic and some of my finds (the LOC image library is amazing). Let me know what you think!

Inked

I’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 I’d started awhile back good and finished finished. It was a good thing I wore my “inked” dress, since I think I’m the only person in Portland without a tattoo (well, Josh doesn’t have one either, but my mom has two so the law of averages, their are a lot of tattoos in this city), I felt like I fit in a bit better…

Like I said in my first post about this dress, this is actually the second Lotus dress I’ve made, the first was actually out of a black stretch twill, which is — is you can believe it– the first basic black dress I’ve owned in my entire life (I’m just not a basic black sort of girl). I still haven’t gotten around to taking pictures of that one. However, this second dress is from a pink soft non-stretchy chino fabric from Italy (I think) that I got at Bolt. Comparing the two, as much as I like this dress, I actually think that it’s better suited for stretch woven, simply because the bodice needs to be very well fitted (I spent a lot of time on the fitting of this one) and the stretch is a bit more forgiving in that effort. But, regardless, I’m very happy with the result of this dress. I think it’s fun and I love the interesting neckline and vibrant pink fabric.

(Ooh, kinda crummy posture in this picture — remind me not to take photos for this blog after drinking marionberry martinis…)

My favorite aspect of this dress is the neckline, which is an interesting take on the traditional “sweetheart” neckline.

(Nice farmer tan, eh?)

I screwed up a little bit in the sewing, which I am not sure was in the instructions or not (I’m terrible when it comes to reading sewing instructions — I just charge ahead, I blame Burda World of Fashion). Since I was making the sleeveless version of the Lotus dress, I should have removed the seam allowance (1/2 inch) before binding the sleeves, so my sleeves are a bit wonky, which you can see in the photo above. I may still fix that if it annoys me enough..

(Oh, geez, and look how wrinkled I am in this picture…)

So, since I’ve made this dress twice, I can say it’s pretty sweet, it’s interesting neckline, the Sublime Stitching embroidery, the slight A-line, it’s a pretty complete package dress-wise. Turns out, my black dress would have been more appropriate, since in the hip ‘n’ trendy Pearl District everyone wears black to weddings. (When did that trend start??? Someone please explain this phenomenon to me! It was in the afternoon!)

(Don’t we look adorable in our handmade clothes?)

~Sarah

A 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 great project ideas (which can easily be converted to machine-sewn projects for the hand-sewing averse among us, ehem…) and the real gem is the author’s take on sustainability and rejuvenating traditional craft.

In that vein, in order to win the book, I’d like to ask you to leave your tips in the comments section of this post on reusing, recycling or integrating “green” concepts into your sewing and crafting. Do you search out organic cottons? Refashion thrift store finds (Antoinette, I’m talking about you!)? Try to shop locally? Plus, feel free to make the argument as to why sewing in and of its self is sustainable… If you’re not feeling green, share something about your sewing heritage, which is a huge theme in the book. If you do both, I’ll enter you twice.

If you feel compelled to pass this giveaway along to someone else (via Facebook, Twitter, some other social networking service or on your own blog), let me know by emailing me at sewersewist@gmail.com and I’ll enter you again.

I’ll keep this giveaway open until midnight (Pacific) on Monday, August 25.

Thanks, and I hope the winner enjoys this book as much as I did!

~Sarah

Oh 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 Shantung, Jacquard and Lace & Check. This is, actually, far more fabric information than I’m normally able to figure out in most of the books I’ve picked up on one of stops at the Japanese book store.

Here are just a few of the highlights that I quickly scanned this afternoon.

This asymmetric bag would be great to show off a striking lining fabric. I would be fun to sew it in a simple exterior fabric and an absolutely wild interior.

These two shaped bags are just damn pretty, hands down. And the round one, in particular, could be really fun — and is really screaming for contrasting panels. You could also do some interesting embellishment with beads or crochet (which I don’t know how to do, but like the idea of for whatever reason) on the ties at the top.

I’ve nicknamed this pieced number “The Clever Bag” because I think its handle/closure is just so ingenious…

But hands down, I have four definite favorites of the 24 projects in the Pretty Bag Collection. In fact, I’ve been looking at this book every time we go to Uwajimaya, because of these both of these. They’re garment-inspired bags! Seriously how awesome are these?

They’re bags and they’re clothes. And you sew them. What’s not to love? It’s like the perfect storm of craftiness.

~Sarah

Behind the Times

Whew! 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 – the Downtown Purse (I’ve made a few of these, they’re the perfect gift to show off some special fabric; check them out here and here.)

Check it out…

This one was made using some great mid-weight cotton sateen from Joel Dewberry’s Ginseng line (the same line Josh used for his “Shoeberries“), and I lined with some quilting weight cotton from Anna Maria Horner (I think… Eeg, I usually save the selvage so that I can remember this stuff). Check it out – the lining looks like those wicker chairs everyone in the eighties had.

Please tell me you know what I’m talking about…

Once again, I narrowed the front flap just slightly so that I could attach the straps into the lining rather that on the exterior (it looks so much nicer, in my opinion). This time, I used an oversized orange wood button to create the closure and shortened the flap by about an inch to create the space the button needed. I kind of think the button’s the best part of the bag.

Josh also screen printed my mom some custom logo’d pillow cases and a T-shirt; unfortunately, the photos were eaten by the monster than killed our computer… We’ll try to arrange an on-site photo shoot so that we can show those off, too.

Oh, and she didn’t seem to notice that itty, bitty imperfection…

~Sarah

Pintucks > Pleats

This 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. But that would be truly disturbing.)

Anyway, I set aside the dress I’m working on in favor of making something lovely for my sweetie. Josh has been so great while I’ve been a bit of a pill and was so wonderful on our anniversary, making us special commemorative T-shirts. Recently I had picked up this pattern from Burda the last time I was at The Despot, thinking it would be a nice men’s shirt pattern for J-boy. I sacrificed some white, floral striped fabric from Heather Ross’ “Lightning Bugs” collection from FreeSpirit (I’m a bit of a FreeSpirit junkie, I think) that I had originally intended for myself.

I haven’t made a ton of progress, because all of the pintucking (eight on each side of the shirt front) is quite time consuming, and I have a tendency to get a wee bit compulsive about the evenness of the tucks. Just a wee bit. Really. I swear.

But, I’m certainly liking the result so far…

There’s something inherently less stressful about making something that’s a labor of love for someone you love than, say, making a dress to wear to work. (Especially when you’re looking for work. Eegads… I didn’t even think of that factor until just now when considering my whole creative funk situation. Geez… No wonder I couldn’t make progress on my damn dress!)

Anyway, I just adore pintucks. Granted, I’m also firmly committed to pleats, but their petite, more refined cousin the pintuck is one of my favorite design elements—one I don’t get to use very often. There’s just something to structural and appealing about the ‘tucks. Sadly, pintucks are not the most flattering blouse style for me, although I do have an ancient pintucked skirt that I really like. So it will be fun to finish up this funky shirt for my hubby.

You gotta appreciate a guy who gets excited about his wife making him a floral-striped tuxedo-inspired shirt…

~Sarah

P.S. We’re still not certain that our commenting function is working reliably. So, if you feel compelled, we’d appreciate your trying out the commenting to see if it’s working for you (it’s an intermittent problem, of course). If you can’t seem to leave a comment, please drop us a line at sewersewist [at] gmail [dot] com. Thank you! We really want to get this issue resolved ASAP.