recovering / repurposing / momentum

& all well kids patterns are ready for test-sewing

We’re looking for people to test-sew the first all well kids patterns: the Little Box Top (12 month to age 10) and/or the Toddler Play Pants + Shorts (12 month to 4T). All the details in the call for testers, if you’re interested!

A M E L I A: Finally feeling like I’m getting my studio spaces (sewing/creative work, and also the ANEMONE printshop) set up and working after the move. It took a few months of trying different arrangements, moving tables and chairs and equipment around. After two and a half years of travel and mostly not sewing at all (!!), it feels so good to be back at the sewing machine, working with fabric, getting going on all well patterns and new zines in earnest. This week’s big studio progress: I used a staple gun and drop cloth to re-cover three thrifted cork boards (with their wooden frames removed) to make pinboards. Here’s a picture of the one for sewing projects, above the ironing board:

I made little drawings of the things I want to sew and design and started to group them by type, by excitement, by how soon I need them. Visual thinking helps me a lot, I need to see all my projects and be able to move them around and group them — and just be reminded that they exist.

A M Y: I impulsively made a pair of Dance Pants, a new pattern by Thread and Sprout, and I really like how they turned out. I made a pair in linen that had been sitting in my stash for far too long, and cut out a second pair right away. I think I need to shorten the rise a little for future pairs, but otherwise they’re roomy and great! A fun quick sew. Otherwise, I’ve been making a lot of pattern diagrams for the Little Box Top and Toddler Play Pants, which is always nice cozy and focused work. Since the beginning, all of our diagrams have been hand-drawn on an iPad, a slightly unusual approach in the pattern world that has become something that we see as a sort of all well signature. We love our illustrative diagrams and hope you do too! All the cuter for kids patterns, little tops and pants are so fun to draw!

A M Y: I’ve been having a big knitting resurgence. Knitting feels like the perfect soothing winter nervous system reset. It was kicked off by some gift knitting. I made this balaclava for my sister for Christmas. Then I decided that the time has come to finally finish my ozetta traveler’s cardigan. I’m down to the last sleeve now, so close! I also cast on a small wool Sophie Hood because I couldn’t resist (and I felt jealous of my sister’s new balaclava!). I’ve enjoyed taking that project out and about with me since the increases are so easy to remember. It’s nice to have hand work to pull out whenever I need something to soothe my restlessness. Everything is heavy right now — some wool to hold feels good.

A M E L I A: I’ve been sewing soft and padded covers for electric heating pads. Since we’ve moved to the mountains where there’s snow on the ground for months at a time, I thrifted a second one to keep at the foot of the bed. This one had that classic weird polyester cover, insultingly made with just one snap so that the inner plastic part inevitably sticks out and scratches you. I’d also recently thrifted a cerulean blue Eileen Fisher silk shirt with an oil stain on the front, with the idea that I’d sew something with it if the stain couldn’t come out. The stain was quite set, so now it’s covering my hot pad. I also pulled a holey sweater from my sewing fabric collection to make an inner liner, since the silk was thin. And man, the silk and cashmere hot pad at my feet in the cold winter is so nice. I don’t think you can buy one, but you can make one for yourself. :)

This sensory luxury inspired me to make a NEW cover for my original heating pad, which had I had covered in cream and navy windowpane print wool years ago. Cute, yes, the fabric was just ever so slightly too scratchy, so I un-picked the seams to save the wool for something else, and repurposed some cotton woven navy and white gingham from a box top I’d made. The top was in the “to reuse” pile because I’d made it a bit too small, and then compounded the issue by using french seams which weren’t good with that thick of a fabric… so I cut off the neckline and french seams, and incorporated the hem. I ended up with envelope type cover that also had a slit in the side for the cord to go out, and a patchwork to make the fabric pieces big enough:

Both these were great projects for picking up sewing again after my long break. No pattern, re-purposing shirts and sweaters with oddly sized bits of fabrics to add to the design constraints. The good feeling of making things work. And then they immediately became things I use every day. I also mended the hem of a wash cloth, hand sewed some rips on a pair of Adam’s gloves and sweater-shavered the fluffs off of wool gloves and several sweaters, and re-sewed loose buttons on two pairs of pants.

The pinboard has me excited about researching my next sewing projects… On my mind: various pants. A silk robe. Bolster pillowcase. Most immediately next up: window seat cushion covers out of deadstock Kvadrat wool from ebay. And I’ve been learning projector sewing.

Regarding the ICE occupation and abductions in Minneapolis and elsewhere… “get organized now” and “ICE made a classic Nazi mistake: they invaded a winter people in winter. […] The entire city, it seems like, is rising up against the kidnappers.” and rapid response networks. Stand With Minnesota has links for places to donate and non-monetary ways to help. Solidarity with the general strike today. Last, a poem.

Reading… revisiting Matrescence by Lucy Jones, savoring The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow. Back issues of Apartamento magazine. Impulsively selected thrillers, detective novels, cookbooks, and gardening books from the library.

Listening…. Tame Impala. Random recs from qobuz (finally got off Spotify – the ICE advertisements and not paying artists, yikes). Taylor Swift’s Opalite is Amelia’s ladies cross country ski group’s warmup song. The new season of the Articles of Interest podcast, Gear.

Eating…. corn tortilla and egg tacos with guacamole + watermelon popsicles. Batch making dumplings with Taxonomy Press – TVP, incredible meat, chanterelles and shitake filling… amazing. Still obsessed with Samin Nosrat’s sesame ginger dressing (minus the jalapeno) that we mentioned in the last newsletter. Lots of tofu, and soondubu.

Looking for… Recommendations for coverstitch machines (Amy and Amelia both want to get them this year). More ways to continue to fight back against the escalating fascism/authoritarianism/autocracy here in the US…

The weather is… a 50s F heat wave melting several feet of snow and causing mudslides; living in the climate crisis. XC skiing in the misty cloud. Hibernate-y in Pittsburgh, brrrrrrr.

Links… Fun knitting patterns to peruse \ Winter Happiness Plan making time \ Amelia and Adam will be at the Sea Slug Animation Festival in Seattle — check it out if you like independent animations \ Other Virtues \ Soup Library \ discovering aphantasia \ honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised…

Sending care to everyone,

— Amelia and Amy

P.S. — Here’s that link to the call for testers for the all well kids patterns!