All posts by admin

Wild Camel Update

  John sent along this photo of a newly born wild camel calf at the WCPF’s Breeding Center taking its very first wobbly steps! The mother camel is in the process of shedding her winter coat.  The caretakers at the preserve pick-up the fiber as it’s shed — eventually spinning it into yarn and knitting it into warm hats and scarves.  (Last I checked, there were a few examples on WCPF’s website).

Read More »

The Kid’s Whale Shirt

so the Kid stopped by the studio the other day . . . and decided he needed to do a bit of shopping.  he picked out 3 fabrics for his bespoke shirtmaker (aka yours truly) to fashion into shirts. The first one shown here is Fred & Carrie from Cotton + Steel’s SS Bluebird collection. The pattern is Dans La Lune’s Everyday Shirt pattern.  I made one about a year ago in Kokka’s Boston Terrier Double Gauze.  It was a bit big at the time,…

Read More »

Soleil: Prototype #2

Soleil is turning out to be one of my favorite shirts to live in during the warmer months.   It’s got pockets, a super easy shape (read: no need to suck your stomach in at all times), and enough gatherings to give it movement without being overly fussy.  I wear it with skinny jeans and denim shorts too. The main change I made between versions was to change to a rounded neckline.  The prior version was a square neckline.   I thought the rounded neckline paired…

Read More »

tutorial: bit of liberty rainbow zipper pouch

while doing a bit of housekeeping in the studio, i rediscovered a YKK rainbow zipper that i had received as a sample and meant to do something with but somehow misplaced in the process.  to make a long story short, i finally got around to doing something with the zipper last week.  i know i know, people usually buy zippers with a certain existing project in mind.  this zipper (look at its cheerful rainbow teeth) demanded that a project be adapted to fit it! i…

Read More »

a thanksgiving camel

A few months back, we decided to donate a portion of the proceeds from our Clever Camel yarn to support the Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF), a non-profit that’s doing incredible work and which  we’re terribly excited to support! The “sole aim of the Wild Camel Protection Foundation is to protect the critically endangered wild camel (Camelus ferus) and its habitat in the fragile and unique desert ecosystems in the Gobi desert” (located along the western border region of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia).  There are an estimated 1,000 wild…

Read More »

As Seen in . . . Knit.Wear Magazine!

a while back, knit.wear magazine asked us to send them some joie de cashmere yarn for a mystery project.  to be honest, we had forgotten all about it until the most recent fall/winter 2016 issue fell into our mailbox . . . and lo and behold . . . on page 71, we found suesan roth’s  stunning kakasu shawl knit up in our yarn. knit.wear was kind enough to send along some larger photos to share with y’all.  that said, what the photos don’t capture…

Read More »

lottie in nani iro brushed flannel

i got bit by the christine haynes lottie pattern bug earlier this summer. . . whipping up a blouse version in double gauze. it was such a comfortable fit that i decided to make a dress version for autumn winter, using nani iro’s fuwari fuwari print in brushed cotton (it’s like a flannel). the lottie pattern is a simple design, very well suited for displaying asymmetrical, railroaded border prints like the one i chose.  to best show off the print, the cutting layout should be…

Read More »

a liberty jinbei

when the Kid was first born, he received a beautiful jinbei and a pair of traditional japanese zori sandals (pictured above).  the jinbei, he eventually grew out of, but the zori sandals still fit (sort of).  i’ve been meaning to replace his now too small jinbei for a while now, and when i stumbled upon dans la lune’s jinbei pattern,  i decided it was a must do summer project! a jinbei can be thought of as traditional japanese loungewear.  it’s worn by both adults and…

Read More »

insta-shirtin’: dans la lune’s cotton shirt

The Kid was in the studio the other day and since I had my sewing machines out, he decided that mom absolutely had to make something for him (it must be nice to have a personal wardrobe maker on command?!).  After a quick 15 minute websearch, we stumbled upon Dans La Lune’s Cotton Shirt pattern (she also has an etsy shop).   The pattern is designed specially for woven materials, and seemed easy enough to whip up.  Sewing with the Kid generally means straightforward, easy…

Read More »