I love fall: drifting leaves in a natural palette that resonates heavily with my personal color scheme and lots of spiced deliciousness. I recently took a class on winter herbal cocktails and mocktails with Jenny from Muddy River Herbals and have been playing with all sorts of warming winter infusions. Good timing, because it’s getting colder, time to start busting out my sweaters and coats. I’ve picked up a knitting project abandoned last spring, delightfully close to completion: a gift of sorts to my future self.
For me, the changing of the seasons comes with a changeover in outfit compositions. In addition to a seasonal change, I’ve found that my personal style seems to go through a shift every few years. This is one of those transitional years and so, of course, I’ve got a few winter projects on the horizon. One such project I’m dreaming of is a new short canvas coat using the Thompson Coat from Daughter Judy Patterns. It will fill a need in my wardrobe: something to wear over bulky sweaters and layered shirts. I am planning to use this brown deadstock canvas and perhaps create a removeable sherpa lining. All fabrics and notions are from the Patchwork shop. If you want to see the progress of this coat, be sure to follow Patchwork on Instagram!
I find that these kinds of projects often hit me like a bolt of lightning. If I can get my act together enough to make them happen when I think of them, they often come together pretty quickly and make it into rotation: an incredibly satisfying and useful garment. Other projects, however, seem to have to marinate half finished for several months, like the suit I started in August to wear to a September wedding that I was unable to attend. I’ve really got to finish that suit…
In this newsletter…
Comfort and Joy Artisan Market ✤ A Flash Fabric Sale ✤ Winter Events & Classes ✤ DIY Holiday Decor ✤ Costume Research ✤ Songs as Fabrics!
Upcoming Events
Come visit us at our 2nd annual Comfort and Joy Artisan Market, hosted by our sister shop, Heirloom New England, and Patchwork.
We’ll have tasty treats, a great selection of vendors and more!
Check out the event info on Facebook!
Fabric Sale
Stacks of various fabric donations at Patchwork
We’ve got a ton of fabric at Patchwork right now after getting numerous donations this fall. Honestly, we’ve got so much that we really need to make some room.
Good news for you: we’re having a flash sale this Saturday!
That means you can pick up all your last minute handmade gift supplies at a discount! I’ve even got a few half finished kits you could complete to get a jump start on those gifts!
20% off 2+ yards of fabric ✤ 40% off 4+ yards of fabric
All proceeds from fabric sales on Saturday will go to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund.
January Events
Along with our Monthly Community Craft Night (2nd Thursday of the month), we’ll also be hosting a craft night for LGBTQIA2S+ folks and allies on Friday, January 12th at 7pm. All levels are welcome and the craft curious can pick up supplies at the shop.
January & February Classes
Clone Your Clothes - $65
Sunday Jan 7th at 1pm
In this class, you'll learn how to make a pattern from a pre-existing piece of clothing. Grab your favorite t-shirt, dress, pair of jeans, or anything else you'd like to copy. Keep in mind, this is a pattern making class only! Use a variety of specialized and commonplace tools to translate a garment to paper without taking it apart. If you'd like to sew up your creation and need help, join an Open Sewing Studio session or book a Private or Semi-Private Lesson.
Cyanotypes On Fabric - $65
Saturday Jan 15th at 10am
Come learn a traditional photographic process and make prints on fabric using sunlight! In this workshop, we’ll start by discussing the process of preparing fabric for cyanotype printing. Then, students will have the opportunity to practice printing on small swatches before creating one large fabric print on a pre-treated fat quarter of fabric (18”x22”).
Alterations Workshop - $40
Thursday Feb 1st at 7pm
Learn how to fit and fix your clothes. Hem those pants! Let out that dress! Restyle an old favorite! Bring a few projects and learn some essential alteration & repair skills.
Patchwork Vest - $140
4 Tuesdays starting Feb 6th at 7pm
Learn basic patchwork and quilting techniques to create a fun and unique layering piece! This class is suitable for all skill levels: new sewists can learn the basics of quilting and seasoned quilters can dip their toes in making garments. This project is the perfect way to use up treasured scraps, fat quarters, charm packs, and jelly rolls.
Block Printing on Fabric - $80
Saturday Feb 24th at 10am
Join artist Alexandra Williams to create a block printed bandana! In this workshop, you'll design and sketch personal symbols and carve them into stamps. Then you'll use your hand carved stamps to create a unique arrangement on a cotton bandana.
If you’re a newbie and interested in learning the basics, check out our monthly Learn To Sew: Throw Pillow Workshop or sign up for a private lesson! You can also learn how to use your Serger in Serger Skills or work on a project of your own choosing in Open Sewing Studio.
DIY Holiday Ornaments
A hand beaded ornament made by my pal Steph from our sister shop Heirloom New England, a dark blue crescent moon of felt covered with a scattering of blue, clear and gold seed beads and bugle beads.
I’m a sucker for a DIY decor item and the holidays are a perfect time to bust out the kitschiest, shiniest, cutest little objects you can handle. The more hand crafted looking, the better!
I’ve been loving following my shop neighbor Steph while she has been ‘procrasti-crafting’ some super cute ornaments like this and these and this (IG Links)! Sometimes, making a cute little thing really is a balm for the soul during the busy holiday season.
I also got giddy when I saw this instagram reel of The Printed Peanut making holiday ornaments from recycled tomato paste tubes. They made the most delightful and folksy golden embossed trinkets. I know I shouldn’t go out and buy tomato paste just to make these ornaments (that would defeat the purpose of DIY crafting lol) but I was tempted!
Another favorite via Instagram (which, thanks to my algorithm is a treasure trove of holiday DIY things) are these little mushroom ornaments made from dried orange peels. So cute! I bet they also smell lovely…perhaps even more so if you used a cinnamon stick instead of a twig for the stem.
Osage Wedding Coats on Film
A still from Killers of the Flower Moon via Harpers Bazaar. It shows six Osage women wearing traditional military-style wedding coats and holding brightly colored feather plumed hats.
I love historical films, especially those which tackle complex subjects thoughtfully and respectuflly. When researching for the recently released film Killers of the Flower Moon, Costume designer Jacqueline West teamed up with Osage tribe member Julie O’Keefe and worked with a team of Osage artisans. The results are both stunning and authentic. This article from Harper’s Bazaar reviews the research behind some of the film’s most important looks. If you’re interested in reading more about the history of Osage wedding jackets and their modern interpretation, this article about Osage artist Anita Fields is also really cool.
This Month’s Studio Playlist
Instead of sharing my ‘spotify wrapped’, I just made a playlist of my top ten (chosen by me) songs from this year. I also paired each of these songs with a fabric in the shop in an Instagram reel!
I hope you enjoyed this newsletter! Feel free to share with a friend.