Hello friends!
I don’t know about you, but the Christmas break just can’t arrive soon enough for me. This school year has been so grueling already. I think everyone in our family is in desperate need of a break. You too? Honestly, I think we’re going to spend the holiday relaxing, catching up on a few projects we’ve been wanting to do together, and maintaining our usual tradition of watching old movies.
Meanwhile, I’ve been picking fabrics for spring pattern covers and this is the color palette I’m (loosely) using. It will be exciting to see how everything turns out! I can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on for the new patterns, too. I think you’re going to like them. But you’ll have to wait until April, of course. I may give you a few hints and previews here and there, however.
Pinterest Picks
Two cute, classic holiday looks for kids: for boys you could use our Oliver + S Sketchbook Shirt and Trousers or the Buttoned-Up Button-Down Shirt, and for girls the Playtime Dress would be perfect to create similar styles.
Contemporary holiday decor ideas. When I was little we had some Japanese neighbors who taught me how to make the ribbon stars. They used paper and then dipped the finished stars into melted wax to finish them. I still have some of them and put them on our tree every year.
My mom made S a twin-sized version of this quilt from my Little Things to Sew book, and it looks so great in her bedroom! And I stumbled across this pretty quilt, below right, while looking for fabrics on the Robert Kaufman site. It’s cute, isn’t it?
S and I made this chocolate babka the other day and it was just as good (and pretty) as it looks. And how cute are the melty snowman cookies?
Thanks for all your enthusiasm about the new Lisette for Butterick B6526 pattern! I can’t wait to have time to sew mine and hope to show it to you soon. Also in my to-sew pile is a gorgeous vintage silk sari that I plan to use to sew the Lisette for Butterick B6482 dress. Remember this photo? I’m so excited and grateful to Nina for the sari suggestion and the link to this seller!
What’s on your sewing list right now?
Weekend Reading (and Watching)
- Every time I watch this backstage video I see something else fun and new. And since it’s Nutcracker season (Rachel is off doing backstage costume maintenance right now!) this is a great alternate land of the sweets.
- Have you given much thought to the mannequins in fashion exhibitions? Interesting job!
- Speaking of fashion exhibitions and mannequins, the new The Body: Fashion and Physique show at FIT looks great. Here’s another article about it. Let me know if you go, OK? I’ll probably miss it.
- And speaking of FIT, how great are these superhero outfits the MA students made for these kids?
- It’s also not too late to catch this exhibit at MoMA, which I’ve heard is really great. (Argh, I need an excuse–and time–to get back to NYC!)
- Hotel carpet: so bad it’s good.
- I’m still taking this one in: normcore and its implications. (The race to the bottom depresses me but makes perfect sense.)
- A question: Has anyone seen the movie version of Wonder? What did you think? We’re debating whether to see it or not. The book is a real favorite, and we’re not sure the movie could possibly do it justice.
- And big thank you to Chiade for this one: how a Welsh couple launched a boutique jeans label in an old bluejeans factory, saving skilled jobs in the process. A sewist makes each pair start to finish and then sign their work. So cool!
- 2017 in Fashion. Sigh. Is this the best we can do?
Whew, that’s a lot of links.
Next week we’ll take you fabric shopping in LA as part of our fabric shopping series. And then it’s almost Christmas! I know one kid who can hardly contain her excitement. You probably know a few more. Have a great weekend!
We’ve seen Wonder; my boys talked me into it. I read the book (I teach middle school) and was hesitant about watching Auggie go through everything all over again. My 10 and 7-year-old hadn’t read it yet but were adamant that they wanted to go see the movie. I caved, and will admit I was happily surprised. Don’t get me wrong, it was close to the book, and the sad parts are still sad, and the mean parts still make you mad, but it was also pretty funny, and Auggie is very relatable. I’d say go for it.
La película se llama Wonder está buena. El libro está un favorito de mi hija (12) y a ella le gusta la película. ¿Puedes verla en inglés en España o sólo en español?
I have not seen Wonder yet, but my mom has. She’s a fifth grade teacher who loves the book, and she loved the movie too. Everyone at my book club who has read the book and seen the movie also recommended the movie.
So glad the sari idea worked out! Don’t be afraid to cut into it – trust me, there are closets upon closets of sad unworn saris in the world, and this one will be glad to be worn and enjoyed, in any form!
Oh, just read the article about the jeans factory in Cardigan. It’s a great project but I was a bit concerned to read that the man behind it was also the founder/owner of Howies – they started off as a really ethical manufacturer, producing organic cotton clothing in the UK, and gradually as they grew they moved production overseas (inc China) and became less eco-friendly, before finally selling to Timberland. I used to buy their clothes in the early days and the direction the company took was really disappointing.
I feel the same way about the Wonder movie. I teach 4th grade and read it to my class every year, except this one. I don’t feel like reading it when a bunch have already seen the movie. Such a bummer.