This Week at Sedbi Design Studio: Mortality and Playing Hooky

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

This week at Sedbi Design Studio I've mostly been playing hooky, so I don't have much to show.


I did get a good start early in the week on the birthday gifts I'm making for my oldest friend, who lives in Florida. But my second-oldest friend, who lives in Connecticut, arrived mid-week for a visit. So from the very first moment she was available I took time off from sewing to hang out with her.


The night before my friend arrived I'd received some shocking and sad news about the sudden death of a kind and generous spirit, a good writer, and the mother of a son the same age as my daughter. I am talking about Karen Stolz, who--as I understand it from what I was told--died in her sleep on June 15th at age fifty-four. I first met Karen in 2005 when I attended an eight-week novel in progress workshop she taught here in Austin, and we'd stayed in touch ever since. I am still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that she is gone.


Others will write more eloquent and meaningful tributes to her, and a blog that's mostly about sewing  is probably not the place for me to attempt to do so, in any case. But I do want to say at least this in this space: a sudden death causes you to stop and think about your own life and how you spend each precious, unpredictable moment of it. It affects the choices you make.


At the beginning of the week my highest priority was sewing these birthday gifts for my Florida friend. (Yes, I could have gotten an earlier start on them--we all know how that goes.) But my Connecticut friend was right here. Right here in the same town, in the very same room with me, where I could see her face and hear her laughter and give her a hug. So instead of attempting to divide my time between my usual schedule (a schedule which includes doing something that I truly love doing--sewing custom-designed handmade gifts), and seeing my  Connecticut friend while she was in town, I chose to spend every possible moment that I could with my friend. 


My Florida friend will, of course, understand if her birthday gifts arrive a few days late. I am not worried about that. If  I am worried about anything it is failing to remember that this is a choice I could be making every single day: to spend time with the people who matter to me whenever I have the chance to do so.


Even if it involves playing hooky from doing something else that's important. Because you never know...

Rest in Peace, Karen Stolz

This Week at Sedbi Design Studio: Small Paris Pillow, Fabric Wallet & A Buttonhole Beauty Makeover

This week at Sedbi Design Studio I made a small pillow for a friend who likes to travel, using the same vintage Paris postcard fabric transfer image I put on the rustic poet's notebook a few months back. I think the five tassels sewn on the diagonal lend the piece a certain elan. 

Small Paris Pillow (front)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Small Paris Pillow (back)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

After that, I embarked upon a whole new  project: sewing a fabric wallet. Have I mentioned that I seldom sew from a pattern? It seems to work out better for me (eventually) if I just figure out how to do something on my own. Some people might see this as doing things the hard way, but to me it makes sewing a lot more satisfying--and fun.

What I had is mind was something simple:  a slim fabric case to hold a few credit or identification cards and some cash. I practiced constructing the card-case piece and attaching it to the lining before sewing the lining to the piece of fabric that would become the wallet's outside. The photos below show some of the steps in the process:

Personally, I'm a sucker for before-and-after photos. So here's my version of a buttonhole beauty makeover (see photos, below.)

"before" photo of buttonhole
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

buttonhole "after" shot
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

                                                                          

As you see, all I did was add a soupçon of decorative stitching around the buttonhole. (Oops, sorry! I forgot we were no longer in France.) And, unlike some of the makeovers we read about in beauty magazines,  this is something you can try at home.

Below is a peek inside the wallet, empty and then full:

Sedbi Design Studio fabric wallet (empty)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Sedbi Design Studio fabric wallet (with cards & cash)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Finally,  photos of the finished wallet, closed and open. I used a simple wooden button for that fancy buttonhole:

Sedbi Design Studio fabric wallet (closed)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Sedbi Design Studio fabric wallet (open)
photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Sedbi Design Studio fabric wallet (with cash)
photo by Nita Lou Bry

I'm really happy with how my wallet design turned out. Except I've already decided that next time I want to incorporate a key hook into the design.  So stay tuned...

Happy sewing, everyone!

This Week at Sedbi Design Studio: Embellished Camisoles, Plain and Fancy

For my two friends with early-June birthdays, I made embellished camisoles--one plain, one fancy.

The fancy one is for a young friend of mine who loves to cook.  I used a cooking-themed fabric to create a ruffle across the front of the cami (see photos, below).

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

She especially likes to make desserts, so I cut out a cupcake from the design on the accent fabric to create an  applique on the back of the cami (see photos below).

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

Decorative stitching around the neck, hem, and armholes on the cami's front (see photo, below) suggest swirls of piped icing to me. Hey! Does anybody else suddenly wish they had a cupcake?

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

My other early-June birthday friend is someone who generally prefers things that are plain, rather than fancy. So for her the only embellishment to the cami is the addition on the back of my Sedbi women's exercise apparel word mandala  (Stronger Every Day, Believe It)  and, near the hem, my logo. (See photos, below.)

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

photo by Nita Lou Bryant

As you can see in the photo below, the front of the cami is plain, plain, plain.

But I did add one more thing--on the inside--that I think she will get a kick out of. I discovered I could make a fabric transfer of my business card! So I ironed that right smack onto her birthday camisole below the garment manufacturer's label. 

Photo by Nita Lou Bryant

My special birthday wish for my friend is that she wear my business card in good health. I can assure you that this is the first time I've ever said that to anyone.

Coming up next from Sedbi Design Studio: a mid-June birthday gift and one for my dear friend whose birthday falls on the 4th of July.