sarah in nyc

Between Passover and managing to get through Covid-19 I haven't focused my writing in this blog on sewing, either for work, or for pleasure, in a really long time. That doesn't mean that work hasn't been going on, although to be honest,  I have been less productive lately. Nevertheless, despite working with three other adults in the house three of whom like to work in the same space (my usual work space) it hasn't been all that easy. Max's bar-mitzvah had been rescheduled from May to November. It was time to pull out his tallit and see what still needed to be done. I wasn't thrilled with the letters I had embroidered for his pino t/corner pieces.   They are a bit chunky and clunky looking.They really do need a border to help clean them up.  The line of gold stitching helps. Unfortunately, I was having trouble focusing on the job. I was as distracted and fidgety doing the line of gold embroidery as an ants-in-the pants elementary school kid. When I am working tha...

I cook for my mother last week. Now it has become time to cook Rosh haShanah food for my family. This year,  the two days of holiday are followed by Shabbat, the dreaded three days of Yom Tov. While in theory it can be lovely, three days in a row of long services and big meals can frankly be a bit wearing, and wearying. Yesterday I tackled the laundry that my boys had sort of done while I was gone. I also began cooking. I made two small roasts and a tzimmis. The pot below is large enough to hold a 30 lb. turkey. It was completely filled to the brim with  raw sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots and meat.  Both the meat and the tzimmis take a long cook.   I also baked a bread, and we made pizza for the family. Yesterday was one of those pricelessly hot and muggy New York days. Cod Ed held back power. We were unable to run the air conditioner. I could not stand the heat, but I stayed in the kitchen. The meat and the tzimmis are all neatly packaged in m...

I completed both baby jackets.  This one is going to the more local baby. I’m impressed that I managed to install a zipper and have everything end up even. One of the downsides of being self taught is that some basic home-ec type skills have been learned with massive degrees of difficulty.  I cut down a longer separating zipper. This is jacket for my new cousin in Israel. The buttons are from my stash. The elastic is from a large roll I had gotten at the Boston Children’s Museum nearly twenty years ago. Maybe it wasn’t such a good purchase. I think this is the third time I have used any of the elastic  from this large spool.   Both jackets are lines in a striped shirting . Fabric Mart's label says the fabric is from Ann Taylor. Regardless of the provenance, it has a really nice smooth feel. Just right for smooth baby skin. I used this magazine To figure out how to plot the dress for Shira, my Israeli cousin’s older sister.  No, I can’...

One of the things that always frustrates me about most American sewing patterns is that they always seem to do things in needlessly complicated ways. One example of this is a cowl neck. Many, many patterns show it as a complicated insert into a regular neckline. The prettiest cowl neck tops though, are made from a neckline that is made wider and deeper than the body, so it drapes gracefully. Japanese sewing pattern magazines tend to have a much simpler approach to garment construction. The magazines, rather than coming with paper patterns to cut out, give diagrams and measurements so you can draft your own garments to fit your body. There are several different sewing magazines published for the Japanese market. Some feature clothing that is not all that appealing to me. The Japanese seem to have a much greater love of adorable than this cynical New Yorker. So far my favorite of the Japanese sewing magazines is "Ms. Stylebook".   Each of the issues that I have purchased h...