Keeping Your Cool In Winter

So many of these photos came out blurry, but I still wanted to use them. Apologies for lack of posts lately - I had a cold the beginning of the month (I never get sick!), lots of work things going on...

Last week me and Max went to the Garfield Park Conservatory since I was dying for some warm, fresh, plant air!

I've also been growing some plants at home to have something green around during the winter - I finally found some basil seeds here! (Harder to find than you might think this time of year.)

Wearing my awesome vintage hat that Max's mom got me for Christmas!

I got this tie scarf in my favorite super-secret thrift store. It has to be early 70s to mid 70s based on the colors and polyester-ness of it. Last time I wore it, some guy in Wicker Park called me "zany". I didn't know if that was a compliment or not.

This might be my favorite room - these glass flower-things! It almost reminds me of that scene in Willy Wonka (1971) and the Chocolate Factory. Definitely one of those movies that solidified my artistic aesthetic.

Next week I have an entire week off, so look out for a new addition to the blog - RECIPES! I had more than one reader out there begging for recipes for food I make. My dad happens to be a chef and I learned a few things from him, so expect some good things! These recipes are also relatively easy to make.

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Latch Hook Rug Update

A little under a month ago I received all of my supplies to take on one of the biggest long-term projects I have ever taken on - a self-designed latch hook rug. I don't know why, but I am clearly nuts. So beginning today I am posting photos each month, (preferably on the 1st of each month) progress of this gigantic shag rug. See how I started it here (scroll down past posting of my $10 dress). This is a photo of it today: Yes, I used the candelabra for scale. Haha. This rug is really soft and is fun to run your fingers through. It doesn't look like much was accomplished, but though the number of packages we have gone through of pre-cut latch hook rug yarn already I have calculated that we've used over 2500 strands for this ie.) 8 packages. I also just ordered 10 more packages of lime green since that's what I ran out of first and 6 more packages of straw yellow. There is still quite a bit to go, but you see the blue row square...

DIY Trapeze Dress

I'm a pretty big fan of tent dresses (or trapeze dresses - call it what you want). They're simple, easy-to-make and you can have many variations of them. These are a fun style to wear for spring and summer! See this DIY from a Good Housekeeping Crafts book from 1971 - photos at the end of my own trapeze top from a while ago! (Bear with me on the photos here - this book is quite cumbersome and hard to scan.) Applique patterns, in case you wanted the dress to look EXACTLY like the photo. (But why?) How to cut the fabric efficiently. (This is actually pretty important cost-wise for you - especially with something this big.) Using pattern instructions from my patternmaking book from college, I created this swingy trapeze top a bit ago. I used sweater fabric from a thrift store find for the collar of this top. I also opened up the back on the pattern to have a diamond shape. It c...

Shingo Sato and the Art of Transformational Reconstruction

So I got really excited on my break at work today when I got an email from Burda about a webinar they're doing on a pattern technique called "Transformational Reconstruction" developed by Japanese designer Shingo Sato. I hadn't even heard of Shingo Sato until today let alone his design technique but oddly, it's sort of the path I'm going down with my designs anyway as seen with the Sunrise Panel dress as well as the Petra Dress and the pattern making involved in those designs. What I did there is perhaps a "light" version of Sato's where the darts and shaping are hidden in the seam lines. If you've been reading this blog long enough, you know that my design aesthetic focuses largely on color blocking, unusual seam lines, and a love of anything psychedelic. Note: All photos stolen from the internet. Sorry! I'm super-excited. Let me know if it's yours and I'll take it down. Shingo Sato teaching. More designs using...

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