Can you lend a hand?

Have you heard of Kickstarter? If you haven’t, you need to check it out.  It’s where folks like us can support other folks like us by backing their projects and helping them to get off the ground. I bring this up now because I was directed to a Kickstarter for Sara at Sew Sweetness that I really want to see backed – Sara designs beautiful handbag patterns that are available for free, but she would like to start designing … Continue reading

Holiday Gifts: Necktie

Pirate ship Necktie Originally uploaded by alyson_olander Strictly speaking, this was not a holiday gift.  My dad’s birthday falls just a few days prior to Christmas and, because I understand how much it must suck to get a load of Christmas ‘n’ birthday combined gifts each year, I make a concerted effort to give him one gift for each. This year’s birthday gift was a pirate ship necktie. Now, be honest, a necktie is kind of … Continue reading

New clothes for me!

I’ve been working on this new blazer/jacket for a couple weeks now. It’s really cute, but it’s also sort of a pain in the butt. I haven’t posted about it yet because I’m still working on the flippin’ pintucks. Plus I think I’m out of interfacing. But it really is cute. Really. See? Cute. Mine is going to be in this greyish-periwinklish wool/cashmere blend, with vintage silver-backed glass buttons. A while back (like six months … Continue reading

Quick-and-Dirty (Renn Faire) Skirt

So last weekend, we headed out to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Sadly, I have not lost all of the baby weight from when my son was born and all of the “Renaissance”-wear that I have fits my pre-baby size and shape. I spent hours slaving over new clothes for my husband and more hours slaving over a costume for my son, and alright, I even spent a few hours slaving over a Polish Vest (Folkwear … Continue reading