sarah in nyc

When I was in elementary school it seemed like every other child in my class had a granny square vest made by their grandmother. Both boys and girls wore their granny square vests. Girls tended to wear theirs in bright colors and boys in manly browns and beiges. Some of those grandmothers seemed to be accomplished needlewomen, others crochet with more enthusiasm than skill. My grandmother died just before that fad hit. And even if she were not underground in New Jersey, the chances of her crocheting me such a vest were slim to none. Mama was not known for her needlework. I envied the kids with grandmothers or great-aunts who used to make them ugly vests, or sweaters or stocking caps. In the last few months, I have become a great-aunt twice. I have been enjoying the opportunity to make things for these two little girls in our family. Before I make something for a baby I think about what it is like to be the mother of a small baby. You are sleep deprived and don't really ha...

Today I’m supposed to meet some out of town relatives. The weather is dicey here in New York so I’m not sure exactly when I am to meet up with my relatives across town. I thought it was wise to cook right after I woke up. I made chicken with left over red wine, the dregs of the mustard jar and some rosemary.   I also rough cut some sweet potatoes , put olive oil in the pan and sprinkled with black pepper, cinnamon and ginger.I had to put the pan away in the fridge because otherwise I would have eaten the whole pan piece by piece. As always, my life is not just cooking, and not just client work.   My youngest needed a new batch of boxer shorts. I made him five pairs. I taught myself how to sew soon after my older son was born. While I have made clothing for all three of my kids, my youngest has benefitted from the fact that I had a few more years of sewing under my belt by the time I began making him clothing. With the exception of two pairs of novelty boxer...

My sewing student is friends with a little girl in our community. I met the little girl, as her mother, was saying kaddish for her own mother. The little girl would come to Friday night services and carefully fold and unfold pieces of fabric during services. Clearly, I was enchanted. The little girl's grandmother was a sewer. Her mother was not. Several months ago, the little girl requested that her mother make her a wedding dress for dress up. The mother was sad, because she knew that this was exactly the sort of thing that her own mother would have excelled at. The mother said to the little girl " I really wish that I could make you the dress, but I can't sew." The little girl then piped up that they did know someone who could sew, my student. So, my student was given the task of making a wedding dress for the little girl. My student and I discussed how one listens to what a client wants, drawing sketches to make sure that everyone is on the same page . My studen...

Our friends Naomi and Mike just had their first baby. Mike taught my kids music for years. I decided to make their baby girl a dress. Some of my old sewing books have thrifty sewing projects that include making little girl dresses out of a man's shirt. you can see modern takes on the same idea on some of the many crafty sites on the web. One of the nice thing about making a little girl dress out of a man's shirt is by using the button front as the back of the dress, you save yourself the tedious job of making button holes and sewing on buttons. A visit to my favorite thrift store yielded a lovely blue floral Tommy Hilfiger shirt. None of the guys in my family would wear such a thing, but it was perfect for a baby dress. When folks see my work, they will often say " Oh, you are so talented. Sewing must come so naturally to you." In fact, the opposite is true. it is not easy for me to learn the things that I do and some things have taken years to learn. I have been read...