Black and White

Ireland Holiday Dress: Butterick 6168

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Back in 2015, I travelled to Ireland to present at the Society for Longitudinal and Lifecourse Studies conference in Dublin Castle. While I was in Dublin, I wandered into a fabric shop and bought this luxurious black and white printed fabric (content now unknown). I knew I wanted to make a dress out of it, so I bought 3 yards, but it took me 2 years to build up the courage to cut into it.  Continue reading

Black and White Polka Dotted Jenna Cardi

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This is my first make for myself in 2016! I’ve made a few cardigans before (see here, here, and here), but this one is a different style. The Jenna Cardi is a nice complement to the Julia Cardigan already in my pattern. My two Julia cardigans are more casual and flowy,  whereas this style is more traditional. I tend to wear the Jenna cardigans with jeans and pants, but I thought this cardigan would be more appropriate for dresses and higher-waisted skirts, which I tend to wear more often. Continue reading

Inspired by Ugandan placemats…monochromatic napkins and potholders

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A few weekends ago, I went home and my dad gave me three placemats from Uganda. Why he had a set of three placemats, I have no idea. Serendipitously, my current kitchen table will only fit three placemats, so it works out okay. Anyways, I was inspired by these placemats to make a coordinating set of napkins and potholders. Continue reading

Sewing Basics in Preparation for Me Made May

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May is right around the corner and should be a very exciting month for me.  First, it signifies the end of my first year of grad school.  Yay!  It will be nice to have a brief respite from paper writing and journal article reading. Second, it’s Me Made May! This year will be my second year participating in Me Made May–a month when sewers challenge themselves to wear their handmade wardrobe more–and I wanted to up the ante a little bit. Here’s my pledge. Continue reading