weekend links

Hello friends!

How well do you know your personal style? I sewed something this week that’s pretty far outside of my own style, and S and I have been giggling about it ever since. It’s cute, and I did a nice job sewing it, but it’s just not me. I’ll show it to you soon, I promise. I thought it was worth it to try to push outside my comfort zone, but it’s unlikely that I’ll wear it. Instead, I’ll probably give it to a friend who I think it would suit much better than me.

What is it about it that makes me so uncomfortable? Truthfully, it’s the color and print. I picked a floral print, which I just never wear, mostly to show you what it would look like since everyone has their own style and I’m happy to design and sew outside of my own style as well. So I tried, but I think I’ll stick with what I feel good in. I’ll be curious to hear what you think when you see it.

Instagram Picks

Aren’t you happy it’s spring? Here are two Instagram images that caught my eye this week.

Pinterest Picks

I’ve been thinking a lot about hand stitching lately, so this week’s Pinterest picks are all within the hand stitching and embroidery realm. I’m particularly fascinated by this fabric, below left, which has been embellished to create a rough textured fabric. I think it’s fantastic! A much simpler, more traditional technique is used on the blouse below right.

And then there’s the basic running stitch and all the ways it can be used. In dense parallel rows it creates wonderful texture.

Of course there’s also the more botanical-oriented

I love the strong contrast of light on dark here. The smocking is so simple and impactful, and the colorful traditional Czech embroidery is something I love.

And then, of course, there is the beauty of sashiko.

And both of these embroideries nearly cover the surface, which I find to be especially interesting since they’re nearly creating a fabric of their own.

Weekend Reading

• A collection of good ideas and thoughts about clothes that wear out.
• And here are some more good ideas about developing your own clothing wardrobe, although I think I’m just preaching to the choir here.
• The fashion industry is one of the worst water polluters. And it needs to change.
• And here’s a possible solution.
• Your daily feel-good cry.
• Need a little inspiration this weekend? Don’t forget all those amazing art books from the Guggenheim Museum that you can now download for free!
• The lure of the shiny: a history of the sequin.
• Keep your eyes open the next time you go grocery shopping; you never know when you’ll see a quilt in the aisles!
• If you live in Houston, be sure to watch the weather. Your local meteorologist sews her own clothes!
• OK, Elena Ferrante fans, how do we feel about turning the books into an HBO series?
• Such a fun graphic depiction of metro systems around the world.

We have so much fun stuff planned for you next week! I’ll be here with another addition to our Ask Me series, a little more sewing I’ve been doing, and we’ll be featuring some really great projects from the Building Block Dress book that I think will give you some inspiration as well. Rachel’s been busy! Plus, we have a special guest dropping by next Friday for the weekend links post. Hurry back, and have a great weekend.