Picture this: It’s a glorious summer morning (what we call ‘a stunnah’ where I come from)— the garden is blooming and wet with dew, the sun is creeping across the lawn, and you sneak out to the backyard with some handwork and your phone or computer in tow and settle in for a little escape before your responsibilities and tasks come calling.
Join me for Summer Sunday Stitching - virtual drop-in co-crafting sessions on Sunday mornings running all summer long. Wear your pajamas, grab your iced coffee or tea, and take a moment for you in the rush of summer.
Bring any type of handwork- knitting, crochet, hand or machine sewing, quilting, embroidery, mending, whatever you want!
Ideas: things that are stuck that you want advice on, project planning, the WIPs that never finish… or a shiny new project! I will be available for advice on projects such as fitting, sizing, design elements, yarn, or fabric.
Free on Zoom, Sundays June 9th, 16th, & 23rd with more dates to follow, 10-11am EST.
Mark your interest here to be sent the link!
I can’t wait to support you in carving out some creative time this summer!
Hello friends!
I wanted to let you know that I have opened up subscriptions here on my newsletter. I am so excited to be writing to you each month and using this space to communicate my craft journey.
I will be leaving school and transitioning to making my art and teaching crafts full time this year, and I would deeply appreciate any support you are able to offer me during this transitory phase.
Subscribers will get some extra notes every month, and perhaps some other perks, such as being my “close friends” on instagram and getting some treats in the mail. It will be a fun time.
Thank you for supporting my work as a craftsperson and an artist!
Hello friends!
We have made it to May, if you can believe it. I don’t think I can… it was snowing outside my window two days ago! Here in Sweden it is still very early spring, and it’s hard to imagine that I will be writing the next newsletter at the end of the month back in the States! But the light has come back, with it light out until after 9pm. It creates such a mood. What a year it has been… and I am really looking forward to my last three weeks at craft school here in Dalarna, Sweden. I wanted to just thank my husband, Chris, my parents Sarah and Kevin, and my in-laws Heidi and Duane for all their support with my attending this program. And of course, my friends who have made it all worthwhile.
I am happy to say that I will be returning to a town I love very well, that is to say, Northampton, Massachusetts! We will be enjoying reconnecting with old friends and making new ones this summer. I have been working on a summer bucket list and here are some choice picks from it:
Knit on the beach
Make 3 garments that I like
Read at least one full book
Wake up early and take my coffee/tea on a walk around the block
County and Renaissance fairs (I’ve never been to the latter!)
Square and contra dances
How about you? What’s on your summer bucket list? Perhaps something creative? Hold me accountable to this list, I will be sharing about what got accomplished!
As I mentioned, my April was flighty with spring’s highs and lows temps, but I made a little video from the first half of the month in case you want a glimpse into my days (it was pretty dreamy when the sun decided to show his face!). This still shows a detail from my final project work here at Sätergläntan in Sweden. More on that below!
This month I noticed something interesting. Something started happening that had not for a while… almost exactly a year, now that I think about it.
I started to feel like my style was changing.
I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, after a move to a new country, which perhaps is needless to say was filled with the unexpected (which, I must remind myself, is what I was looking for). The influences of a new culture and place would doubtless have their effect on me, but my style had felt so dialed in, on point, just right. How could my “1960’s mom” aesthetic in red/navy/white with a few accent colors not be cutting it anymore???
It was subtle, but the urge to moodboard it out grew stronger and stronger until one day I took to my bed and pinned my little heart out on Pinterest. Themes emerged through the pinning and I am happy to say that I have a cohesive (but not TOO cohesive) moodboard for spring/summer.
What I see: Danish street style vibes, baggy and tight contrasts, jewel tones, colorful knitted and crocheted pieces, casual silhouettes in quality fabrics, playful and youthful, butterflies and yin-yangs (and general 2000s style), ruffle and bow details.
On the whole, the colors and patterns I was drawn to were the same ones I always am: light and dark blue, green, red, pink, white, and stripes & checks.
However, I think my Scandinavian friends here at school have influenced me with their style (particularly the Danes). This is definitely a more on-trend vibe than I have cared to go for in the past, which is kind of fun, as long as it doesn’t end up being wasteful (which I don’t think it will be). I blame having long amounts of time with people my own age for the first time in five years.
In the process of gathering images I used this guide by the stylist Dacy Gillespie:
In it, she writes about breaking down the process into the following steps: collect inspiration, analyze what you see, make a list of the actual garments/outfits, SEE WHAT YOU ALREADY OWN, reflect on what will actually be appropriate for your activities that season, and finally make a budget for which items you want to buy.
I added another step, which is to determine which pieces I’d like to make myself vs. buy, and with buying, whether I would buy it new or secondhand.
Perhaps next month I will give you an overview of what I am planning on sewing for my wardrobe this summer! How about you? Has your style changed her tune this spring?
Another thing I’ve been doing this month is teaching some friends here at school to make their own trousers pattern, to be able to sew custom-fit trousers in the future. It has been a good exercise in learning how to teach this subject and helping me think about if/how I would like to teach it in the future! They are all so talented and it is a pleasure to teach them.
And really I should get to my main work of the past month and a half, which has been my final project work! I sewed and decorated three bonnets with folk embroidery and an edging of tufted wool using a historic Scandinavian method.
I have been fascinated by this traditional form of working with yarn for a long time, and it’s actually part of what drew me back to Scandinavia in the first place (I studied in Norway in 2014-15, too). I think I will have to write a whole separate post about my inspiration and methods for this technique, probably for paying subscribers.
They will be for sale in a shop opening later this summer, date TBA!
Links & Recs:
I caught wind of this indie movie set in Western Massachusetts in the 90s and I must have watched this trailer 10 times. The yearning Roaches song, the shots from iconic places around Western Mass, and of course the evocative dynamic between a daughter and her mother make Janet Planet something I’m really looking forward to seeing when it comes out later this year.
This weekend some friends and I are travelling down to Sweden’s second largest city, Gothenburg, to see the sights and partake in Craft Days, a weekend craft festival. I am particularly excited to see some of Emma Holmgren’s weavings, they are stunning and make me itching to get back onto the loom!!!
Beverage of the Month is perhaps going to become a permanent guest spot, this month Addie Best recommends “black tea with lots of milk and maple syrup” and I concur. Submit your beverage of the month here for a chance to get featured! :P
A message shared by my dear Sophie that echoes around the world.
Thanks for reading!
~ Lily
ps- don’t forget to sign up for Summer Sunday Stitching! (It’s going to be very chill!)
I'm so looking forward to having you in Northampton!! My wife Laurie has been going to Renaissance faires all her life – I will add you to the list of people to coordinate with in possibly going together. I can give tips on which are the best and which are worth missing (the PennFest is good and has lovely music; King Richard's, sadly, is not the full experience you may be wanting).
I am excited about Janet Planet too! I am planning to see it this weekend, actually. It's showing as part of a film festival, but will be released in theatres on June 21. I'm most looking forward to the final scene: Laurie and I were background extras! I don't know yet whether we personally appear in frame. We did a full day of shooting, ending around 11 PM, then drove to Maine the same night, since my father was having a birthday weekend near Acadia Park. Then we contra danced in Portland on the way back.
I can relate to finding a new style, which I did in the past two years and have selected a wardrobe that makes me so happy! I will see how it may gradually shift emphases in the future.
I love that style moodboard - I too have been feeling particularly drawn to stripes this spring and have been thinking I’ll get some
fabric to sew a stripey jacket or something similar. Your color palette is perfection!