sarah in nyc

Yesterday the twins and their parents came by to tie the tzitzit on their tallitot.  Unfortunately, the twins grandmother was snowed in and could not join us. When we had met earlier it was pretty clear that the twins’ mother was worried that the tallitot would look like some sort of a camp craft project, far too wild and wooly for her taste.   One of the things I really do pride my self on as an artist is hearing what my clients want and incorporating the needs of the client into the final piece.  I have noticed that lots of figurative painters make every portrait look  something like the artist rather than like the client. One of my long time clients once quipped that each of my pieces is a portrait of the client. I take that as a big, big compliment.   So here are the two tallitot. Here are some details: I set the girls up side by side to tie the tzitzit. like most kids who have gone to camp the knots were familiar to them, albeit with a...

My sewing student brought me one of those adorable craft books from Japan with directions for making cute little stuffed animals. She really wanted to make one of the animals from the book. Before we started, I mentioned to my student that sometimes the directions in books are not written all that well.  So we got to work. Indeed, the directions in the book were not written well, and the project wasn’t all that well thought out. Making this monkey was just much harder then it ought to have been.  All in all, it was a pretty frustrating experience. But this was the end result.  My student designed the dress because she hated what the monkey’s legs looked like. My student came today for her last lesson before she went away for the summer.  She asked that we make something that could be completed today. I suggested a skirt.  My student was dubious that a skirt could be made in one lesson. My student went looking through my stash to choose a fabric for...

then it is easier to do it.   My student came for her second lesson today. She had decided to make a circle or infinity scarf for her mother out of some beige crinkle  silk chiffon she had seen in my sash.   The color was not my color.  It had arrived in a Fabric Mart mystery bundle.  I would assume that most sewing teachers would not give their students silk chiffon to play with on their second lesson. My investment in the fabric was  $1.5o per yard. I was happy for my student to make he mother the scarf out of it.   First I taught her the how to pull a thread so she could cut a straight line in the fabric. Yes, it’s pesky and boring, but it’s the easiest method to cut a straight line.     Then I had my student sew a French seam on the join of the circle scarf.  It sounds fancy, it looks fancy but it isn’t all that hard to do.  Here is her French seam.   Next, we discussed how to edge the scarf.  ...

  Sunday, I began working with a new sewing student.  I taught her how to run my sewing machine. She made a Barbie pillow/bean bag and a sleeping bag for Barbie.  My student has a little sister. you can see the sleeping bag and pillow rolled up together  ready for Barbie's adventures.  Yes, you are seeing beautiful top-stitching. I know top stitching is not part of a usual first sewing lesson, but my student seemed up to the task.  She has good hands.  I’m excited to see what she will be making.   I don’t think my student had realized that if she wanted to she could learn how to make clothing. Once she realized that she seemed REALLY excited. next week we will make  a Mother’s Day gift for her mom. I’m not telling what we are making, in case Mom is a reader.   I finished a gift for a friend. it’s a scarf I had dyed a long time ago. I used lace as a stencil and spray painted.  it’s a lot of look for not a whole lot of wor...

My student is making this dress to wear to a special event. Often, my student will start the design process by going fabric shopping in my work space. She fell in love with a black rayon jersey knit. I don't blame her. I made two dresses out of the same fabric. It feels divine on and has a great drape. Then my student began to sketch a dress with three tiers of ruffles.We drafted and constructed a tank dress out of the rayon based on my students measurements. We planned to suspend the ruffled tiers from the tank dress. My student did a great job of binding the armholes with cross grain strips of the rayon. The results were tidy, a nice testament to her progress over these weeks. We has lots of discussion back and forth about the tiered ruffles and what they ought to look like, and what their placement ought to be, should the tiers start at the neck? or further down on the bodice? I showed my student a dress I had made using circular ruffles at the hem. she loved the restrained loo...

My student emailed me before her lesson. Purim ( the Jewish equivalent of Mardi Gras ) is next week. She wanted to dress up as Little Red Riding hood . Could I help her make a cape? Making costumes is a blast, so of course I said yes. And putting on my sewing instructor hat, I figured that some new skills could be taught here as well. My student had attempted to go fabric shopping in the neighborhood, but alas the fabric store was closed. I had some red light weight polar fleece in my stash, all that was left from the mountain of remnants I had purchased from Malden Mills six or seven years ago. I don't exaggerate THAT much when I call it a mountain of polar fleece. I think I paid $25 for the fleece and another $25 to ship it. It arrived by mail in a massive plastic bag that was taller than my youngest son. Some of the fleece ended up as coats. Some I sold at cost to some of my sewing pals. Most of it ended up being used, as is ,as blankets. My student drew a quick sketc...

For the past several weeks I have been teaching sewing to an 11 year old girl. We meet about once a week. My student's mother is an artist and a very cool dresser and my student has a pretty sophisticated sense of fashion. My student had been sketching lots of clothing and wanted to make the garments she was thinking about. My students mother and I travel in the same circles, and she asked me to teach her daughter to sew. I know that most sewing curricula have one start by having the student sew the lines on lined paper until they learn how to sew straight lines. I thought that it might be a better idea to start making clothes and then have the experience of sewing teach you how to sew straight line. One of the things that I had been working on teaching myself for the past few years is how to sew without a pattern. Basically I have been attempting to recreate a lost skill using bits of oral knowledge passed down by the grown children who saw their mothers sew in this manner, but ne...

Today is a big teaching day for me. This morning I am going to start a Tallit making workshop at my synagogue, and I teach my sewing student in the afternoon. Actually, more accurately, I hope that this will be a big teaching day for me. As of Friday, only one person had signed up for the Tallit workshop but all during services Friday night, and yesterday, people came up to me to talk about the possibility of taking the workshop. So either I w ill be working with one person or, I will have a crowd. Frankly, I'm hoping for a crowd. I like teaching. I love creating a setting where the class becomes a cohesive group, encouraging each other, offering suggestions and pushing each other to produce better and more interesting work. You need a critical mass of people to create that sort of an environment. This workshop is open both to adults and kids. I know that some people can't see working with both adults and kids together. I love the mix of early adolescents and adults. The ki...