Readers, The bags I’d ordered last week in the hopes that they’d solve my button-storage quandaries arrived yesterday from Paper Mart. As I wrote recently, I had stored my many vintage buttons in Ziploc snack bags. True, the bags were portable and fairly see-through, but they were stored in boxes in a closet. Supplies that […]
Before and After: The Alcove
Readers, I now present to you my sewing library, properly stored and accessible, befitting the sewing space of a retired librarian. When Daniel installed the shelves this past week I just couldn’t believe how nice they looked and how practical and roomy they were. Why hadn’t I thought of converting this rec room bar, built […]
Make or Buy?
Readers, Being a largely from-scratch cook and baker (I have made my own crackers–not worth it–and bagels–worth it) I bring a DIY approach to food preparation. But when is it worth making something and when is it worth buying readymade in the pursuit of getting things sewn? I submit three situations with my decisions. Situation […]
Mindful Entertainment
Readers, The project I’m working on at the moment is so boring (a pants muslin) that I can hardly bear to write about it, much less take pictures of it. Maybe a professional could style and light a pants muslin brilliantly, but I sure can’t. The interesting part of sewing pants is, frankly, getting them […]
Field Trip: M & J Trimming
Readers, If you love buttons as I do, what’s it like to go to a place like M & J Trimming, which has thousands of choices? Dazzling and overwhelming! On previous visits to M & J I would stop in just to have the proverbial look around, spend half an hour in a trance contemplating […]
Browsing in New York
Readers, I was in Manhattan for three days last week and spent a good portion of that time looking at fabrics and buttons. Fabric- and button-shopping is probably my favorite activity when I travel, and in the past when I’ve been in New York I’ve made a beeline for the Garment District. However, it’s on […]
Temperamental Journey
Readers, It’s late August, the Minnesota State Fair is underway, and tomorrow’s forecast is for the upper 90s. But my mind has turned to sewing for fall. Tomorrow I’ll leave on a ten-day trip to Ohio and New York. By the time I get back to the sewing domain, it will be after Labor Day. […]