Jeez, I made this in spring last year and forgot to show you! I attended the Pattern Review Weekend in Portland, Oregon — about 100 sewing fanatics met up to chat, learn, go fabric shopping, and have fun. There was a themed sewing contest and since Portland is known as an ideal place to grow roses (you can visit their International Rose Test Garden), the … Continue reading A Rosy Outfit for the City of Roses
Hi friends! Happy holiday season to you! As we come to the end of another year, how about a fresh new challenge for a fresh new 2020? I’ve started up Slow Fashion 2020, where you decide what challenge you want to set for yourself in terms of being more sustainable with your clothing making/purchasing. As you probably know, textile waste is a serious problem, and … Continue reading #SlowFashion2020: Create Your Own Sustainable Challenge
October 11th is the International Day of the Girl, and to mark it, I’m really happy to announce the release of a very special documentary my students produced. Last February I took a group of students to Kenya to shoot a film about Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and the work that AMREF Health Africa is doing to put an end to this dangerous practice. (You … Continue reading It’s International Day of the Girl
Winter ice fading and on the sandy beach promise of summer Continue reading Haiku for Spring! Yahoo for Spring!
Charlotte over at sewcialists.wordpress.com posted this recently and I thought it was such a great initiative that I got her permission to reblog her post in its entirety. Have you got anything in your closet you could refashion in #SewSolidarity ? Sewcialists On April 24th it will be two years since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh. At least 1,133 garment workers … Continue reading #SewSolidarity with Garment Workers
Here’s a first world problem for you: do you find yourself torn between getting caught up in the ‘holiday spirit’ while feeling a bit icky about all the excess consumption? Of course you do; it’s inevitable this time of year. On one hand we want to honour this special occasion by decorating, baking & cooking, and giving gifts. On the other hand, this all takes … Continue reading ‘Tis the Season for Split Personality (not to mention split pants seams)
Who remembers watching endless reruns of Three’s Company?? (Go on, admit it. You can’t lie about your age forever.) Today I met Suzanne Somers (pictured on the left, in her role as Chrissy) at an event for work at which her husband was being honoured with an award. Anyway, I was introduced to her, and she said, “I love your dress!” I was wearing this … Continue reading Suzanne Somers Likes My Dress
I was nominated to participate in this blog hop thing by Raphaelle over at Deux Souriceaux (thank you, Raphaelle!). She paid me the nicest compliment I could’ve wished for which is that she said I’m “smart and fun”. How did she know that those are way up there on the list of how I’d like people to perceive me? Awesome. Anyway, the way this blog … Continue reading Blog Hop!
Just gonna brag a bit here about my talented husband! Back in January I mentioned in a post that he was working on a wooden-slab table. I’m happy to report it turned out really well, and is an amazing one-of-a-kind creation. This table started life as our neighbours’ huge, old maple tree. Unfortunately, it had reached the end of its life and had irreparable rot … Continue reading The Four Leaf Clover Coffee Table
Your advice needed! I picked up this cardigan and these pants at Target a few days ago, and I’m pretty sure I did a fist pump while I was trying them on in the change room. Tuxedo-style ankle pants in colour-blocked black and white! [Fist Pump!] Colour-blocked cardigan in black and white and bright blue with groovy mesh on the back and sleeves! [Fist Pump!] … Continue reading Right on Target?
Frivolous At Last 