Happy New Year! So, 2018 was the year I moved and 2019 was the year I finally went to Paris (!!!) and both years were overflowing with crazy work hours. In this week before 2020 begins I’m working on ways to make more time to sew and renewing my commitment to blogging. Here’s hoping I can turn intention into reality. Of course, Paris was absolutely magical. How could it not be? I tried keeping a journal, which only lasted two days. I started drafting a blog post about the trip. That didn’t get very far.  I’m finding that I can’t seem to do the experience justice with mere words. There is, quit ..read more

I feel like I should pay the fabulous Jennifer Stern Hasemann of J. Stern Designs royalties already. Her Women’s Tee is just about the only knit top I make and it never fails to get compliments. I didn’t do much sewing this past summer, but toward the end I made an entire batch of short sleeve J. Stern tees – 5 of them! On one I tried foldover elastic at the neck. I like the way it looks with that navy and black dot rayon from Emma One Sock, but it’s not my favorite neck finish. For the others I did what I usually do, which is cut duplicate pieces of the top back, front and side panels a ..read more

Let’s not dwell on how long it’s been since I’ve completed a project or how long since I’ve blogged. Instead, I’d like to celebrate the latest addition to my handmade wardrobe. It’s a dress that incorporates the raise V neckline I adore and fabulous crinkly rayon in an intriguing shade I’m calling Storm Cloud Blue. This fabric has been aging in my fiber collection for a long time. I’ve lost track of how long ago I bought it at EmmaOneSock. It’s actually a double cloth and the texture is achieved with stitching. My original vision was to make this into a dress using this particular neckline ..read more