weekend links

Hello friends!

Thanks so much for your enthusiastic response to our new Chaval Coat pattern! We’ll have more to versions of it to show you soon, so grab your pattern quickly because the sew-along will start in January. I’m really excited about it, and remember that this style also makes a great spring jacket. I think it would be a fantastic raincoat, too.

It’s a holiday here in Spain today, so we’re busy making our annual Christmas cookies using a recipe from Todd’s beloved Nana. We need to make more than 135 to give them to everyone on our list, but we’ve already easily surpassed that number and there is still plenty of dough! If there’s time I may also make some of my Grandma’s traditional Springerle as well, although they really need to age for a month in order to achieve the right flavor. My mom has kept the tradition and makes them every year as well.

Do you have any holiday baking traditions?

Pinterest Picks

Cute and fun holiday craft ideas. (See the weekend reading links below for one more.)

I’m a little surprised Pantone announced blue as the color of the year for 2020. I think we’re headed in more of a green direction.

I love these little details you could include in your Chaval Coat. The topstitched undercollar would add extra stability if you like to pop your collar, and the hanging loop is a lovely touch. Also, the center-back inverted box pleat would add extra fullness if you like a more dramatic sweep. And how stunning is this longer checked coat? So pretty.

Weekend Reading

• I loved looking at all the Geoffrey Beene designs up for auction.
• No idea what this program is (so much canned laughter, ugh…) but the host makes excellent points about fast fashion and why it’s such a problem. It’s almost 30 minutes long, but it’s worth watching.
• Have you watched The Crown yet? The costumes really are stunning and it’s fun to learn more about how they came to be.
• Here’s a fun little weekend craft project that would look awfully cute nestled into a Christmas tree.
• Bison wool: who knew?
• A very interesting story about Japanese denim and what makes is special. Fascinating how Japan was first introduced to denim, too!
• Also: don’t miss this lovely video about making Japanese selvedge denim. (I love these quotes: “The Japanese are very detail-oriented, which is probably why we produce good quality.” And “Craftsmanship is a character of the Japanese people.” from the video.)
• This Swedish company is recycling cotton to make a fiber called Circulose!
• Holiday stress? Or for that matter, regular stress? I’ve been using this breathing technique for a few months now and it’s amazing. I even fall asleep in record time with it.

OK, go have yourself a great weekend, and hurry back because we’ll have something really special for you on Monday! (Hint: another new pattern!)