weekend links

Hello friends!

We’ve got that end-of-year busyness going on over here. S will be graduating from elementary school this month, I’m working to finish the fall patterns (I still need to sew all the samples for the photo shoot–eek!), and we’re looking at apartments here in Madrid while we consider what to do for next year. Ballet recitals, school events, I’m sure you’ve got it all happening, too.

Instagram Links

Can we talk about this darling chambray Playtime Dress and its scalloped stitching sewn by @lindsayinstitches? And also this gorgeous Lisette for Butterick B6358 swimsuit made by @sewscrummy? We’ll be talking about the suit very soon, so for now I’m just admiring.

Pinterest Picks

This photo (below, left) says summer vacation to me. I love the girl’s floral tee and striped skirt, and you could sew a similar look with our Lunch Box Tee and Butterfly Skirt. Also, how great is this summery color palette (below, right)?

A couple of cute, fun weekend projects ideas for you.

Wouldn’t it be fun to use a pretty embroidered fabric for the Lisette for Butterick B464 sleeveless top like this one? Also, I love the Liesl + Co. Classic Shirt worn with SoHo Shorts, especially when the shorts are made in a cute, fun print like this paisley.

It’s already really hot here in Madrid! This weekend it will hit 100 degrees, so I’m thinking about cold foods like ice cubes and ice cream. Tonight it’s going to be salad and maybe something on the grill because it’s way too warm to cook.

Weekend Reading

• Did you know that finding apparel and fabrics made in America was a problem during the Revolution? I found this article to be absolutely fascinating, especially as it relates to our current Made in America apparel emphasis. (But it’s a bit distressing how duplicitous he was, in the end.)
• Now that we’ve been living overseas for almost two years, I’ve come to realize even more how much I love J. Crew. Here in Spain we don’t have much in the way of mid-priced, good-quality apparel, and it’s really sad to see a company like this struggle. If we lose these mid-priced brands, we’re stuck with fast fashion and luxury brands, and that’s really scary to me! I think it should be scary to everyone, actually, especially people who don’t sew.
• Robin, who knows me really well, sent me this article with a note saying that it made her think of me. And not because I love cookies or baking. (Apparently she knows my obsessive pattern-development and instruction-writing tendencies….) But after reading this I just want to go bake cookies.
• If you grew up reading E.L. Konigsburg’s From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler you’ll probably appreciate this back story. S and I often talked about the book when we visited the Metropolitan Museum, where it takes place.
• Well, this is depressing.
• No matter what your politics, what we wear says a lot about us, and it matters even more when you’re in the public eye. I find the fashion choices of first ladies to be endlessly fascinating.
• And as long as we’re on controversial topics, it’s bullfighting season here in Madrid, and the bullfighting costume is spectacularly elaborate. Here’s an very interesting video profile of the tailor behind many of those costumes. I love it when he says, “Bravery and artistry don’t always go together,” implying, I gather, that a bullfighter’s costume might help to distract from a lack of talent. It would certainly work for me if I was in the audience!

Next week I’ll be here to show you a couple of things I’ve sewn for myself recently. We’ll also be featuring some of your sewing, and we’re excited about a guest tutorial your kids are going to want to wear this summer. By the way, don’t forget to show us your SoHo Shorts.

Have a great weekend!