Sprigged & Spotted

Category: Portfolio

  • Project Log: How to Make an 18th Century “Housewife” Sewing Kit

    Project Log: How to Make an 18th Century “Housewife” Sewing Kit

    Meet the Housewife

    In this case, a housewife isn’t a person.

    I’ve got a notion

    I like the word “notion.” It can mean a personal inclination or a general concept, but it can also refer to little tools and supplies. When used to describe physical objects rather than ideas, “notions” usually refer to common sewing tools and consumable necessities such as thread and buttons. Type the word into an image search on your favorite search engine and you’ll see collections of needles, thread, straight pins, safety pins, thimbles, ribbons, pincushions, snaps, measuring tapes, and more. Notions often enter into project planning as an afterthought, once primary fabrics being used to construct a garment have been selected. But, having the perfect bits and bobs right at hand when you need them can make a project come together much more smoothly than if you have to stop working to find what you need.

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  • A Crochet Journey: A Lifetime of Crafting

    A Crochet Journey: A Lifetime of Crafting

    Of all of the domestic arts I have cultivated as a hobby, my crochet journey spans the most years.

    I learned to create textiles with so many twists of a hook when I was in elementary school. My mother showed me the basic stitches, and then I used my interpretation of them to make a “scarf” of rainbow variegated cotton yarn, which I bestowed upon my dad for Christmas. (He re-gifted it to me as an adult, and I will post photos of it whenever I have a chance to dig it out of my archives.) As I remember, I didn’t stitch in the most efficient way and had to physically lift the yarn over the end of the hook for each double-crochet-like stitch.

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