Hello friends!
How is your summer going so far? Long before Covid I told S that this year I wanted to stay in Europe this year and do some exploring. After all, it’s not easy to travel when she’s in school, and everything is so close to us from Madrid! She was rather disappointed, and even more so after restrictions made it impossible for us to return. But this week was the first of three probably beach vacations the kid is going to have, and as it turns out that’s not as bad as she thought! She’s been sending me photos so I have proof.
Not a bad life, right? I can think of worse ways for a 15-year-old to pass her summer.
Pinterest Picks
The bright pink top in the photo below, left, has intrigued me for a while. I love the idea of longer, visible pocket bags as a design element. It gives a feeling of layers, and you could do something similar with our Bento Tee pattern. (Or the Lunch Box Tee for kids.) Also, the green shirt on the right: that color! I’d love to sew something similar using our Classic Shirt, maybe with the popover placket option. Anyone know of a fabric that would be appropriate? That blue-tinged military green is fantastic.
How refreshing is the idea of top and trousers made from the same fabric, particularly in a polished linen for summer: so elegant. Also loving the simplicity and clean lines of the shirt on the right, which I think could also be done with our Classic Shirt pattern. I’ll play around with the neckline finish to see what I can do.
We’d really like to get back to Paris this fall, too.
Two cute fabrication ideas for our Camp Shirt pattern.
The best thing about summer? Salads with all that fresh produce!
Weekend Reading
- Are you inspired by any of these fashion trends? I’m ridiculously intrigued by that boxy midi blouse.
- Here’s a job I would happily take: when I was designing active wear and technical gear one of the great pleasures of the job was wear-testing everything we made. I even learned to golf when I was designing golf clothes!
- A fabulous profile of quilter Rosie Lee Tompkins.
- A dear friend of mine from design school has become a passionate collector of sneakers. But I had no idea the secondhand market for them was so crazy!
- Fashion inspiration: 1950’s and 1960’s Senegal chic!
- I’m really loving this New York Times Covid fashion DIY series. Take a few minutes to patch your favorite old jeans!
- What will happen to fashion shows now? Looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.
- I’m pretty sure I shared these Ikea lock-down plans earlier, but it’s worth a re-visit. What forts can you build in your backyard this summer using only what you have on hand?
- All fashion economics aside, I am very much in favor of sewing masks to match your latest projects. Who else is on board with this idea?
- What are your favorite tooth fairy traditions? We always gave S a silver dollar for each, but our tooth fairy was VERY forgetful. Here in Spain we have Raton Perez instead of a tooth fairy.
Next week we’ll be back with some sewing I’ve been doing for myself as well as for S. What are you making this weekend?
Big YES vote for a clean-line Classic Shirt neckline finish, please.
For the green shirt it just looks like it should be made in tencel. The drape and weight would make it beautiful.
Thanks for a great Weekend Links. I particularly relished the Roger DaSilva and Rosie Lee Tompkins pieces.
Love your tooth fairy article. My daughter (now age 42, and mother of 2) lost/swallowed her tooth, and so I still have her note, and a full wardrobe of clothes that she made as an apology, and in the hope she would still get the money under her pillow.
In my late teens (1960’s) my friends and I cut up our running shoes (sneakers…I am Canadian!) and we turned them into summer sandals.
I am sure we also graffiti ed them too!
School here will be starting next month with masks required, and I’m definitely planning to sew my daughter a few masks that match any woven shirts or dresses she has right now.
The tooth fairy at our house is forgetful too. Nay, useless, in fact. I’ve always told the kids they need to write a nice note to the tooth fairy. It’s called a funding application letter and something they should practice.
By the third consecutive night of the tooth fairy failing to front up, the letters have become quite hilarious. My children are well practiced at writing ransom demand letters!
Meanwhile, they’ve worked out that the granny tooth fairy pays a dollar for every year of age (?!) and doesn’t require a note. They’ve given up on the household tooth fairy and his/her single coin.
My favourite tooth loss tradition I’ve ever read about was a family that all traipsed out onto the front street and the child stood, with their back to the house, and three the tooth over their head. If it landed on the roof they got a dollar from dad.
Liesl, I don’t know that it’s post-able, but I thought you might enjoy this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCnbjRlICSQ
I worked for an international company, and we frequently had customers from all over the world coming to our bicycle plant. I would ask each of them for pocket change of foreign currency. Of course I had to explain the tooth fairy tradition. I used these coins from the tooth fairy. Proof that she went everywhere, and by the time she got our house had no idea where she was. No one ever said the tooth fairly left spending money!
My son kept all those coins and turned them into many projects when he was older. One of the neatest, was a coin belt. He drilled the coins and sewed them onto a leather belt.
Fabulous story! Thanks so much for sharing. xo