Heralded by beautiful pink cherry blossoms in our back yard, spring has officially arrived in Northern California. All the gorgeous wool and plaid fabrics I purchased this winter, with unrealistic dreams of making warm and toasty work clothes, must be packed away for another couple of seasons. But remember this fabric, purchased on our trip… Continue reading Heidi top for spring
My son loves those little Velcro wooden fruits that you can cut into pieces with the wooden knife. The set Santa brought was in a cute little wooden crate, but at the end of the day, a wide-open, boxy crate isn't going to cut it as a storage vessel at our place. Instead, I wanted… Continue reading Tutorial: Double-drawstring bag
I've been dying to share this silk blouse with you all! As a resident of the Bay Area, I am absolutely thrilled and honored to be collaborating with Britex Fabrics as a Guest Blogger, and this is my first official project! I remember my first trip to Britex in San Francisco; after spending decades shopping… Continue reading Peplum silk blouse
For Christmas, my husband gave me the most perfect gift: a dressmaker's form! Until now, I spent a lot of time topless (or bottomless) pinning and repinning in-process clothing in front of the bathroom mirror. It took a while to find the right dress form for me, but I ended up getting a Fabulous Fit,… Continue reading Me, pinable
As my last post of the year, I wanted to share the two aprons I made for my youngest's daycare teachers. Both were based on this vintage pattern, though I made enough changes to the first apron that it's virtually unrecognizable as the same style:The apron on the left (in my photo and on the… Continue reading Apron times two
Hands down, my favorite decoration for the house is this advent calendar, made three years ago. I based it on my in-laws wood version, but ours is all felt, with tiny rick rack, ribbon and seed bead decorations for the ornaments. Clearly made before child #2 came along, each number was hand cut with an… Continue reading Merry Christmas!
Other than the tree skirt, I only set out to make aprons for my son's daycare providers for Christmas this year in a conscious effort to reduce holiday stress. The 2 year old goes to a Japanese immersion small family daycare**, and the teachers wear cute little cobbler-style aprons every day. Clearly, I had to… Continue reading Dumplings for Christmas
After seeing this tutorial, it was immediately imperative that I make a tree skirt. Not that we needed one; on the contrary, I own a beautiful skirt with rows and rows of cute little pompoms that I actually like quite a bit. No, I had to make one because despite not being a matchy-matchy type… Continue reading Christmas tree skirt
I bought that sweet mug at a student pottery sale at my college yesterday! Even in a land where I know the location of 3 pairs of sunglasses and no idea where my umbrella is (and it's currently raining), cozy pajamas are a must-have in the "winter". I purchased this fabric (In the Clearing Winter,… Continue reading Cozy PJ bottoms
During my recent visit to Britex I purchased a beautiful stretch silk floral fabric, the most expensive piece of fabric I've ever purchased (but so worth it!). I only got a small amount, with some kind of sleeveless shell in mind. After making the Minna blouse by Salme patterns, their Peplum blouse caught my eye.… Continue reading Peplum blouse, pattern review
Bea & Lucille 