Field Notes: Project Runway, The Devil Wears Prada, and Natural Dyeing

I have decided to add a fairly informal component to the blog -- a sort of journal of some of my wild thoughts for the week, a more personal side of me. In Field Notes I will share what I am currently intrigued by and obsessed with in regard to sewing, textiles, fashion. Basically, what is taking up space in my head these days. 

Let's begin this conversation with Project Runway. Yes, I know I am twenty years late to the party. I regret that in 2004 I wasn't having Project Runway watch parties. But it is what it is, and I am essentially and gleefully caught up now. I started watching Project Runway sometime last year and just finished Season 16 this week. From the time I began my little Project Project, I watched one or two episodes just about every night before bed. Sometimes I binged on three episodes, I will admit. I could certainly write a number of entire posts about Project Runway, but I don't feel like it, mainly because, well, the party is over now...and the point of Field Notes is to be brief. I do, however, want to say a couple broad, random things about it. I love Tim and Heidi. I missed Michael Kors when he left the judging team. (The things he said were epic.) I definitely had my favorite and least favorite contestants throughout the course of it all. And that's pretty much that. 

After Project Runway, I immediately started watching Project Runway All Stars. I haven't finished the first episode. What a snoozefest. I quickly moved on to Making the Cut. I've watched one episode of that now. I will probably continue with Making the Cut because it is, after all, Tim and Heidi, and at the moment they are in Paris, but I don't yet feel the love for it in the way I did for Project Runway. I'm taking a bit of break to just watch some films. 

And so last night I rewatched The Devil Wears Prada. Great idea. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci...what fun. And let's not forget New York City. I love New York City. 

Something else on my mind this week is natural dyeing. I have never done it, but I am now a bit obsessed with learning how to dye fabric with plants and food scraps. I am enough obsessed that I have checked a bunch of books out from the library, begun saving coffee grounds, tea bags, and onion skins, and went on an equipment-finding run to Goodwill. I will be sharing much more about this little meandering in the coming weeks and months. 

My "new" dye pots from Goodwill. 

What I am sewing this week: I am still working on my winter wardrobe. I have two pieces going at once. I started the Simplicity 9180 skirt and then needed an invisible zipper foot, so that project was put on hold temporarily. I now have the zipper foot but am apprehensive about sewing in an invisible zipper, so, naturally, I started on another project, the Seamwork Oliver sweater. The Oliver sweater is coming together pretty quickly. I just might finish it today. And I will tackle that invisible zipper in the next day or so. 

I would love to engage in a converssation here in Field Notes. In terms of sewing/fashion/textiles, what are you watching/reading/working on? Feel free to comment. 

Presenting Ensemble Sewing Studio: A Fabric Store Focusing on Artistry and Sustainability

Hey there, friends. There's a new online fabric store to check out. And it's mine.🤸

At the moment, it is small and cozy, but I have a vision and am taking my time growing Ensemble Sewing Studio into what I want it to be. My focus is on providing apparel sewists with beautiful and unique high quality fabric, something different from what the big chain fabric stores are carrying. I do love my local chain fabric store, and I am there on a weekly basis for one reason or another -- for thread, bias binding, zippers, fabric from the clearance shelves. But as I have become committed to making most of my own clothes, I find it difficult to acquire certain fabrics locally, such as twill, corduroy, colored denim. 

As well, many people who make their own clothes do so because they want to really personalize their wardrobe in a way they can't when buying ready to wear clothes. And choosing fabrics that express one's personality or align with one's values and ideologies is part of that process. Many home sewists are artists who aren't looking for the fastest and cheapest route but rather the one that reflects their own voice and results in clothing they proudly -- and joyfully -- wear. 

Here at Ensemble Sewing Studio, I want to honor the artist in both the sewist and the fabric maker. I want to find the fabrics that are yarn-dyed or handwoven or block printed. That is part of the reason growing this business is going to take some time. I also want to grow my business with sustainability in the forefront. What that means to me right now is focusing on carrying a range of natural fibers and organic fabrics. I also hope to further implement best practices in sustainability by adding a selection of re-homed fabric. 

I named my fabric shop Ensemble Sewing Studio partly because as apparel sewists we focus on the whole ensemble but mostly because ensemble means together in French. I don't want to just sell fabric; I want to build a community of sewists -- somehow, some way. I hope you will join me on this mission by bookmarking Ensemble Sewing Studio and checking back often to see what's new and by following along on social platforms (Instagram, Bluesky). 

I sincerely hope Ensemble Sewing Studio can be part of your creative process. 

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Ensemble Sewing Studio is an online fabric store located in Illinois -- fifty miles from Chicago. Your fabric orders will be packed with care and shipped promptly.