Category: sewing

big kid shoes

to master an art
is one thing; to teach it well
takes much greater skill.

rick rack display (paris shop - montmartre)

Tomorrow I am teaching my first official sewing lesson! A cousin of the kids I’ve been watching this summer is potentially interested in fashion design, but obviously needs to have some sewing knowledge. She’s in seventh grade, which is in the perfect age range. I’m excited, and a bit nervous… sewing just pours right out of me, it’s a wordless communion between myself and my machine. I think explaining it all to someone else will be a delightful challenge.

I’ve been tidying up the house for a good portion of the day: unearthing the living room from the mess of yard sale + college shopping goodies, stripping tons of WIPs from the dining room table, and making sure my sewing table is clear. And, of course, when I can’t make any new messes, I get the urge to try all sorts of crazy projects.

But my Gocco is in my room on a little table, so it’s safe. I have to think of some things that would look nice and that I can draw (a rather large limitation), and hopefully soon I can start printing. I also have to research more on how to clean screens, etc… I’ve read that it’s best to print as many as you can in the first run because it can be hard to save the screens. With their large price tag that is growing larger as supply diminishes, I’m hoping I can hold on to them.

It’s a lovely Sunday: good songs at Church, one of which I knew the alto part to (so much fun!); a cloudy but nice day with some wind, and I saw a cardinal right outside my window! Hope you are having a lovely day as well!

day 1: cologne

four hours after
landing, fabric is purchased.
that is skill, my friends.

view of germany from a plane window

button display at a german fabric store

little carousel

chocolate museum in cologne

You read that right. Less than four hours and I had fabric in hand. While driving from Frankfurt to Cologne, we stopped in a tiny village for gas, food, and an ATM. My fabric proximity alarm was beeping, and my mom and I were magnetically drawn to the store with large rolls of cloth in a box outside. It was a darling little store, with women who only spoke German and me struggling to think of how I could say “half”. Awhile later we left, me with a shirt and skirt-to-be, and my mom with a shirt. I take great pride in my fabric magnetism.

We later headed to the Chocolate Museum in Cologne, which was quite interesting (and delicious!). History of chocolate, original ways of making it, modern factory pieces, and samples. The samples made it all worthwhile to my sleepy self.

Then it was dinner at a German restaurant and early bed in the cute apartment that we rented for the night.

the floodgates open

fabric-buying bans
do not apply while shopping
in foreign countries.

window full of trims in valencia, spain

Tomorrow my family and I are flying off to Frankfurt and driving from there to Cologne and then Paris. I’m getting excited, and really looking forward to shopping for fabric and beads (Paris flea markets!), visiting Disneyland Paris, and taking lots of pictures.

So, au revoir! I will return to regular posting by the 20th!