Friday Faves / January 2024
Hellooo!!
Here in Michigan, January has been serving up the usual Climate-Collapse-Combo of unseasonably warm followed by suddenly arctic temps, with a hearty helping of snow day / ice day school cancellations for good measure. Elliot got really sick with something flu-like (not COVID tho? And he had the flu vaccine…so IDK…) right before exams and Mr Rae was traveling to SFO and then Switzerland for two weeks this month, so things feel decidedly off-kilter. I still haven’t figured out my studio situation, but lots of other things are moving forward. It’s life!!
Two really bright spots in my month so far:
First, I found out just after the new year that I’d been chosen as one of the Ruby Star Makers for 2024 - I almost didn’t apply back in December when they put out the call, but after deciding that in 2024 I want more community, more collaborations, I just went for it. I’ve known the Ruby Star designers for over a decade and have sewn many a thing with their fabric designs, so it seemed like a perfect fit. I’m really honored to be selected and looking forward to showcasing their fabrics this year!!
And…I'm SO excited to announce that I've been invited to teach at A Gathering Of Stitches' Slow Fashion in Maine in August 2024 along with Jessica Marquez and Stacey Taylor!! The workshops have just been announced (there are four sessions total - all of them look divine), so if you've been looking for an amazing sewing retreat this summer, consider joining me at AGOS - it's going to be so fun!! Registration starts in early March and tend to sell out fast, so sign up for the AGOS newsletter to be notified when registration opens.
Locally, I’m offering a couple of garment workshops in February (Garnet! Just one week left to sign up!! and a Citrine Workshop!) and an open studio in the studio if you’d like to come and sew with me. You can find the details in this Sew Ann Arbor Newsletter if you’re interested.
Here’s what else I’ve been up to and into this past month…
reading: Off to a pretty strong start this year at least for me with three good books that I couldn’t put down: The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda, Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things, and Celeste Ng’s Our Missing Hearts, which is a riveting page turner that manages to be both terrifying and heartwarming. Also: Did you know Celeste sews??? See this IG reel - so cool!!
playing: Stardew Valley, OMFG my newest obsession. It all started last week when I played for the first time with Clementine and Hugo; they got bored…flash forward to me starting my own game and staying up until 2:30 am one night like a teenager or something. Yeah, it’s a real problem. If you need me, I’m researching whether it’s better to turn my Salmonberries into jam or wine and churning my duck eggs into mayonnaise.
knitting: literally nothing to report here, see above item.
sewing: For my first make of 2024 woot woot!! I finished a Pogonip Pullover (pattern by Friday Pattern Co) in the snuggliest sherpa fleece from Lyrical for Clementine and immediately regretted that I had promised it to her and not kept it for myself. But alas, I am a woman of my word. I was secretly hoping to steal it from her closet without her noticing, but tragically, she WEARS IT NEARLY EVERY DAY. Hrumph. Does she look smug in the photo above in the knowledge that I wanted it and she got it? Yes. She does.
watching: American Symphony, which is so, so good. The documentary about Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad is like a Part II to Suleika’s book, Between Two Kingdoms, which I read and loved last year.
We also took all of the kids to see The Boy and the Heron, which everyone enjoyed, and then had to have a family movie night to watch Castle in the Sky, which I think is my favorite Studio Ghibli film? Tough choice tho - Kiki, Totorro, and Nausicaa are all strong contenders.
listening: Batiste’s World Music Radio, see above item.
wearing: alll the knitted things, but especially my pale purple Sunday Sweater which I knit last year with Woolfolk Luft.
planning: to have a studio sale before I move, so I’ve been taking lots of photos of my OOP fabric yardage in preparation. More on that soon, hopefully!
