Hey! Happy February! How are you all doing? January went really well for me! I spent a lot less time sewing and blogging and more time cooking and walking and sleeping. Which felt great! I’d kind of gotten into a good groove, but then all it takes is Hideko getting sick and everything feels like chaos again! But we’ve made a few small changes to our every day lives and we’re trying to declutter plus buy/accumulate less. It feels like a long process, but as long as we don’t give up right? Continue reading
The year of less
So I have been thinking a lot about my plans for the coming year. In years past I have felt motivated to do more with my blogging: blog more often, do more tutorials, get sponsors, redesign the site, go to conferences, make patterns, the list goes on and on. But in recent months I’ve felt very strongly that I should do less. I realized that all those things don’t come very naturally to me and are just not a priority. I don’t think I’ll ever be a professional blogger, sewing competition winner, book writer or a pattern designer, but for now, that’s okay.
Shibori Dye All the Things!
Hey! So I’ve got a Miss Matatabi Maker post up over on the Miss Matatabi blog. Sure, it may seem like the first of the new year, but it’s actually supposed to be my last post of last year. Oops! Totally my fault – I lagged on getting Frances my post.
photo by Ashley
Favorites from 2014
Happy New Year!! I hope that you have all had a wonderful holiday season and a great start to 2015! I usually get wrapped up in all sorts of holiday festivities and preparations around the month of December, which is why the blog went pretty quiet there for awhile. But I’ve enjoyed a lot of time with family – celebrating, playing and relaxing – and I hope you have been able to do the same!
Sweatpants that Shine!
Hello!! I hope that, for those of you who celebrated, you had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with friends, family, gratitude and food! I’ve been enjoying a bit of a break from sewing and blogging recently, but I’m here today with a long overdue Miss Matatabi Makers project!
Princess Unikitty of Cloud Cuckoo Land!
Alright, so I know Halloween is over and people are already moving on to *gasp* Christmas!? But I’m behind as always and like to drag my feet as much as possible when it comes to all things, but especially the holiday season 😛
So I’m sharing this super last minute costume that I made for Kaya for Halloween! The Nightmare Moon costume I made Yuki took up pretty much aaaall my time the last couple of weeks, but somewhere in between I got it in my head that I wanted to make another costume for Kaya too. She already had a (slightly too short) Totoro costume, but I really only made that for the tutorial and I considered it a back up costume. I know, I’m crazy like that.
Nightmare Moon
Phew! This Halloween costume has been in the works for, what feels like, fooorever. It’s ridiculous when I start thinking about just how much time (and money) I’ve spent on this kid’s Halloween costume! But it was such a fun challenge for me – I really love making Halloween costumes!! I get a lot of enjoyment out of trying to figure out ways to translate a picture or a character into something tangible, an outfit, or a costume. So here’s the back story . . . Continue reading
Franklin Dress by Brooklyn Pattern Co.
Recently, I was contacted by Erin, the designer behind Brooklyn Pattern Company, to review her debut pattern. Erin had worked as a pattern maker and draper for 15 years on Broadway, and in the ballet, theater and circus. After the birth of her second child, she launched her new indie sewing pattern company and the Franklin Dress for kids is her first pattern.
I have to admit, when I first got the email from Erin, I was hesitant to accept the offer. I’m all about promoting indie designers, but I’ve sewn patterns from many people and companies, and some of them are just not very good and have been frustrating to sew (and blog about). So knowing that this was her first pattern, I was worried about the quality and that I may not have a positive experience. But I liked the style of the dress and after taking a look at her website, (I was drawn to the clean design), and skimming through her professional looking pattern, I decided to give it a go. And I’m glad that I did! It turned out to be a fun project that gave me just the break I needed from my crazy Halloween costume to do list. Continue reading
Totoro Costume Tutorial
Hello!! I’m here with a tutorial today that I’m really excited about! 3 years ago, I made a Totoro costume for Yuki and it was a huge hit with Totoro fans around the world. Since then I’ve been getting regular emails about custom orders for costumes or selling the pattern for it, but I don’t do either. I figured the least I can do is a tutorial for the costume so people can try their hand at making one themselves! Continue reading
To kick off October . . .
Hey! It’s been awhile since I’ve posted over on the Miss Matatabi blog as a Miss Matatabi Maker, but I’m back! And in honor of it officially being October, I’m sharing quite the Halloween project over there.
Wanna see what I did with this fabric? I’ll give you a hint – it’s something for ME! Check it out here.
Happy October 1st!