I know what you’re thinking: “What?? An actual blog post?!?” Needless to say, it’s been more than a little quiet around here. So, why am I gracing these cyber pages with a splash of color, you ask? (or didn’t ask. But I have the microphone so….) Because I am officially on Spring Break! When you’re a professor, this doesn’t mean you and your 20 closest friends piling into a clown car headed for Daytona Beach. But it does mean time to breathe, time to sew, time to write a bit. A time where the endless demands blessedly cease and the sun starts to remerge after the rainstorm. Although I never kne ..read more

There is no rhyme or reason for it, but I have been ALL about the separates lately. Not that making skirts is necessarily a new thing for me, but I’ve been completely enamored with making skirts and a matching top that can masquerade as a dress, but can also be split to mix and match to my heart’s content. With time at a premium these days, I am all for tricks that make my wardrobe serve double duty… I admit I’ve fallen way behind on having the time to sew, let alone style photoshoots and writing up tutorials. It’s been an absolutely crazy time at work (well, crazier than usual) and I haven’t ..read more

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way, but I swear summer days move more quickly than winter days. And I don’t just mean in a daylight savings type of way, but more a blink-and-you-miss-it-because-summer-is-much-more-fun type of way. Summer afternoons zip happily by in a fiery swirl of lazy cocktails, BBQs, and travel, without a care in the world. On the other hand, winter days crawl forward inch by frozen inch, reaching for a tomorrow that always feels just out of reach. Needless to say, summer is nearly over. Our fall semester is starting up again and I’m more than a little dreadi ..read more

When most people style an outfit, they probably start with the base: The dress. The skirt. The cigarette pant. They build from the foundation and find shoes and accessories to match. Now, while I’ve been known to be inspired by a dress a time or two, more often than not, I start with the perfect handbag… After all of these years, it’s hard for me to think of the word “handbag” without picturing Vendula London in my mind (I even designed an appliquéd skirt based on one of their bags!). They are hands-down one of my favorite handbag companies and I look forward to their new collections every sea ..read more

My eyes are definitely always on the lookout for color. I feel most people’s wardrobes are full of basics – the perfect black pant. The simple nude pump. Mine is overflowing with the exact opposite: the statement shoe. The print you can see from space. Call it years of being a wallflower or someone who struggled with confidence for a long time, but I hit a point after college and grad school where I was ready to be seen. So, when I decide to go neutral, it’s usually a moment. There’s a reason behind anything we create, being it a garden we were inspired by or a feeling we can’t quite put our f ..read more

There is no season I welcome more than Spring. I love the scent of azaleas and honeysuckle that hits me when I step out of the house. I am here for the sunshine that starts to peek through and hang around until early evening. But, most of all (and I know my fellow educators can relate), I’m pretty sure I wait for Spring with baited breath for the simple fact that I can see the light at the end of a very long semester… I somehow always seem to forget the special madness that comes from the Spring Semester. Along with the normal string of meetings and lectures and trying every so often to get my ..read more

I’ve always had a bit of a “Life Imitating Art” fascination, especially when it comes to fashion. I don’t know why, but I will forever be enamored with handbags that look like storefronts, or necklaces that look like rhinestone bagels, and shoes designed to mimic cake. Be it edible or not, I can’t get enough of a comestible lifestyle. I suppose the best thing any of us can do is be true to ourselves. So it’s no surprise my wardrobe is bursting with lemon appliquéd vintage and wicker apple handbags. I wear them all proudly an unapologetically, veering into dressing like a human fruit basket mor ..read more

Have you ever met a dress pattern and fallen in love at first sight? Some just speak to me, and such was my first encounter with Simplicity S8873. It’s crisp and clean, but has a bit of sass in the shoulder ties. Plus, it looked like a pretty straightforward make. Truly, sometimes simplicity really is best. I very rarely ever sew to the season. In summer I find myself brimming with wool felt circle skirt ideas. And in winter I inevitably gaze longingly at my rack of flouncy sundresses. But, I’ve learned to just lean into it. Knowing how crazy my life can get, I start a project and usually inev ..read more

You always hear that the start of a new year is supposed to imbue you with a renewed sense of impending possibility. Of hope for a new beginning. Now, as a glass half full kind of person, I can confess I’ve definitely bought into this a time or two. Despite knowing intellectually that New Year is just a time-honored construct of “endings” and “beginnings”, it still does help to have a mental model of leaving things in the past. But, this year I’m trying something new. This year, I think, instead of a “fresh start”, I’m going to tentatively sidestep into 2023 with a healthy dose of trepidation ..read more

Despite the fact that a calendar year is really an arbitrary block of time, there is something about an impending new year that gets me motivated to check things off the list. Be it a sewing project or the never ending To Do list at work, I always try to make that final push to put projects behind me, add one more tick in the Done Column. Almost as if, in doing so, I will truly feel as if I deserve a break. (Note to self: You deserve a break anyway) I fully appreciate this is ridiculous. I tell friends constantly that they need to step away from the computer, take time for themselves. But when ..read more