August Newsletter

NO. 37 | August 2024

Good morning and good August! Going to keep this first announcement short since I’ve been screaming about it from the IG rooftops for the last month. The Swim Along Crossbody fish bag sewing pattern is now available. Go get it! If you’re not a sewist, I also have 20 ready-to-wear bags for sale in my shop. I hope you love it like I do.

And, exhale. Welcome back to some of the regularly scheduled newsletter writing. There are a lot of new faces here these days, and I hope some of you have come back to read after the fish frenzy!

It’s a lot of work trying to sell stuff. It also takes me out of the creative phase that brought the thing I’m selling into existence in the first place. So, I usually can only manage it in short bursts—sprinting through a couple months for a big release or two, and then sliding back into less public-facing place to start making stuff again.

I will say that this bag has been the most fun release I’ve ever done. The enthusiasm has been infectious! I loved answering your questions. I ended up making the 20 bags for sale because I just couldn’t stop myself from trying out all the design ideas bounding around my head. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. It’s really fun to make.

But, even still, I’ve missed this. Thinking about & writing about & being creative without any outcome in mind. I have a really lovely little piece half-written that I wanted to share with you this month, and then I realized that trying to finish it in my current brain state would be like trying to wring water out of a dry sponge. So, I’m saving it and focusing on resetting to a place that’s not so tired or so empty.

Luckily, I know what comes next. Journaling is my creative center, and I haven’t been doing it for almost a month. When I’m working creatively, journaling is non-negotiable. But when my tasks are more administrative or prescribed, and I start feeling like I need every minute of the day to stay on track, journaling can be the first thing to go. So I’ll be picking up my pen tomorrow, and then all the days after that.

I also need rest. I am luckily going on my yearly weeklong vacation starting this weekend, so I’m hoping that resting will be the easy part. Emilio & I hosted guests at our house for 17 total days of July, and I also spent 9 days of the month traveling. I’m ready for some alone time and some routine. Plus, the birthday massage I have scheduled for the week I get back will certainly help.

And, I’m going to go back to making stuff (for me, for the magic). I have a personal painting project that hasn’t gotten any of the attention I want to give it yet this summer. I am a third of the way through writing a new novel that makes me happy to think about. This summer has granted me two new picture book ideas that I’d like to noodle around with. And, I’ve been really wanting to make myself a sundress.

Already it is the last month of summer, so you might not hear much from me while I go savor it. Thank you for being here, for sewing my patterns, for loving the fish, for making stuff, for reading this.

Swim Along With Me: 2024 Garden

Emilio & I have a small garden this year at our rental house. I’ve been wanting to share more about what we’re growing all summer, and it’s finally time. Coming August 15!

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Inbox cutting off this post? Read the whole thing on Substack.

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Despite the busyness, the bounty of summer finds me each day. The baby phoebes you see here have flown the nest. We miss their squeaks and the friendly, bouncing feathers of their sweet mom. I made this peaches n’ cream cake from my own recipe & am pretty proud of how delicious it was. The garden and the earth!!

I am a new but delighted fan of Miguel Martinez Barbero. His work is full of so much narrative; that’s what often hooks me about illustration work. His pieces remind me of Adventure Time, in which so much lore can stack together and make something compelling, even without more context. I love the characters, the colors, the rendering, and the worlds.

✷ Mandatory last plug for the fish bag
✷ One more piece from Miguel that I love
✷ Staying on theme with some gorgeous beaded fish earrings
✷ Sweet sardine birthday cake
✷ Pretty cool fish sculptures