Friday Faves / December 2024
Hellooo!
Things are feeling pretty festive around here lately despite the days growing colder, darker and shorter as the solstice approaches. I've been hanging up garlands, making and eating lots of holiday treats, and decorating our Christmas tree, which for the first year in a long time is not my usual white fake tree but a real actual (formerly-?) alive tree. I have to say, I was not prepared for the volume of water it consumes on the daily, but it's beautiful and smells like the Christmases of my youth, and I love not having to vacuum up all of the little white plastic detritus and glitter that used to end up all over the house in prior years.
I wanted to pop in here before the end of the year to share some things with you that I've been into and up to, including a couple links to DIY ideas that might be fun to bookmark for next year or maybe even try with kids over the winter school break.
I also have a new Zoom class in January that I'm excited about, currently open for registration, see details below...
crocheting: I made a beaded crochet garland using Delia's awesome tutorial for our tree. I love that it looks like a popcorn cranberry garland, but you can make it without the beads and it’s equally lovely.
More DIY ideas I want to try: these magical wax paper snowflakes, these paper luminaries, and isn’t this the cutest little knitted stocking garland? Not sure I have the patience to knit all of those teeny tiny socks but it would make a wonderful advent calendar (thinking small candies, jewelry, gems, stickers could fit inside?).
reading: recently finished Louis Erdrich's The Sentence on audiobook, everything Erdrich writes is just so phenomenal. Currently reading The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
decorating: the garlands in my front entry way (above) are from Martha Stewart’s Christmas collection that I purchased at Kmart in 2002. Still going strong, baby!!
sewing: Clementine got last-minute tickets to see Suki Waterhouse with a friend earlier this week, and needed something to wear. I went into Crazy Sewing Mode and whipped up a pink faux fur coat (above) which turned out pretty damn good for the hour or so I spent making it, if I do say so myself.
puzzling: this vintage-y Christmas puzzle was fun and went together super fast
knitting: Finally finished my socks and yay my feet are so cosy!!
watching: The Martha Stewart documentary - I know I’m late to this party, but wow. Martha is such a cultural icon, and her long reign as Queen of DIY was such an incredible phenomenon. It was so fascinating to see her legacy celebrated and dissected in this doc, and dang, all of the shit she took. I was definitely influenced by Martha when I was in my 20's and beginning to craft my identity as a maker.
stitching: Finally finished my first Pattern Club sampler and turned it into a little pouch (bottom right); it’s so handy for carrying my other in-progress samplers. I don’t know if Jessica will do Pattern Club again in 2025, but you can buy a bunch of the kits separately in her shop.
One more thing…sign up for my online class in January!!!
I've been working with my friend Deepika to offer an online class on Pattern Review that is a shorter, mini-version of the workshop I taught last summer at A Gathering of Stitches in Maine. It will be held on Zoom on January 21 at 3 PM-4:30 PM Eastern. Get more details on the class and sign up via the link below.
Here’s a little blurb I wrote about it:
Do you have a pile of remnants or scraps that you could turn into patchwork fabric? Do you love the patchwork clothing trend and feel inspired to make a patchwork garment? Treat yourself to my online class in January where I will share my ideas and favorite techniques for creating patchwork fabric for garments using your apparel fabric scraps and remnants.
Have something fun and crafty to look forward to in the New Year!! Join us!!
As we brace for what is sure to be a nerve-wracking 2025, I hope you are finding ways to stay warm, cosy and grounded during this holiday season.
Read or made anything lately that you want to recommend to me? Let me know - I'd love to hear from you!
Wishing you all comfort and joy.
xo
Rae
PS. See all of my Friday Faves here, sign up for my Studio Notes Newsletter here or my local Sew Ann Arbor emails here, and get my posts delivered to you by email via Substack here.