Ah, Spring!!! Or at least the hint of it…there's always such a weird will-they-or-won't-they energy to the weather this time of year. For better or worse, I've started all sorts of new spring sewing projects (and made a huge mess of my house, since I no longer have a sewing studio). So today I thought I'd show you what I've been working on - perhaps you'll be inspired to sew something, too!

 

Before I do that, I want to share two interviews I did last month:

 

First, I had a fun video chat with Deepika of Pattern Review on the Pattern Review YouTube Channel when I was their featured designer a few weeks ago. I brought along a bunch of my favorite garments for a show and tell and we talked about sewing for kids and ourselves, which of my patterns are our best-sellers, and geeked out about how much we love knitting. 

→ WATCH IT HERE ←

 

And over on the Stitched Together substack I had a Q&A with Rachel Kovac, a long time friend and MBR collaborator - some of you may remember that she photographed the Geranium and Geranium Expansion pattern covers. She made a gorgeous Geranium (above, photo credit: Rachel Kovac) for her youngest to post with the interview, and we talked about how I got into sewing and pattern design, sewing with small kids, my advice for choosing fabrics and overcoming garment-sewing intimidation, and tips for sewing in small spaces.

→ READ IT HERE ←

 

A big thank you to both Rachel and Deepika for the features - it was a true honor to be asked, and I enjoyed answering all of your great questions!! 

Here's what I've been working on that I can't wait to wear this spring:

Find all of the patterns in my shop and sew your own for spring! Plus: Jade + Isla and Rose + Luna bundles are available if you'd like a little discount. ;)

reading: I just finished and loved Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Other don't-miss-books so far in 2024 are Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things and Celeste Ng’s Our Missing Hearts; I couldn't put either of those down. Related: Catherine's Substack, Crone Sandwich, is bringing me so much joy, like spit out your coffee and belly laugh joy. 

 

stitching: Jessica Marquez’s first Pattern Club sampler arrived in the mail and it’s been nice to sit first thing in the morning and take a few stitches with my coffee. Excited to get the next one soon (it's a kit subscription)!

 

listening: Mimi Cheng’s Dinner Party Playlist is on repeat and it’s a good one. Some real gems in there. And the City of the Rails podcast was riveting.

 

knitting: Am yet again knitting socks, this time to use up some leftovers from a cowl I made for Elli last summer. I'm using Summer Lee's Seasons Sock pattern which features a cool pattern texture. 

 

 

 I haven't exactly stopped working since I moved my studio home, but I think it's safe to say that I'm taking a bit of a break: I haven't posted to my blog or sent out any newsletters for the past month and without a space to hold meetups and workshops, I've been able to let go of all of the admin that comes with promoting and managing events.

 

I'm trying to pay attention to what I want to do versus what I have to do when it comes to Made By Rae, because - as I mentioned in my interview with Deepika -- ever since I started my business, it's been important to me that I always have the option to quit, to always have an exit strategy. I only want to be doing this work if really I love it. 

 

When I started selling PDF sewing patterns back in 2009, there were only a handful of other indie designers - now it feels like there are a million. But I'm still here, I still enjoy it, and I'm excited to show you the new things Elli and I have been working on for you this spring. 

 

have a lovely weekend,
Rae

PS. Pics below are from our anniversary trip to San Diego in February (Mr Rae and I have been married 20 years!!!) - you can see more pics from the trip and get more personal updates in this post on my blog.